The Chicago Blackhawks’ first practice since the NHL took a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off looked more like a series of training camp drills than a typical midseason session.
They worked on passing and two-man rushes before breaking down into spirited group scrimmages.
Did the players need to get back to basics after a week-and-a-half-long layoff?
“Oh, always,” Nick Foligno said after practice at Fifth Third Arena on Tuesday. “The coaches always have anxiety when you go away for that long and then to make sure they get their stamp on you.
“Today was a work day. We knew that coming in, though, so you get excited to get back to work.”
Hawks interim coach Anders Sorensen wasn’t looking to ease back into a routine, he wanted to see some competitiveness off the hop.
“Today was just getting up and running and getting into each other a little bit,” he said.
Similar to a training camp, the Hawks are scheduled to practice for three more days leading up to Saturday’s first post-break game against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.
“We’ve got to tweak some things,” Sorensen said. “Today was more of a ‘get back to work’ day. Tomorrow we’ll work on some little things, little details in our game, but nothing too wild.”
The Hawks have 27 games left — the final third of an 82-game season — but the next 10 games are packed into 17 days, “so won’t be a lot of practice time,” Sorensen said.
“We’ll make the most of the next couple of days here.”
Here are five things we learned from practice.
1. Time will tell if the break cost the Hawks momentum.
The Hawks’ place in the pecking order hasn’t changed — at 17-31-7, they’re still second to last — but their three games before the break have mattered mentally.
They beat the Nashville Predators handily and took the Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues to overtime and a shootout, respectively.
“If you look at the way we’ve been playing of late … it’s been a pretty exciting brand of hockey, honestly,” Foligno said. “It’s disappointing we didn’t get that win in St Louis, but we’ve had some really strong games where we played hard, we played excitable and emotional hockey.
“And I think that’s what we need. We need to have that to bring consistency in every game.”
Connor Bedard said he wasn’t worried about the hiatus taking the Hawks back to square one.
“It’s still hockey,” he said. “We had a couple weeks of not playing, but just personally (I want to) do what I can to help the team … getting to a place where we feel good about our game and putting the work in to feel that way.”
2. The locker room has been buzzing about 4 Nations.
Teuvo Teräväinen (Finland) is the only Hawks player in the tournament, but the U.S. (10 Hawks), Canada (five) and Sweden (one) are all represented in the locker room.
So it’s natural to have some chatter with national pride on the line.
“It’s been unreal,” said Bedard, a Canadian. “It’s probably been the highest level hockey ever played.
“I mean, that Canada game (versus the U.S.), first 10 seconds, there’s three fights. I think people were wondering how it would be, and it’s been unbelievable to watch. So it’s great for the game, and obviously playing for your country shows a lot of pride.”
Sorensen, a native Swede, said the pace of play has been impressive.
“I watched every game except Sweden-Finland, actually, because I was on the airplane,” he said.
3. Can the Hawks break through on offense?
The Hawks saw a small uptick in goals, scoring at least three goals in each of the last three games before the 4 Nations break.
But they’ve left some scoring chances on the table by getting stuck in their zone for stretches.
The Hawks worked on rushes Tuesday and Sorensen said he wants to create more off the rush.
“We’ll try to cut down on our D-zone time a little bit,” he said. “And then overall individually for guys to keep taking strides here, if it’s young guys or even some of the older guys to keep progressing here.”
4. “Face-Off” was a time to take off.
It’s not unusual to see Foligno’s sons Landon and Hudson at Fifth Third Arena during practice, but during the 4 Nations break, Nick thought it best to see other people: Namely his wife, Janelle.
“My wife and I actually went down (to Punta Mita, Mexico) and got some sun,” Nick Foligno said. “No kids, too. That was a nice break for my wife.”
Bedard’s getaway didn’t exactly get away from hockey.
“I was with some buddies, hung out and we got on the ice a little bit,” he said.
At least he had a change of scenery.
“I was in Arizona, so (it was) a little better weather (than Chicago) this month,” Bedard said.
5. Nolan Allan is trying to fit in again.
The young D-corps is in a bit of flux. The Hawks called up Ethan Del Mastro from Rockford, but Louis Crevier (concussion) wore a green non-contact jersey and remains questionable for the Blue Jackets game.
Meanwhile, Allan didn’t dress for four of the last five games.
The break meant a time for reflection — how to get back into the lineup.
“I guess there obviously will be instances where I can simplify my game and my puck plays at certain moments,” Allan told the Tribune. “Not so much so that I’m scared to make plays … just learning how to balance that situational stuff — where you’re at in the game and where you’re at on the ice, when is the right time to make those plays, and when’s the right time to just make it a simple play and kind of get out of our end (if you) get in trouble.”
Allan said he’s focusing on breakouts, but more so on his transition through the neutral zone.
“I think that’s probably the biggest area where just being simple comes into play,” he said.
Sorensen wants to see the defenseman who impressed him in December.
“He was playing really well, he was assertive and he was physically engaged a lot of times, and emotionally engaged in games, and that was very noticeable,” the coach said. “Getting back to that is going to be key.
“And then with his puck decisions, be clean, be effective, be efficient with that.”
