The Cat Gets a Hat

Despite improved play over the last two games, the Blackhawks entered Thursday night losers in their last four games. The first loss in that losing streak came against their next opponent, the Detroit Red Wings. The loss was an embarrassing performance as the Wings skated circles around the Blackhawks for much of the 4-0 beat down.

Since then, the Blackhawks have responded to growing concerns about their championship window closing, by playing well against both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs, two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. In their first regular season game at the new Little Caesars Arena, the Blackhawks looked to build on their improved play by ending the four-game losing streak with Anton Forsberg in net.

These were the Blackhawks starting lines:

Alex DeBrincat – Jonathan Toews – Anthony Duclair
Brandon Saad – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane
Tommy Wingels – Artem Anisimov – Ryan Hartman
Tomas Jurco – David Kampf – Vince Hinostroza

Duncan Keith – Jordan Oesterle
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Michal Kempny – Connor Murphy

Duncan Keith set the tone early in the nearly empty Little Caesars Arena with a huge hit on Andreas Athanasiou, and the Hawks never looked back. 3:19 into the first period the Blackhawks opened the scoring in an active first period.

After a nice fore check by Anthony Duclair, he dished the puck to Connor Murphy at the point who fired a quick shot on net that was blocked. Luckily, Alex DeBrincat was there to grab the rebound and fired a quick wrister on net that beat Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. It was DeBrincat’s 15th goal of the season, and ended a seven-game goal drought.

Shortly after the DeBrincat goal, the Blackhawks did something I haven’t seen much of this season; they not only executed an offensive zone faceoff play, but they scored on it, looking remarkably competent in the process. After Jonathan Toews won the faceoff to Duncan Keith at the blue line, Keith passed the puck to DeBrincat along the left-wing boards, who then sent it to Duclair parked in the slot. Duclair immediately shot the puck on net, beating Howard with ease. This was the second goal of the game for the Toews line, both coming within two and a half minutes of each other.

The Blackhawks continued the pressure from there, scoring a third time before the period was over. After Duclair created yet another Red Wing turnover, Vince Hinostroza used his speed to grab the puck and create an odd man rush. He then decided to keep it himself and beat Howard with a wrist shot, scoring his fourth goal on the year.

After the third goal in the first ten minutes of the game, Howard was replaced by Petr Mrazek, and Wings coach Jeff Blashill was seen visibly frustrated on the bench.

When it was all said, and done, the Blackhawks led the game 11-8 in shots and 3-0 on the scoreboard. Anton Forsberg also quietly had a very solid period in net for the Hawks.

The Red Wings came out with some more jump in the second period, but Forsberg continued his strong play in net. Although they didn’t dominate the beginning of the second period, the Wings generated more pressure than they did in the first period, even hitting a few posts, but Forsberg stood strong.

Despite a more balanced second period, the story of the game continued to be the sustained pressure by the DeBrincat-Toews-Duclair line. About halfway through the second period Toews took a puck from his own end and skated nearly the full length of the ice, joined by Duclair who used his great speed to create a two on one. Toews sent the puck to Duclair, but he wasn’t able to score because of a great save by Mrazek.

At 11:31 in the second period the Toews line cashed in once again. Utilizing Duclair’s speed to create an open lane, Jonathan Toews to made a beautiful pass to DeBrincat, and the 20-year buried it glove side past Mrazek, his second goal of the night.

With just over five minutes left in the second period, Niklas Kronwall took an interference penalty, sending the Blackhawks to the power play for the first time in the game. After dominating the first 35 minutes, it would have been a good time for the Hawks to build off the momentum of two power play goals in their previous game. Well, that would have made too much sense, as the Hawks went back to their old ways, struggling to sustain offensive zone time and failing to generate even a single shot on net.

After a terrific blocker save by Anton Forsberg on a grade A chance by Luke Glendening, the period ended with a 4-0 Blackhawks lead. The Hawks also maintained a 18-14 shots on net advantage heading into the third.

Sadly, because of how the NHL has changed in recent years, the third period was not as exciting as a blowout ten years ago. Without any fights or scrums, the final 20 minutes of this game was a bit boring to watch. Both teams looked disinterested and ready to pack it in for the All-Star break.

After some sustained zone time, Toews drew a penalty and gave them another chance to practice their power play in a game situation. The good news is, the power play was much better than it was in the second period, but it still wasn’t nearly good enough. One of the biggest problems with the Hawks this year was evident at the end of the power play, when Hinostroza passed up a point-blank shot on net. He instead decided to throw an errant pass to no one, and instead of possibly scoring, the puck was taken the other way.

A bit later in the third period, Anisimov took the Hawks first penalty of the game and the Red Wings capitalized. Long time Wings great Henrik Zetterberg held the puck in the Hawks zone and sent an impressive shot/pass to Anthony Mantha parked in front of the net. Mantha redirected the puck past Forsberg to make the score 4-1, and ruining the shutout bid.

As the third period came to an end, the Blackhawks sealed the games fate with an empty net goal. DeBrincat, in his first game in his hometown, completed his second career hat trick at 19:41 in the third. This completed a great night for the Hawks, and an even better night for that Toews line.

Pluses

• DeBrincat, Toews, and Duclair may just be a one hit wonder, or, they are exactly what the Blackhawks need. Although a small sample size, the line has been very productive the last two games. Toews looked dominate all night against the Wings, DeBrincat finally got on the score sheet, and man can Duclair fly. I was very intrigued by the addition of Duclair a few weeks back, and it was met with fair skepticism. It’s still unclear whether he is a long-term solution in the Hawks top six, but every game I watch him, the more I like him. He has that valuable combination of size and speed that the Blackhawks lineup is lacking, and I hope he continues to progress, especially on this line.
• I am not sure I remember a game all year that displayed a better four-line balance for the Hawks. Each and every line had quality chances and sustained zone time for a majority of the game. Now, this isn’t the Red Wings of 2008, but it was still a positive sign that these current line combinations are actually generating some momentum from both games of this back to back.
• Not only do the forward combinations seem to be clicking, but the D-pairings have also showed promising signs these last two games. Keith and Oesterle continue to be solid together, Seabrook and Gustafsson look to be rekindling some chemistry from the 2015-16 season, and Murphy has really solidified that third pairing with Kempny. Again, these combinations have only worked for two games, and this team is still going to have a tough time getting back to the playoffs, obviously. But I think what they have been doing can be sustained over a longer stretch of time.
• Forsberg looked solid in net, not great, but solid. Detroit hit a ton of posts tonight, so luck was involved in only allowing one goal, but Forsberg did makes some nice saves. Watching tonight’s game should also help fans realize why Forsberg is a more dependable option than Jeff Glass. Although Forsberg doesn’t look like he will be the next Corey Crawford, his positioning is far better Glass’ and his rebound control is a step up from Glass as well. So, if nothing else, Forsberg is the more dependable option in net until Crawford returns.

Minuses

• There is no need to go into great detail on the power play, but it was below average at best yet again. If the Hawks want to make the playoffs they must make improvements to that unit, period.
• Anyone happy with what they have seen from Jurco since he was recalled from Rockford? Because I am not. Sure, we didn’t expect much, but I still don’t understand what Bowman saw in Jurco when he gave up a third-round pick for him last spring. He reminds me so much of David Rundblad because of how unimpressive he is. Why the Hawks are giving this guy minutes over someone like Matthew Highmore from Rockford is infuriating. He needs to be sent down to Rockford ASAP!
• What great timing for a 5-1 blowout win, right before the All-Star break. The Hawks finally have generated some momentum in this back to back, grabbing three out of a possible four points, and now they have another break. It just adds to the laundry list of issues the Blackhawks have had this season, and bad luck is the last thing they need.