Game Recap: Blackhawks 3 - Panthers 1
Hawks squeeze out a pimple of a win against the Panthers.
Getting this win felt like popping a really deep zit. It was painful but once it pops, it pops. Only, there's still some gunk that you can't get out. That gunk being offense.
The Hawks played their same ol' game. They get a lead and hold on for dear life by shelling up in their zone. It's Luke Richardson's game of defense. It's a good thing the Hawks looked ok on defensive positioning because they couldn't get the puck out of their zone for anything. A lack of offense and a scoreless Connor Bedard has me not totally satisfied. In the third period alone the Hawks owned 35% of 5v5 shot attempts and finished with a 39.16 xG%.
We heard a little more about not being satisfied with "moral victories" from Nick Foligno at the end, but this win sure feels like one. At the very least it's a morale victory.
The Bedard-Dickinson-Anderson line generated a total of 0 shots on goal but faced 8. The Hawks' top line was effectively used as a shutdown line against the Panthers' top line. Seeing Joey Anderson up there again makes me want to pluck out the few remaining hairs that I have. Luke employed what's supposed to be an offensive line as a shutdown line is making me ask a lot of questions. Is it worth a win? Is this hurting Bedard in any way (I'm confident it's not)? Can those players that Kyle Davidson brought in play with Bedard if given the chance?
When Bedard was on the ice, the Hawks had 15 shot attempts against from Sam Reinhart.
Bedard's line generated an 11.11 Corsi (make a wish). They made 2 shot attempts, none of them from Bedard. He had 0 shots on goal and 0 shot attempts at all strengths.
For as much pain as it causes me to watch this line, I don't think this team is winning this game by utilizing Bedard's line as a scoring line (which would not include Dickinson or Anderson). But that's specific to this game. If Bedard is used in a defensive role for the Philly game, I will have an aneurysm.
The Hawks' inability to get out of the zone was both a lack of skill and the Panthers' very aggressive forecheck. The Panthers use a 1-2-2 and activate a D-man to create more pressure. With the D keeping such a tight gap, it made for tough breakouts for the Hawks.
Petr Mrazek had himself a nice night for the Hawks with a .970 SV%. He's the reason why this team won, but hey, Craig Smith gets the No. 1 star of the game (not that it matters at all).
The Hall-Donato-Teravainen line had the best possession metrics for the Hawks. They put up a 66.67 Corsi and had a 56.17 xG%. Of course, Teuvo Teravainen's goal came off the powerplay so that doesn't factor into how this line played.
The Hawks play Philly on Saturday at 1 pm. Which is a nice 10 am for this west coaster. For a team that's a lot closer to the Hawks' level of skill, this should be a game where Luke gets these guys going offensively. But we know that won't happen. Bedard needs to get going because I won't have any "Michkov vs Bedard" debates on Twitter.
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