Blackhawks’ power play continues surge in otherwise dull loss to Capitals

WASHINGTON — On the surface, the Blackhawks‘ power play wouldn’t seem like a positive story coming out of Saturday.

The Hawks failed to score on any of their four power-play opportunities in a 4-1 loss to the Capitals, losing for the 23rd time in their last 24 road games — and for the 16th time in their last 18 games overall.

But the Hawks lost the game well before any of those power-play opportunities arrived, conceding three goals in a seven-minute span midway through the first period. A fourth Capitals goal during the same barrage was overturned after a long offside challenge, but the score had reached 4-0 after all before the Hawks began inspiring any dreams of a comeback in the third period.

And although the power play didn’t convert, it did generate 21 shot attempts for a second consecutive game. It looked nearly as dangerous Saturday as it did Tuesday against the Coyotes, when the Hawks scored four power-play goals in a single game for the first time since January 2018.

“That’s what you need out of a power play: you might not score every single time, but you’ve got to build momentum for the team,” said Tyler Johnson, who scored the Hawks’ lone goal (albeit at even strength).

“As a unit, we’ve gotten better as the season has progressed. In the last little bit, it’s been a lot better. We’ve just got to continue to do that.”

Connor Bedard was a shooting menace, recording a career-high 16 shot attempts — 10 of which came on the power play, and several of which hobbled Capitals shot-blockers.

He hit the post once, was robbed by Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren once and barely missed a couple more times, and he expressed some annoyance as his goal drought extended to eight straight games. But coach Luke Richardson loved his trigger-happy attitude.

“He’s so good at receiving a puck, [making] a head bob and a fake, getting on the inside and [taking] good wrist shots,” Richardson said. “But I think he’s got to hold them accountable on the PK, to [make them] front those one-timer shots. Eventually, he’s going to read those [situations] and create opportunities behind it if someone gets in front of him and gets down.”

The Hawks have practiced their power play extensively over the past few weeks, particularly focusing on their zone entries and their in-zone movement. It can be so beneficial to not only cycle the puck but also cycle players from spot to spot within the zone.

Johnson’s return in early February and placement in one of the down-low roles on the Hawks’ top power-play unit has helped the whole unit function better. He and Nick Foligno are decently adept at winning pucks and gathering rebounds behind the net and along the boards, and their presences create more space up high for Bedard, Seth Jones and Philipp Kurashev to maneuver.

“It’s really hard to defend the best skill players on the other team coming with speed,” Richardson said. “I think that’s what we’ve been lacking over the course of the year. We finally have some repetition now, with the same guys on the unit for a while, and they’ve really worked at it. And that gets us more [offensive]-zone time.”

Between Nov. 10 and Feb. 14, the Hawks’ power play averaged only 1.34 shot attempts per minute, the fewest in the league during that time period.

In the 11 games since Feb. 15, however, they’ve generated 2.19 shot attempts per minute, the most in the league. Not coincidentally, Feb. 15 is the exact moment Bedard returned from his injury.

They’re only a rather pedestrian 7-for-25 during that period in terms of actually scoring, but underlying improvement is arguably more important during a lost season in which the scoreboard results have become meaningless.