LOS ANGELES — One of the biggest causes for the offensive struggles this season has been an inexplicable deviance from the high-paced transition attack of last season.
In 2018-19, 58 percent of the Hawks’ offensive zone entries were by carrying the puck over the blue line rather than dumping it in, per hockey analyst Corey Snzajder. That was the highest rate in the league.
Data isn’t available yet for 2019-20, but by the eye test, the Hawks have employed the dump-and-chase method a lot more frequently, with little success.
Now, they’re hoping to go back to what was working.
“A lot of the stuff we’ve been talking about the past few days is kind of that transition game, getting better at that,” Patrick Kane said. “I think that’s why we were successful at times last year.”
The Hawks’ more passive, defense-first scheme in the neutral zone is partly to blame: they’re not forcing as many turnovers as they used to, and thus not generating as many counter-attacking opportunities.
The team ranked 17th in the league in takeaways entering Saturday. And Colliton spelled it out directly after the morning skate: “Ultimately, your best offense comes after turnovers.”
So expect some changes in that regard, too, with the aim of boosting the Hawks’ 30th-ranked offense.
“[Last season, we] created a turnover, and then boom, we’re up the ice going the other way,” Kane added. “So I think that’s an aspect of our game we can get better in, and I’ll probably create better entries.”
