A Statistical Look Back at the 2013-2014 Chicago Blackhawks Forwards

Here’s what the Hawks forwards did in the playoffs.

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*Andrew Shaw played 12 games, **Jeremy Morin played 2 games, ***Kris Versteeg and Brandon Bollig each played 15 games, ****Peter Regin played 5 games, and everyone else listed played 19 games, in the post-season.

So, what stands out?

You’ll notice the CF% numbers are much lower.  This is largely because the Hawks were playing top-knotch competition in the playoffs, every game.  Unlike in the regular season where the Hawks played against many lesser opponents that helped inflate their already high possession numbers.

Bryan Bickell kept up the high CF% and even added some real offense.  Gotta love playoff Bicks’.

So, what happened to Patrick Sharp?  No one knows exactly.  The 10 points aren’t awful, but for Sharp, who lead the team in points during the regular season, much more was expected and needed.

Other than the game-winning goal in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, it was a brutal post-season for Michal Handzus.

Can’t really complain about the usual suspects of Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Kane, but Marian Hossa was a little off with only 2 goals.

Brandon Saad was as good as any Hawk on the ice, during the playoffs.

Does this tell us anything new about the Hawks?  Not really.

It tells us that Coach Q should put more trust in Saad, and Morin.  Speaking of Morin, the stats show that the guy deserves a regular job, in the NHL, and the Hawks should be it.  Hopefully Kris Versteeg is better next season, as he is further removed from his knee surgery.  He better be, because the Hawks shouldn’t be hitching their wagon to those sub-par number, as calling it “depth”.

This roster will largely be just fine and wonderful again in 2014-2015, but a few tweaks are needed.  Kane needs a better supporting cast.  Yes, he’s been doing great even with less suitable linemates, but that’s mainly because he’s doing magic, on the ice.  Saad is part of the answer to this problem, while the other part(2nd line center) has yet to be solved.  Will it be Teuvo Teravainen?  Maybe.

It was a great season and it’s largely because of a great forward staff, on the ice for the Hawks.  With the right tweaks and minor changes, those numbers will be frighteningly improved.