WINNIPEG, Manitoba — One could look at the bright side and say that while the Chicago Blackhawks failed to get a shot on goal in the first two power plays Tuesday in the season opener, at least Connor Bedard put two on net during their third chance.
Bedard didn’t mince words about it.
“I mean, it was pretty bad — all three, honestly,” Bedard told the Tribune on Thursday after practice in Salt Lake City. The Hawks used that practice at Delta Center to focus on the power play.
And after just one game — a 5-2 loss to the Utah Hockey Club — the Hawks swapped positions on both units ahead of their Friday matchup against the Winnipeg Jets.
Nick Foligno replaced Taylor Hall on the first unit, and Hall moved to flank on the second unit — which looked dismal — bumping Ryan Donato, while Alex Vlasic joined fellow defenseman Alec Martinez and Philipp Kurashev moved from flank to bumper, replacing Craig Smith.
Here’s how the lineups compare.
Projected power play against Jets
First unit
- Flank: Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teräväinen
- Bumper: Tyler Bertuzzi
- Net front: Nick Foligno
- Point: Seth Jones
Second unit
- Flank: Taylor Hall
- Bumper: Philipp Kurashev
- Net front: Pat Maroon
- Point: Alec Martinez, Alex Vlasic
Power play against Utah Hockey Club in season opener
First unit
- Flank: Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen
- Bumper: Taylor Hall
- Net front: Tyler Bertuzzi
- Point: Seth Jones
Second unit
- Flanks: Philipp Kurashev, Ryan Donato
- Bumper: Craig Smith
- Net front: Pat Maroon
- Point: Alec Martinez
“It’s not that we’re blowing it up,” coach Luke Richardson said. “We’re still having different looks. Nick did an excellent job there last year net front down the middle, so we thought that would give us an option there.
“We’ve got to get simpler and start shooting pucks, so that’s the idea. Vlasic has worked on his shot. He’s shooting pucks. Marty is a great shooter as we’ve seen over the years, and (we) have two big shooters on the second unit — keep it simple, getting pucks to the net.”
Hall agreed with the power-play switch.
“It’s really struggled to start,” he said. “So I understand them changing units right away, just to make sure that we’re not spinning our tires and we’re getting the right combination as soon as we can early in the year.”
Maroon may seem like a curious choice to keep on a power play, but Richardson likes his size and toughness at the front of the net. And Kurashev’s and Hall’s line in five-on-five stood out in the first game.
“It seems like they’re getting a little bit of chemistry, too, so that was part of the thought process there as well,” Richardson said.
Some players also cautioned against making too much of the changes.
“A lot of people are capable of playing in all the spots,” Bedard said. “Start of the year (we’re) trying to find what works. So hopefully, we can go out and snap it around.”
Said Hall about the move to flank: “I’m used to it. I played that position a lot in my career, when I was in Jersey and I had my really good season. … “I think I’m pretty good at that spot on the flank position, and if that’s on the second unit, then I’m going to do my best to make sure that we have a really good second unit to go out and finish the power play and give us momentum, and just do whatever I can.”
Added Bertuzzi: “We’ve just got to continue to work at it, and obviously try to get better. More reps, more games, it’ll come.”
The Hawks ranked 28th in power-play percentage last season at just 16.6%.
In their opener in Salt Lake City, the Hawks came up empty in three opportunities against Utah’s PK, which isn’t exactly a world-beater. The former Arizona Coyotes killed 76.3% of penalties last season, which ranked 25th, just two spots above the Hawks PK.
The rest of the trip might provide a chance to get right.
The Jets ranked 21st (77.1%), though they lost one of their top penalty killers in defenseman Brenden Dillon, who’s now with the New Jersey Devils.
The Edmonton Oilers ranked 15th (79.5%) and they lost their two of their best penalty killers — Warren Foegele and Cody Ceci — via free agency and a trade, respectively. Still, the Oilers were lights out in the postseason, ranking No. 1 at 94.3%.
The Calgary Flames ranked ninth at 80.8% last season but are rebuilding and already have allowed two power-play goals in four times short-handed this season as of Thursday night.
Now it’s just a matter of the Hawks getting everyone on the same page.
Some of the players seem to favor moving strategically through the neutral zone, setting up their attack and picking their shots.
“I thought we got in the zone decently, like our entries were all right, which is good,” Bedard said of the opener. “But once we got there, just getting it set up, not rushing anything. And once we’re set up, I think we’ll be good.
“It’s just kind of getting in that place where we’re comfortable. And I think that’ll come. It’s one game and we’re going to get better with our breakouts. You can’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s going to work out better if you go faster,’ which it might, for sure, but sometimes it’s just not what’s there.”
However, Richardson wants more speed through the zone and for the Hawks to focus less on setup and more on keeping opponents on their heels, even if it isn’t always pretty.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
“If we can establish more shooting, whether it’s from the top, even off a faceoff, because we’re not maybe set, sometimes they’re reluctant to shoot on the faceoff,” Richardson said. “So we don’t get set up first, but the other team is not set up either.
“If we shoot the puck and we’re skating forward and they’re retreating to their defensive positions, we’re probably going to get the rebounds and the pucks in the corner and get more sustained time.”
Richardson acknowledged — as Bedard alluded to — that approach can’t apply to every situation.
“To them, they’re like, ‘Oh, no, that’s not the perfect shot. I’m going to pass around, get set up here first,’ ” Richardson said. “But I think right now, earlier (in the power play), the simpler the better.”
