Many hockey fans had this expectation for the 2023-24 Chicago Blackhawks: Connor Bedard will dazzle, but the team will miss the playoffs. Both have come to fruition, but there have been other bright spots in Chicago's lineup. That includes the excellent and underrated play of smart defensive specialists Jason Dickinson and Joey Anderson. These two reliable forwards have been members of the Blackhawks' shutdown line for most of the season, until some recent experimenting by coach Luke Richardson. Dickinson in particular has been stellar as the Blackhawks are a plus-9 when he's on the ice at 5-on-5 and have a minus-94 goal differential when he's not this season. Blackhawks 20-goal scorer and shutdown center Jason Dickinson would be honored to be considered as a Selke Trophy candidate. The 28-year-old has had consecutive career years in Chicago, exceeding expectations. Dickinson was originally seen as a cap dump in the Vancouver Canucks' eyes when they traded him to the Blackhawks before the 2022-23 season. The Blackhawks also received a 2024 second-round pick while Riley Stillman went to Vancouver. Dickinson has shown himself to be a top-six centerman who can match up against the opposing team's top line and shut them down. When apart from Anderson, Dickinson recently has centered Bedard and Philipp Kurashev, taking some of the pressure off of the team's top forwards this season. See the following story. Not only has Dickinson been great on the defensive side of the puck, he's matched Bedard with 22 goals for the team high heading into Chicago's season finale at Los Angeles. That's also Dickinson's career high, along with totals for points (35), power-play goals (2), game-winning goals (4), shots (124), ice time per game (16:35), faceoff percentage (50.1%) and hits (140). While every other Blackhawks players is a minus or even, Dickinson is plus-4 and Anderson is plus-5. As a team, Chicago has a minus-110 goals differential, second worst in the NHL just like its 23-53-5 record. The hard-working Anderson's stats don't stand out like Dickinson's, but he's done his job well and only helped the Blackhawks this season. He has blossomed as a straight-line winger in the bottom-six despite being waived by Toronto at the start of the season. Anderson is only 25 years old and 2023-24 has been the first real chance he's gotten in the NHL. He might still develop and improve. Since these two have worked great together, they might pair together on Chicago's third line next season if the Blackhawks can get some more talent up front for the top-six. This would deepen the roster and help Chicago take the next step in 2024-25. The Blackhawks have already rewarded Dickinson with a two-year contract extension with a nice raise. Next up should be Anderson as he's a pending RFA. RECENT BLACKHAWK NEWS Blackhawks Lock In Better Odds To Get Macklin Celebrini Than They Had For Connor Bedard [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/game-day/blackhawks-have-better-odds-to-get-macklin-celebrini-than-for-connor-bedard] Connor Bedard Slightly Beats Out Brock Faber in Unofficial Rookie of the Year Voting [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news/connor-bedard-slightly-beats-out-brock-faber-in-unofficial-rookie-of-the-year-voting] Blackhawks Could Soon Get Big Payoff From Brandon Hagel Trade [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news/blackhawks-could-soon-get-big-payoff-from-brandon-hagel-trade] Blackhawks Prospect Frank Nazar III Scores On First Shot On Goal, Just Like Jonathan Toews [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks/latest-news/blackhawks-prospect-frank-nazar-iii-scores-on-first-shot-on-goal-just-like-jonathan-toews]
