Blackhawks hope quick puck movement leads to more power-play success
Watching from afar while rehabbing last season, Taylor Hall spent a sizable amount of time thinking about and analyzing the Blackhawks’ power play.
“I thought it was just the quick puck movement and really not holding on to it for too long [that] allowed our power play to have more success by the end of last year,” Hall said.
Beyond that, the power play’s offensive-zone entries also became cleaner and more creative. The Hawks diversified their approach after opponents had shut down their predictable drop-pass strategy for a while.
Whatever the reason, they achieved some significant improvement. After four months of atrocious results, the Hawks were quite effective in power-play situations the last two months.
Through Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day — they had converted an abysmal 12.4% of opportunities (20 of 161) and ranked last in the NHL in shots (2.74) and scoring chances (1.55) per two minutes of man-advantage time. After that date, they converted 25.7% of opportunities (19 of 74) and ranked fourth in shots (4.05) and sixth in scoring chances (2.28) per two minutes.
Considering the personnel didn’t change, it was a surprisingly dramatic turnaround, albeit one that received little fanfare because of their place in the standings.
This season, the Hawks would like to replicate that efficiency starting immediately in October. It isn’t realistic to expect them to continue delivering top-six-in-the-league results in this category — or any category — but their personnel has changed, and theoretically for the better.
In practice Thursday, the Hawks rehearsed their top power-play unit with Hall roving down low, Tyler Bertuzzi in the so-called “bumper” role in the slot, Connor Bedard and Teuvo Teravainen on the flanks and Seth Jones at the point. Philipp Kurashev also will probably get some opportunities in that group.
Bertuzzi, in particular, should be an upgrade as bumper; he had 14 power-play points two seasons ago in Detroit. His nose for the net is well-known, but Bedard recently mentioned he also has a knack for finding “quiet ice” between defenders.
Quick puck movement indeed has been the primary emphasis in practices and video meetings with assistant coach Derek Plante, who coordinates the unit.
“We want to move the puck quick, get the penalty killers tired, converge when they crack a little bit and then try to capitalize on that,” coach Luke Richardson said.
Added Hall: “It also makes their goalie move. When he has to go from one side to the other, the save percentage tends to go down.”
The power play was the Hawks’ lone bright spot in their blowout preseason loss Tuesday in Minnesota, converting one of four opportunities and producing 10 scoring chances. Meanwhile, they’re also trying to learn from a power-play goal Wild star Kirill Kaprizov scored against them by copying the strategy.
Most penalty kills around the league, including the Hawks’, have shifted to a diamond formation that prioritizes protecting the middle of the ice while allowing teams to shoot freely from the perimeter.
When facing a diamond, the Hawks want their bumper guy (Bertuzzi) to operate lower in the slot — almost interchangeably with the net-front guy (Hall) — to cause some havoc around the crease and force the penalty kill to also collapse down low.
That could create more space elsewhere, opening up seam passes between Bedard and Teravainen — just like Mats Zuccarello’s pass to Kaprizov on Tuesday. And if the penalty killers react to take away that lane on the next power play, Bedard could move the puck down low, where Bertuzzi and Hall would have an isolated two-on-one.
The one exception is on retrievals, when shots are blocked or saved into the corners; Richardson wants the bumper guy to drift higher in the slot in those situations to release pressure.