Blackhawks AM Analysis: Power Play Gets Some Life

After an 0-14 start, the Chicago Blackhawks just wanted to break the scoreless streak. They did–and it happened so quick you could have missed it.

It started innocuously enough with the more likely player, Connor Bedard, just missing a goal and banging one off the post. Less than a minute later, it was fellow rookie Kevin Korchinski who started the rush to get the Blackhawks their first goal on the man advantage this season.

It was as quick of a rush as it could be, with only two quick passes before Tyler Johnson ended it with a goal. Korchinski dropped it back to Johnson, who found the speedy Andreas Athanasiou to his left and then rushed through the neutral zone as Athanasiou took it up ice. The latter zipped into the zone and suddenly had Toronto on its heels.

A quick pass to Johnson from there and he slipped behind the defensemen and buried it, giving Chicago a 3-1 lead.

No set up. Just three passes. And finally a goal. It was a refreshing turn of events for a power play that seemed close at times but just short in the first three games.

Blackhawks Have Momentum?

It’s a start and it was a much needed one as they dispatched a Toronto Maple Leafs team that many thought the Hawks would be in over their head with. But as they showed in the previous three games, they’re a hard team to play against. Sure, it’s just four games in, but they have the knack to hang with teams who are playoff contenders–some even Stanley Cup ones.

Look no further than Thursday when they take on division rival Colorado.

But first things first: Can they keep the power play humming in the next game?