Chicago Blackhawks: Three Game Recap

Contributing Author: wally @wallmaz35

Chicago Blackhawks vs Philadelphia Flyers Recap

The Chicago Blackhawks kicked off their 2019-20 campaign in Prague, Czech Republic against Carter Hart and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Travis Konecny opens the scoring for both teams as he puts the Flyers ahead 1-0 just 6:24 into the game.

Alex Nylander scored the Blackhawks’ first goal of the season just 90 seconds after Konecny scored. Ended the first period tied at 1-1

The second period was all Flyers, Oskar Lindblom scored a goal just 6:28 into the 2nd period and Travis Konecny scored his second goal of the game with 1:56 left in the 2nd period putting the Flyers up 3-1.

12.2 seconds left in the 2nd period, Patrick Kane finds Alex DeBrincat wide open for the one-timer from the slot on the powerplay, Putting the Blackhawks behind 3-2 heading into the 3rd period.

In the 3rd Period, Michael Raffl put the Flyers up 4-2 9:48 into the 3rd period. With Corey Crawford pulled for the extra attacker 2:07 left in the game, Patrick Kane capped his 3-point night with a wrist shot goal. The Chicago Blackhawks ended up losing 4-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Patrick Kane was a standout player from the first game of the season with 3 points(1G,2A) as he tied former Blackhawks defensemen Dustin Byfuglien for most points in Europe(7 points).

Chicago Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks Recap

After not playing a whole week, The Chicago Blackhawks traveled back home for their home opener against the San Jose Sharks.

Brandon Saad found Dominik Kubalik for his first career NHL goal just 5:07 into the first period, Putting the Blackhawks up 1-0.

Kevin Labanc answered only nine seconds into the powerplay to make it 1-1. Less than two minutes after the Sharks scored a powerplay goal, Andrew Shaw puts the Blackhawks back in front 2-1. This was Andrew Shaw’s first goal back at the United Center since March 22, 2016. Before the period ended, Patrick Marleau in his first game back with the Sharks nets another Sharks Powerplay Goal tieing the game 2-2 headed into the 2nd period.

After the Blackhawks generated 12 high danger chances at 5 on 5 at the end of the first period, Coach Colliton decided it was time to change the lines, Putting Kubalik on the first line and moving Alex Nylander down to the third line.

Shaw put the Blackhawks back on top with his second goal of the game just 9:27 into the 2nd period. Unfortunately, The Sharks tied it back up with Brett Burns scoring his 200th career NHL goal 33 seconds later.

This high scoring game continued when Dylan Strome scored on the odd-man rush 2:14 later, putting the Blackhawks ahead 4-3. The Blackhawks held the lead for about 5 minutes until Patrick Marleau knocked in a rebound goal scoring his second goal of the game.

In the 2nd period, the Sharks outshot the Blackhawks 25-9 at 5-on-5

This was the Blackhawks’ second game of the season after waiting six days to play, they were in it the whole game but just let off the gas towards the end. The Sharks ended up beating the Blackhawks 5-4.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Winnipeg Jets Recap

This was the Blackhawks’ second game of a seven game homestand and was their first divisional matchup of the 2019-20 season.

Robin Lehner, Calvin De Haan, and Brendan Perlini made their Blackhawks debuts.

Brandon Saad opened the scoring when Ryan Carpenter found him on a 2-on-1 shorthanded situation just 16 minutes into the game beating Connor Hellebuyck, Putting the Blackhawks ahead 1-0. Brent Seabrook scored a powerplay goal for the Blackhawks putting them ahead 2-0 in the first period.

The Blackhawks ended up blowing a two goal lead and watched Mark Scheifele score the overtime winner for the Jets, As the Blackhawks lost 3-2 in overtime to the Winnipeg Jets.

Robin Lehner looked absolutely amazing and he was very comfortable in his first game with the Blackhawks. Calvin De Haan in his first game was very impressive. The special teams were the most impressive from this game, with scoring a power-play goal from Seabrook and a short-handed goal from Brandon Saad.

The Chicago Blackhawks are 0-2-1 (1 point) after three games.

Offense

The Chicago Blackhawks offense has netted nine goals in three games. Andrew Shaw leads the team in goals (two goals) and Patrick Kane leads the team in points (four points) Alex DeBrincat leads the team in powerplay goals (one PPG) and Brandon Saad leads the team in shorthanded goals (one SH goal).

Defense

The Chicago Blackhawks defense is the most struggling part of this team, allowing 12 goals in three games.

Goaltending

The Blackhawks goaltending looks much improved this season. They have two legitimate starters in Robin Lehner and Corey Crawford. As expected, Crawford started both the regular-season opener and the home opener in Chicago. In Prague, Crawford and the Hawks faced off against the Philadelphia Flyers. Crawford had a decent game, but he let in one or two goals that he’d like back. Overall he allowed four goals on 38 shots. In the home opener against San Jose, he was hoping to bounce back. It’s safe to say that it didn’t happen. He allowed five goals on 34 shots. He didn’t play very well, but he’s only played two games. In these two games, he has two losses, a .875 save percentage, 4.63 goals-against average and -2.07 goals saved above average.

It’s obviously not the start Crawford or the Hawks wanted. They decided to go a different route and start Robin Lehner against the Winnipeg Jets. The Vezina finalist stood on his head for the majority of the game. He stopped 30 of the 33 shots he faced. He made a couple of excellent saves like the pad stack save against Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele. The 28-year-old carried the team to overtime where they ended up losing 3-2. Lehner, recorded a .909 save percentage, 2.95 goals-against average and 0.18 goals saved above average.

Special Teams

The Blackhawks’ special teams have been more of the same compared to last year. The power play has been, but the penalty kill has been lackluster.

Through three games the Blackhawks have gone 2/6 on their power play or 33.3%. That makes them tied for fourth in power-play percentage.

The power play needs to be more consistent with keeping possession in the offensive zone. Often times they rush in and can’t keep possession in the offensive zone. But so far it’s off to a good start. The penalty kill has been horrid through three games. Despite, Brandon Saad’s short-handed goal the penalty kill hasn’t looked good. It is currently sitting at a lowly 60%, which is 29th in the league. It certainly looked improved against Winnipeg as Jeremy Colliton’s hybrid zone defense worked. If they can keep playing like that on the penalty kill it should vastly improve.

Standouts After 3 Games

Dominik Kubalik (1G,1A 2 Points) shows the ability to be a playmaker. He shoots the puck, he hits, and he scores, he’d be someone to keep an eye out for rookie of the year.

Andrew Shaw (2G,0A 2points) has a net-front presence and will do the little things. He also is aggressive and fights for his teammates.

Olli Maatta (0G,1A 1 point) is working well with Seabrook and will block shots and will always be in the right spot consistently.

Robin Lehner played great in his first game with the Blackhawks. He looked and played like a Vezina finalist. His rebound control and positioning were great (except for the overtime goal).

Brandon Saad who’s been the staple on that third line consisting of him, David Kampf and Dominik Kubalik. He’s been strong, fast and has played a great all-around game. He has a goal (short-handed) and an assist. I’d expect him to get more ice time as well.

Connor Murphy has played exceptionally well in the defensive zone and has even made some plays in the offensive zone. In five-on-five play, Murphy has the fifth-highest expected goal for percentage (xGF%) of 65.63% according to Natural Stattrick. Murphy has made a couple of clutch blocks and plays. I’d expect him to take a step this year and become a top-four defensive defenseman.

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