The Chicago Blackhawks' latest statistic is troubling

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Joshua Deeds
November 23, 2024 (9:03 PM)

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The Chicago Blackhawks, have achieved a new record and it's troubling. With a player like Connor Bedard in the lineup, you'd think the Hawks would have an easy time drawing penalties correct?

Well, not according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, as the team has only had one power-play in five games.

This is a new franchise record, and it's been the longest streak since 2019 for the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks did strike early with a power-play goal against the Florida Panthers on the 21st, with Teuvo Teravainen scoring against Spencer Knight.

Teuvo Teravainen opens scoring against Panthers with a power-play goal, assisted by Tyler Bertuzzi and Alex Vlasic, to make it 1-0

But in order to find yourself in a position to win games, you need to be able to draw penalties and capitalize upon them. This has been an issue going on for some time now, as Luke Richardson discussed with the media after the loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

"Our quality scoring chances were up," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "Just can't find the back of the net. Lack of drawing penalties, too. We can't seem to get enough chances there, which would probably help a little bit in production."

If your top players aren't working to draw penalties, how are you going to increase your production?

It seems like it should be part of the recipe for every game, as players like Bedard, Teravainen, and Bertuzzi should be actively working to make this happen.

It's been considered a talent by many pundits in the NHL, and one of the players who perfected it is Nazeem Kadri.

«I always used to be fairly good at drawing penalties,» Kadri tells Sportsnet. «Just growing up, my father always told me to move my feet and to play at a high pace. Never be standing still. That translated to professional hockey, and it's become something that's helped our team.»

So, if Richardson wants the team to improve offensively, he needs to press Bedard on playing at the highest pace he can and maintaining puck possession to give the Hawks more chances at scoring during the game.

Bedard shouldconsider looking to Nazeem Kadri's past with the Toronto Maple Leafs, in order to find a way to help his team out more.