Blackhawks’ Scoring Drought Worsens in Loss to Kraken
Struggling Offense
The Blackhawks have fallen into a deep offensive rut. A 3-1 loss Thursday against the Kraken marked their fourth consecutive game scoring just one regulation goal. They’re lucky to have gotten even one win out of that stretch.
“[It’s about] wanting to score, wanting to get in the hard areas, wanting to make a difference, wanting to be around the net and pay a price,” captain Nick Foligno said. “We just don’t have enough guys wanting to do that…. Tonight, especially after the way we set things up to have a few days off and feel good and get ready, it’s too bad.”
Script Unchanged
The vast majority of Hawks games this season have followed one of two possible scripts: Either they struggle for two periods and push in the third, or they play well for two periods before falling onto their heels in the third. Thursday followed the former script. They mustered just four shots on goal through the first half of the game — missing the net on their only semi-decent looks — but then pushed hard after Ryan Donato, their most consistent performer, hustled to knock in their lone goal with 16:38 left.
Martinez Returns
An injury that nagged Hawks defenseman Alec Martinez during training camp “evolved” into the right groin injury that cost him 12 regular-season games.
“Injuries are an unfortunate part of our game, but everyone gets them and everyone goes through them, so it’s just part of it,” Martinez said Wednesday. “I’m just excited to be back.”
He finally returned Thursday, logging a sizable 19:32 of ice time back on the top pairing with Seth Jones.
“He looked fine,” Richardson said. “We knew he would be that when he came back.”
Travel-Weary
After facing the Canucks on Saturday, the Hawks will have completed 22% of their overall regular-season schedule: 18 out of 82 games.
However, after flying all the way home that night, they will have completed 29% of their road schedule (12 of 41 games) and 34% of their total travel distance this season (roughly 14,191 miles out of 41,464).
That’s a result of the team having three western road trips within the first five weeks of the season, going as far west as Utah and Alberta on the first trip and out to California on the second. Following their Vancouver-to-Chicago journey Saturday night — the Hawks’ longest of the season at 1,772 miles — the Hawks will have already knocked out five of their nine longest flights, as well as 10 of their 21 flights between cities further than 800 miles apart.
Number-Curious
After practice Wednesday, it was surprising to hear Taylor Hall say he had seen the impressive statistics about his offensive zone-entry rates. After all, most players shun in-depth analytics like those.
Hall, however, is an especially smart and inquisitive player. His baseball fandom might also affect his interest in the numbers.
“I can understand them pretty well,” Hall said. “I don’t look at them a lot because ignorance is bliss sometimes; not every analytic number is super favorable. But I work with a guy on the side, and he sends me some videos just for me personally. He illustrated to me that some of the numbers I have are ranked pretty high in the league.”
This and That
Andreas Athanasiou scored two goals in his first AHL game in eight years Wednesday, but Rockford suffered their fourth straight loss to fall to 3-7-0. Their roster is very young and might take some time to find a rhythm. Athanasiou, meanwhile, will probably dominate that level.
Former Hawks depth forward Adam Gaudette, now with the Senators, has become one of the early-season’s most surprising NHL success stories. He scored his seventh goal in 15 games Thursday.
The same isn’t true for Alex Nylander, who produced a similarly surprising hot streak for the Blue Jackets late last season but has been stuck on the Maple Leafs’ AHL affiliate so far this season.
Conclusion
The Blackhawks’ scoring drought shows no signs of ending, and their struggles on the road are only adding to their woes. With a tough schedule ahead, it’s unclear when they will be able to turn things around.
FAQs
Q: How many consecutive games has the Blackhawks scored just one regulation goal?
A: Four
Q: How many shots on goal did the Blackhawks muster through the first half of the game against the Kraken?
A: Four
Q: How many miles did the Blackhawks travel on their longest flight of the season?
A: 1,772
