What's driving the Blackhawks' surprising success? It boils down to Connor Bedard, Spencer Knight and Jeff Blashill

What's driving the Blackhawks' surprising success? It boils down to Connor Bedard, Spencer Knight and Jeff Blashill

With an 8-5-3 record, the Blackhawks are enjoying their best start to a season since 2016. And enjoying it they are — literally — after years of misery."A lot of guys have grown and matured, and it's awesome to see," forward Ryan Donato said Tuesday after practice. "The vibe is great in the locker room. Guys are happy."The short-term sustainability of this success is questionable. Hockey's randomness necessitates large sample sizes before jumpin…

Quality Over Quantity: Making sense of the Blackhawks' early offensive success

I am not “numbers” smart. I took the one math class required in college for a communications major. But I wanted to make sense of the Chicago Blackhawks‘ start to this season from a goal-scoring analytics perspective. I am 100% in over my head, but I think I am onto something. From a birds-eye view, the numbers suggest that the success the Blackhawks have found this season is unsustainable with a high team shooting percentage, a high team save p…

NHL EDGE stats behind Bedard’s prowess, surprising Blackhawks

Center has robust advanced metrics; Bertuzzi, Knight other standouts

Connor Bedard, Spencer Knight, Jeff Blashill driving Blackhawks’ surprising success

With an 8-5-3 record, the Blackhawks are off to their best start to a season since 2016. And after years of misery, you’d better bet they’re enjoying it. “A lot of guys have grown and matured, and it’s awesome to see,” forward Ryan Donato said Tuesday after practice. “The vibe is great in the locker room. Guys are happy.” Whether they can sustain this success in the short term is questionable, and the randomness of hockey calls for larger sample…