The Chicago Blackhawks need a lot more goals from players not named Connor Bedard to win.
The Chicago Blackhawks played a back-to-back set of games over the weekend. Saturday’s game was a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, and Sunday’s was a 4-0 victory over the Utah Mammoth. The difference between this team's winning and losing is clear: depth scoring.
In Saturday’s defeat, Connor Bedard was the only player to score for Chicago. His 25th of the season is an extension of his career high, and he accounts for close to 50 percent of the Hawks’ total offense.
After the game, the message being sent was that they need other players to help him if they are going to win. It can’t, nor should it be, all on his shoulders.
"We need more depth scoring, for sure,” head coach Jeff Blashill said after the loss. “We were close to having a lot of chances, and we just didn't handle the puck great. We could've had probably three or four three-on-ones, and we just mishandled them."
When the team took the ice for Sunday’s match against the Mammoth, the message was received. They played their new defensive system flawlessly, and the depth showed up in a big way.
Bedard played well, but he didn’t score or have an assist in the aforementioned 4-0 victory. Instead, Teuvo Teravainen (twice), Landon Slaggert, and Nick Foligno scored the goals.
One of Teravainen’s goals came on the power play, one came short-handed, and the other two came at even strength. That’s the kind of contributions from up and down the lineup that Blashill was referring to.
The Blackhawks need Bedard to be a high-end producer. But like we see with teams that have elite stars from around the NHL, support is needed to be a playoff team and then eventually a Stanley Cup contender. You were able to see the difference in the two weekend games.
If the Blackhawks continue to see Bedard put up big numbers in addition to getting contributions from lines 2-4, winning will follow.
Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.