Hockey is back!
The collective hockey world cheers as the NHL is playing games again.
Though this year is quite different. Hockey is being played. Moreover, the Chicago Blackhawks are in the playoffs. So anything is possible.
All of the questions feel like they are answered with this tournament format, and this brain child of the NHL has brought tons of intensity.
Especially from the Blackhawks’ point of view.
Morning skate shenanigans ?#Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/JdsIHtqIam
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) August 3, 2020
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From the Blackhawks viewpoint these play in games present a great possibilities. The first step is to take down the potent Edmonton Oilers. Whose offense is incredible lethal. So this Chicago team is incredibly overlooked. As the Oilers have obviously been dubbed as the favorite in this series.
Which means the Blackhawks can play loose because all the pressure is on the Oilers. Whose two stars Conner Mcdavid and leon Draisaitl are absolute studs. And can light the lamp at will. But that does not equal easy series victory.
The Good
On Saturday the Blackhawks played loose. Which why wouldn’t they. They are playing with house money. And that was quite evident last Saturday. Hawks came out with a mission. Something to prove. Which I saw in how they skated.
The Hawks came out and skated Skating with purpose. We have not seen this as awls fans for awhile now. They seemed to be getting to the puck in a timely way. As well as skating with great speed throughout the game. Also they had drawn some penalties by moving quickly through each zone. Being crisp through the zone is also a main theme
Zone entries were fantastic. With proper entries you can keep great pressure on the defense. Which they did well on Saturday.
The Blackhawks passing was also another point of emphasis. With these tape to tape passes they found open sticks. I saw the Hawks find open areas wIth passing and they took advantage of pourus defensive structure. They attacked the net as well. Which gave them tons of open looks. The Captain and Brandon Saad took advantage of these holes. Which you love to see.
The Offense showed up. I know that seems weird to say about a hockey team. But the everything seemed to be humming. 40 shots on goal. 6 of those went inside the net. Lines one and two were humming. The Hawks were chasing down pucks. Winning those battles and getting infront of the bet, which helped the special teams as well.
Special Teams
The power play which was a cumbersome and cavalier at times this year. Is all of a sudden worked. It was incredible. I actually didnt known it could operate like that. I have forgotten how a power play worked. Three for six is at a 50 percent clip. Crisp passing and finding open ice was a great asset to the Hawks on Saturday.
You can tell this was isolated and worked on by Jeremy Colliton.
Sharing again because of reasons.
Watch Game 2 live at 9:30 p.m. on @NBCSChicago! #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/sdLRtKxEVK
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) August 3, 2020
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Corey Crawford
Crawford played alright. I mean he only practiced right before they left for Edmonton. And had a true 40 minutes of play agaisnt St Louis.
Through two periods he only allowed two goals. His movement was very fluid in the net. He allowed four goals on 29 shots.
Defense
I like how the defense gave up 29 shots. Its an improvement. Smalll steps I guess. The defensive effort was there. And the D was involved in the offensive zone as well. The need to tighten things up seems to be self evident.
In conclusion the Blackhawks played very well on Saturday. The team seemed loose and ready to go. The offense of the Blackhawks had a very strong pressence in this game. The power play was humming. And that’s the crazy part. The way that this team skated on Saturday was outstanding. Forcing the Oilers to take penalties and capitalizing on the opportunities.
Hopefully, the Hawks can continue to play this way for game two.
Featured Image: NHL.com
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