Chicago Blackhawks: Power play unit helps them beat an elite team
The Chicago Blackhawks continue to grow their game. By now, you know all about the issues with their lineup due to injury, the coronavirus, and other medical issues. They keep figuring out ways to grab points in spite of some of these issues and it is fun to watch. They aren’t a playoff team or anything like that just yet but they no longer feel like a team that is just going to get blown out every game. Kevin Lankinen‘s play in net has helped that turnaround but the power play also deserves a lot of credit.
Having a great power play has allowed the Chicago Blackhawks to earn standings points.
The Blackhawks have a record of 4-4-4. That is about the definition of an average team but they started 0-3-1 so it has been a wild improvement. A lot of that, as mentioned before, comes at the hands of the goaltenders and the power play. In yesterday’s game, a 6-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago’s power play did huge things.
They scored six goals in the game as a whole. The final one was an empty netter and the first three were power-play goals. Mattias Janmark, Dominik Kubalik, and Andrew Shaw all put one in the net with the man advantage. The Hawks went into the night with the 6th best power play in the National Hockey League. Now, after scoring those three goals, they sit as the fourth-best power play in the league and only trail the Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Florida Panthers.
The Blackhawks don’t even need to keep up being the fourth-best power play to be considered a really good one. It would be nice to see them keep this level going but as long as they stay above average, this team has a chance.
Patrick Kane was a player of note in this game. He had three assists and a goal in the win. The offense starts and ends with him on most nights and he was most impressive in this game. He helps them on the power play and at even-strength when it comes to offense and is just magnificent to watch.
light. Hot. Young Blackhawks starting to contribute offense
The Carolina Hurricanes are a really good team. If they go on to make a really deep playoff run, nobody will be surprised. The Blackhawks now took three of four points against them which is a remarkable feat. They played two hard-fought games and should be able to carry some momentum into their next set of games. Next is a Super Sunday matchup with the Dallas Stars, which is another very tough test in a long line of them.