The only stat that ultimately matters is this one: 5-9-1. That’s the Blackhawks’ record through one month of a season that was supposed to be their first step back toward respectability and, eventually, playoff contention. Only the Sharks and the underachieving Predators have a worse points percentage in the Western Conference, meaning the Blackhawks could well be on their way to another top-five draft pick.
But let’s take a look at all the smaller stats — good, bad and indifferent — that add up to 5-9-1. Here’s one stat through one month for every Blackhawks player.
Defensemen
Nolan Allan
Allan has appeared in 12 of 14 games this season. It’s a simple stat, but one few saw coming entering training camp. A strong training camp plus the demotion of Kevin Korchinski to AHL Rockford opened the door for Allan, and a combination of Alec Martinez’s injury and T.J. Brodie’s ineffectiveness has allowed him to walk right through and become a regular on the Blackhawks blue line, leapfrogging older, more experienced players such as Isaak Phillips and Louis Crevier on the depth chart. He hasn’t looked out of place at all as a third-pairing defenseman.
T.J. Brodie
The Blackhawks have been outscored 9-2 at five-on-five with Brodie on the ice, despite the fact that his expected goals share is 46.79 percent, behind just Seth Jones among Blackhawks defensemen. Bad luck or bad play? Well, Brodie’s individual PDO is .927, by far the worst among Blackhawks defensemen. When he gets back in the lineup, the Blackhawks can only hope he’s due for some positive regression.
Wyatt Kaiser
The Blackhawks have an even goal differential with Kaiser on the ice, but look closer and Kaiser has essentially played opponents to a standstill at five-on-five. Attempts are even at 215-215, high-danger chances are nearly even at 38-37 against and goals are even at 5-5. The Blackhawks will take that from a 22-year-old in his first full NHL season.
Seth Jones
Jones has two goals in 15 games. That might not seem like much, but considering how he started each of his first three seasons with the Blackhawks, it’s significant. Last year, it took him 31 games to score his first goal. The year before that, he had one goal in his first 26 games. And in his first year in Chicago, he went scoreless for the first 13 games. Jones has been more aggressive than usual to start the season. Only Connor Bedard (66) has taken more shot attempts than Jones (61).
Alec Martinez
Martinez has played in just four games this season due to injury. The Blackhawks need to get him healthy and playing again. With Brodie’s struggles, Martinez can bring some veteran presence but still allow the Blackhawks to play some of their young defensemen. He also doesn’t need to be in the lineup every game.
Connor Murphy
The Blackhawks own 51.23 percent of the shots on goal when Murphy is on the ice at five-on-five. Across the board, Murphy’s defensive metrics are better than they have been in recent years. Opponents are shooting less, scoring less and getting fewer scoring chances with Murphy on the ice. The biggest change is probably that the Blackhawks are getting more shots on goal than their opponent with Murphy out there. That hasn’t happened for a season since Murphy’s first with the Blackhawks in 2017-18.
Isaak Phillips
The Blackhawks have a zero goal differential in five-on-five with Phillips on the ice. The Blackhawks have scored two goals and allowed two goals. That may not seem like a huge stat, but it’s significant for Phillips. He was constantly on the ice for goals against last season. The Blackhawks were outscored 37-11 with him out there in 33 games. If he can be consistent, he has a chance to be a depth defenseman for the Blackhawks in the future.
Alex Vlasic
Vlasic is responsible for 12.33 defensive zone exits per 60 minutes, according to Corey Sznajder’s tracking data. The only player with a higher rate so far this season is Quinn Hughes. That’s pretty good company. It’s another sign of Vlasic’s continued development. As much as his bread and butter will continue to be his defense, he’s shown he can do more with the puck on his stick, whether that’s coming out of the defensive zone or creating in the offensive zone.
Forwards
Joey Anderson
The Blackhawks are allowing just 7.2 high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes with Anderson on the ice at five-on-five, by far the best on the roster. Anderson, once again, is having trouble getting regular playing time. But Anderson, once again, is one of the Blackhawks’ most effective defensive forwards. He’s appeared in only six games, as an illness dropped him down the depth chart. But when he’s played, he’s been his usual, reliable self. Only Ilya Mikheyev can beat his 0.9 goals against per 60 minutes.
Andreas Athanasiou
Not only has Athanasiou appeared in the fewest games among Blackhawks forwards (five), but he’s averaging the lowest ice time of any player on the roster (9 minutes, 16 seconds per game). The speedy but frustrating forward was briefly penciled in as the second-line center at the start of the season but has tumbled to the bottom of coach Luke Richardson’s depth chart. Opponents are scoring 5.17 goals against the Blackhawks per 60 minutes with Athanasiou on the ice, and his xG/60 is also worst on the team at 3.95.
Connor Bedard
Bedard is second to only Toronto’s Auston Matthews with 41 individual scoring chances at five-on-five this season. He isn’t scoring, but it’s not for lack of trying. He shot nearly 20 percent in his last year in the WHL and 10 percent in his first year in the NHL. He’s at just 6 percent so far this season. The goals will come.
Tyler Bertuzzi
Bertuzzi has just one five-on-five goal through 15 games, despite having 16 scoring chances — 10 of the high-danger variety. He’s been a menace on the power play, though, with three PPGs and a team-high 17 scoring chances.
Jason Dickinson
The Blackhawks are tied 5-5 at five-on-five with Dickinson on the ice. Why is that impressive? Because no other forward on the roster can match the difficulty of Dickinson’s usage. Coming off a career-high 22 goals last season, Dickinson has been put into a far more defensive role and has thrived. He has the most defensive zone starts of any regular Blackhawks forward (32) and the fewest offensive zone starts (12). And he’s faced the highest quality of competition among everyday forwards, too. The average offensive rating of the players he’s gone up against this season is 2.89, which puts him in the 93rd percentile leaguewide.
Ryan Donato
Donato’s shooting percentage is an eye-popping 21.2 — more than double his career mark of 10.2. That’s how a guy who’s averaged 14 goals over the last three seasons scores seven in the first month of the season. It briefly earned him a spot on Bedard’s line, but Donato found himself centering the fourth line on Thursday night in Dallas.
Nick Foligno
Despite bouncing around the top nine all season, Foligno has a sparkling 58.98 percent expected-goals share. The only other Blackhawks player above 50 percent is Bertuzzi at 51.54. Foligno also has drawn a team-high eight penalties. The Blackhawks are out-attempting and out-chancing opponents with Foligno on the ice but have been outscored 8-7.
Taylor Hall
Despite being in the top six in all 15 games this season, Hall is averaging a career-low 15:12 of ice time. The former Hart Trophy winner is at full strength, but the Blackhawks are clearly still easing him back into regular usage after missing most of last season following knee surgery.
Philipp Kurashev
Kurashev has just three points this season. He broke out last season offensively with 18 goals and 34 assists. The question entering this season was how much that had to do with his improved play and how much was it with playing with Bedard. While Kurashev has played with Bedard some this season and also played in a top-six center role, the offense hasn’t repeated itself. He has one goal and one assist at five-on-five. The Blackhawks have been outscored 8-2 with him on the ice. This is another important season for him. He’s due another contract after this season, and he’s constantly being evaluated on where he fits in the future.
Patrick Maroon
Maroon still has some of the fastest hands in the league. He still can make plays out of nowhere. His passes lead to shots. That’s apparent through Sznajder’s tracking data, too. Maroon is among the team leaders with 9.26 primary assists per 60 minutes. He could probably use his teammates to finish some more of those chances. Marron has three assists, including two primaries, this season.
Ilya Mikheyev
Mikheyev has had to adjust to a more defensive role with the Blackhawks. His 36.11 offensive zone starting percentage tells that story. In Vancouver the previous two seasons, that percentage was greater than 50. He was in more of an offensive role. Although the offense isn’t coming for him this season — he has zero goals and one assist at five-on-five — he is doing what the Blackhawks are asking of him. Despite how often he and his line are starting outside the offensive zone, the Blackhawks have outscored opponents 5-2 with Mikheyev on the ice.
Lukas Reichel
There are many stats to show Reichel’s improved play. He’s creating more zone entries. He’s on the ice for many scoring chances for himself and others. But the most important statistic may be his ice time. He played 16:46 in the Blackhawks’ last game against the Dallas Stars. That’s the most he has played this season and most he’s played since early January of last season. That ice time speaks to his improved play, but also the confidence Richardson has in him right now. Richardson lost that last season, and that’s why Reichel ended up in Rockford and started off this season as a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks and, later, on their fourth line. Reichel has proved himself to regain that trust.
Craig Smith
Smith leads the Blackhawks with 11.4 shots on goal per 60 minutes at five-on-five. He doesn’t play a ton. He’s averaging 11:47 of ice time, but he knows how to utilize that time. He gets off shots in his limited time and puts them on net.He’s also been pretty accurate, with a 16.67 shooting percentage. He’s also tied for third on the Blackhawks with six points in five-on-five play.
Teuvo Teräväinen
Teräväinen has one goal and one assist in five-on-five play. He’s been effective on the power play and is exceeding his usual rate of production there, but considering it was assumed he would Bedard’s linemate, his five-on–five play has been underwhelming. He’s averaging 0.61 points per 60 minutes in five-on-five play. That’s down from 1.65 points per 60 last season.
Goalies
Petr Mrázek
Mrázek showed a consistency last season that he hadn’t displayed in some time. He’s doing the same again this season. He has a .545 quality start percentage through 11 starts, according to Hockey Reference. It’s not far off what he was last season, which was a .547 quality start percentage. He’s definitely giving the Blackhawks a chance in most games. That’s all they can ask for. With Laurent Brossoit expected to return soon, the Blackhawks may look to give Mrázek a more manageable workload, too.
Arvid Söderblom
Söderblom has a goals saved above expected rate per 60 minutes of 1.158, according to MoneyPuck.com. That’s good for third in the league. That number would be impressive alone, but you throw in the context of last season for him, and it’s a massive step forward. He was 85th in the NHL with a minus-0.626 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes last season. Söderblom is likely headed to Rockford whenever Brossoit returns, but Söderblom certainly has something to build on.
(Top photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today)
