Oddly enough, this has been the Blackhawks’ best power-play performance in a full-length season since 2015-16.
The Hawks rank 11th in the NHL with a 23.8% power-play conversion rate, a dramatic difference from the last two seasons, when they ranked 28th at 16.6% and 16.4%.
Since turning their roster over to youth, however, their power play has fallen off considerably. The trade of Seth Jones hasn’t affected the defensive corps as much as expected, largely because Sam Rinzel has taken over the No. 1 defenseman mantle incredibly quickly since turning pro, but the power play is one area where Jones has been missed.
The Hawks are 0-for-14 on the power play in their last seven games and 6-for-38 — 15.8% — in their last 19 games dating to March 3 (two days after the Jones trade).
During that 19-game span, the Hawks have averaged only 1.13 shots per minute of power-play time (by far the lowest rate in the league) and 0.63 scoring chances per minute (the second-lowest rate in the league).
They simply haven’t been able to enter the offensive zone cleanly very often, much less set up plays that lead to the ideal snowball effect of shots, rebounds, recovered pucks and more shots with the man advantage.
Chicagoans love to hate on the drop-pass strategy, but it’s the most common strategy leaguewide for a reason. It just seems inefficient when it doesn’t work, and it rarely has worked for the Hawks lately. Their communication has been lacking in those situations.
‘‘It’s more [about] staying on the same page,’’ forward Frank Nazar said Thursday. ‘‘There’s times where you can rush up ice. Being on the second unit mostly, it’s like, ‘We only have 20 seconds, so let’s get up the ice.’ But if we take an extra five seconds to set up and do our breakout right, it’s more helpful.’’
Interim coach Anders Sorensen promoted Nazar to the first unit Thursday against the Bruins, hoping his speed could help with zone entries. That seemed wise, given that none of the four forwards who previously made up that unit — Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi and Ryan Donato (who was demoted) — is speedy.
But it didn’t pay off immediately. The Hawks went 0-for-2 on power-play opportunities; Bedard ended the latter prematurely by taking a penalty. One entry went offside, and several others were broken up at the blue line. Errant passes were also problematic.
With only three games left — the home finale Saturday against the Jets, followed by visits to the Canadiens and Senators — it’s really too late for the Hawks to snap out of this slump.
Entering training camp next season, however, the power play will be an area to monitor. A dangerous power play can help a team ascend the standings. The Devils this season are a good example: They’ve clinched a playoff spot, despite ranking 26th in five-on-five goals, in part because of their third-ranked power play.
The battle to quarterback the Hawks’ top unit next season might be particularly interesting. Young defensemen Rinzel, Artyom Levshunov and Kevin Korchinski all have the potential to do so.
Korchinski’s underwhelming defensive development to this point suggests perhaps his ceiling might be power-play specialist more than all-around top-pairing defenseman. But there wouldn’t be much need for a specialist if Rinzel and/or Levshunov can do that in addition to everything else.
So far, though, none has found much success in that role. The Hawks have averaged 0.86 scoring chances per minute of power-play time with Korchinski quarterbacking, 0.79 with Rinzel quarterbacking and 0.74 with Levshunov quarterbacking — all below their 0.95 with Jones quarterbacking.
