Chicago Blackhawks: Five Thoughts on 4-1 Loss to Arizona Coyotes

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No. 1: Corey Crawford looked sharp.

Incase you live under a rock, were asleep for the past 36 hours or haven’t been following the Chicago Blackhawks all that closely this season (two are understandable, one is unacceptable), Corey Crawford started his first game in ten (TEN!) months on Thursday.

Only three months ago it was uncertain whether or not Crawford would ever play hockey again. In fact, Corey himself said he considered retirement amidst his recovery. However, after weeks of conditioning and regaining his mobility, Crawford finally returned to the crease.

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Crawford looked solid overall — he tracked the puck well and his mobility didn’t appear to be an issue. That said, Corey, like previous starter Cam Ward, spent a lot of the night trying to bail out his teammates’ turnovers and mistakes defensively.

For a deeper analysis on Crawford’s first start since December 23rd, 2017, check out deeper dive into it here.

No. 2: The Defense continues to be an issue with no solution in sight.

All eyes were locked on how Corey Crawford would look when returning from injury. As someone who follows the team, I probably should’ve known better than to expect Crawford to be the problem.

He looked to be in midseason form. Unfortunately, so did our defense.

Once again, the Chicago Blackhawks defensemen (and forwards, occasionally) hung their goaltender out to dry. For a perfect example of this, take a look at Lawson Course’s tally to put the Coyotes up 1-0.

Another look at Crouse's goal. Henri Jokiharju was caught out of position. pic.twitter.com/CpoviMuS2n
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) October 19, 2018

First and foremost, watch Henri Jokiharju (28) get caught of position at the blue line. Jokes tries to hold it, but Keller is already off to the races before he can recover.

Jokiharju is a rookie and these mistakes happen, but it doesn’t make it any less of a problem for this team.

What really bothers me, though, is the play Brandon Manning makes on the puck.

Or really, the play he doesn’t make. At the red line it’s already clear that he’s going to be defending a 2-on-1. Two Coyotes forwards are skating full steam ahead and Manning knows that he’s the only one back with maybe a step on them.

In his defense, he does a good job skating hard to put himself in position to make a play.

The problem is, he doesn’t make a play at all. Each forward plants themselves in their respective circles and Manning freezes at the hashmarks. He should go to pressure one of them.

If Manning challenges Keller and Crouse is all alone, fine. If Manning commits to the pass leaving Keller with an opportunity to shoot, whatever. He was decisive, it didn’t work out, move on. There are still ways to challenge a puck carrier on a 2-on-1 without over committing to him.

The biggest problem is that Manning does nothing. He freezes and makes a half hearted attempt at both forwards.

He played that 2-on-1 about as well as the Blackhawks mannequins do in practice.

That play ended up being the last straw for coach Joel Quenneville who is scratching Manning tonight in exchange for Davidson.

While this was just one specific example, it perfectly encapsulates the problem the Chicago Blackhawks are dealing with. Manning was brought in to help with the problems they experienced defensively. Instead, he’s earning himself his first healthy scratch only six games after signing a two year contract worth $4.5 million dollars.

Not great.

No. 3: The Chicago Blackhawks need more production out of their bottom-six.

Currently, Alex DeBrincat and Jonathan Toews are both on six-game point streaks. Their first line has been outstanding to start the season. Additionally, though Kane’s line isn’t as red-hot as they’ve been in the past, they’re still producing.

It’s fantastic to see guys like Kane and Toews back to leading the way like they’ve done in years past. However, it isn’t sustainable to only get production from such a small number of players.

The Chicago Blackhawks certainly need guys like John Hayden or Andreas Martinsen in the lineup to be a pest to opponents, but you don’t need an entire bottom-six full of them.

While Brandon Saad could help the bottom-six to produce at a higher level, it remains to be seen if Saad can produce in the first place.

All things considering, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them look to the Rockford IceHogs in the near future for help. Currently, Tyler (3 G, 2 A) and Dylan Sikura (1 G, 3 A) are both lighting down there.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Dylan’s name called.

It’s a lot easier to shut down two top lines if you only have to worry about two top lines. The Chicago Blackhawks need to find a way to make themselves more versatile, and quickly.

No. 4: Antti Raanta is very, very good.

Last season, Antti Raanta was absolutely outstanding for the Arizona Coyotes. He posted a .930 SV% and a 2.24 GAA in 46 games started. Raanta went 21-17-6 last year, but more impressively he put together a string of 32 quality starts.

It’s safe to say more than a few wins were left on the table. Raanta, who quietly received a handful of Vezina picks before the season, has started off this year lights out with a 1.98 GAA. That said, he only has two wins to show for it because of a lack of scoring.

Raanta is good in the crease, period. Yet somehow, he’s even better once he steps into the blue paint inside the United Center. Here’s his stats inside the UC, curtesy of Mark Lazerus.

“Antti Raanta is 15-0-3 with a .945 save percentage at the United Center. He has allowed just 29 goals on 526 shots.”

Those statistics are flat out unreal. If you’re still doubtful, take a look at this save he made off a deflection in front of the net.

Antti Raanta snags a deflection from Chris Kunitz with the glove. #Yotes pic.twitter.com/4sTPcPLRpP
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) October 19, 2018

After tonight’s game it’s clear, Antti Raanta is the real deal. If Arizona is ever able to figure out how to put the puck in the net they could be yet another tough opponent in the West.

No. 5 Niklas Hjalmarsson misses us almost as much as we miss him.

Last night was Niklas Hjalmarsson‘s first return to the United Center after being traded in exchange for Connor Murphy and Laurent Dauphin ahead of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

The Chicago Blackhawks put together a tribute video for him, part of which can be viewed below.

Take a look at the 32 second mark. Hjalmarsson goes for a skate while tears stream down his face. Here’s what Hammer had to say on his time in Chicago:

“I gave my heart and soul for this club for 10 years and played as hard as I could and I’m proud of what I accomplished along with my great teammates that I had here for a long time.”

I get it. Connor Murphy is six years younger. His contract is a year longer and certainly makes more sense for the future.

That said, he saves us a whopping $250k a year. That’s it. The move makes sense on paper, however watching Hjalmarsson on the ice continues to prove that this wasn’t the best hockey decision. The Hjalmarsson trade more or less felt like it was a move just to make a move.

It didn’t make the team better in the present and it saves a very minuscule amount of money. I understand the long-term thought process, but is this team not trying to win right now? The new “One Goal”campaigns certainly give off that message.

Regardless, it was a heck of a lot less fun to watch Hammer make plays and sprawl out all over the ice blocking shots in an opposing uniform. That type of play would’ve been appreciated greatly when the Coyotes effortlessly cashed in on that Brandon Manning 2-on-1.

Hjalmarsson gave everything he had to this city and organization. I’ll never forget what he meant to this team or to those Cup runs.

Next. Blackhawks Eye on the Enemy: Columbus Blue Jackets. dark

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Those “heart and soul” type of players don’t come around very often. Not only that, but it’s rare that a “heart and soul” type player is also your best true defenseman on the team. When you do get rid of these guys, there needs to be an incredibly good reason to get rid of them.

Hjalmarsson is certainly missed, but in a weird way it’s nice to know that he misses us too.

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