Blackhawks taught harsh lesson by Hurricanes about how effective a system can be

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour runs perhaps the NHL’s most distinctive system, something Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill has “talked to him a lot about” in the past.

Thursday proved how effective that system can be, regardless of personnel. The Hurricanes, having already clinched the Metropolitan Division title, rested seven key players — including their three leading scorers — and still annihilated the Hawks 7-2.

“One of the reasons that they’re a really good team year after year is their work ethic and compete on the puck is excellent,” Blashill said. “Although they obviously had a light lineup tonight, they still worked and competed on the pucks, and we didn’t do that enough.”

The Hawks could learn several things from that mentality. They also need to learn how to compete against it.

Too many times, Hawks forwards — especially Connor Bedard’s line with Nick Lardis and Teuvo Teravainen — assumed their defensemen could execute a breakout and started cheating early for offense. That’s an assumption that can’t be safely made against the Hurricanes’ relentless forecheck.

Granted, the Hawks did win at Carolina in January — one of their most impressive victories of the season. But a blowout loss against a lineup one-third composed of AHL call-ups is alarming.

“It’s a hard system to play against, but we didn’t give ourselves a chance, really,” Louis Crevier said.

Blashill’s comment Wednesday about showing Hawks fans “how good we can be and how good we will be” during this final homestand is already aging poorly.

“We’ve done a pretty good job all year of competing pretty hard,” Blashill said Thursday. “I don’t want to overreact to a bad night. It’s frustrating, for sure. Our fans deserve better, for sure. I recognize all of that. But there are [bad] nights that happen, and this was one of them.”

Frondell shines

Anton Frondell was the Hawks’ lone bright spot, scoring twice and creating two dangerous chances late in search of a hat trick. If Hawks management could pick anybody to be a bright spot right now, it would pick him.

Frondell said he has surprised himself with his production: Eight points in his first nine NHL games.

Knight nominated

Spencer Knight is this year’s Blackhawks nominee for the Masterton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.” The nominations are chosen by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Knight has emerged as the Hawks’ No. 1 goalie. Three years ago in the Panthers’ organization, he spent time in the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program for help managing obsessive-compulsive disorder.

He made his 53rd start of the season Thursday, which is tied for seventh-most in the league. And behind the Hawks’ leaky defense, he has been excellent. Entering Thursday, his 17.6 goals saved above expected also ranked seventh in the league.

His .907 save percentage looks less remarkable at first glance, but that’s before considering that the league-average save percentage has plummeted to .896 this season — a 30-year low.

That trend has received much attention in the last few days, in part because it’s influenced by the NHL tightening its standards for (and it’s double-checking of) shots on goal. Teams have averaged 27.7 shots per game this season — the lowest in 24 years.

As for the Masterton, Knight is unlikely to be a finalist, but Hawks-turned-Jets legend Jonathan Toews has a good chance. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, Sabres star Rasmus Dahlin, retiring Kings stalwart Anze Kopitar and possibly retiring Capitals icon Alex Ovechkin are other notable nominees.

Mangiapane’s motivation

When Andrew Mangiapane laced up his skates March 19 against the Wild, he felt like he was “playing more like myself and understanding the system and getting chemistry” with his new Blackhawks team at last.

Nothing has gone right for Mangiapane this season, however, so in fitting fashion, he aggravated a lingering injury in that game and ended up missing nearly three weeks. He finally returned Monday against the Sharks, using that night to scrape off his rust, and he played again Thursday against the Hurricanes to begin the Hawks’ season-ending four-game homestand.

“Not a lot of guys here know me too well, so [I’m] just showcasing myself,” he said. “This year has been a little tough for me, just with the limited opportunity I feel like I received with the [Oilers]. I want to go out here now and play and run with it.”

The 30-year-old forward will spend this upcoming summer training at home in the Toronto area and awaiting confirmation that he will be back in Chicago next season. He has one year left on his contract, but a buyout can’t be completely ruled out.

Notes

Forward Andre Burakovsky returned to the lineup Thursday after his healthy scratch Monday, but he looked no better than before. His lowlight was an inexplicable, inexcusable back pass to nobody as a power-play expired, leading to a Hurricanes goal.

• Oliver Moore, injured since March 8, joined the end of practice Wednesday wearing a gray non-contact jersey. He’s still unlikely to return before the season finale next Wednesday, though.