ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Blackhawks could really use Frank Nazar to have an outstanding stretch for the Rockford IceHogs and get an NHL call-up.
It may not be fair to put that much hope or expectation on the 20-year-old Nazar in his first full pro season, but it’s more about the Blackhawks’ desperate need to inject a bit more offense into their team. As of now, Nazar is the best bet. He’s leading the IceHogs in goals, assists and points.
Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson will rightfully put Nazar’s development first and allow him the necessary time to round out his game in the AHL. What Nazar becomes as a player is more important for the future than now. But you would have to think Nazar is getting close to earning an NHL look. The Blackhawks purposely didn’t sign another natural top-six center in the offseason because they wanted to give Nazar a chance to earn that spot. If he had played in training camp anything like he has lately with the IceHogs, he would have probably stuck out of camp. But he didn’t, and as became apparent with time, the Blackhawks were left with a hole in their offense. Just maybe Nazar can fill it.
There have been whispers of a potential December call-up, but Nazar’s upcoming play will ultimately dictate that. The Blackhawks want him to be better without the puck. With six games between Friday and Dec. 7, he will have plenty of opportunity to prove he’s shored up that area. One potential upside to giving Nazar an NHL look soon is the Blackhawks are an engaged team right now. They’re in every game, and they know there has to be an urgency to win now to salvage their season. That environment could benefit Nazar on and off the ice. On the other hand, if the Blackhawks continue to trend as they are, this may be a team that gets beaten down by their record come January.
Nazar may or may not be the answer, but the Blackhawks have to change something offensively if they want to alter their course. Friday’s 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild possessed a similar theme to nearly all of the Blackhawks’ losses this season. As the story goes, the Blackhawks could have won but failed to score enough to do so.
As much as the Blackhawks’ improvement from a season ago can be seen through the stat of them either leading, being tied or within one goal in the third period in 22 of their 23 games this season, there is another stat that has emerged that explains why the Blackhawks aren’t winning more despite their increased competitiveness. When the Blackhawks score at least three goals, they’re 7-1-0 this season. When they fail to reach that mark, they’re 1-12-2. That’s their season there.
And Friday was another two-goal game. It was the ninth time they were stuck at two goals this season. Even if the Blackhawks had scored a third goal and came out on the winning side in just some of those games, this season would be completely different. With three or four more wins, they’d be in fifth in the Central and approaching third and fourth place.
But they aren’t. They’re near the bottom of the Central and the NHL standings with a .391 points percentage. While Friday could have been a real step forward coming off their biggest offensive output of the season, a 6-2 win over the Dallas Stars, and that they had five points in their previous three games, it ended up feeling like another step back.
Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson and his team are left searching again for a way over the hump.
“We need a couple games in a row where we sustain it,” Richardson said. “Maybe one’s a big lead like last game, maybe we have to follow up with a tight game. We got to be comfortable with that. We’re not going to score six goals every night. So when we score two or three, we got to make sure that we buckle down and don’t give the other team any chances for free.”
The Blackhawks were in a favorable position early Friday. Ryan Donato continued his season’s hot streak and scored twice in the opening period to put him in double digits for the year. It took him until March to reach that total last season. His first came off a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi into the slot and the second was a hard shot from the left circle on the power play.
With a 2-0 lead heading into the second period, the Blackhawks could have put the game away with another goal. But the Wild scored the next goal coming from an odd-man rush that started with a Hall turnover. And then 17 seconds later, the Wild scored again when the Blackhawks failed to clear a puck from the defensive zone and Jared Spurgeon’s shot deflected off Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy and into the net.
Spurgeon would be handed even more puck luck later in the period. He released a shot just as he entered the offensive zone. Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrázek appeared to have a clear sight of the puck. But as Mrázek attempted to catch it, the puck hit his glove and ended up behind him in the net. It was the Wild’s third goal of the second period, and it would be the final goal of the game.
The second goal especially bothered Richardson.
“Unfortunately, they got the one on an O-zone giveaway on the first one, but the next shift is huge,” Richardson said. “We can’t let them score right away, especially on the road. I think we can settle the crowd down, the building down. We have to nullify that. So that was just sloppy on our part. Unfortunately, they got that bounce on that third goal, and we didn’t probably shoot or attack enough to get one of those ourself.”
For Murphy, it was another wasted opportunity to seize a winnable game.
“It’s a shame because I feel like we played well for a lot of it leading up to our breakdowns in the second,” Murphy said. “It’s unfortunate. … (In the second period), it felt like we gave up a combination of some turnovers and just not strong on plays whether it’s breakouts or their rush coming into our zone. I don’t know if it’s something specific as much as it’s momentum and a feeling of being going on your toes to getting on your heels and giving into their momentum shift.”
So, how to change that?
“It’s our will to get it done, our attention to detail and our dig in,” Murphy said. “It’s not easy to break through. That’s why we’re where we’re at. It’s easy to start off the game and have some momentum when the game’s flowing, but it’s hard to bear down when things go a little astray. We just have to know it’s going to be hard, not give in like we did and like we sometimes do.”
Outside of Donato’s performance, Connor Bedard and Taylor Hall were two of the better offensive players for the Blackhawks on the day. They were searching and finding each other more in five-on-five play than they were in their first game together. Bedard had a team-high four shots on goal in five-on-five and Hall had two. Richardson said he planned to keep Hall, Bedard and Philipp Kurashev together as a line and give them more time to create chemistry.
That line could get the Blackhawks going. They have that potential. But whether it’s Nazar coming up or that line stepping up, it doesn’t matter. The Blackhawks just need an offensive solution and they need it fast.
(Photo of Taylor Hall: Nick Wosika / USA Today)
