The Blackhawks will get back to the task at hand (losing close games due to lack of offense) on Tuesday night versus the Vancouver Canucks. The Hawks haven’t played a game since last Friday, when they scored two goals in the last six minutes to force overtime against the Rangers.
This will be the third time the Blackhawks and Canucks have seen each other in the last two months, and their final matchup of the season.
Vancouver is still following the same script they have for most of the year: they lead the NHL in points (76), they have three of the top 10 scorers in the entire league in Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes, Thatcher Demko continues to be a world beater who seems like a lock to be a Vezina finalist (where he’ll probably run away with the award), and they’re doing all of this despite having middle-of-the-road metrics. It’s no longer possible to chalk up any of these things up to luck, however, and GM Patrik Allvin just helped them out in a big way by jumping the trade deadline to add the best player known to be available in center/winger Elias Lindholm.
Anyone who listens to the podcast knows I’ve been the conductor on the “Lindholm to the Blackhawks as their future No. 2 center” train for a few months now, and this may have been the best possible trade scenario for that to still remain a possibility this summer. While the Canucks paid a significant price for Lindholm, they’ve already stated publicly they’re okay with that cost if he winds up only being a rental and signs elsewhere. They also have a lot of cap gymnastics to perform this offseason, and their top priority remains trying to work out a long-term deal with Pettersson, as next year is his final season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent (which is something I’ll also dream about for the Blackhawks). If Lindholm ended up in Boston or Colorado, who were rumored to be his other two most interested suitors, there would have been a much stronger chance of him being extended without ever hitting the market.
The question that’s followed Lindholm the majority of his career is whether he’s an elite player or just a really, really good one. He appeared to answer that once and for all two seasons back when he exploded for a career-high in goals (42), and points (82) while centering Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau on arguably the best line in hockey. Then Tkachuk and Gaudreau both moved on, and Lindholm’s scoring hasn’t been quite as dynamic since (though he did set a career-high in assists last season with 42).
Lindholm is an all-situations player who’s a strong penalty killer and power-play contributor (he scored twice on the power play in his Canucks’ debut). He’s a fantastic passer who is not only capable of creating offense on his own, but also possesses the unique ability to flip the ice defensively. Vancouver coach Rick Tocchet has already used him as both a winger on Pettersson’s line, as well as centering his own line between Miller and Brock Boeser.
The Canucks are 2-2 since they acquired Lindholm, and 6-2-2 in their last 10. With a playoff spot all but locked up — they also currently have a six-point cushion on Dallas for the top seed in the West — it’ll be up to them to keep their foot on the gas for their final 29 games.
Vancouver is a great example of just how fast a team can turn the corner, as last season through 53 games, with essentially the same roster, they only had 42 points. Now, here they are at the very tippity-top of the whole thing looking primed for a deep run in the playoffs.
Now let’s go allllllllllllll the way down for the inverse. The Hawks’ woes are well known around these parts, and nothing much is changing before this game.
Next week, however:
The Blackhawks remain at the very bottom of the standings, two points clear of the Sharks — though they do have a game in hand on San Jose. In a season when Connor Bedard has essentially been the only reason to watch, I’m sure we’re all almost as excited as he is for him to get back to playing hockey again. Assuming he gets the “all clear” next Monday, he’ll have 25 games or so left to make his case for the Calder.
He’s been skating with some buddies as well:
No further word on timelines for either Beauvillier or Athanasiou (nice to see him skating), and the latest on Connor Murphy is that he’s still considered week-to-week. Jarred Tinordi was added to injured reserve on Tuesday morning, although he was also on the ice for the morning skate, so his absence should not be a long one.
In the meantime, these are the lines:
Not much of a change since the game against the Rangers last Friday, though part of me hoped that the Korchinski-Phillips pairing showed enough promise that Richardson might give them a longer look. Kurashev and Foligno have also seemed to find some chemistry together of late, and Kurashev’s two assists last game gave him a new career high for points with 27 (9 G, 18 A).
They’re all going to be tough ones at this point, even after Bedard gets back. But it’ll still be a lot more fun once he does. And this game means we’re one step closer to that happening.
Let’s go, Hawks.
Tale of the Tape
Blackhawks — Statistic — Canucks
44.05% (31st) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 49.82% (19th)
42.53% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 50.52% (14th)
2.08 (32nd) — Goals per game — 3.68 (1st)
3.52 (27th) — Goals against per game — 2.58 (T-3rd)
45.1% (32nd) — Faceoffs — 50.5% (13th)
12.4% (32nd) — Power play — 24.4% (8th)
76.4% (26th) — Penalty kill — 80.1% (16th)
How to watch
When: 7:30 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago, IL
TV: NBCSCH
Webstream: NBC Sports APP, ESPN+
Radio: WGN 720