Dach’s shot share has increased from 17.2% to 22.8% after scoring a beautiful goal Friday and tying his season high for shot attempts Sunday.
Kirby Dach’s goal Friday against the Devils was one of the most encouraging moments in his entire season.
It wasn’t so much because of how he scored it — using his defensive awareness and long reach to poke a puck free in the defensive zone, roaring down the wing on the ensuing two-on-one rush with his powerful stride, then showing off great edge control and soft hands to maneuver around the goalie and smoothly tuck the puck in.
It was more because he made the decision to try to score it.
So often over the past three seasons, Dach has infuriatingly passed up golden opportunities for himself in favor of attempted passes with low chances of success. On Friday, and increasingly more often over the past month, he’s decisively taking those opportunities himself.
“I’m making the plays when I want to make them,” he said Saturday. “[I’m] obviously becoming more of a dual threat, both shooting and making plays. It’s something I’ve been improving on and trying to work on each day in practice, so it’s coming along. But I feel like I have confidence in my shot and my ability to score.”
Added interim coach Derek King: “We’re trying to get those guys [to see] you’ve got to shoot there. Dach got it on the two-on-one, and he takes it wide as if he was looking to pass it, and I’m just like, ‘No!’ to myself. All of a sudden, he cut in, and it was a good power-forward kind of goal. So it was good.”
Before Jan. 25, Dach’s shot share — the percentage of all Hawks shots attempted during his even-strength ice time that he attempted himself — was 17.2%. Since then, it’s 22.8%. And Dach’s expected-goals share has similarly risen from 23.3% to 28.7%.
He was one of the more offensively involved Hawks forwards again Sunday against the Blues, tying his season highs with six shot attempts and four shots on goal in the 4-0 loss.
Moving forward, Dach might even be able to take advantage of his reputation as a pass-first player. Devils defenseman Damon Severson, defending that two-on-one, was evidently so convinced Dach would pass that he stood beside Brandon Hagel and gave Dach a free lane to the net.
Powerless D-men
The Blackhawks still don’t have a single power-play goal this season from their defensemen, a subtle but worrying statistic.
Seth Jones — who doesn’t have a goal at all since Dec. 2 — has attempted 43 power-play shots this season, getting just 21 on goal and neither scoring nor forcing a single rebound. Erik Gustafsson has attempted 24 power-play shots, getting 14 on goal, forcing one rebound and scoring zero goals.
“I’ve got to start shooting the puck more and trying to wrist [pucks] in and create havoc,” Jones said Sunday. “We’re around the outside a lot, [making] a lot of seam plays through the middle. We’ve just got to get a couple more pucks to the net, so I can be a part of that, as well.”
After an explosive three-for-four showing Friday, the power play as a whole took a massive step back Sunday. They recorded only two shots on goal on three opportunities and struggled to get through the neutral zone cleanly against the Blues’ penalty kill.
McCabe returns
Jake McCabe returned to the Hawks’ lineup Sunday after missing one game with back soreness, playing 19:22, but Calvin de Haan remained out with his groin injury.
Prospect defenseman Isaak Phillips was called up for his third career NHL appearance (first since Oct. 30) and played well.