A Frustrating Start For The Chicago Blackhawks | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Sports

A Frustrating Start For The Chicago Blackhawks

After two straight playoff misses, the Blackhawks appear to be well on their way to another early end to their season.

5
A Frustrating Start For The Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are far from what they once were earlier in this decade. After a long run of success that resulted in three Stanley Cups in six seasons, pain has set in the past two seasons, and has begun this year as well. Through their first fourteen games, the red, white, and black sit at 4-7-3 for a total of 11 points, already seven behind the last playoff spot. As the roster and coach currently stand, this is not a playoff team, for a number of reasons.

Jeremy Colliton was hired as head coach one year ago after General Manager Stan Bowman fired three time Cup winning coach Joel Quenneville following an average start. It appeared Quenneville was fired because a fresh start was needed. After a rough beginning, Colliton helped rally the team in the second half of the season to barely missing the playoffs. There was legitimate optimism coming into this season that after making solid additions in net and on defense, the Hawks would compete for a playoff spot.

What has followed has been straight up frustrating, coming from a fan of the team. The Blackhawks' offensive talent is going to waste in the new system run by Colliton. The Blackhawks are dumping and chasing, which in layman's terms, is shooting the puck in from center and trying to establish a forecheck and retrieve the puck to set up offensive opportunities. The problem with this system is that you shouldn't focus on this style when you have elite offensive talent who are good enough to create their own chances, like Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome, and Jonathan Toews. Barstool Chief sums it up better than me in his recent blog.

Their most recent loss as of my writing was infuriating. The dump and chase game was in full effect against the San Jose Sharks, a team with terrible goaltending, and of course, this strategy did not work and did not force much pressure on the Sharks at all. The Blackhawks managed just

21 shots all game, many of them coming late when they were just throwing pucks on net. Although Chicago scored twice late, it was not enough as the Sharks got the empty netter to seal their 4-2 victory.


The losses against Philadelphia at home and at Nashville were even worse performance wise. Nashville had 51 shots on net, indicating where the majority of the game was played. Their OT losses against Winnipeg and Vegas were solid games, but the inability to hold a 3rd period lead cost them a point each time. Those are points you need if you want to make the playoffs.

As we look ahead, the upcoming schedule for the Blackhawks is extremely tough. For the rest of November, the Hawks play Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Vegas, Nashville, Buffalo, Carolina, Tampa, Dallas (2x), and Colorado (2x). All of those teams sit ahead of Chicago in the overall standings, and are on paper better than them. It will be a miracle if they come out of those 12 games with a winning record.

Time is of the essence; the Blackhawks need to make some tough decisions about the future of the team. Stan Bowman will need to make a decision about Colliton on whether or not he should remain the head coach (many fans think Colliton and Bowman should be fired) and this roster: who should be traded, and who should be kept. It has been a brutal start, and the near future could just be as brutal for Chicago's NHL team.


Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
smiling girl in pink and white stripe shirt

I'll never forget the day that someone told me these words: "Madison, I think you're a good friend to everyone but yourself." I stood there completely in awe of that statement. Before that day, I never really thought about being a friend to myself, and at the time, I didn't really know what it meant. Now, I realize that you can't fully be there for other people unless you're there for yourself, too. You can't show up for others until you're willing to show up for yourself.

Here are five things everyone should learn in order to be a better friend to themselves. These steps are hard, but they're so worth it.

Keep Reading...Show less
Christmas decorations
YouTube

Finals, exams and papers - oh my! The only thing keeping you sane at the moment is the thought that Christmas break is near. Need a mid-week pick-me-up? Here are some simple things you can do to stay motivated and get into the Christmas spirit.

1. Play Christmas Music

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

21 Things We All Love About Winter

Despite the cold, you might find that there is a lot to love about winter.

232
pine cone winter
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

We all have a love hate relationship with winter, lets be real here. The snow makes people forget how to drive, its cold, the roads are bad, and chances are, you will be spending a lot more money than you do during the other months of the year. If you’re from the Midwest, it seems to be that winter lasts for what feels like forever. But despite the struggles that winter brings, there are so many things to love about it.

Keep Reading...Show less
christmas shopping bags

Shopping for your family and friends can be expensive. So why not make something small and cute while not emptying your bank account?

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The Post Thanksgiving Panic And Anxiety

It happens to all of us, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas the catch up with you.

1555
studying

Thanksgiving Break is most likely everyone’s favorite break during the fall semester. You get to go home and reminisce with all your high school friends. That diet you’ve been on for the past month goes out the window, and you get to eat until you put yourself into a food coma. There’s no rush on homework and you can just lie in bed and Netflix to your heart’s content. To me that sounds like an ideally wonderful break, and totally stress-free.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments