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@LAHawk: Thanks for your question and great observation.
I reviewed the goal several times, and honestly, the entire sequence was a mess. The Blackhawks’ defensive coverage broke down completely — there was confusion, poor communication, and bad positioning, starting with Foligno. At one point, you can literally see four Hawks lined up together with only one player up top (#28).
Let’s go through it in detail:
1️⃣ The Setup:
Suzuki rims the puck down low to Hutson. Bedard is the high forward, and three Hawks collapse low in front of the net — that’s fine at first. Foligno is down low with Burakovsky and Rinzel, while Vlasic is a bit too far up on the right side.2️⃣ The First Breakdown:
As Hutson gets the puck along the boards, the Hawks should switch from a box +1 to man-to-man coverage. Bedard recognizes it and moves toward Hutson, but Foligno drifts toward Rinzel instead of holding his lane. That movement causes confusion — Burakovsky ends up as the high forward, which is a good reaction to maintain defensive balance after Foligno went too low.(stuck in front of the net)3️⃣ After the First Shot:
Hutson takes a shot that’s blocked, and the rebound lands near Bedard. He tries to clear the puck, but Caufield intercepts. Montreal quickly resets in a 2–3 formation, while Chicago collapses into a 1–4 shape, which leaves too much space up top.4️⃣ The Secondary Sequence:
Caufield shoots again, creating a rebound in front. Now Hutson becomes the bumper, Vlasic is behind Hutson and cover Suzuki too, and Foligno is planted in front. Rinzel is covering Slafkovsky, while Bedard is simply watching the play develop. Hutson kicks the puck to Suzuki — Vlasic is close to him, but Hutson makes a strong play to push the puck through.At that moment, Burakovsky goes lower to help defend Suzuki even though Vlasic is already there. Bedard’s positioning improves slightly, but Guhle is left completely alone at the blue line. Suzuki finds him, and Guhle’s shot goes in after deflecting off Rinzel’s skate.
5️⃣ Final Breakdown:
At the time of Guhle’s shot, the Hawks had reset into a box +1 — but they were too tight together, leaving the entire top lane open. The whole problem started with Foligno being too low in the zone and the team failing to communicate. Three Hawks collapsed in front, no one covered the high point, and that’s how Guhle found the space to score.Unlucky deflection, yes — but the root cause was positional confusion, led by Foligno’s misread and a lack of defensive communication.
Here’s your improved reply 👇
Good point, Chunk. You’re absolutely right about Perreault and Peca — both bring great experience to help the young centers develop. Of course, there are rare exceptions like McTavish and Celebrini who came into the NHL and performed well in the faceoff circle right away. But for most young centers — Bedard, Nazar, Carlsson, Fantilli included — it takes time, strength, and experience to adjust at this level. Thanks for sharing your insight!
Game Update:
Levshunov will be a healthy scratch tonight, while Crevier draws into the lineup and joins Kaiser on the second pairing. Lukas Reichel is set to make his season debut, skating on the fourth line. Meanwhile, Jason Dickinson will be sidelined for at least one week due to injury.Lines & pairs at Blackhawks morning skate ahead of the home opener vs Montreal
Dach-Bedard-Burakovsky
Teräväinen-Nazar-Bertuzzi
Donato-Greene-Mikheyev
Foligno-Reichel-LaffertyVlasic-Rinzel
Kaiser-Levshunov
Grzelcyk-MurphyKnight
Jason Dickinson is not at morning skate
Sorry to you and everyone for how difficult it’s been to comment or reply lately — it’s often not working, and unfortunately, it’s out of my control. I really wish I could fix it.
That said, Bedard is only going to get better. He worked hard this summer and clearly wants to take the next step. If he can improve his faceoffs, it’ll make a big difference in the long run. Honestly, the Blackhawks should consider hiring a faceoff specialist to help both Bedard and Nazar take that next leap.
Thanks for your comment, my friend! That’s exactly the beauty of watching the Blackhawks right now — their prospect development. Sure, you’ll see some mistakes from the young defense core and others, but the key is watching their progress game by game. They’re playing meaningful hockey, and that’s what really matters to me. I agree — watching the Blackhawks has become a lot more fun again!
Thanks for your comment! You’re absolutely right — the top six needs to keep producing, and down the road, the Hawks will need more offensive support from the bottom six as well. The power play still needs some fine-tuning, but the potential is definitely there — it’s just a matter of chemistry and adapting to Blashill’s system.
I’m not too worried yet. What I like most is that this team is playing meaningful hockey early in the season — that’s key for their growth. One game at a time. Another big challenge awaits tomorrow against the Canadiens — a fast team with four lines that can score. But remember, the Blackhawks swept them last year.
Have a great weekend!
Frenchy
Merci d’avoir lu mon article, et salutations à toi depuis la France ! 🇫🇷
Je suis tout à fait d’accord avec toi : la saison sera très longue et la division est particulièrement relevée. C’était une belle partie à regarder, et le Canadien a offert un bon match d’équipe.J’espère que tu as apprécié ta visite à Montréal et que tu auras la chance d’y retourner bientôt ! Les installations d’entraînement du CH à Brossard sont d’ailleurs toujours ouvertes au public, au cas où tu repasses par là.
I hear you — it’s frustrating when that happens. It’s only occurred to me twice in the past few days, but now I always copy my post just in case it doesn’t show up. Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it.
Yes exactly: EDM is healthy scratch.. don’t be shock he returns to the AHL (soon) But Bashill likes him
Exactly… I’m working on an article about the NHL salary cap — focusing on the best contract templates for the next decade.
Stay tuned, it’s going to be a good one! 💥Great points, and honestly, I’m right there with you. The Hawks’ next phase of the rebuild will have to come from internal growth and smart trades, not big free-agent splashes.
The prospect pool is getting crowded — especially up front — and that’s exactly the kind of “good problem” you want when building a contender. Guys like Moore, Greene, Lardis, Boisvert, and Vanacker all bring something different, but not everyone will fit long-term. That depth gives Davidson flexibility to move picks or mid-tier prospects for established NHL players once Bedard and Nazar are ready to push for a playoff spot.
You’re also right on the goaltending side. With Knight, Commesso, Soderblom, and Gajan, there’s no way they all end up staying — one or two will become valuable trade chips once the picture clears up.
NEXT SUMMER:
The Hawks are shifting from the “collecting assets” phase to the “balancing the roster” phase. The key now is timing: make the right move without rushing the process.
