The 2025-26 season of the NHL is a quarter of the way through. Most teams have 55-plus games left to play, but standards are starting to take place.
The Colorado Avalanche (16-1-5) have only one regulation loss and have made themselves Stanley Cup favorites. Other teams are trending in every which way, with some going in unexpected directions.
The Chicago Blackhawks (10-8-4) are a ways away from reaching Stanley Cup contention status, but they have notably improved from last season. That leap has come with its highs and lows.
Here’s all the good — and bad — the Hawks have shown in the first quarter of the season.
All stats are as of noon on Nov. 24.
Good: Goal scoring
To win in the NHL, teams have to score goals. While this is an obvious fact, keep in mind that the Hawks have struggled to do this for quite some time, especially in 5-on-5 play.
In 2024-25, the Hawks ranked 30th in full-strength goals-for/against ratio. The roster was older last season, but the experience didn’t create the offense that general manager Kyle Davidson had hoped for.
That led to their 2.73 goals per game average. If you pointed the finger at the reasons why — lack of chemistry with Connor Bedard and his linemates, turnovers in every zone, the snail-like pace — you’d run out of fingers.
This year’s Hawks get on the puck faster and are somewhat more decisive. They’re second in the NHL in shooting percentage (13.1%) and close behind the league-leading Montreal Canadiens.
Bedard’s two hat tricks, Tyler Bertuzzi’s presence in front of the net and the passing skills of the defensemen have helped with the offensive increase. They are currently 11th in the league in scoring, averaging 3.14 goals per game.
Bad: Shots on goal
The positive is that many of the Hawks’ shots on goal find the back of the net. The problem is that they aren’t producing many shots.
They’re bottom three in shots per game average (24.9) and 5-on-5 scoring chance percentage (44.9%). The reason may be the team’s inability to finish breakaways.
On Sunday against the Avalanche, the Hawks’ breakaway attempts were constantly cleared by defenders. Passes by Bertuzzi were fumbled in front of the net by various skaters.
Too many giveaways, especially in the offensive zones, have killed many Hawks possessions. Less sloppy play could make this offense elite, but that will come with time.
Good: Competitiveness and physicality
Bedard set the precedent after the Hawks’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins. “We’re not taking any (expletive), even if they’re a little bigger.”
And he was right. The Hawks are not pushovers anymore.
Beating them now is not a given. The Hawks have scored first in 15 games, as well as either leading or being tied going into the third period in 15 games. They’ve spent the second-lowest time trailing (80:13) and the fourth-most time tied (355:07) in the NHL.
The Hawks have become a scrappy bunch. On Thursday, Kraken defenseman Ryan Lindgren delivered a hard hit on André Burakovsky, knocking him out for the rest of the game. The second period was filled with Hawks hits of their own, and Blashill said after the game that he thought his team reacted the right way.
Colton Dach is third in the NHL in hits at 88. When teams play the Hawks, they’re going to get bruised up.
Bad: The second period
The Hawks looked great after one period versus the Avalanche. Colorado outshot the Hawks 19-1 in the second.
The Hawks were up on the Ottawa Senators 3-0 after the first on Oct. 28. The score ended up 4-3 after the second.
The Hawks saw a scoreless tie turn into a 2-0 deficit in the second in Seattle on Nov. 3. The final score was a 3-1 loss.
It’s an unwelcome trend. And it’s costing them games.
There’s no clear reason as to why the Hawks struggle in the second period, as Jason Dickinson would tell you. It’s always a different reason each game.
They have a minus-9 plus/minus in the second period, the third-worst in the NHL behind the Toronto Maple Leafs (-11) and the St. Louis Blues (-13). Hawks coach Jeff Blashill knows that better second-period play will result in more victories.
“We got to play a similar game but play a little better in the second,” Blashill said after the 1-0 Avalanche loss. “If you do that, you put yourself in position to win games.”
Good: Special teams
Hawks skaters go to the penalty box often. The Hawks are fourth in the NHL with an average of 12.1 penalty minutes a game. Connor Bedard’s unsportsmanlike conduct penalty late in the third period led to the Kraken’s game-winning goal in the Hawks’ crushing 3-2 loss to Seattle.
That penalty proved brutal as the loss ended their six-game point streak. A positive, though, is that the penalty kill has helped in previous games.
The Blackhawks have killed 83.3% of their penalties so far, about a 4 percentage point increase from last season. Ilya Mikheyev has been the highlight of the PK units, intercepting passes to end possessions.
The Hawks have 62 power play opportunities through 22 games, which is on pace for approximately 231 for the season. That would be an improvement from the 189 chances they had last year.
Bertuzzi and his teammates know how to draw penalties and the Hawks are learning to take advantage as they did in their 5-1 win in Detroit.
Bad: Faceoffs
The Hawks haven’t been a good faceoff team for a while. Since the start of the 2023-24 season, they rank last in faceoff win percentage (45.7%).
They’ve lost almost 55% of their faceoffs in their defensive zones this year, which leads to opportunities for opponents to rack up shots on goal. The Hawks have spent 42.8% of this season in their defensive zones (1.7 percentage points higher than league average), meaning more icings and having their backs against the wall.
It may not be detrimental, given that the past six Stanley Cup champions were all outside the top 10 in faceoff win percentage. The Hawks, though, need the puck as much as possible to solidify their offensive identity and winning faceoffs could be a step in the right direction.