Blackhawks get a complete team effort in shutout of Mammoth

byHikmat •
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The Chicago Blackhawks needed somebody else besides Connor Bedard to show up and do the heavy lifting, and that's exactly what they got in a 4-0 win over the Utah Mammoth. They gave a complete team effort to earn two points this afternoon with a power-play and shorthanded goal, fourth-line scoring, and fantastic goaltending.

Head coach Jeff Blashill made some line changes in hopes of finding some depth scoring. The main move was putting Ryan Donato on the second line with Frank Nazar and Teuvo Teravainen. While that combination was effective, it was the fourth line with Oliver Moore, Nick Foligno, and Landon Slaggert that was the biggest factor in today's win.

The Blackhawks couldn't score a second goal in Nashville or Colorado, but they got it in Utah today. Captain Nick Foligno's 250th career goal provided his team with a rare two-goal lead midway through the second period. The goal was made possible by a sneaky little play along the wall by Moore and a disruptive forecheck by Slaggert.

Slaggert was not given an assist on Foligno's goal, but the hockey gods rewarded him for the play a few moments later with a lucky bounce on his third goal of the season. Slaggert proved on this play that there is no such thing as a bad shot. Get the puck towards the net, and good things could happen.

"I thought we played really well defensively overall," Blashill said after the game. We did that the other night as well. I think coming out of the break, we've played pretty well. We've limited a lot of chances. The difference probably tonight was that we broke the puck out really well. When you don't have to defend as much, that's probably the biggest difference."

More Meh from Burakovsky

As I wrote about in our game preview, Blashill seems to give Andre Burakovsky a longer leash than any other player on the roster. He continues to get top-line minutes despite his struggles that have lasted weeks. The veteran forward came into today's game with only one assist in his last 15 games. But Blashill makes it sound like he can only play on Bedard's line and that there aren't many other options for the right side of the top trio.

"We look a little bit at fit," Blashill said. "Who's the other guy that's a better fit, or what makes for us? It's easy to say you should experiment, but who's the guy are you experimenting with? Who's that player who has the brain to give-and-go with Connor? Playing with great players is not as easy as it sounds. Right now, Burky, I think is intentions are really good. He's not feeling it right now. We'll give him a little bit of runway and see how he does. At some point, we might have to make an adjustment and try somebody else there. Again, it depends on who that other guy is."

Burakovsky finished today with a blank stat line. No shot attempts, no takeaways, no blocked shots. Nothing. Now, before I compare this effort to a "Lukas Riechel" night, he did make some effective plays. Late in the first period, he got into the passing lane and got the puck back up the ice for an extended shift in the offensive zone. He made another nice breakout in the second period that led directly to a scoring chance from Bedard.

However, we saw another example of how his lack of confidence is affecting his game. Halfway through the middle frame, he had all day to shoot from below the right circle. Instead, he waited, then started cycling the puck, which was then taken away and put out of the zone without a shot attempt. Put the puck on net and see what happens.

I don't think it's unfair to expect more out of your franchise player's right winger to provide more than just a couple of nice breakouts.

Levshunov Stacking Solid Efforts

Artyom Levshunov got some praise from Blashill ahead of today's game. Even though he's been on the ice for two big goals against, he's liked what he's seen from the rookie blueliner coming out of the Olympic break.

"I thought he's played two good games," Blashill said. "Unfortunately, he's been on the ice for important goals against – one each game. When you look at the totality, he's played two solid games. Defensively, he's been pretty good. When the puck goes in the net, you're in the spotlight. Ultimately, our job is to judge the process. I think he's done a pretty good job process-wise over the last couple of games. His primary focus is making sure he's really good defensively, and then learning how to add that offense while still being accountable defensively."

Out of the three post-Olympic break games, today was Levshunov's best. He had the secondary assist on Slaggert's goal, three shots on goal, five shot attempts, two hits, and two blocked shots. With him on the ice at 5-on-5, the Blackhawks lead in shot attempts (17-16), shots on goal (9-5), high-danger scoring chances (5-4), and most importantly, goals (1-0).

Levshunov was noticeable behind his net in the third period. He absorbed a big hit into the end boards to get the puck up to a teammate and clear the zone. Later, he knocked Logan Cooley off the puck below the goal line and got it out of harm's way. These types of plays don't show up on the scoresheet, but they need to be made to win hockey games.

"Tonight, he was excellent," Alex Vlasic said of Levshunov. "He uses his frame so well and is also one of the stronger guys out there. It was evident tonight, as he's pushing guys around, bullying some guys down low, and that's his game. I think he's obviously really skilled with the puck offensively, too, and once he gets his feet moving, he's fantastic. But tonight, it was an unbelievable showing from him defensively, and he showed everybody what he's capable of."

Nuggets & Tidbits

  • Arvid Soderblom hadn't seen any game action since Jan. 29, when he gave up six goals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. To come out and earn your first career shutout against a team like the Mammoth after a month off is quite the accomplishment. He was solid when he had to be, but the team in front of them had his back. Soderblom faced just 22 shots and had to make only five high-danger saves. Playing more in the offensive zone makes life so much easier for your goaltender.
  • There was a lot of hand-wringing about the power play heading into the Olympic break. The Blackhawks were a liability on the man advantage with just one goal over the last 11 games before the Winter Games began. Teuvo Teravainen's goal late in the first period gave the Blackhawks a power-play tally in three straight games. The work they put in on zone entries during the break has paid off, but Teravainen's goal had nothing to do with the entry. Tyler Bertuzzi made a great play to lift the stick of Mikhail Sergachev and quickly get the puck towards the net.
  • After getting just 15 shots on goal against the Colorado Avalanche yesterday, the Blackhawks finished with 28 today. They had 13 in the first period alone, with six of those coming on the power play. The Blackhawks are dead last in the NHL in shots per game, so any time they can get close to 30 is a good day.
  • Kevin Korchinski got a little more ice time today, with 10:27, by far the lowest of all the defenseman. It's pretty clear that he hasn't earned Blashill's trust yet. It certainly sounds like Wyatt Kaiser could return when the Blackhawks host the Vancouver Canucks on Friday, so I expect Korchinski to return to Rockford when the team is back home.
  • The faceoff numbers were pretty ugly today, especially after the Blackhawks went 3-for-19 in the first period. They were better over the final 40 minutes, winning 16 of 37. Bedard led the way by winning 58% of his draws (7-for-12).
  • Foligno wasn't the only Blackhawk to hit a personal milestone today, as Nazar played in his 100th NHL game. He had a rather uneventful day with just one shot attempt, but won half of his 14 faceoffs.
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