New-look Blackhawks defense closes out road trip against Jets

Chicago Blackhawks (23-27-9, 55 pts) @ Winnipeg Jets (23-26-10, 56 pts)
7 pm CT – Canada Life Centre
TV: CHSN (Ball/Granato)
Radio: WGN 720 AM (Wiedeman/Konroyd)

Tonight is the third of four meetings between the Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets. The Blackhawks have a chance to return home from their four-game road trip with four points. I think most fans would have taken a 2-2-0 trip before it began, giving them a chance to build some momentum before returning to the United Center on Friday.

When the Blackhawks take the ice tonight, it will be the first time without Connor Murphy on the roster since their 2017 playoff series against the Nashville Predators ended. When Murphy made his debut with the team on Oct. 5, 2017, his head coach was Joel Quenneville, and his teammates included Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Ryan Hartman, and Gustav Forsling.

Moving on From Murph

With yesterday's trade of Murphy, the Blackhawks’ defensive corps just got a whole lot younger. Head coach Jeff Blashill was tentative in giving Kevin Korchinski a lot of playing time over the last two nights, but he won’t have that luxury tonight.

This final stretch will be a big opportunity for the young defensemen to earn the trust of the coaching staff and, more importantly, gain confidence in their own abilities. With Korchinski, Artyom Levshunov, and Sam Rinzel in the lineup, that back end is very green. They will get a boost when Wyatt Kaiser returns from injury, which could be as soon as Friday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

Ethan Del Mastro was recalled from the Rockford IceHogs this morning, and it sounds like he will play tonight despite missing the morning skate. Korchinski stayed on the ice after his teammates, which is usually a sign of being a healthy scratch. That says a lot about what Blashill is seeing from Korchinski.

Defensive Coverage Changes Making a Difference

While a lot of focus tonight will be on the defenseman, I’ll be keeping tabs on the overall team defense. Blashill spent a lot of time during the Olympic break making tweaks to the 5-on-5 defensive structure, wanting to create more pressure. Through the first three games, those changes have produced results.

The Blackhawks have the fourth-worst Corsi for percentage (CF%) in the NHL at 46.33. Puck possession has been a big issue all season long, as they spend too many shifts hemmed in their own zone. At 5-on-5, they have allowed the third-most shots on goal (1,411) and high-danger scoring chances (626). They average 47.6 shot attempts against, 23.5 shots on goal, and 10.4 high-danger scoring chances against per game.

Their first game against the Nashville Predators yielded 37 shot attempts against, 22 shots on goal, and only seven high-danger chances. The ice was tilted against the Colorado Avalanche, which is what they do. While they had 54 shot attempts, the Blackhawks limited them to only 25 shots on goal and six high-danger scoring chances. On Sunday, the Utah Mammoth had 44 shot attempts and 18 shots on goal. Ironically, the Blackhawks gave up the most high-danger scoring chances, nine, in the game in which they allowed no goals.

If the 5-on-5 team defense can continue to progress over the final 22 games of the season, they will spend more time in the offensive zone. That means more chances for players like Frank Nazar to finish strong by putting up more points.  

Superstar Mode Engaged

Connor Bedard has emerged from the Olympic break playing at the level he was at before he injured his shoulder in December. He’s been a one-man wrecking ball over the past three games, with two goals and ton a prime scoring chances. Hopefully, the depth scoring we saw on Sunday sticks around for a while, so the Blackhawks’ young star doesn’t throw out his back carrying this team.

If I were a betting man, I’d place a wager that Bedard gets at least one point tonight. He has a four-game point streak against the Jets with two goals and six points. He recorded two assists in the first meeting of the season and scored a goal in the 2-0 win back in January. In eight career games, he has five goals and nine points. Four of those five goals have come at the expense of gold-medal goalie Conner Hellebuyck.

Season Series

10/30 @ WPG, 3-6 L
1/19 vs WPG, 2-0 W
3/3 @ WPG
3/31 vs WPG

Blackhawks Team Leaders

G-Tyler Bertuzzi (26)
A-Connor Bedard (30)
P-Bedard (55)
PPG-Bertuzzi (10)
GWG-Bedard/Bertuzzi (3)
SOG-Bedard (155)
PIM-Colton Dach/Louis Crevier (47)

Jets Team Leaders

G-Mark Scheifele/Kyle Connor (27)
A-Scheifele (43)
P-Scheifele (70)
PPG-Gabe Vilardi (8)
GWG-Scheifele (4)
SOG-Connor (194)
PIM-Logan Stanley (99)

Blackhawks Team Stats

GF/G-2.63 (26th)
GA/G-3.12 (19th)
PP%-19.4 (21st)
PK%-85.7 (1st)
SOG/G-24.6 (32nd)
SA/G-29.4 (24th)
FO%-46.8 (30th)
PIM/G-9:25 (24th)

Jets Team Stats

GF/G-2.83 (25th)
GA/G-3.08 (18th)
PP%-18.3 (22nd)
PK%-79.3 (16th)
SOG/G-26.4 (24th)
SA/G-28.2 (19th)
FO%-50.5 (15th)
PIM/G-8:32 (18th)

Blackhawks Probable Lines

Forwards
Ryan Greene-Connor Bedard-Andre Burakovsky
Ryan Donato-Frank Nazar-Teuvo Teravainen
Tyler Bertuzzi-Jason Dickinson-Ilya Mikheyev
Nick Foligno-Oliver Moore-Landon Slaggert

Defensemen
Alex Vlasic-Louis Crevier
Matt Grzelcyk-Artyom Levshunov
Connor Murphy-Ethan Del Mastro

Scratched
F-Sam Lafferty, F-Colton Dach, D-Kevin Korchinski

Injured
D-Wyatt Kaiser (lower body)

Jets Probable Lines

Forwards
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabe Vilardi
Cole Perfetti-Adam Lowry-Alex Iafallo
Gustav Nyquist-Jonathan Toews-Walker Duehr
Cole Koepke-Justin Barron-Tanner Pearson

Defensemen
Logan Stanley-Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg-Elias Salomonsson
Haydn Fleury-Luke Schenn

Scratched
D-Ville Heinola

Injured
D-Colin Miller (knee), D-Josh Morrissey (upper body), F-Vladislav Namestnikov (lower body), F-Nino Niederreiter (lower body), D-Neal Pionk (undisclosed)

Goaltending Matchup

Spencer Knight (16-18-7, 2.62 GAA, .908 SV%, 3 SO) vs Connor Hellebuyck (13-16-9, 2.82 GAA, .900 SV%, 0 SO)