Significant moves, significant sweep, significant injury: 12 Blackhawks observations

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 12: Jack Roslovic #96 of the Columbus Blue Jackets attempts to knock the puck away from Brett Connolly #20 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the third period of a game at Nationwide Arena on April 12, 2021 in Columbus, Ohio.  (Photo by Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images)
By Scott Powers and Mark Lazerus
Apr 13, 2021

It’s an odd thing to spend your morning in seller mode and your evening in playoff mode, but that’s the curious position in which the Blackhawks found themselves Monday.

Stan Bowman traded away their fifth-leading scorer in Mattias Janmark and a member of their top power-play unit in Carl Soderberg ahead of the 2 p.m. trade deadline Monday. He also acquired Adam Gaudette from Vancouver in an effort to upgrade his bottom six. Jeremy Colliton then scratched Nikita Zadorov — their supposed shutdown defenseman of the present and future — to make room for Riley Stillman, a 23-year-old with 43 NHL games of experience over three seasons, while top prospects Ian Mitchell and Nicolas Beaudin toil away in Rockford. Then the Blackhawks went out and played a must-win game against the Blue Jackets as they continue to chase the Predators for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division.

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So they’re selling but buying. Looking to the future but focusing on the present. Rebuilding but contending. One foot in 2021, one foot in the great beyond.

It’s quite a line they’re walking. And over the past 10 days, as he added draft picks, prospects and NHL-ready talent over six trades, Bowman walked it as well as he has in years. And even if they hadn’t beaten the Blue Jackets 4-3 on Brandon Hagel’s overtime winner Monday night, it would have been a good day for the Blackhawks.

“It’s never that we’re (saying), ‘OK, now we’ve accumulated assets, so we can move to a different phase where we’re not accumulating any,” Bowman said after the dust settled Monday afternoon. “It’s really an ongoing thing. We’re trying to build our team back up. … We want to see how that (all) fits and sorts itself out and build our team back up. The more depth we have as a team, the better we’ll be as a team. Jeremy likes that flexibility, to be able to move players in and out. It’s not like, ‘Now we’re all set, so we have our team for the current and next year.’ We have more NHL players today than we did seven or eight months ago. We’re going to do that as we go forward as well.”

Now the focus turns to Colliton. He has 13 games left to figure out where all these new pieces fit — Vinnie Hinostroza, Brett Connolly, Stillman, Gaudette — while he chases a playoff spot. A large segment of Blackhawks fans might not think making the playoffs is a big deal this season, but it certainly is to Colliton. And judging by the way Hagel’s teammates mobbed him after finishing off a desperately needed two-game sweep of Columbus, it’s a big deal to the players, too.

So though the hard part’s over for Bowman, it’s just starting for Colliton as he tries to move around the Jenga pieces without having the whole thing collapse on top of him.

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“It’s fun,” Colliton said. “We get some new energy and guys who are excited for the opportunity and have something to prove. That’s great. We need those guys. Sometimes you need to inject some new energy in. You love it when guys are hungry. Of course they want to contribute, and we are right in it. So I’m excited to see how they handle it.”

How they handle it, how Colliton handles it, how Bowman handles the expansion draft and free agency — it’s all part of the journey. Whether it’s to the playoffs this year or contention in years beyond, the Blackhawks are a little farther up the mountain today than they were a couple of weeks ago. In a year that looked so lost from the outset, you can’t ask for much more than that.

1. Connolly couldn’t mask his excitement to be playing for the Blackhawks. He also couldn’t mask his frustration with how his time in Florida ended.

A guy who scored 41 goals over the previous two seasons found himself in Joel Quenneville’s doghouse, playing in just 21 games for the Panthers before being sent to Chicago. With just two goals in those 21 games, the trade was framed by most not as the Blackhawks adding Connolly to their team but as “taking on Connolly’s contract,” as if his $3.5 million cap hit was an unbearable albatross to carry.

Connolly said he doesn’t read much on social media, but he did know the perception. And he didn’t like it.

“It wasn’t working,” he said. “Last year, I probably had one of the best starts of my career under Q in Florida. Up until January, thought I was playing the best hockey of my career. For whatever reason, stuff happens. It’s a tough league; it’s a humbling league. What can I do about it now? I’m just going to work hard. I’m in a position where I’m wearing this logo, and it’s an honor, and I’m just focused on getting my game back. If I can do that, then I can help this team. If that’s what people are saying, then that won’t be the case. I’m coming in here hungry.”

Connolly’s Blackhawks career got off to quite a start, as he made a nifty steal-and-score to put the Blackhawks ahead 3-2 midway through the third period. Colliton praised his poise with the puck, his heavy shot, his size and his energy. And given the pent-up frustration Connolly’s obviously working with, energy shouldn’t be an issue for a while.

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“I’m just another voice, another guy,” he said. “I’ve played 500-plus games now. It’s been a journey. If I can get my game going like at the start of last year and in Washington, when I was playing my best hockey, I feel I can help out. Just looking to help out the depth and score some timely goals. Just be a part of it and be my best.”

2. The Blackhawks improved to 2-14-0 when trailing after two periods. The win keeps them two points behind the Nashville Predators for fourth place in the Central. Both teams have 13 games remaining. Next up for the Blackhawks is a two-game series with the Detroit Red Wings. The Predators have the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday and then two games against the Carolina Hurricanes.

3. Zadorov had some day. His name was floated in trade proposals throughout the day, and then he found out in the afternoon he was going to be a healthy scratch in the evening against the Blue Jackets.

It was the first time Colliton sat Zadorov. Colliton has been mostly complimentary of Zadorov as of late, but considering a couple of Zadorov’s puck gaffes in Saturday’s game and Stillman waiting for his chance, the scratch made sense Monday.

“He can bring much more to the table than he has over the … I don’t know how many games it is, but certainly a few,” Colliton said. “Where we were quite happy with him for a long stretch, and I think he’s dropped off. And we need him — we need him. I think he can really help us with the things that he brings. When he’s good, he’s physical, he’s hard to play against, he’s mean, he can get stops. Even if he’s not in a perfect position because he’s so big, he can break up plays. He’s got a long reach. He’s got a great skater. I think his puck plays have improved over the year. But recently (he) hasn’t been as good. Now we got to get him back to that.”

4. Whether it’s Zadorov, Stillman or whoever, the Blackhawks are looking for that specific defenseman to be physical and reliable in the defensive zone. The offensive aspect isn’t required, but that D-man also can’t be a liability.

This early shift from Stillman on Monday is what they’re looking for. He defends the blue line, makes a hit and then defends within the zone:

 

Later in the period, though, Stillman’s defensive position cost the Blackhawks a goal.

 

There was a lot to like about Stillman for most of the game. On this play, he leads the breakout, passes the puck in the offensive zone and then redirects the puck to the net for a scoring chance:

Stillman did have his ups and downs. The Blackhawks probably weren’t expecting to play him as much as they did. He finished with 21:23 of ice time. He was on the ice for two goals again and had an expected goals percentage of 47.09, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Colliton liked what Stillman brought.

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“I thought Stillman was very physical,” Colliton said. “He was active. He got stops for us. He was jumping in the play — kind of asked him to pull back a little bit. But he did some good stuff out there.”

5. Connor Murphy understands why there were seven NHL games Monday night — it’s a compressed schedule this year, and you’ve got to get the games in somehow. But in a perfect world, nobody would have to try to focus on a hockey game on the same day as the trade deadline, when your mind is wandering and playing tricks on you at the morning skate and you’re thinking about traded-away teammates in the evening.

“It’s tough, yeah,” Murphy said. “It’s always hard, especially when you’re around the rink and you’re going through your usual routines and trying not to think about things like that. It’s just hard because you see someone walking around the room — a staff member, if they’re talking to someone — and automatically your mind is thinking about trades. So it’s a hard day.”

Colliton brought up the elephant in the room with the Blackhawks in the morning, calling it a “strange day.”

“You never like uncertainty, but it’s the situation we’re in, and the situation is we’re playing a big game and need points,” Colliton said. “We have to find a way to prepare. At 3 o’clock or whatever it is, we’ll know our team, and then it’s up to us.”

6. Adam Boqvist took a puck to the face in the first period on his second shift and didn’t return. Colliton said after the game Boqvist had concussion symptoms. You fear that with any player, but Boqvist also has a concussion history.

7. This was the second consecutive game in which the Blackhawks went down to five defensemen early. Calvin de Haan left Saturday’s game in the second period. Colliton said de Haan wasn’t 100 percent Monday, either.

Over the final two periods Saturday, Duncan Keith played 29:48, Murphy 25:39, Stillman 21:23, Wyatt Kalynuk 20:56 and de Haan 16:32.

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“Five D is tough — it’s especially tough when it happens early,” Colliton said. “We played five D for a lot of the first game, so that kind of compounds. Guys like Murph and Dunc, they were playing a lot of minutes in the first game, so all of a sudden they had to go right back to the well. But I thought guys like Kalynuk, obviously de Haan, he gutted it out. He was in a tough spot, and he just kept playing and we needed those minutes. I thought overall he did a very good job. I understand he got beat on the (Patrik) Laine goal, but that guy had three zones of speed and Cal was struggling with his mobility. Just the fact he was in and eating minutes for us was huge. I thought the forwards did a good job of protecting the D as much as possible. The D, they found the way. I thought we were pretty clean with the puck, which helped us to get out of the D zone. Overall, again, I thought we did a good job of doing what we had to do to win.”

8. This Kalynuk pass had an Erik Gustafsson-type feel to it. Gustafsson and Kane had great chemistry together. If Kalynuk can figure that out with Kane, his future will be much brighter

By the way, Gustafsson was traded Monday for the second consecutive deadline. The Blackhawks got a third-round pick for Gustafsson from the Calgary Flames last season. On Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers got just a seventh-round pick and had to eat half of Gustafsson’s cap hit to trade him to the Montreal Canadiens.

9. Patrick Kane has just one goal in his previous nine games, an almost unfathomable stretch by his lofty standards. In fact, he has just three goals in his last 20 games, his worst stretch since scoring two in 18 in November-December 2018. And you can tell it’s starting to weigh on him. After Joonas Korpisalo somehow got his glove on Kane’s power-play shot late in the second period, Kane slammed his stick on the ice in disbelief.

Kane had two assists Monday and has seven in those nine games, so he’s hardly invisible. But for the first time in a long time, the puck’s just not going in.

10. Let’s look at how the Blue Jackets scored their second goal.

The puck gets into the Blackhawks zone and they begin to sort. Four defenders end up down low against two Blue Jackets. Hagel is alone above the circles. When the puck is moved to the wing, Hagel tries to direct a teammate to cover the puck while he defends the point. You’ll see that pause in the replay.

It’s easy for the Blue Jackets to move the puck to the point, though. Laine receives the puck and has all the time and space in the world to get off his elite shot. Hagel has no chance to close him out. Laine does what he does and scores.

11. And then there was this goal by Laine. Colliton won’t be ecstatic with the defense, but just an incredible play by Laine.

12. What the heck is this by Max Domi? He takes a penalty he’s not happy with, tries to bait Murphy into a fight, throws Murphy around and appears to land an uppercut while Murphy is on the ground. Regardless of whether you like hockey fighting, this type of stuff simply isn’t necessary. Domi rightfully got two minors and a 10-minute misconduct for this.

Domi, of course, saw it differently.

“Usually when you hit somebody in the head, you have to answer the bell, but a guy like that, I mean, hey, I can’t really comment on what I think of that kind of response,” Domi said. “But you can’t really take a penalty like that, so that’s on me. With that being said, the first one I think he sold it a little bit, so I kind of went at him a little bit and he elbowed me in the head. If you’re going to do that, you better answer the bell. I’m not really surprised he didn’t, but I gotta find a way to pull back there. It’s not a good play by me, but it’s embarrassing from him, for sure.”

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Domi had more to say on it, too.

“At the end of the day, I can’t take that penalty,” he said. “It’s just when you let your guard down, your switch goes off a little bit. That’s on me. I have to find a way to rein that in. There’s no excuse for that. I have to learn from it. At the same time, I wasn’t happy with the way he hit me, and I went after him. If you’re going to hit somebody like that, you better answer the bell, especially if you’re 6-(foot)-4 or whatever the hell he is. He didn’t want anything of it. I have to recognize that and see that he does not want to fight and he’s pretty scared, so back away. But I wasn’t able to do that. That’s on me. I’m sure we’ll play them again next year, so … I’ve got a good memory.”

(Photo of Brett Connolly: Ben Jackson / NHLI via Getty Images)

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