CHICAGO — One practice under interim coach Anders Sorensen wasn’t going to fix the Blackhawks.
It will take time, and we were all reminded of that in their 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
Sorensen implemented a change in the Blackhawks’ neutral zone, switching them to a 2-1-2 forecheck, which he hopes will get his forwards more active, and he also asked his defensemen to get more involved up the ice and chip in offensively. While Sorensen saw some encouraging signs in his first game since taking over for Luke Richardson, he and the Blackhawks also recognized they’ll need some time together to alter what the team has been doing all season.
“I didn’t think it was bad,” Sorensen said. “We wanted to get our forwards skating a little more, especially coming out of our zone so we can get on our horse a little bit and pressure on the puck more. And there were times it looked good but it’s new so it’s a little bit of a process. But there was definitely some good moments in that and some moments we have to clean up.”
Although they had their moments and were in the game until the Jets broke a 2-2 tie in the third period — it was the 26th time in 27 games the Blackhawks led, were tied or within a goal in the third period this season — the analytics leaned heavily in the Jets’ favor. The Jets got the result they deserved. They had a 26-12 edge in scoring chances and 12-2 in high-danger chances, per Natural Stat Trick. There were a lot of mistakes the Blackhawks got away with Saturday or the score could have been much worse.
Here was one turnover the Blackhawks survived:
Here’s another:
Sorensen’s task is to get more offense out of the Blackhawks while not making them too risky. They’ve been so competitive this season because of their defense. Not having Petr Mrázek, who suffered a lower-body injury Saturday won’t help, but it is still the offense that probably needs the most attention. With Saturday’s result, they were held to two goals or less for the 18th time this season. In some ways, they were even less offensive Saturday under Sorensen than Richardson. Their 14 shots on goal total was their lowest of the season. The previous season-low was 19 shots on goal.
“I think it’s just we’re just trying to find our game, obviously understand what we need to do a little better,” Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno said. “It was disappointing because I felt the first period we did a lot of good things. Pace, we played the way Anders wants us to play. It’s just disappointing that we didn’t get the job done. It just seemed like we were looking for that next one and they got it off a faceoff missed read by us and not having the guy we need to have and now they’re winning the game. It’s hard to come from behind on a team that knows how to win and has a lot of success this year.”
Part of it will be adapting to system changes, like the neutral zone made on Saturday.
“I like it,” Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson said of the system. “We’ve got a group that can skate, so take advantage of it, get guys pushing up ice, put guys under a little bit more duress so they don’t have time to make plays with the puck — on their side, obviously. With the 2-1-2 press in the neutral, it gives us a little more opportunity to break pucks up rather than making them dump it in; they’re not forcing us to break it out. I like it. There’s still some quirks that we need to iron out. I know I felt a couple out there that were a little unnatural for me, some of the positioning that I was taking, but that’s just habits that were formed over a couple years of playing a certain way that I need to kick quickly.”
Another focus for Sorensen will be Connor Bedard. It was also another game where Bedard was mostly invisible. He had two shot attempts and none on goal. In two of his last three games, he hasn’t recorded a shot on goal. He’s had two or fewer shots on net in 11 of his last 13 games. That happened three times in his first 14 games.
Sorensen was asked after the game how he could get Bedard going.
“I mean, I think just encouraging him to find those areas where he can get a shot off and utilize his shot,” Sorensen said. “Playing that quick, give-and-go game so he can get to those spots is a big part of it. I think there were moments there where you started seeing it today and then it didn’t flourish unfortunately. But we’ll keep working at it.”
For Bedard and others, Sorensen also sees more offensive possibilities in their rush attack.
“The transition game has to be better,” Sorensen said. “We have to come out of our D zone quicker and that starts with, we have to be able to kill plays defensively and make sure, out of those plays, we have good routes so we can transition the puck quicker and not get stuck in our own zone. That’s a big part of it.”
One example of the Blackhawks doing a lot of what Sorensen is seeking was on defenseman Alec Martinez’s goal in the first period. The Blackhawks got the puck up ice quickly, and Martinez joined the rush to put even more pressure on the defense. He scored from the left circle to put the Blackhawks up 2-1 late in the period.
“We had some moments of that, too,” Sorensen said when asked about that play. “There was one later on with Vlas (Alex Vlasic) and a couple of D. We want to get our D up the rush and you need four men in the rush a lot. That second layer is hard to defend at times, so that’s going to be a big focus for us here.”
Sorensen and the Blackhawks will be back on the ice Sunday for a practice before going to New York and beginning a three-game road trip. Foligno thought the trip might be good for the team.
“Yeah, we had one practice,” Foligno said. “We obviously understand the urgency. Maybe it’s good that we get on the road and get to know Anders a little bit better by being around him and being around each other. Yeah, we’re going to have to keep working at this. It’s not just going to turn around in one day. Obviously we’d like it to. It would have been nice to get him that first win. But we’re going to find a way to get it in New York.”
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
