If you saw the roster moves the Chicago Blackhawks made this offseason and were extremely disappointed, you’re not alone.
Brandon Saad and Corey Crawford, members of the Stanley Cup-winning teams, were traded and released, respectively. Former third overall pick, Kirby Dach, was placed on injured reserve with a broken arm, and long-time captain Jonathan Toews is out for the entire season with an undisclosed injury.
All of these setbacks combined lead experts to pick the Blackhawks as contenders for the worst record in the league. Competing with other so-called bottom feeders for the number one overall pick in this summer’s NHL Draft was almost a foregone conclusion.
However, the NHL season just reached its quarter mark and the Blackhawks tie for second in their division.
You read that right. The Blackhawks sit in second in the Central Division. They have a record of 9-6-4, and have taken points in seven of their last nine games.
So, what’s going right so far?
Power play
The Blackhawk’s PP (power play) is buzzing right now to a clip of 34.4%, good enough for fifth in the NHL, which is a 20% increase from last year’s power play, according to NaturalStatTrick.
Rookies
There are a lot of rookies on the team this year (seven to be exact). All of them have been playing great hockey so far. Rookies Pius Suter and Philipp Kurashev currently sit at first and second, respectively, in the entire NHL in rookie scoring.
Goaltending
According to NBC Sports, the eighth rookie on the team, goaltender Kevin Lankinen, has a record of 8-3-3, with a 2.59 GAA (Goals Against Average) and a .921 save percentage. If the Finnish goalie continues playing at a high level, he’ll be in the pipes for Chicago for years to come.
Culture
While there’s no metric to measure culture in the NHL, this Blackhawks team certainly justifies the need for one. After the first few games of the season, this team just refuses to go away. In the past week, the Blackhawks have won three games against teams that made the playoffs last year. Those wins include an overtime win against last year’s Western Conference Champions, the Dallas Stars.
The Blackhawks have 38 games left, and as long as Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith are still out on the ice, the games are going to be exciting. And as long as they keep the same attitude, we may see this team celebrating a playoff berth come May.
