Paint it Blackhawks Presents: Midterm Report Card

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

As the Blackhawks move past the halfway point of the season (yes, we know yesterday was game #42, which is already past midterm), it seems like an appropriate time to reflect on the team, and to look towards the future to see what it holds in store.

After all, the view from the top is always rosiest, and with the Hawks perched at the no. 1 spot on both the ESPN and TSN Power Rankings, things are looking especially bright for this young bunch.

In addition, you have rumors that are beginning to percolate that the Hawks could possibly be in the running for Ilya Kovalchuk, which would add a whole new level of intrigue to a season that has been dominated both by quality play on the ice and also cap issues off of it.

Finally, you have the surprising play of the Hawks’ defense in general, but also the combined excellence of goalies Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi. After an early season “controversy” over who should be starting, Huet has taken the reins and led the team with his solid play, and Niemi has played extremely well in his limited starts.

Needless to say, everything is looking pretty good for the Blackhawks so far. The question, however, is beneath the rosy exterior, is there anything that should worry Hawks fans?

Here to give you the lowdown on the current state of the Chicago Blackhawks, here is Paint it Blackhawks’ Midterm Report Card.

Offense: A-

The Blackhawks are currently #3 in the NHL in goals scored per game, netting 3.17 tallies per contest. This number has been helped in recent days by the team’s 16 goal in three game outburst against the Devils, Blues, and Ducks, but it has more to do with the team’s increasingly effective puck possession game.

The top line of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Troy Brouwer has been especially effective, with Brouwer and Toews sharing the net screening responsibilities and Kane circling the perimeter looking for any opening to unleash his lethal wrist shot. Kane’s 48 points this season are representative of this line’s success, and Brouwer’s career high 11 goals haven’t hurt matters either.

Going down the line, Marian Hossa did go through a six game goal-less streak recently, but he still has the ability to impact the offense even when he is not scoring goals. His speed and puck control abilities always make the other teams take notice, and opens up opportunities for his linemates Andrew Ladd and Patrick Sharp. Speaking of Sharp, he has been very effective in the face-off dot during his time as a center, and that has enabled this line to have success as well.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not mention the progress of Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien as bonafide goal scoring threats, and also if we did not at least bring up the increasing production of the fourth line. Tomas Kopecky has finally started hitting the scoresheet with regularity, and Colin Fraser has been doing a bang-up job both in maintaining a physical game, as well as improving his passing skills.

The offense that so many touted before the season as a “four lines deep” threat has finally begun to hit on all cylinders, and the NHL has been introduced to its destructive power in a big way.

Defense:A

The key to a good offense is a good defense, or at least that’s what pundits from across sports would tell you.

In the case of the Blackhawks, this has most certainly been the case. The team is only allowing 24.2 shots per game, which leads the league. They don’t allow many shots to get to their goaltenders, but they also take advantage of their superior poke-checking abilities to create opportunities headed the other way.

The most notable defensive contributions as of late haven’t come from the usual suspects, but have instead come from D-men Brian Campbell and Brent Sopel.

Sure, Campbell is still prone to occasional poor defensive play, but he has vastly improved his positioning on the ice, and has shown a penchant for breaking up 2-on-1 and 3-on-1 rushes. In what can only be described as a “Top Gun” tactic, Campbell broke up a 3-on-1 against the Blues on Saturday by coming to a near complete stop and intercepting a puck directly off a St. Louis stick and starting it the other way in one fluid motion. It was an outstanding play that won’t receive kudos on highlight reels, but it is indicative of the job he has done to improve his defense.

As for Sopel, he illustrated effectively this weekend what he has been quietly doing for the previous few weeks. He has been a shot-blocking machine, laying his body on the line with abandon to prevent pucks from getting to the goal, and he also has improved his penalty killing skills immensely. While the penalty killing will be addressed later, his performance in that area deserves special mention.

Goaltending: B

Goaltending was widely viewed as a weakness of this squad when the season began, it has become an area where the Hawks are becoming increasingly proficient.

Even though he is facing an average of fewer than 23 shots a contest, Cristobal Huet has slowly turned skeptics into believers, lowering his goals against average to 2.12 and raising his save percentage from below the .900 mark to a respectable .911%. His most important stat, however, is his 19-8 record, which is exactly what you want out of your starting goaltender.

Looking at Antti Niemi, his numbers simply look unbelievable. In 13 games played, Niemi has only allowed 23 goals for a 1.81 GAA. His save percentage is a dazzling .926%, and he has four shutouts. If Anaheim hadn’t gotten a couple of cheap goals late in the game yesterday, he could have had five. Even still, averaging a shutout every four starts is nothing to sneeze at, especially for a back-up keeper.

Yes, the goalies have occasionally had bad games, but there haven’t been any of the prolonged slumps that can derail teams. They win the games they should win, and they are always able to back up the defense when needed. That’s the sign of a quality group of cage minders.

Power Play:B+

In an area where winger Marian Hossa says the team still needs to improve in, they certainly have been playing well enough to get the job done.

Currently the Hawks boast the league’s ninth ranked power play unit, converting on 20.6% of their chances. Only three teams rank ahead of Chicago in this category in the Western Conference, and shockingly the Sharks aren’t one of them. The Canucks, Blue Jackets, and Ducks all are higher on the totem pole.

In what has become a running theme this season, the Hawks’ leading power play scorer is a name a lot of fans are stunned to learn: Troy Brouwer. His six tallies on the man-advantage can be credited mostly to his propensity for getting to the net and poking in easy rebounds, but it also speaks to his underrated ability of balancing physicality with a scorer’s touch.

Captain Jonathan Toews also has five goals, and Dustin Byfuglien has four. In terms of assists, Patrick Kane has 10 of them to lead the team, and Duncan Keith is a close second with nine.

Penalty Kill: A

When you have a team as good at suppressing shots as the Blackhawks are, it’s not surprising to learn that they possess one of the league’s best penalty killing units.

Currently the third ranked group in hockey, with an 86.9% kill rate, the Hawks are proving to be just as tricky to solve when they have one less man on the ice. John Madden can be given a lot of the credit for the PK unit improvement, but credit can also be given to guys like Sopel, and Duncan Keith for stepping up their games as well.

While last year saw the Hawks frantically trying to play every pass that the attacking power players would make, this year has seen them play with a lot more discipline, letting the other team set up and then stopping them through a series of shot blocks and poke checks.

Also, the team isn’t afraid of trying to score short-handed, as Kris Versteeg has demonstrated an ability to compliment his improved defense with a lightning quick first step out of the zone to snare clearing passes from teammates.

Best First Half Performance: Troy Brouwer

Yes, Patrick Kane grabs all of the headlines and flash bulbs, and yes Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews are considered some of the best at their respective positions in the NHL, but Mr. Brouwer has quietly had a first half to remember.

He has already reached a career high with 11 goals through the team’s first 42 games, and he also has six power play tallies, which leads the team. His +8 is nothing to sneeze at, and he also has seen an increased workload in terms of ice time, having averaged 16:15 so far per game this season.

What is most impressive, however, is that he ranks slightly ahead of Colin Fraser and just behind Marian Hossa in shots on goal, but has more goals than those two players combined. Yes, Hossa has only played 20 games, but he is averaging well over three shots a contest, and Brouwer’s 58 shots represent about one and a half shots per game. His success rate is at 19%, which is an outstanding number for someone with double digit goals.

Brouwer does all of the little things well, and he can score too, so that’s why he’s PIB’s Best Player of the First Half.

Tags: Andrew Ladd, antti niemi, Brent Seabrook, Brent Sopel, Brian Campbell, Chicago Blackhawks, Cristobal Huet, Duncan Keith, Jonathan Toews, kris versteeg, marian hossa, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Tomas Kopecky, Troy Brouwer