Blackhawks new dynamic power play not enough in loss to Sharks

The Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks will be connected for years to come. Hopefully, these late-season games will be far more important for both teams starting as soon as next season. The Blackhawks played a solid first period but gave up too many chances in the second, which ultimately did them in. The Sharks earned a huge 3-2 regulation win, especially when the to two teams they are chasing for a playoff spot, the Los Angeles Kings and

Head coach Jeff Blashill has found something with his five-forward power-play unit. It was fantastic all night long. Ryan Donato’s first-period goal came one second after their first power play expired. Their second opportunity produced seven shots on goal. Frank Nazar buried a one-timer on their third chance.

That top unit essentially stayed out for all of their time on the man advantage, making only a partial change late in the first attempt. In 5:48 of power-play time, the Blackhawks had 18 shot attempts, nine shots on goal, and 14 scoring chances.

"They’re catching some confidence and swagger,” Blashill said. “Bedsy up top is really dangerous; he’s a great distributor. Obviously, Frondell is a real weapon too with his one-timer. I think they’ve looked good every time they’ve been together, to be honest with you, and tonight was probably the best we’ve looked.

“I have no issue with five forwards. It doesn’t matter if it’s a forward or D back there; that doesn’t dictate whether or not you give up shorthanded chances. To me, it’s about the responsibility of the group. What it does is get the puck a lot in Bedsy’s hands, and he’s the guy you want with the puck in his hands.

Another Marquee Match-Up

Tired: Connor Bedard vs Macklin Celebrini

Wired: Anton Frondell vs Michael Misa

While the Bedard/Celebrini match-up will always be on the marquee when these two teams meet, and rightfully so, don’t sleep on a rivalry between Frondell and Misa. Bedard and Celebrini were in separate draft classes, but they are connected because they both went first overall. The Sharks had their pick of either Misa or Frondell last summer. They took Misa second overall, while the Blackhawks were ecstatic to get Frondell at No. 3. Blackhawks fans are hoping one day the Sharks will regret not taking the young Swedish forward.

Frondell was feeling it early tonight. He made a nifty move to get around defenseman Vincent Desharnais in the first period to produce a scoring chance. He felt dangerous the entire night, but he was a shot-producing machine on the power play. He had six shot attempts, two of which were on net, and three scoring chances to go along with his assist on Nazar’s goal. Overall, he finished with four shots on goal on nine shot attempts.

Misa’s most memorable play on the night came in the second period when he had a goal waved off for kicking the puck in the net during a mad scramble in the crease. He didn’t have a shot attempt on the night.

Knight Continues to Live Dangerously.

If you didn’t watch the Blackhawks every night, and you just look at Spencer Knight’s standard numbers, you’d probably think he’s been pretty good this season. Those of us who have watched every game know that he’s been far better than just pretty good. It doesn’t take a very deep dive into the advanced stats to prove this either.

He entered tonight’s game with a 13.00 goals saved above average, which is the ninth-best in the NHL. His 289 high-danger saves at 5-on-5 are second only to Ilya Sorokin’s 313. He’s also faced the second-most 5-on-5 high-danger shots with 335. Sorokin has faced the most at 359, as the New York Islanders’ netminder is a serious Vezina Trophy candidate. Knight’s .863 high-danger save percentage (HDSV%) is the fourth-highest among all goaltenders with at least 50 starts this season.

Knight kept the Blackhawks in the game with a handful of big saves. The first goal he gave up came on a William Eklund breakaway after an ill-advised Wyatt Kaiser turnover. The second goal came off a beautifully placed one-timer from Keifer Sherwood, who found a soft spot in the Blackhawks' defense. Will Smith’s game-winning goal came off a wonderful passing play from Celebrini and Collin Graf. There wasn’t much he could do on any of those plays.

Knight’s HDSV% will take a hit after allowing two goals on six high-danger shots. His best save of the night came just before Misa kicked the puck into the net. He made a pair of nice saves on Celebrini, including this one midway through the second period.

Nuggets & Tidbits

• For whatever reason, Donato loves playing the Sharks. He played 50 games for them during the 2020-21 season and has loved scoring against them ever since. His first-period goal extended his point streak against San Jose to seven games. He has six goals and 12 points during his streak. Donato’s goal was his ninth against the Sharks in his career, tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the opponent he’s scored the most against in his career.

• We can’t have a postgame report without looking at what Bedard and Celebrini did. You can tell that these two want to get the better of each other every time they step on the ice. Both young stars recorded an assist, with Bedard’s being the 200th point of his career. Bedard had seven shots on goal and 12 shot attempts, but was on the ice for two goals against. Celebrini had three shots on goal, six shot attempts, a couple of hits, and went 13-for-16 at the faceoff dot.

• Kevin Korchinski played a season-high 15:38 and even got some time with Kaiser in the third period. He’s clearly starting to earn the trust of Blashill, which is key heading into a very critical offseason for his young career. He was on the ice for the game-winning goal, the first time he’s picked up a minus since being called up. Korchinski’s use of his body to seal off plays and separate the puck continues to impress. With him on the ice at 5-on-5, the Blackhawks had a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal and only surrendered three scoring chances.

• Andrew Mangiapane was back in the lineup after missing the last nine games due to an upper-body injury. His return meant Andre Burakovsky sat for the first time this season. Mangiapane didn’t have much of an impact in his first game back, with just one hit and a blocked shot.