Damaged Goods
Some Hawks news and some thoughts on Alex Vlasic.
It’s Wednesday folks. And we have Blackhawks hockey tonight. Let’s get you recapped with some news before the game.
News Recap
You can catch the preview and how to watch the game at On Tap Sports here: How to Watch Blackhawks vs. Oilers. The game is going to be aired nationally on TNT. So it won’t be on CHSN or ESPN+ if you’re out of market.
The Blackhawks have three games left until the two-week Four Nations Face-Off break. The only Blackhawk participating is Teuvo Teravainen for Team Finland. Will it be worth watching in general? It seems the players are very much invested. Team USA vs. Team Canada will be interesting because of all the national anthem booing going on.
If you've heard about Artyom Levshunov getting called up, don’t panic. He’s only here to get some NHL practice while the AHL All-Star break is in effect.
Speaking of the AHL All-Star game… I wrote about it! You can find that here. Kevin Korchinski was named the MVP and Cole Guttman played alright. These events are usually for the kids anyway, so it’s not like they’re playing 100%.
Louis Crevier is on concussion protocol and is week-to-week.
The Blackhawks announced that they will be wearing their Winter Classic jerseys for three games during the remainder of the season.
Am I missing anything? Oh, Landon Slaggert made Blackhawks history by scoring the fastest goal in franchise history. Slaggert scored seven seconds into the game against the Florida Panthers. Feel free to relive that game here. It went about as poorly as you expected.
Alex Vlasic
Let’s talk about our boy, Alex Vlasic.
As I pointed out in tonight’s game preview, Vlasic’s analytics haven’t been great. He has the highest expected goals against (42.91) and has been on the ice for the most goals against on the team (49).
This isn’t something I’m worried about. He went through a rough patch about this time last season.
What is interesting though is who he’s been paired with. Vlasic’s partners aren’t the best. But all of them, including T.J. Brodie, have better analytics when they’ve played without him. Sam Fels pointed that out in his newsletter, so I’ll direct you there.
Again, I’m not worried about him. But he’s on my radar and this is something I might revisit after the upcoming break.
Other than that, you can find most of my stuff at On Tap Sports.
Let’s Go Hawks.