The Chicago Blackhawks improved to 8-12-2 (18 points) with a feel-good 6-2 win last night, the eve of Thanksgiving. It was their highest scoring game of the season to date. As we celebrate Thanksgiving day today, we can be thankful for a Taylor Hall hat trick, Connor Bedard snapping a 12-game-goal drought and defenseman Louis Crevier scoring his first NHL goal! The win also moved the Blackhawks out of last place in the standings; they currently sit in 31st place (the Nashville Predators are in last place while also having played one more game).
Thanksgiving is usually the time where the teams currently in playoff spots are likely to make the postseason in April. While we all know the playoffs are out of the picture for the Blackhawks, perhaps this win can be a stepping stone towards some more wins. Like Hall said when he was named the first star of the game last night, he thinks the team was due. They’ve been headed in the right direction in many ways; they just didn’t have much to show for it. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five things for the Blackhawks and their fans to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
5. A Solid Penalty Kill
The Blackhawks currently rank right in the middle of the pack, at 14th in the league on the penalty kill. They’ve only allowed 14 goals while being shorthanded 65 times, for a 78.5% success rate.
Defenseman Alex Vlasic leads the Blackhawks in shorthanded ice time with 61:42 minutes. He’s followed by Nick Foligno (56:15 minutes), Jason Dickinson (54:52), Seth Jones (49:28), Connor Murphy (44:03), Ilya Mikheyev (40:12) and Wyatt Kaiser (35:07). Other members of the penalty kill include: Philipp Kurashev, Teuvo Teravainen, Joey Anderson, Alec Martinez and T.J. Brodie.
While we’re on the subject of the penalty kill, the Blackhawks rank 19th in the league with those 65 times on the PK. For reference, the Boston Bruins have been shorthanded 89 times, meaning they’re committing a lot of penalties. The New York Islanders, on the other hand, have had to kill just 47 penalties. It’s nice to know the Blackhawks are closer to the bottom of the league in committing penalties (73 penalties taken, which is ranked 25nd in the league).
4. A Much-Improved Power Play
I knew the Blackhawks were doing better on the power play than last season, but I didn’t realize how well until I looked it up. They’re actually 11th in the league in this department. The Hawks have converted on the power play 12 times on 55 chances, for a 21.8% success rate.
Teravainen has definitely helped in this department; he leads the team with four power play goals. Tyler Bertuzzi has been an excellent net front presence, notching three goals. Jones has contributed two tallies, while Foligno, Kurashev and Bedard all have one goal apiece.
Bedard has contributed six assists on the PP, three of them of the primary variety. Vlasic is next with four assists (two primary), while Teravainen and Jones have three assists. This all gives Teravainen and Bedard the lead in points, with seven. Jones and Bertuzzi both have five power play points.
The units have changed a little bit throughout the season, but the power play units currently consist of:
PP1: Bertuzzi, Bedard-Ryan Donato-Teräväinen-Vlasic
PP2: Patrick Maroon, Hall-Craig Smith-Lukas Reichel-Martinez
The top unit relies mostly on quick puck movement to find open lanes, and they’re focusing on cleaner and more creative zone entries. The second unit doesn’t see a whole lot of time on the ice, so their emphasis is more on being aggressive and going hard to the net.
Related – 5 Chicago Blackhawk Candidates for the 2025 World Junior Championships
Foligno is another regular member of the power play, usually on the top PP unit in bumper position, which Donato currently holds. Jones was the quarterback of the top unit before he sustained a right foot injury, but Vlasic certainly hasn’t looked out of place in that spot while he’s been out. Martinez missed 12 games due to a groin injury, and Vlasic manned the point on the second unit while he was out. It will be interesting to see who takes that spot when Jones returns. My guess would be Vlasic, who is younger and a long-term piece on the team. He also has the most to gain by getting that valuable experience.
While the added offseason personnel don’t really seem to be making much of an impact for 5-on-5 play, it’s certainly improved the Blackhawks’ power play. And the below could definitely could be something to watch moving forward.
Blackhawks have had just one power play opportunity in five straight games.
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) November 23, 2024
That's a franchise record and the longest such streak by any team since 2019.
Hopefully the hockey gods will even things when it comes to the man advantage (they had two opportunities Wednesday night), and the Blackhawks will receive more power play opportunities in the coming weeks. Then they can work to further capitalize on their power play prowess.
3. Great Goaltending
You certainly can’t complain about the Blackhawks’ goaltending this season. Petr Mrazek has picked up right where he left off from the 2023-24 campaign, being solid in net as well as a veteran leader for the team.
With Laurent Brossoit still out due to offseason meniscus surgery to his right knee, Mrazek has been tasked with a heavy workload. He’s started in 16 out of the Blackhawks’ 22 games, posting a .912 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against average. He’s also been in net for seven of the Blackhawks eight wins.
Not to be diminished should be the contributions of backup netminder Arvid Soderblom, who’s been playing extremely well after a disappointing 2023-24 campaign. The 25-year-old has gotten the nod for six contests so far this season, posting an impressive .926 SV% and a 2.36 GGA.
According to Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Blackhawks, “among NHL goalies to play at least 250 5v5 minutes this season, Söderblom ranks ninth in save percentage (.926), eighth in goals saved above average per 60 minutes (0.670), and tied for tenth in high-danger save percentage (.868)” (from ‘Blackhawks should explore trading Arvid Soderblom’, CHGO Blackhawks – 11/27/24).
Tirabassi even goes so far as to suggest trading Soderblom while his stock is high. But of course that would only be if Laurent is healthy enough to return soon. To complicate matters, Soderblom can only play in four more games before needing to clear waivers, in which he very likely would get claimed by another team.
We’ll have to see how this all plays out. Regardless, Mrazek and Soderblom have done an excellent job of manning the crease for the Blackhawks, which is a luxury this struggling team is grateful for.
2. Blackhawks’ Promising Prospect Pool
Let’s face it; general manager Kyle Davidson and the Blackhawks have done extremely well stockpiling prospects as they navigate the rebuilding process.
For the Blackhawks, defenseman Nolan Allan made the big club out of training camp and is already looking like an everyday player. He’s suited up on the third defensive pairing for 17 of the Blackhawks 22 games and hasn’t looked at all out of place.
With the Rockford IceHogs, 13th overall 2022 draft pick Frank Nazar is lighting it up with eight goals and 16 points in 14 games. Pundits are saying it’s just a matter of time before he gets called up to the Blackhawks. Other prospects that are all developing and doing well in Rockford include forwards Colton Dach, Landon Slaggert, Paul Ludwinski, Gavin Hayes, Samuel Savoie and Marcel Marcel. Don’t forget about the defensive prospects in Kevin Korchinski, Ethan Del Mastro and 2024 second overall draft pick Artyom Levshunov.
Finally, let’s not forget about the Blackhawks’ prospects that are currently playing in college or their junior clubs. How about this for a promising Saturday night?!
Saturday night for #Blackhawks prospects:
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) November 24, 2024
NCAA
Moore 🚨
Rinzel 🍎🍎
Boisvert 🚨
Mustard 🚨
Thompson 🚨
OHL
Pridham 🚨🚨 🍎
Lardis 🚨
Pharand 🍎
Not everyone will pan out, or even eventually don the Blackhawks’ uniform, but the more prospects doing well the better the outlook for the organization as a whole.
1. Connor Bedard
I know, I know. Even though he tallied his fourth goal of the season against the Stars last night (Nov. 27), Bedard would tell you his 16 points so far in this 2024-25 season isn’t good enough. He’s been in a bit of a sophomore slump, for sure. But he was still the first overall pick by the Blackhawks in the 2023 Entry Draft. He also won the Calder Trophy last season for best rookie. Bedard definitely draws all eyes to him.
The 19-year-old is a skill player with a dynamic shot and an elusive release that’s hard for goalies to read. He has a hockey IQ that’s off the charts, thinking the game differently than most. Because of all this, there’s excitement and anticipation every time he has the puck on his stick.
Everyone is looking forward to Bedard breaking through, and hopefully this last goal was the start of that. He’s considered a generational talent, and the Blackhawks are lucky to have this kind of young player in their organization. While things might look a little stifled right now for the youngster, fans should be thankful they get to watch Bedard night in and night out, playing on their team instead of another.
Related – Blackhawks & Bedard: Trying to Make Sense of the Line Blending
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The future looks bright for Chicago. If we can all have a little patience, good things should come for the Blackhawks.
What are you thankful for about your favorite team this Thanksgiving?
