Teuvo Teravainen’s vision adding new dimensions to Blackhawks’ power play

Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen claims his vision isn’t as sharp as it used to be.

“I’m getting older,” he quipped.

While his eyesight might be declining now that he has turned 30, though, his on-ice vision — his ability to see plays take shape as they happen and anticipate the correct next move — continues to be 20/20.

That has been one of Teravainen’s differentiating skills since he originally broke into the NHL with the Hawks, and it has helped him find a rhythm immediately upon returning to Chicago this fall.

“The best part of his game is his brain,” forward Connor Bedard said. “That’s something you can’t teach. Playing with him and watching him and seeing [not only] the plays he makes but also where he puts himself on the ice to make those plays, it’s special. It’s fun to watch. It has really helped our entire group to have another guy who can do that.”

Teravainen entered Tuesday tied with Bedard for the team scoring lead with seven points in six games. Five of those seven points have come on the power play, where he has made an enormous impact on the right flank opposite Bedard.

The Hawks’ power play was abysmal most of last season before improving during the final two months. So far this season — albeit with a small sample size — it has been stellar, ranking sixth in the NHL with a 29.4% conversion rate (entering Tuesday). It also ranks fourth in expected goals, 10th in shot attempts and seventh in shots on goal per minute.

Swift puck movement has been the key to its success, just as the Hawks discussed and planned during training camp, and that’s why Teravainen’s presence helps so much: his natural instinct in all situations is to move the puck swiftly.

“It has to be quick, quick passes and then there’s no chance really for the penalty-killers,” Teravainen said. “But when it happens quick, you’ve got to be ready for it.”

The Hawks’ third goal last week against the Sharks exemplified that beautifully. Bedard sent a seam pass across the offensive zone to Teravainen, and before the Sharks could react, Teravainen one-touched a pass back against the grain to Nick Foligno in the slot, who had a wide-open net.

“That’s kind of a set play, because every time you get a seam [pass], you’re going to shoot it or go to whoever’s in front of the net,” Teravainen said. “I see the pass coming, so I say, ‘Ok, I’m going to fake shoot it and go [to the] back post, so the net-front guy should be there.’ It worked out pretty good.”

Hawks coach Luke Richardson has compared the Bedard-Teravainen flank-to-flank connection to Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek on the Flyers of yesteryear. Giroux and Voracek coincidentally enjoyed their most dominant power-play season together in 2014-15, Teravainen’s rookie season.

Richardson, characteristically, has also urged Teravainen to not hesitate to shoot the puck, even though passing is his forte.

“Just like everybody who takes a shot from there every once in a while, it’s going to let his vision and creativity work even more, because [the penalty killers] have to honor that shot at all times,” Richardson said.

Teravainen admitted he entered this season actually lacking some confidence in his power-play abilities because the Hurricanes had shifted him to a more defensive role the last two seasons; they hadn’t used him on their top unit since 2021-22. He’s relieved how quickly he has gotten the touch back.

“It’s a big responsibility,” he said. “You’ve got to be good when you get the chance…[and] there’s a little bit of pressure. But so far, [it’s] pretty good. The confidence is getting better and better, and it feels good to have the puck a little bit, too.”