The Blackhawks need defenseman Seth Jones to play better than he has in the last month.
Disregarding all the over-the-top vitriol Jones gets on social media, that’s a fact. Since returning from a foot injury Dec. 21, he hasn’t anchored the Hawks’ defense as steadily as the team needs.
‘‘[I’m working on] being a little harder defensively,’’ Jones, 30, said recently. ‘‘I’ve been out [on the ice] for quite a few goals lately.’’
During five-on-five play in the Hawks’ last 10 games, Jones has been on the ice for 13 goals against, tied for the most on the team. To be fair, he also has been on the ice for 11 goals for, the most on the team (three more than second-place Connor Bedard). Jones’ shifts have been extremely high-event hockey, which isn’t necessarily bad but is in this case.
Moreover, Hawks opponents have generated a 106-66 advantage in scoring chances during Jones’ ice time in that span, a 38.4% ratio that ranks fourth-worst on the team. His 34.2% expected-goals ratio ranks third-worst.
Jones and assistant coach Kevin Dean have had regular conversations in the last two weeks, as they always do. Dean has shown Jones video clips revealing how, earlier this season, he was more effectively using his body and athleticism to win puck battles and create enough separation from opposing forwards to give himself time and space to break the puck out. He hasn’t done that as well recently.
‘‘His timing was off,’’ Dean said Jan. 5. ‘‘He got a little shell-shocked that he was on for a lot of goals, but we talked about it. He’s really accountable, which is great. He’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been terrible.’
‘‘We talked about winning pucks and keeping the puck out of his net for a while. That’s how you get some confidence. You don’t get confidence when you go out and every period you get scored on. It sucks. Even if it’s not your fault, it sucks. You lose confidence.’’
Jones’ neutral-zone defense, a longtime weakness, also had improved earlier this season — thanks to former coach Luke Richardson’s 1-2-2 formation, which worked well for him — but has slipped recently. Interim coach Anders Sorensen’s new formation, an aggressive hybrid version of a 1-1-3, has complicated things.
‘‘[It] has been a struggle with the new system, trying to figure out when to pressure and when to stay back behind the dots and let them have the zone,’’ Jones said recently. ‘‘My numbers have been better this year standing up at the blue line. . . . [But] as of late, the reads aren’t the same if we have numbers back in those three-on-two and three-on-three plays. I’m trying to figure that out.’’
Things have improved slightly over time. It seemed Jones might have turned the corner after an excellent performance Wednesday against the Avalanche, which included a beautiful breakout pass to Tyler Bertuzzi to set up a third-period goal by Bedard. Sorensen praised Jones afterward for ‘‘competing harder.’’
Even early in the game Saturday, Jones expertly defended Oilers star Connor McDavid shortly before the Hawks’ opening goal. But he became more turnover-prone later in the first period and was ultimately on the ice for three Oilers goals (two in five-on-five play), although none was directly his fault.
By spending so much time in the defensive zone, Jones hasn’t been able to contribute as much in the offensive zone, either, which is where he excels most and where the Hawks rely on him most. His shot rate per 60 minutes has dropped from 11.9 before the injury to 9.1 since. He hasn’t been great on the power play, either.
As the Hawks forge deeper into the second half of the season, improvement from Jones would help them keep the results more respectable.