Blackhawks Trends: Levshunov improving, injury bug causing havoc

It’s Monday, and that means it’s time for our Blackhawks Trends, where we check in on what’s trending up and what’s trending down. The Blackhawks played only two games last week and took two of a possible four points. Things will get interesting after a home game tomorrow night, as they will head out on a season-long, six-game road trip.

The Week That Was

Thursday: 3-2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (Frank Nazar, Ryan Donato x2)
Sunday: 1-3 vs Los Angeles Kings (Connor Bedard)

The Week Ahead

Tuesday: vs Ottawa Senators (7:45 pm)
Thursday: @ Winnipeg Jets (7 pm)
Saturday: @ Edmonton Oilers (9 pm)

Trending Up: Artyom Levshunov, Arvid Soderblom, Team Discipline

• There are those out there who want to say Artyom Levshunov is a bust because he isn’t a game-changing defenseman 27 games into his career. As we know, the internet is full of awful takes. While the soon-to-be 20-year-old blueliner hasn’t had a breakout game yet, he’s steadily improved with each game. At 5-on-5, his 50.98 Corsi for percentage (CF%) is the highest among all Blackhawks defensemen, and the third-best overall. The Blackhawks have outscored their opponents 7-3 with Levshunov on the ice at 5-on-5, and have a 38-29 advantage in scoring chances, and 21-17 in high-danger scoring chances. He's even gotten better with his discipline, with only two penalty minutes in his last six games after taking eight in the first two. While there is still plenty of room for improvement, he is making progress.

• Arvid Soderblom got his first start in 11 days last night against the Kings. He didn’t have the busiest night, facing only 21 shots. He allowed two goals, one on a 2-on-1 rush and the other on a wraparound after a well-defended breakaway. Otherwise, he was solid, and he had his rebound control in check. It’s not easy to be a backup goaltender in the NHL. You can go nearly two weeks in between starts and need to be ready to go in and perform at a moment’s notice. Soderblom puts in the work before and during practice to stay sharp and be ready when his number is called.

• Entering the week, the Blackhawks were the most penalized team, averaging 13:42 per game. After eight penalty minutes against Tampa Bay and six against Los Angeles, their average has dropped to 12:13, ranking them 28th out of 32 teams. They have cut down on “avoidable” penalties such as hooking, holding, and tripping. Hopefully, this is a trend that continues upward.

Trending Down: Power Play, Second Periods, Team Health

• The power play is such a fickle beast in hockey. One minute, things are clicking, and the puck is consistently going into the back of the net. Then the next minute, you can’t even get the puck in the zone, and it looks like your units have never even played together. Following a stretch of scoring in three straight games, the Blackhawks have just one goal in their last 13 chances. They have dropped to 26th in the NHL at 15.6%. Head coach Jeff Blashill said today that the power play has to get better. He put Andre Burakovsky on the top unit, in place of Teuvo Teravainen. This move makes a ton of sense as Burakovsky is one of the best Blackhawks at zone entries, something that was an utter mess against the Kings on Sunday.

• The second period has been rough for the Blackhawks over the past few outings. Overall, they are even with nine goals scored and nine allowed in the middle frame. However, in the last four games, they have been outscored 6-1. The two most glaring examples of not carrying momentum over from a solid opening period came last Friday against the Vancouver Canucks and last night against the Kings. I don’t know if this is a product of having such a young team, but this is something that needs to be corrected before it becomes a crutch.

• As we know, hockey is a fast and violent sport, and every team deals with injuries. The Blackhawks are going through a rash of injuries to key players. After getting Jason Dickinson back from an upper-body injury, they are now without Tyler Bertuzzi and Ilya Mikheyev. Blashill didn’t have much of an update on either player today. Thankfully, neither upper-body injury seems serious, as they are both considered day-to-day. However, as we saw in the third period on Sunday, playing with Bertuzzi and Mikheyev is less than ideal. They are two of the best Blackhawks on the forecheck, and it’s tough to get puck possession in a tight game without them. They are both uncertain for tomorrow’s game versus the Ottawa Senators.