Chicago Blackhawks: The top power play unit looks so dangerous

The Chicago Blackhawks have been a bad hockey team for a few years in a row now. Luckily, some big moves have been made to try and turn that around this season. They have added so many reliable players that could turn them into a playoff contender once again. It would really help if they figured out a way to be great on the power play.

They practiced some power-play situations for the first time on Monday. The first unit had Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Tyler Johnson, and Seth Jones. It is an interesting group that uses one defenseman and four forwards. With Jones and Johnson as new additions to the team, it is nice to see them on unit one.

With this first unit, you have a bit of everything. Both Toews and Johnson are outstanding in the faceoff dot so one is always there if the other gets kicked out. Alex DeBrincat is an awesome sniper which makes him dangerous in all areas of the ice. Patrick Kane is someone who can pass as well as anyone in the NHL. He can also be one of the league’s top goal scorers as well. Having all four of these forwards on one unit could be something special.

Seth Jones being the lone defenseman on this unit is actually very exciting. We have seen players like Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook quarterback the power play but has been a while since they were at the height of their powers. Now, Jones is there to be that guy and he should be very good at it with some of these forwards there to help make him look good.

The second unit they practiced with was where things get interesting. Wyatt Kalynuk was the only defenseman out there with four forwards in Henrik Borgstrom, Kirby Dach, Philipp Kurashev, and Dominik Kubalik. That group is loaded with young talent that still has to prove themselves in the NHL. If they can prove to be an effective support unit to the top group, it could be a very good all-around power play.

There are a lot of ways for the Chicago Blackhawks to dominate a power play.

With Seth Jones bringing back that true number one power-play quarterback, they are already better than last year in this area of the game. With someone like Tyler Johnson who can win puck battles and get to the front of the net, it could be even better than we thought. The Blackhawks should be able to do a fair amount of damage at even strength with these guys so the power play clicking would go a long way.