Tinker Tailor Soldier...Try (Again)
2019-12-20It's only been four games, but the Chicago Blackhawks are struggling to find consistency.
After a quick training camp and preseason, the Hawks have gone 1-2-1 to begin the 2019-20 campaign. And while it's certainly a small sample size, head coach Rick Tocchet doesn't want any purported bad habits to become systemic.
"At our practices, we focus more on the things we need to do to play a complete 60-minute game," said Tocchet, who is helming his first team as head coach. "These guys know the system we want to play and know the X's and O's. They just need to find that rhythm that sometimes takes a little bit of time to find. That groove."
Some teams in the Gretzky Conference have found it in spades. Central Division rivals Dallas (4-0-1), Nashville (4-1-0), and Colorado (3-1-1) have sped out to hot starts, with Arizona (3-1-0), Vegas (3-1-0), and Edmonton (3-1-0) following suit in the Pacific. It's a microcosm of what may lie ahead, but it's not lost on some Blackhawks players.
"Yeah, sure, you obviously want to win a few to start the year, especially at home," stated Chicago alternate captain Johnny Boychuk. "But it's a long season. A few games aren't going to dictate how the whole thing ends up. We will find our footing."
Chicago seemed to find a good rhythm defensively in their last contest, a 2-1 loss to San Jose. The penalty kill has been perfect thus far as well, as the Hawks are one of four teams still sitting at 100% when a man down.
"We need to replicate what we did against the Sharks in terms of defensive play, and find more ways to get pucks into the net on the other end of the ice," said Tocchet. "Sounds basic, but it doesn't need to be an overly complicated formula. Score and play well in your own end. It works."
Another bright spot has been the play of rookie defenseman Victor Mete. The 21-year old is a +3 with two assists in four contests, having played an average of 19:37 per game thus far.
"We're not playing poorly by any stretch," said T.J. Oshie. "We just need to get some bounces going our way and when we get more consistent each shift, it will come. We have confidence in each other."
SHUFFLING THE DECK
The Hawks will have a bit of a different look heading into tonight's contest with Winnipeg.
Matt Niskanen returns to the top pairing to play with Mete, while Jack Johnson slides into the second pairing with Olli Maatta. Zach Parise moves up to the first line, while the second and third line has been completely revamped. Tuukka Rask will make his fifth straight start in net.
HAWK NOTES
In stark contrast to the previous two seasons, the Blackhawks are currently -25 as a team in collective team plus/minus rating. Josh Bailey and Brett Connolly are both -6, while Dmitry Orlov and Niskanen are both -5....Andrew Agozzino was placed on waivers today for the purpose of assignment to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. Agozzino made the team out of training camp but hadn't drawn into the lineup in four games....Kyle Clifford will be a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game tonight. The 28-year old winger has appeared in three games with no points while averaging 8:05 in ice time....Chicago is tied with Vancouver and Minnesota for last place in the EHE in goal scoring with nine tallies on the young season.
Chip Whitley
Blackhawks Beat Reporter