For the fourth straight season, the Blackhawks have hit the halfway mark in very bad shape.
That’s an exact copy — except for one word — of the opening sentence of this same exercise last season. Analyzing the Hawks’ team statistics at the midpoint of each season has actually felt repetitive for years now, because the team has lived in the NHL’s basement for so long.
General manager Kyle Davidson convinced fans to expect a bit more this season, but so far they’ve been disappointed. Through 41 games, the Hawks are 14-25-2 with 30 points, up slightly from 26 points at this juncture last season. But unlike a year ago, when they were second-to-last in the standings, they’re in last place this season, two points behind the Sharks.
Before the Hawks start the second half Friday against the Red Wings, here’s a glance at their first-half team stats:
Even strength
As was the case at this time last season, the Hawks rank 29th in the NHL with 2.06 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, ahead of only the Flames, the Wings and the disastrous Predators (1.68). (The surprising Capitals lead the league at 3.03.)
In the 15 games since Anders Soren-sen replaced Luke Richardson as coach, however, the Hawks are tied for 18th with 2.28 goals per 60 minutes.
Their offensive analytics are all predictably among the league’s worst. They rank 32nd in shot attempts, 30th in shots on goal and 32nd in scoring chances. Under Soren-sen, they have improved slightly to 25th in the latter two categories.
Defensively, the Hawks rank 28th with an average of 2.92 goals allowed per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, ahead of only the Sharks, Flyers, Canadiens and Penguins (3.15). (The Jets lead the NHL at 1.85.)
In every defensive analytical category, the Hawks rank between 26th and 28th. But they’ve been extremely leaky under Soren-sen, allowing 3.75 goals per 60 minutes — much worse than any other team during that span. They’ve allowed fewer shot attempts under Sorensen, but a larger percentage of those shots have made it on goal.
Special teams
In stark contrast to the Hawks’ even-strength struggles, their special teams are the best they’ve been in years.
On the power play, they rank 12th in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes — a dramatic improvement from last season, when they ranked 29th at the midpoint.
However, their power-play analytics suggest that productivity might be unsustainable. They rank 31st in shot attempts, 25th in shots on goal and 24th in scoring chances.
On the penalty kill, the Hawks have allowed the fewest goals per minute — an eye-popping stat. This unit has been their biggest relative strength for several years and has been downright dominant at times this season.
The Hawks’ penalty-kill rankings aren’t as impressive but still are decent: eighth in shot attempts allowed, 15th in shots on goal allowed and 16th in scoring chances allowed.
The special-teams numbers are basically the same under Sorensen as they were under Richardson, which makes sense because Soren-sen’s changes have largely focused on even-strength play.
Goaltending
There are two huge, inexplicable splits in the Hawks’ efficiency this season.
Their .900 save percentage in five-on-five play ranks a subpar 25th, but their .894 save percentage is the NHL’s best.
Under Richardson, they also had much more reliable goaltending (.909 overall save percentage) than they’ve had under Sorensen (.882). It’s worth noting that the NHL’s overall save percentage is just .900 this season, its lowest since 1995-96.
Out of 63 qualifying goalies league-wide, Petr Mrazek’s .897 save percentage ranks 40th and his minus-2.5 goals saved above average ranks 42nd. Arvid Soderblom’s .905 save percentage ranks 21st and his plus-2.3 GSAA ranks 23rd.