Last Night Was The EXACT Formula The Blackhawks Need To Be Successful This Year

The old days of the Blackhawks being better, faster, and deeper than everyone they play are gonezo. They can’t just play keep-away with the puck anymore while we all just sit back and laugh and laugh and talk shit to people on twitter. Instead the Blackhawks need a very specific formula to win. We knew it going into the season. The margin for this team to get back to the playoffs was thin because they didn’t do anything to improve the roster over the summer, but there was a path. The path is…

1) Patrick Fucking Kane

2) Jonathan Toews

3) Elite goaltending

Realistically, the Wild were the better team last night by a wide margin. They controlled the pace, they controlled the puck, and they had WAY more chances. The difference was that the Blackhawks’ best players delivered. A hat-trick for Kane, 2 goals for Saad, two assists for Toews. The Blackhawks best have always been better than the Wild’s best guys. That has always been the difference in recent history. Toews and Kane bury their chances, and Minnesota doesn’t. Tale as old as time.

Devin Dubnyk was also TERRIBLE last night. The goal Kane beat him with on the short side had zero business going in. Opposite of Dubnyk was Collin Delia. The real Delia. He is looking like a real #1 goalie through two games this year. The Blackhawks have struggled to draft goalies since Corey Crawford, but maybe Delia can be next in line of guys like Niemi, Raanta, and Darling. Guys who took a different path to the NHL than most. Delia looks like a good athlete and California cool in net. It’s only two games, but looking at the Blackhawks goaltending future beyond Corey Crawford no longer looks like this

Realistically the Blackhawks have played well for the majority of December.

That game against Montreal was the first time the Blackhawks started to look like a competent team under Jeremy Colliton. It took a lot of time. Players adjusting to new systems, players adjusting to Colliton, Colliton finding his message and his voice at the NHL level. All of those things are natural occurences. Especially since the Blackhawks decided to replace a legend. The problem isn’t how the Blackhawks played at the beginning of the year. The problem isn’t how they’ve played for the majority of the month. The problem was the month in between

Which brings us, of course, back to Stan Bowman. If you believed it was a playoff team then why throw a variable into the team that sinks your season? Stan wanted to fire Joel. That was obvious. Did it the first chance he got and replaced him with his guy. Colliton has been given some time to institute his system. To be a teacher. And the results are starting to show. Joel was instituting a new system this year as well. Hyper aggressive zone scheme which relied heavily on wingers collapsing down low to help the D because the D were both helping each other. It was a system designed in anticipation of breakdowns due to weaker personnel. The formula could’ve worked with Joel. It’s starting to work with Colliton, but it’s likely too late now. The Blackhawks are currently 7 points out with 6 teams ahead of them. That’s a steep mountain to climb especially because most of the teams ahead of the Hawks have games in hand.

The future is looking bright though. Sikura has looked good of late, Delia is off to a great start. Connor Murphy has been very solid this year. And the World Junior Championships are showcasing the best of what is ahead for the Blackhawks

Of those seven prospects, Jokiharju, Mitchell, and maybe Boqvist look as if they’re ready to help as soon as next season. It’s the same story we’ve been saying. There’s an opportunity for the Blackhawks to be REALLY good again next year. Toews and Kane being at the top of their games, young/cheap/talented defensemen coming, cap space, and a MONSTER free agent class headlined by Panarin and Stone.

If the Hawks are able to clear Anisimov, Manning, and Gustafsson they’ll have an absurd amount of money to throw around and an abundance of assets. It’s just a matter of having competent management to execute on this chance. There’s a glean though. It’s there.