Game Recap: Blackhawks 6 - Sharks 3
Recapping the Blackhawks 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks.
The Chicago Blackhawks ended their five-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Although it could have easily been a game that saw overtime. The Sharks missed a couple of wide-open opportunities and hit the posts, maybe at least three times. For a game that finished with 27 and 17 shots on goal (Sharks with the edge), this was a fun back-and-forth game that featured goals from both Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini.
For two periods, both teams had limited chances and played back-and-forth hockey. Both teams only had one 5v5 shot on goal in the first period, with two 5v5 scoring chances a piece. The second period saw an increase in action with a 6-8 scoring chance ratio (Sharks edge). The Sharks dialed the pressure up in the third period, facing a 5-2 deficit on the scoreboard, and owned a 65.48% expected goals share (xG%) at 5v5.
While the score suggests the Blackhawks’ offense finally “woke up,” I’m not wholly convinced. Connor Bedard’s line with Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi only generated a 31.25% shot attempt share at 5v5 (Corsi). They tallied only one shot on goal while facing four against. They were matched up against Macklin Celebrini’s line, who had a 76.67% Corsi and a 64.16 xG%.
It’s an interesting comparison. Celebrini had Will Smith and Tyler Toffoli on his wings. Connor Bedard had Nazar and Bertuzzi. Yesterday, I briefly talked about how Toffoli has had a positive impact on Celebrini. Let’s look at Will Smith’s goal.
Following a line change, the Sharks offense attacked the Blachawks zone with a 2v2 entry. Macklin Celebrini took a shot on goal and followed up his own rebound to carry the puck behind the net. Both Alex Vlasic and Louis Crevier puckwatched Celebrini. Crevier ignored his man, Will Smith, who received Celebrini’s pass through the slot.
Louis Crevier was on the ice for two goals against and had a 33.03 xG%. Crevier eventually saw limited ice time, and Connor Murphy replaced him as Alex Vlasic’s partner.
The other goal that Crevier was on the ice for wasn’t his fault. A quick refresher. The Hawks play a hybrid defensive zone structure. It’s man-to-man with the weakside forward responsible for the high slot. Andre Burakovsky was the weakside forward and left the high slot to pressure the puck carrier at the point. Ryan Greene should have grabbed Burakovsky’s assignment, but instead double-teamed the puck carrier, leaving the weakside wide open.
Burakovsky could have also not bit for the puck carrier, and instead pressured the passing option until Greene came in to pressure the puck carrier.
I don’t want to break down the Blackhawks’ defensive zone coverage in the following, but as a hockey fan, you have to admire Macklin Celebrini’s goal.
Ryan Donato had two goals and two assists, Ilya Mikheyev had a goal and three assists, and Bedard scored a nice power play goal in the first. That goal, by the way, displayed some nice hockey smarts as Bedard got in close to the Sharks’ penalty killer, made contact, and slowly backed away.
But let’s talk about Sam Rinzel, who scored his second goal of the season in his second game back. Rinzel gave the Blackhawks a 56.25% Corsi and a 50.65 xG% at 5v5. He looks much more comfortable than he did prior to getting sent back down to Rockford on Dec. 8. His skating was on display, he moved the puck, and he looked more comfortable. He wasn’t perfect—I caught him a little out of position on a DZ entry. But nothing glaring.
Rinzel did get a look at quarterbacking the power play (which the Blackhawks had four opportunities and scored on one). Maybe it was because we’re so used to watching Levshunov, but Rinzel was a breath of fresh air. He distributed the puck and took shots (one shot on goal and two shot attempts). I was overall impressed with Rinzel. Not so much the Blackhawks’ power play entry, which continues to be an issue.
One more game before the Olympic Break. The Blackhawks travel to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets at 6 pm CT on Wednesday. We’ll see what we do for the Olympic Break here. I’ll have an update and will probably take that time off from hockey writing.