Three Takeaways from the Blackhawks’ 2-1 Win vs Nashville

3. Coaching Change

Make no mistake, though Derek King got the win on his record, this win had Marc Crawford’s effect all over it. For those who may not know, he led most of the practice via Scott Powers of TheAthletic:

But then Derek King had his own words at the end:

Look at that sight. The entire team is engaged and listening to every word. The coach spoke clearly to his team, addressing them as a leader, not a peer. The problem, I think, was that Colliton was not a leader. He never exuded confidence nor did he show much emotion, before or after the game. There was not a clear-cut, defining voice in the locker room or on the ice. The coach was never set up for success, only failure, and a failure the experiment became.

This coaching change was needed and there is more than enough time to make up ground.

To Conclude…

This is a different team, a fun team, a focused team. There was no point that I was not glued to the T.V. screen: chances aplenty, hits galore… Saves and close calls. Everything is looking up for this team and, if this continues, a winning streak may be in our future. And all this took was a late coaching change to make it happen.

Is this finally time for this team to surpass expectations? Or is this temporary and the freefall with continue? We will soon find out.