Chicago Blackhawks: Three underrated players against Edmonton Oilers
By Ryan Sikes
We look at some of the underrated players for the Chicago Blackhawks ahead of their playoff matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
Last week, the NHL formally announced its return-to-play plan, which excluded the remaining handful of games for each team. Rather, it’s going to be a 24-team playoff, and the Chicago Blackhawks have snuck as a 12 seed.
They are matched up against the five-seed Edmonton Oilers, who are now three years removed from a breakout season in which they scored 103 points. The Oilers regressed the following two years but returned to finish second in the Pacific Division with 83 points.
They are led by their two young stars in Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, who combined to tally 207 points this year. At the blue line, they also have talented defensemen in both Oscar Klefbom and Darnell Nurse, who recorded 29 and 28 assists, respectively.
In net, the Oilers have the veteran Mike Smith, who made a name for himself with the Arizona Coyotes, but they also feature Finnish standout, Mikko Koskinen. The two pretty much alternated starts all year long, combining for a .910 save percentage and 2.85 GAA.
The Blackhawks, of course, are the veterans here led by core offensive pieces in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The duo, along with defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have combined to win three Stanley Cups and are looking to have another shot at hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup. First, they’ll need to get past the Oilers.
Here are three underrated players that can help them move past the first round:
de Haan is one player who might benefit the most from the league temporarily shutting down. He injured his shoulder back in December that would have ended his season otherwise. After six years with the Islanders and one year with the Hurricanes, the Blackhawks acquired him before the 2019-2020 season.
He was limited to just 29 games by said shoulder, but he recorded a +10 plus-minus while logging a goal, five assists, and helping to solidify the defense after two dreadful years. Seabrook is likely to miss the postseason, so the Blackhawks will need de Haan to step up in his place.
At 23 years of age, Strome averaged nearly 16 minutes of ice time per game and complemented Patrick Kane perfectly on the second line. Kane, of course, led the team in points, but Strome was no slouch either.
After logging 57 points last year – albeit split between the Coyotes and Blackhawks – tallied 38 points, including 12 goals and 26 assists. Throughout his career, he’s played quite well against Edmonton, logging one goal, two assists, and a +4 plus-minus rating.
Dach had a fantastic rookie year, averaging just over 14 minutes per game. The 19-year-old was the Blackhawks’ third overall pick in last year’s draft and made his debut in the team’s seventh game of the year. Primarily playing alongside Kubalik and Drake Caggiula on the third line, Dach tallied 23 points, including eight goals and 15 assists
Next. 3 players who can redeem themselves in playoffs. dark
He’s going to be thrown into the fire that is the NHL Playoffs, but his track record thus far is impressive, which includes helping the HG18 Team Canada to a gold medal in 2018.