Blackhawks Killing Their Championship Goals
Let’s face it, the Chicago Blackhawks don’t have many things that are worrisome, but if there is anything that keeps coach Joel Quenneville up at night it is the team’s penalty kill. Or the Blackhawks killing inefficiencies to be more accurate.
According to Sporting Charts, the Blackhawks are currently ranking 25th in the NHL with a 78.3 penalty kill percentage. In case you didn’t know where this was going, that’s not good. In fact this is so bad it could be the reason this Blackhawks team doesn’t win a cup in 2016.
In researching past Stanley Cup champions, there have only been four teams with a lower PK% than the Blackhawks 78.3% to have hoisted the cup, and only eight teams to have a PK% under 80% since they began tracking the stat in 1963-64. What is worrisome is, the PK has always been a staple of the Backhawks championship runs of late, never recording a percentage under 83%, and they seem to be going in the wrong direction.
In fact, outside of the Blackhawks needing to undergo a slight rebuild after their 2010 championship, the team followed up a solid 85.3 PK% which was strong enough for 4th in the NHL, with a 79.2% in 2011 and 78.1% in 2012, 25th and 27th in the league respectively.
This season has been a complete tailspin in the Blackhawks killing department, which the team hoped to improve upon when Marian Hossa returned to the lineup. During his absence, the team had a dismal 66.7% PK success rate. In Hossa’s first game back, facing the short handed Dallas Stars, the Blackhawks had a 66.7 PK% (4 of6). Perhaps some of this was the team getting back into the flow of having Hossa on the ice, perhaps some it was Hossa getting his game legs under him, or maybe it is just a deeper issue with the Blackhawks PK.
With Hossa himself saying he waited a little longer before coming back, to ensure he was ready, and Hossa’s line mates extremely familiar with his game, I would lean towards the last point. There is a deeper issue here.
Part of this issue is the Blackhawks need to rely on Jonathan Toews PK line due to a thinned out group of efficient special team players. This is due to the team trading off Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, and Johnny Oduya in the offseason. These three were very capable defenders which may have been replaced offensively, but are severely missed defensively and more importantly on special teams units. Next, the injury to Marcus Kruger has impacted the team’s special teams more than anyone may have imagined.
Now the good news.
#Blackhawks Marcus Kruger returns to practice https://t.co/cowl4YsJVs pic.twitter.com/rjejZl0dbz
— Second City Hockey (@2ndCityHockey) March 13, 2016
That’s right, Kruger has returned to practice, sooner than the expected timetable when he was originally placed on IR when he separated his wrist in December. Sending another extremely strong defensive-minded forward out in PK situations will be a huge boost to the Blackhawks killing lines. He will also be a huge boost to any defensive situation and will certainly be a security blanket for Quenneville, and allow the Toews line to get a little more rest keeping them stronger as the playoffs approach.
While there might not be an exact date for Kruger’s return, the team and its special teams units need it.
Featured pic – ESPN
