Observations from attending the Chicago Blackhawks vs Florida Panthers Game

I wish that I could attend Chicago Blackhawks games more often.

Not only because I am obviously good luck to the team and they won last night entirely due to my presence in the stands.

But really because being at the game live allows you the chance to focus your attention on things that the cameras of a broadcast just won't capture. I spent much of the night focused on Connor Bedard of course, and I was very intrigued by what I observed.

First, I would like to acknowledge a few players who were especially noticeable in this game.

Pat Maroon was exactly what he was being paid to be. He was aggressive and physical away from the puck and he played a simple north-to-south game that eventually resulted in Craig Smith's goal.

Watching him made me think about who in the Blackhawks' prospect pool fights the bill of a player like Maroon. As these young skilled players like Nazar, Bedard, Moore, and others blossom, it will be to the team's benefit to also have big bruising forwards like Pat Maroon as well.

Alex Vlasic was excellent as expected. It is such a pleasure to watch a young player develop from a good prospect to just a good player.

Vlasic's winter classic jersey is the third most popular after Connor Bedard's and Nick Foligno's and it isn't hard to understand why. He does so many little things well, and he rarely makes mistakes. His size, coupled with his unique understanding of how to use it to close space defensively and create space offensively makes him a terrific defenseman. He will be a fan favorite for years.

Bedard was... less noticeable. I know many fans are beginning to panic about him but honestly, I think it is unnecessary to do so. The reality is Bedard had zero offensive impact last night, but the reason for that was clear. He is on a line with Jason Dickinson, the Hawks best defensive forward by a mile. Therefore, his line drew the tough defensive zone matchup against Barkov and Tkachuk all night long.

As much as I love Jason Dickinson, (and I do) I'm not a fan of Bedard being paired with him. Dickinson needs to be taking those tough defensive zone shifts, but that effectively neutralizes Bedard's effectiveness.

In my opinion, Richardson should make Bedard a line that we know can score and give it ten games to gel and gain chemistry. No more breaking up his line after one bad performance! That is no way to build chemistry between linemates. Look, last season Bedard and Kurashev were practically super-glued to each other, and they got better and better as the year went on.

I want to see a line of Kurashev-Bedard-Teravainen and see it stick together for a long stretch of games. If after seven or eight games they haven't done much of anything then fine, break them up. But those are three players that we have seen in separate samples work with each other, so there's no reason they can't work now.

I also must admit that the hand-wringing around how little overall offense this team generates is totally justified.

They rarely have any sustained offensive zone time and when they do they don't always manage a shot on goal. Their offense is anemic right now and they need to make every chance count if they want to win. It is not a good recipe for victory to consistently fail to generate high-danger chances.

One final note, I had the pleasure of sitting next to some fans from Utah who were in town and decided to catch a game at the United Center. They were very sweet and new to hockey after getting their team in Utah this season. They had many questions about how the game worked, how the standings worked, and other such things.

It was so awesome to see new hockey fans discovering such an amazing sport, and I was happy to welcome them to Chicago and answer all their questions. Remember, if a new fan asks you something obvious to you, be patient and answer it without making them feel silly for asking. We were all "new" fans at one time, and we all have more that we can learn about hockey. So be kind and be welcoming to new fans!