The Last 10 Blackhawks Games Tell a Predictable Story

At one point in November, the Chicago Blackhwks were 5-7 and had 10 points in a season where many expected them to just be getting through a rebuild.

Nearly a month later, the numbers look more like what people expected. Going back the last 10 games, the Blackhawks are 2-8, with some ghastly numbers to show for it.

Now, some of this is attributed to losing two of the drivers Kyle Davidson brought in. Corey Perry, who had nine points (4-5) is no longer with the organization while Taylor Hall (2-2-4) is out for the season due to right knee surgery.

So what do things look like a glance? Here’s a look.

Blackhawks Goal Differential Widens

In the ten-game stretch dating back to the 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 16, the Blackhawks have scored 22 goals but surrendered 40. Prior to that, they scored 34 goals for compared to 45 in their own net. The only outlier in that series was the 8-1 loss to Arizona way back on October 30th.

In the last ten games, the Blackhawks have mustered three or more goals just three times in that stretch. Two of those three games resulted in victories. But the latest road trip resulted in just three goals in as many games, each having only one goal each time.

Chicago currently ranks 30th in the league with an average of 2.43 goals a game while the power play is ranked 29th in the league. With metrics such as those, it’s hardly surprising that the Blackhawks are scuffling in their last ten, and also strugggling to piece a winning streak together.

Of course, the team was designed to get another shot at the lottery while still having a respectable performance on the ice.

But there’s other outliers that are certainly not helping the cause.

Goal Scoring Has Been Almost Exclusively Up Front

Looking at the top teams in the league, what’s the biggest difference? They’re getting production from the blue line as well as its forwards. Outside of the Boston Bruins, it’s a larger gap.

Looking at the top four teams in each division the scoring from defenseman breaks down like this:

• Boston Bruins – 8 goals
• New York Rangers – 10 goals
• Colorado Avalanche – 20 goals
• Vegas Golden Knights – 13 goals

The Avalanche are the shining example of skill from the the back end–as Cale Makar has nearly half of their goals amongst defenseman. But he is also the exception–and not the rule.

The Blackhawks, meanwhile, have just three goals from defensemen–two from Kevin Korchinski and one from Nikita Zaitsev. But Chicago is also in another predicament–where selling out too much offensively often ends up with pucks in their own net.

The Arizona game was an early indicator of that.

But it also speaks again to a talent gap that the Blackhawks have which won’t be corrected for at least another season.

There have been the bright spots–Jason Dickinson to name one. Currently third in points, Dickinson’s seven goals were bolstered by his hat trick against the Maple Leafs.

It’s the little things that can help the Blackhawks turn a corner, but unfortunately, the effort hasn’t been as consistent as it needs to be. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that so much hasn’t gone right for Chicago these past ten games.