5 Takeaways From the Blackhawks 3-0 Shutout Win Against the Rangers

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The Chicago Blackhawks hosted the New York Rangers at the United Center on Wednesday, Dec. 10. After a 6-0 shutout at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights and a 7-1 defeat to the Anaheim Ducks in back-to-back games over the weekend, a feel-good win was in order. The Blackhawks accomplished just that, playing a complete 60-minute game and earning a shutout of their own, winning 3-0.

Related – Blackhawks Snap 2-Game Losing Streak With 3-0 Shutout Win Over Rangers

Let’s discuss some key takeaways from this victory.

Blackhawks Return to Traditional Lineup

The Blackhawks pulled the trigger on a couple of moves to Rockford on Monday, Dec. 8, assigning forward Landon Slaggert and defenseman Sam Rinzel to the IceHogs. Slaggert had been a healthy scratch for eight of the last 10 games, and he needed to play instead of sit on the bench. Rinzel had lost his confidence and was struggling with his defensive game. The Blackhawks felt a reset was in order, so he was sent to the IceHogs to get his “swagger” back, as head coach Jeff Blashill put it.

Sam Rinzel Chicago Blackhawks
Defenseman Sam Rinzel, along with teammate Landon Slaggert, were assigned to the Rockford IceHogs on Monday, Dec. 8. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Blackhawks have been deploying a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen for most of their games this season, but the subtraction of Rinzel left them with only six D-men. Hence, they returned to the traditional lineup of 12 forwards and six defensemen.

Related – Blackhawks Assign Rinzel & Slaggert to Rockford in Beneficial Move

Journeyman Sam Lafferty drew back in after only dressing for 11 of the Blackhawks’ first 29 games. He balanced out the fourth line, who before was comprised of just Ryan Donato and Colton Dach and then completed by double-shifting other top-six forwards. On going with 12 forwards again, Coach Blashill said,

It does make it a little easier to match lines to kind of roll out who you want to play against who. When you’re going 11 and seven, there’s other factors in play, like who you want to double up, stuff like that. So from a line matching perspective, it makes it easier. I’ve done different things with the 11 and seven in terms of who we doubled up, but sometimes it allows maybe a little more continuity within your line, or guys not getting double shifted.

Blashill liked the 11/7 lineup mostly from a defensive perspective. It allowed him to shelter his younger defensemen, protecting them from too heavy of minutes and responsibility. It also gave him an extra right-handed defenseman to work with.

Related – Analyzing the Blackhawks’ Decision to Dress 11 Forwards & 7 Defensemen

But with 21-year-old Rinzel in Rockford and 20-year-old Artyom Levshunov showing improvement, this doesn’t seem as necessary anymore. Continued Blashill,

From the D perspective, it gives, certainly those guys on the right, they’re going to get more minutes than what they’ve had, said Blashill. So, hopefully that’s a positive because they’re playing good. It gives them a chance to get some continuity with a partner, get maybe a little more of a rhythm going, just by playing a little more regular.

Obviously so far so good, as the Blackhawks won the game. Blashill complimented the defense as a group for playing very well with just the six of them instead of seven. For his part, young Levshunov logged 20:22 minutes, which was third highest of the defensemen. He registered one shot on goal, four shot attempts, one hit, two blocked shots and finished the night a plus-1.

We’ll have to see moving forward if going with six defensemen helps the Blackhawks or hurts them.

Crafty Crevier

While we’re on the subject of defensemen, Louis Crevier opened the scoring in this game with quite a statement by notching a short-handed goal.

That was the 24-year-old’s third goal of the season, and he has eight assists for 11 points in 29 game. Not bad for a seventh round pick and a defensive defenseman. Blashill has always trusted Crevier, and that was one of the reasons he used the 11/7 lineup.

I sat on the other bench last year and was like, wow is that guy big! But I didn’t know him other than that, as a player. I think Louis’ confidence is really growing. When his confidence grows, he’s just becoming a better and better player. He’s six-foot-eight. He skates well, he’s got good hands, he can shoot a puck. Those are all attributes that lead to a pretty good player, and I think he’s developing into a good piece for us in front of our eyes.

Everybody thought Crevier would just be the seventh defenseman when the season started. The “insurance” guy while the younger defensemen found their groove. But the humble blueliner is becoming much more. He’s easy to root for, too. On his breakaway goal, he said with exuberance, “Yeah, it was fun! I don’t get too many looks like this, but it was a fun one.”

Bedard Back on Track

It’s usually hard to write about a game and not discuss Connor Bedard. The young superstar has really made his mark this season. It’s impossible for him to not be part of the conversation when it comes to his contributions to this team.

Related – Where Have the Connor Bedard Haters Gone?

As mentioned above, the Blackhawks had a tough weekend and got blown out in two straight games. Yet even with that, the lone goal scored in a 48-hour period was assisted by Bedard.

In this game, he had his 12th multi-point outing of the season, starting with this goal.

“What a play!”, he exclaimed to his linemate Andre Burakovsky, who’s built some great chemistry with Bedard. But the 20-year-old wasn’t done yet (he’s usually not). His savvy moves (No. 98 below) helped make the third goal possible as well, scored by Tyler Bertuzzi.

Bedard now has 19 goals and 42 points, which is tied for third and fourth in the league, respectively.

Nazar Snakebit

On the other side of the coin, there’s Frank Nazar, another projected star and cornerstone of the franchise. But he’s in a major rut, having not scored a goal since Oct. 28, a span of 18 games. He came soooo close to snapping that streak late in this game, but he flubbed it. “Nobody wants to score more than I do right now,” he said recently. I’m sure he’s losing some sleep over this one.

So is Nazar officially washed up? Not worth his seven-year, $6.59 million deal?!

Not so fast! All players go through their ebbs and flows, especially 21-year-olds who haven’t played a full NHL season yet. Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, unprompted, called out Nazar’s play after the game. “Frank in particular, really skating, moving his legs in the D-zone and coming to the neutral zone with a ton of speed. And I know as a defenseman, that’s really hard to play against, so our forwards as a unit, did a great job.”

Blashill also doesn’t have any concerns with Nazar’s recent lack of production.

Honestly, I thought Frank was as good as he’s played, probably all, I thought he was excellent tonight, to be honest with you. And I look at process. I look at things like being over the puck, and being strong in the puck, and having those opportunities to make plays, and using his speed. Yes, there’s been nights where maybe he was flashier. But I thought, for the things that it’s going to take for Frank to be a really, really big time difference-maker, he was excellent tonight. So yes, is it frustrating you’re not scoring? Yes. Our job as a coaching staff is to keep him focused on process, because points come and go. I’ve seen it all the time, and he’ll get his points if he plays like that on a consistent basis.

I’m sure Nazar, his teammates, coaches and the fanbase will be super happy when he scores again in the near future. And hopefully that will open the floodgates for many more.

Knight Earns 2nd Shutout of the Season

Last but not least, goaltender Spencer Knight earned the No. 1 Star of the game with his second shutout of the season. The 24-year-old has become a backbone for this team. He’s calm, even-keeled, very mature for his age, and brings a championship pedigree from his previous team, the Florida Panthers.

Spencer Knight Chicago Blackhawks
Goaltender Spencer Knight is proving he was an excellent addition for the Chicago Blackhawks. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images)

All of Knight’s teammates rave about his poise in net, and his contributions both on and off the ice. With good reason; this young man knows how to be a good teammate. Upon being congratulated postgame about the shutout he said,

I think it’s more a testament to the team than the goalie. I think that’s honestly something people should start looking at. That’s a team win. The team that gets the shutout. It’s not me, it’s everyone.

Right before this, Knight was raving about “the guys played amazing” and how they were “tremendous at taking away space, reloading, making a few big blocks”. Let’s face it, trading for Knight was an excellent move. This organization now has their franchise goalie.

Related – Evolution of Blackhawks’ Youngsters Leading to Team Success

The Blackhawks got a well-deserved day off on Thursday after this big win. This could also have something to do with the back-to-back games coming up on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 12 and 13) against the St. Louis Blues and the Detroit Red Wings. Two previous back-to-back contests have resulted in some of the team’s worst outings of the season. Having some fresh legs might be in order.

Can the team keep building on this shutout win?! All eyes will be on the Blackhawks this weekend to show their mettle.

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