Tyler Bertuzzi went to new Blackhawks coach Jeff Blashill at the start of training camp and asked for his help.
Bertuzzi knew as well as anyone how streaky he had been the past few years, and it reached an extreme last year. For example, he churned out 15 points (including nine goals) in 17 games between Dec. 19 and Jan. 26, then managed only six points (including zero goals) over his next 18 games.
This season, he hoped to smooth out his production over the entire season, and he hoped Blashill could help him do that.
“[He has had] some real ebbs and flows, where he gets real hot and then he goes — in his words to me — too long of stretches where he doesn’t [score],” Blashill said Sept. 19.
“It’s something that we’re just going to monitor as we go through the season. One of the assistants will have ‘Bert’ and make sure we’re watching for, ‘What are those reasons we’re missing? Is he not getting to the net as much [as] he normally does? Are we not shooting the puck enough, because he’s at the net and we’re not getting enough shots in there?'”
One month in, Bertuzzi has been quite productive under Blashill, although it’s impossible to tell whether this is his new normal or simply another hot streak that might fade away soon.
The 30-year-old forward entered Wednesday with 14 points in 15 games, having exploded for six goals in his last three games. His rekindled chemistry with Connor Bedard on the power play has earned him a promotion up to Bedard’s line during five-on-five play, too.
“I’ll probably go to [Jeff] when I don’t score for eight games or something,” Bertuzzi said Tuesday. “But that’s why I don’t get too high or too low, because I know — at some point — everyone goes through a lull. [I’ll] just stay with the program and keep going.”
Back-door wall
Bertuzzi’s 28.1% shooting percentage certainly isn’t sustainable, but it’s also not as unsustainable for him as it would be for anyone else.
That’s because the vast majority of his goals are tap-ins and deflections around the net that, if executed smoothly, cannot possibly be saved. He shot 17.6% last season, way above the league average.
“He’s really learned over the years how to build a wall on that back post,” Blashill said during the road trip. “People shoot for it, and they go in. It’s a great way to score.”
Where are they now?
Among former Hawks spread around the league, Philipp Kurashev has been an early-season standout for the Sharks, who — at 8-6-3 — have exceeded expectations just like the Hawks.
Kurashev is averaging nearly 18 minutes per game and has tallied 10 points in 15 games, meaning he’s already closing in on his total of 14 points from last season. It’s nice to see him rejuvenating his career in a top-six role, even getting some time with Macklin Celebrini.
Seth Jones’ workload with the Panthers hasn’t decreased at all from his Hawks tenure — he’s averaging 23:31 of ice time per game — but he’s still searching for his first goal of the season. The injury-ridden Panthers are off to a disappointing start at 8-7-1.
Taylor Hall has been his usual self with the Hurricanes, recording eight points in 16 games in a secondary playmaker role.
TJ Brodie, Craig Smith and Andreas Athanasiou are all out of the league now, even though none officially retired.