The Chicago Blackhawks are certainly not one of the favorites in the top-class Discover Central Division. The organization, which won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015, is still in a phase of squad restructuring and the rejuvenation of the team structure. In addition, the Blackhawks’ coaching team currently has to do without some well-known names. For various reasons, the captain, among others, is not available Jonathan Toews, Zack Smith, Brent Seabrook, Alex Nylander and Kirby Dach.
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Against this background, the expectations placed on the team before the start of the season were not necessarily great. Now that the first two weeks of the season have been completed, however, it should be noted that Chicago is clearly one of the positive surprises.
A first conclusion that holds true despite the second consecutive defeat on Wednesday at the Nashville Predators in the Bridgestone Arena. After a 2: 3 after extra time on Tuesday, the Blackhawks were defeated 24 hours later by 1: 2 after the shootout and at least got two valuable points. The way in which the Blackhawks present themselves at their encounters is also encouraging.
A closer look at the Chicago season record reveals that the team has some good reasons to be satisfied, as they show surprisingly good approaches and positive developments in many areas.
The Blackhawks have scored in each of their past five appearances (2-0-3). In addition, the club has the third best power play in the league (success rate 36.0 percent). The number of nine outperformance hits is convincing as the third-best peak.
In the table of Discover Central, the Blackhawks take 3rd place with seven counters (2-3-3) from eight games. However, the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are followed by three teams with six points each, who have played four and five fewer games respectively.
In the recent shootout defeat, the Blackhawks kept the encounter with the Predators goalless for a long time. It was only in the 46th minute, i.e. in the final third, that Chicago got through a goal from Nick Cousins falling behind.
However, the team showed a good reaction and managed to get through Ryan Carpenter equalize four minutes later. goalkeeper Kevin Lankinen shone that evening with 41 rescue acts, which meant a new career record for him.
“We played better as a team tonight,” said Lankinen after his fourth NHL game. “It was a shame that we couldn’t take the win. We had good chances in extra time. Maybe we’ll have a lucky rebound on another evening and he goes in. But for me today it was a good feeling anyway. I have myself Felt good out there. “
The comparatively inexperienced goalkeeper had his best scene in the 25th minute, when he was top-class within two seconds Luke Kunin, Matt Duchene and defused Kunin again and thus saved his team from falling behind.
However, the Blackhawks’ goalie had no chance in leading the hosts. The wrist shot was preceded by skillful preparatory work by Duchene, which could not be prevented for the Chicago defense. Shortly afterwards, Brandon Hegel assisted in equalizing, who was credited with his first assist in his sixth mission. The Swiss Philipp Kurashev however, remained without a point in 13.59 minutes of the Ice Age. His compatriot Pius Suter got 17.30 minutes of active time, but couldn’t stand out either. Kurashev has two goals this season and Suter has three.
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Chicago coach Jeremy Colliton was satisfied with the overall performance. “That was a much, much better performance tonight than it was last time,” he said. “I think it was a very hard-fought game in which there wasn’t much going on offensively in the first two thirds. But I thought it was good that we stayed focused and fully involved. In the third period the game got a bit better. Of course they scored the goal there. We had them in a really good position in the transition and then we gave up the puck and they took off in the other direction. I think we reacted well. That was a great goal for him [Carpenter].”
When asked about the long-term future prospects of his team, which is currently being established, the coach was ambitious: “We want to establish a certain standard here that enables us to keep up with the best teams on a regular basis. We can only achieve this if we reach our top level every evening We are working on this and we want to be measured. ”
Chicago has proven several times that it works quite well on good days. At least this selection is hard to beat when it comes to full use.
The Blackhawks will continue on Friday (8 pm ET; NHL.tv; Sat. 2 am CET) with a home game at the United Center, where they are still unbeaten. The Columbus Blue Jackets will be guests. The aim of the Blackhawks will be to refine the current series of points with the third home win and to stabilize in the table.
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