Nikita Zadorov has all the tools to be Blackhawks’ shutdown defenseman — if he can find consistency

Nikita Zadorov has been characteristically inconsistent, two games into his Blackhawks tenure. | AP Photos

Nikita Zadorov exposed his best and his worst during Friday’s Blackhawks-Lightning game.

First, “Bad Zadorov” appeared. Early in the third period, defending a simple three-on-three rush, the hulking defenseman inexplicably tracked puck-carrying Steven Stamkos from the left side to the middle of the ice — even though Connor Murphy already had the middle lane locked down.

The odd maneuver left Ondrej Palat wide open on Zadorov’s vacated wing, and Palat roared in on Collin Delia for a high-danger chance that never should’ve happened.

Uh, Zadorov, where are you going here? pic.twitter.com/XGnOFBVxmD

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 16, 2021

But “Good Zadorov” arrived on his very next shift.

With the Hawks seeking a tying goal, Zadorov twice stepped up and delivered firm, effective hits on Tampa’s Blake Coleman just inside the Hawks’ attacking blue line. Both times Zadorov won the puck back and was able to keep the offensive cycle alive.

Here's an example of Nikita Zadorov using his physicality in a really positive, productive way for the Blackhawks last night.

Twice he turns over Blake Coleman with big hits to hold the offensive blue line: pic.twitter.com/WpQRRKFUDf

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 16, 2021

Inconsistency like that plagued Zadorov’s five-year stint with the Avalanche before this season. The former first-round pick frequently displayed all the physical tools and raw skills needed to become an elite shutdown defenseman but never really put it all together.

The Hawks acquired the 25-year-old Russian this offseason hoping a fresh team and bigger role would help him finally do so.

Two games into the 2021 season, Zadorov looks arguably closer to the full package now than ever before — but he’s not fully there yet.

“He definitely looks the part,” coach Jeremy Colliton said Friday. “He’s got a lot of nice parts to his game. So it’s just the challenge to help him to find a way to bring it more consistently— not just game to game, but shift to shift — because we do think there’s more there.

“It’s up to him to commit to getting better and be focused every time he’s on the ice, whether it’s practice or a game, and it’s up to us to find new ways to get through the message and reach his potential... So we’ve got to find a button he can get to. I think he can be a really, really effective defenseman in the league.”

Of course, the fact Zadorov has remained a regular NHL player in spite of his inconsistencies means he already does do a lot of things well.

Colliton memorably described him as “nearly impossible” to enter the defensive zone against during camp.

“He’s got a really long reach, of course, with his size,” the coach added Friday. “But he’s such a good skater, he’s able to close on guys. So that’s a big part of what he brings. And the ‘D’-zone, that’s been the message...get a stop, use his reach to break up plays and that can get us going the other way in transition.”

Zadorov’s long reach is one of his best traits, as evidenced here.

Zadorov mostly played with sophomore Adam Boqvist in the Lightning series and the pairing produced mixed results, as is customary for Zadorov. To be fair, he did miss four of eight training camp sessions with a minor groin injury, so some rust is forgivable.

In the first game, Zadorov played 14:42 at even strength, during which shot attempts were 6-5, scoring chances 3-3 and Tampa scored once.

Other than the goal, that’s along the lines of what an ideal Zadorov outing should look like — a sizable minute share during which low-event, defensive hockey occurred. That’s what a shutdown defenseman does.

In the second game, Zadorov played just 10:55 at even strength yet shot attempts were 17-12, scoring chances 12-9 and Tampa again scored once. That’s very high-event, offensive hockey — not ideal.

The key moving forward will be maximizing his outings similar to the former and minimizing the latter.

“I have a plan to play here and show my best hockey all the time, so I can stay here as long as I can,” Zadorov said Friday. “It’s a big chance to show off what I can do to the management, to the owners, to the coaches. Hopefully they’ll like me and I’ll stay here.”