Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and coach Jeremy Colliton seemingly disagreed Wednesday about exactly how the Hawks can best generate more offense moving forward.
Toews talked about shooting more often. Colliton emphasized holding onto the puck in the offensive zone and perhaps actually shooting less, instead wearing down the Golden Knights’ defenders.
But they were on the same page about one thing: the Hawks’ efforts to increase their production will take place within the same structured style they debuted in Game 1.
A return to the risk-taking, run-and-gun aggression from the Oilers series isn’t coming.
That’s completely in line with the team’s Tuesday night postgame comments, when Colliton argued — despite the Hawks’ 4-1 loss — that they’ll need to “grind” out a series win by staying patient through uneventful shifts and neutralizing the Knights’ surplus of skill.
Still, as Toews clarified Wednesday, the Hawks weren’t satisfied with their execution of that system, particularly in the offensive zone. The Hawks recorded only 20 shots on goal, tied for their fewest in a game this season.
Here is Toews’ strategy for fixing that in Thursday’s Game 2:
“There were still some situations yesterday where we had some Grade-A chances and we didn’t shoot the puck. We’ve got to take those shots; we can’t hesitate.”
“They’re throwing pucks from everywhere on [Corey Crawford] and trying to get ugly goals. Against a team like Vegas, it doesn’t have to be pretty. We need to test [Robin] Lehner a little bit more, throw it at his feet, get in there and try and find some of those ugly goals.”
And here is Colliton’s idea:
“We have to protect the puck in the offensive zone a little more, establish a little bit more zone time, force them to defend for longer periods. [Vegas is] a big team, they’re good at getting pucks back, they want to overload in D zone. If you can hold it longer, sometimes you can create something.”
The Hawks, at various times, could’ve benefitted from one strategy or the other in Game 1.
Kirby Dach, racing in on a 2-on-1 rush in the opening minutes, saw all indicators telling him to shoot. The Knights’ defenseman went down early to block the pass, and Lehner gave Dach space to aim for up high. But Dach — whose fatal flaw as a rookie has been his reluctance to shoot — instead tried to circle the net, and the chance fizzled. He should’ve heeded Toews’ advice.
On other occasions, the Hawks won offensive zone faceoffs — they were actually 10-for-17 on them (after struggling at the dot against the Oilers) — but over-eagerly released point shots that were blocked and knocked out of the zone. They should’ve heeded Colliton’s advice.
Ideally, the Hawks can do both: have more possession and also shoot more often. That might indeed be what it takes to upend a team as flawless as the Knights.
Some better individual performances could help, too. Patrick Kane’s inability to get his shots on net in the playoffs — only one of his four attempts Tuesday did, although he hit the post on another — is a problem. So is Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome’s complete invisibility of late.
DeBrincat, with zero goals in five games, said Wednesday that he feels his production will come if he keeps doing the right things. And then he assessed the offensive improvement the Hawks need in a way that actually combined Toews’ and Colliton’s proposals.
“We’re going to need to play a little more in the ‘O’-zone and a little bit less in the ‘D’-zone,” DeBrincat said. “If we can get that ‘O’-zone cycle going and get more pucks at the net, we’ll have a good chance.”
