Three Takeaways from the Blackhawk's Impressive 2-1 Win vs Vegas

Physicality and Forecheck

The Blackhawks finished with 35 hits, Jujhar Khaira leading the way with 10 total hits on the night. Next in line was Jake McCabe with 4, but everyone brought the grit this game on the forecheck. The forecheck is an underrated part of this game as a good one can change the momentum as the opposition tries to counter it with different breakout plays. The Blackhawks took away time and space with their forecheck strategy this time around and Vegas was not prepared to counter it.

It's hard to fault Vegas for this, though, as the Blackhawks didn't aggressively forecheck the defensemen since beating Nashville in November. Since last season, I have noticed that the fast tempo and grit of this team would cause problems for the opposition, and they finally brought it back. On that forecheck, two forwards would attack the puck carrier with another cheating at the blue line, ready to defend the breakout play. Tonight was different, with a new coverage of a single guy pressuring the puck carrier and two more ready to either double and swarm the guy or get back to defend with four guys instead of three. They wore down the defensemen this time by either hitting the guy or making sure that their presence was felt.

Hopefully this forecheck returns as this is a huge step for this team to bring a much-needed winning streak. Next takeaway was the lack of special teams... In a good way this time.

No Penalties, No Problems

The Blackhawks took no penalties and, surprisingly, they didn't have many situations starting in the second period where they struggled. They never had to play against the Vegas powerplay with a struggling penalty kill but I am still curious as to what they worked on during practice. Passing lanes, positioning, and conservative pressure would probably be the key aspects of the practice, but this is simply speculation. The powerplay, however, is still snake bitten BUT they did enough to not lose momentum rather than deflate the entire team with a lackluster effort.

I think the Blackhawks should go with Alex Debrincat and Dominik Kubalik manning the left and right faceoff circles respectively. Patrick Kane works behind the net while Jonathan Toews or Kirby Dach stand in front of the net while Seth Jones mans the point. Kane has a plethora of potential plays and Jones could pass the puck to the open wing. With three booming shots on this unit, it would be hard to just collapse on Kane, and too intimidating to leave Kane with too much space. Either way, this powerplay tonight didn't lose momentum, and the penalty kill didn't have to play. Two wins on the special teams side of things.

And last, to me, was the response by the team.

Grit and Response by the Blackhawks

The Blackhawks had the perfect response to a bad game following the closed-door meeting. This team came to play last night and proved that they are indeed better than people think by defeating the top team in the conference. They had an entire period where they dominated Vegas, playing with grit and speed to cause the defensemen fits as they tried to find a breakout play. The depth got on the board last night with a Khaira wrister and Fleury put forth a spectacular effort to make sure he left Vegas with a win.

The Blackhawks played with speed and didn't come into the game with a tense aura, but instead came with determination. Right off the bat, though, Vegas would score on a screened wrister but the Blackhawks didn't collapse as they would have before. They got right back into the game and made sure that Vegas wouldn't get that second goal. Instead, the line of Dylan Strome, Patrick Kane, and Henrik Borgstrom had an amazing second period with lengthy offensive zone time and chances. They wore down the Golden Knights' defense with their speed, and Strome looked revitalized. If the Blackhawks can get this line going, it could be among the most electrifying lines in the NHL.

To Conclude...

The Blackhawks responded as they needed to with a full 60-minute effort. Despite the early goal, the Blackhawks played a dominate second period and closed out the win with a solid defensive game. They didn't try to force anything and played each play as they had to: not rushed but relaxed and driven. They needed a win, but they didn't force anything fancy and definitely worked on puck management. The Blackhawks were horrible in every facet of the game against the Coyotes, but the lack of puck management brought the worst results.

The Blackhawks won this game with speed, grit, and puck management. They positioned as they had to and worked on patience with the puck. I didn't see random, stupid passes this game and they made sure to watch the play as a whole rather than just their man. I am a huge fan of their forecheck and this has brought them a winning streak before. Let's hope it brings another one.

The Blackhawks play two non-playoff teams in their next two. A perfect chance to string together some wins and confidence.

Next Game: @ Columbus, Tuesday, January 11. 6 PM puck drop