Let’s call a spade a spade: Tyler Bertuzzi is struggling. He has gone 20 straight games without a goal. He did go through a stretch last season where he went 19 games without a goal (Toronto Maple Leafs). But the last time he hit the 20-plus goalless drought was 2017-18 (Detroit Red Wings), lasting 27 games. He has been known to be an inconsistent scorer throughout his career, but even this drought seems extreme for him.
It’s not just the lack of goals that’s concerning; it’s the play. As Scott Powers of The Athletic shared, the Chicago Blackhawks have been outscored 16-6 with him on the ice at even strength during the drought. However, it’s worth noting that he could regain form by doing what has always worked for him.
Bertuzzi Needs to Embrace More Mayhem In Game
Watching Bertuzzi play is always a fun adventure because you never know what he will do on the ice. One of my favorite headlines about Bertuzzi came from Luke Fox of SportsNet in 2023, “Quick Shifts: Tyler Bertuzzi is the Maple Leafs’ beautiful mess.”
That mayhem could be the solution.
When head coach Anders Sorensen was asked about Bertuzzi’s drought on Feb. 25, he said, “When he was at his best there, he was around the net a lot obviously, and winning a lot of pucks back, and we saw that last game. I thought he did a really good job on the power play, for example, on that goal, winning that puck, and on his belly making that play. It’s a hard play to make. So, just play to his strengths. He’s best when he’s getting pucks off the back wall and getting them to the net.”
Making plays from his belly perfectly describes his game because only he can effectively create something out of those unconventional bounces.
Something I noticed during his hot streak with the Blackhawks is how he was scoring. One example that always stood out to me was against the New York Islanders on Dec. 15, where he had two goals in a 5-4 loss. He knocked Scott Mayfield over behind the net, causing a turnover. It allowed Taylor Hall to get the puck out in front to Bertuzzi, who scored.
On Feb. 23, against the Maple Leafs, while on the power play, Ryan Donato got the puck on net, and Bertuzzi was able to get the rebound back out to Teuvo Teräväinen for a goal, all while he was getting knocked over by Oliver Ekman-Larsson in front of the net.
Bertuzzi doesn’t need to make the perfect play to succeed, which has been missing during this stretch. He has been playing predictable. His net-front presence is still notable, but it’s not his overall style that we are used to seeing.
Bertuzzi’s Resurgence Relies on What He Already Has
Right now, Bertuzzi is in a weird spot because he was demoted to the fourth line with Lukas Reichel and Joe Veleno in the past three games, and it doesn’t seem like that is changing unless he starts producing. During the Blackhawk’s game against the Vancouver Canucks on March 15, he played only 12 minutes (average 16 minutes of ice time this season). When Sorensen was asked why the fourth line was shorted during their 6-2 loss, he bluntly stated, “Felt like we had other guys that were going.”
Considering Bertuzzi has the highest salary cap on the Blackhawks ($5.5 million), this situation is less than ideal. Even though Sorensen noted that Bertuzzi had been a good pro regarding his demotion and said, in part, about his drought on March 17, “I think in general he’s had his opportunities. I think in the last handful of games here, he’s had some opportunities, but also he was actually in a good spot. We just didn’t execute plays to him, and then here we are, right? It kind of adds up.”
The dam has to break sooner rather than later.
Related: Blackhawks’ Artyom Levshunov Adjusting on the Fly in First NHL Games
Bertuzzi noted when asked on Feb. 25 what worked well for him during his hot streak, he replied, “I mean, just getting to the net. Finding good areas, and then obviously a little bit of puck luck and some good bounces.”
Undoubtedly, Bertuzzi needs some puck luck, but he could also use his aggressiveness more. He will get out of this slump eventually, as he always does. He is the fourth-best scorer on the team (34 points in 67 games) and has three points in eight games in March. Connor Bedard even mentioned in February that Bertuzzi contributes more to the team than just goals. However, the team expects more, and surely Bertuzzi does as well.
Overall, it doesn’t need to be pretty; it just has to be effective, and no one loves a greasy goal more than Bertuzzi. A little bit of raucous and some edge should do the trick.
The good news is, it’s always a part of him. It just needs a resurgence.
