Blackhawks Practice: Are Connor Bedard & Co Turning the Corner?

The Chicago Blackhawks were back on the practice ice today after an eventful Friday night that saw them lose to the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime and trade Taylor Hall to the Carolina Hurricanes. They did not make any recalls today from the Rockford IceHogs to fill Hall’s roster spot. The IceHogs host the Chicago Wolves tonight, so they will likely recall a forward tomorrow morning, so he’s here for the upcoming road trip next week. The smart money is on Joey Anderson getting the nod.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Defenseman Connor Murphy was out of the non-contact jersey and stayed on the ice for the entire practice today. This was his first full practice since he aggravated a groin injury during the Winter Classic on Dec. 31. Interim head coach Anders Sorensen said it’s a good sign. Still, he won’t be available against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow.

“I think there’s a presence there, a predictability in his game,” Sorensen said of what they are missing with Murphy. “Obviously, defending well, big body as well, just experience of having him on the bench and on the ice with everybody.”

Two of Murphy’s defensive mates, Seth Jones and Alec Martinez, were absent due to injury. Sorensen is hopeful that they both will be good enough to play tomorrow night. Forward Craig Smith skated with a non-contact jersey before practice. A back injury has limited him to just four games since Dec. 12.

Are the Blackhawks Turning the Corner?

The Blackhawks have their first four-game point streak of the season. Granted, three of the four games have been overtime losses, but other teams are starting to take notice of their improved effort. Rod Brind’Amour and Jon Cooper both complimented the Blackhawks, saying that their structure is better and that they are playing with confidence lately. When two of the top head coaches in the game today go out of their way to say how well you’re playing, the team is doing something right.

I asked Connor Bedard today if he felt this team was finally turning a corner and hitting their stride.

“Hopefully, but when we won three games, you guys thought we’d won the Cup,” he replied. “For us, it’s just about consistency. Three of those games we lost, so you’re not happy. It’s about playing consistently and avoiding the games where we’re getting dominated. I feel it’s better the last little bit in those terms, and, hopefully, we can build off that.”

Sorensen has been big on “stacking” efforts, from shift to shift, to game to game. He’s broken the rest of the schedule into segments with goals to achieve in each one. There is no argument that the team is better than they were at the end of December when they had three consecutive four-goal losses. The Blackhawks are in the middle of a stretch of eight games against playoff teams, so the bump in competition has done them some good.