Chicago Blackhawks: Power play is to blame for bad streak

The Chicago Blackhawks are in a big funk that has basically taken them out of the playoffs and the power play deserves a lot of blame.

The Chicago Blackhawks are 1-5-0 in their last six games. That bad streak has basically taken them out of the playoff race in the Western Conference. They are now eight points back of the final spot in the Western Conference final wild card spot. Those six games that saw them go 1-5 all have one thing in common, the power play has been putrid.

You cannot win games in the National Hockey League if the power play is bad. It needs to be able to score some goals in order for the team to have a chance at the playoffs. In those six games, they are 0-17 on the man advantage. You read that right. The team with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Brandon Saad, Dominik Kubalik, and Dylan Strome is 0 for their last 17 on the power play.

That has dropped them to 31st out of 31st in the entire National Hockey League in power-play percentage at 13.8 percent. They are almost a full percent behind the Detroit Red Wings who are dead last in the NHL with a 15-43-4 and having one of the worst seasons in NHL history. The Hawks are likely not going to the playoffs this year but addressing the man advantage is something that must be done if they are to end the playoff drought in 2020-21.

They went 0 for 3 against the New York Rangers in the 6-3 loss. It was a game where the Blackhawks were almost even with New York in shots. It was a high-danger chance filled game but the Blackhawks were never able to gain any steam. They are all but out of it at this point as the trade deadline approaches.

The Blackhawks next chance to end the power-play drought and perhaps get a win comes tomorrow when the Nashville Predators come to town. They feel that their power play is bad too but it is worlds better than Chicago’s. This is perhaps the Hawks’ last chance to start a run before being truly declared dead if they aren’t already.