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Hawks Hits: Vlasic-Byram Disaster, Lopsided Stats, Defensive Changes?
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- Hawks Hits: Vlasic-Byram Disaster, Lopsided Stats, Defensive Changes?
Hawks Hits: Vlasic-Byram Disaster, Lopsided Stats, Defensive Changes?
Two games isn't a large enough sample size to make any serious proclamations about the 2026-27 Chicago Blackhawks, and without a healthy Connor Bedard, doing so would be especially unreasonable.
But after one of the worst full-team performances in recent memory on Tuesday night, resulting in a humiliating 6-0 loss to the Utah Mammoth, it's already safe to make one specific statement. The Blackhawks must make major adjustments to achieve their lofty goals this season.
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It's not the 0-2-0 start that's most concerning, as without Bedard, the team's best player and new captain, it was somewhat expected that the Blackhawks would struggle to beat the Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights, two top Western Conference teams, in their respective home openers.
It's the matter in which the Blackhawks lost both those games that's so severely jarring, looking utterly unprepared from the start and having no answers to solve the fast-pace, contant-pressure style provided from the Mammoth and Golden Knights.
It's how easily they've allowed their opponents to waltz into the most dangerous areas of the ice time and time again, providing little push back with lousy gap control and soft, almost non-existent supporting coverage.
It's the lack of connectivity in the defensive zone, as executing a mere breakout pass was an impossible feat through 40 minutes at the Delta Center on Thursday, leading to giveaway after giveaway, and too many extended shifts.
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It's the constant timidness in every aspect of the game, with both the forward group and defensive unit appearing unsure of where to be on the ice, and what to do once the puck touches their stick.
Both offensively and defensively, not much has gone right for the Blackhawks so far. Through two games, they've been outscored 11-2, outshot 69-41, and outchanced 73-46. Their power play is 0-for-5, while the penalty kill is 3-for-6.
"Obviously, we haven't seen our best hockey yet, by far," Frank Nazar said. "So [we'll] continue to focus on the process and keep working towards that, because you know it's going to come."
Despite two dreadful outcomes, the Blackhawks are doing their best to have a short-term memory and keep trudging forward, recognizing it's on them to turn it around. The internal belief in the locker room remains unwavered through the early-season adversity.
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"I have tons of belief in these guys. I said it when I took the job. You stay steady on the rudder, man. This is two games… We have urgency to go play a good hockey game on Saturday. But my focus is on us continuing to get better as a group. That doesn't change. We're obviously super young and that can't be an excuse. These guys — it's time to step up and get the job done as young players. That's just the reality of it."
Blashill is correct in that two games is a miniscule blip in the 84-game campaign ahead. However, after the aggressive offseason moves, trading the No. 4 overall pick for Bowen Byram, and bringing Patrick Kane home, plus all the recent talk about pushing for the playoffs, it's undeniably concerning how poorly the new season has started.
"There's going to be ups and downs through the course of the season. We would have preferred to not start down, but there is a reality where, if we can steel ourselves and get our mind right, in the long run over the course of 84 games, this could have been good for us."
Hawks Hits vs. Utah
1. Vlasic-Byram Split Already
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One of the more troubling aspects from the first two games is that Blashill has yet to establish effective forward lines OR defensive pairings. New No. 1 defenseman Bowen Byram and Alex Vlasic opened the season as the top pairing, but the two have been disasterous together so far.
After struggling mightily in Las Vegas, the pairing fared even worse against the Mammoth, being constantly hemmed into the defensive zone. Both defensemen have larger statures but have not used it to their advantage so far, getting bested consistently in puck battles and in the dirty areas.
With the Vlasic-Byram pairing on the ice at even strength, the Mammoth led 26-8 in shot attempts, 12-1 in shots on goal, 15-2 in scoring chances, 7-0 in high-danger chances, and 2-0 in goals for. The Blackhawks cannot afford their two best defensemen to play that poorly, particularly when paired together.
NHL Game Score Impact Card for Chicago Blackhawks on 2026-10-01: pic.twitter.com/26EZ0OmorV
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Individually, Byram has been vastly underwhelming. Through two games, he's yet to record a shot on goal in nearly 50 minutes of ice time, while being on the ice for no goals for and four against. He's been largely ineffective both in transition and on the top power-play unit, the two areas the Blackhawks need him to thrive most.
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In the third period against Utah, Blashill moved Byram to his natural left side and paired him with Artyom Levshunov, and his play improved. Too little, too late, of course, but Byram looked more comfortable in that spot. Expect that to be the top defensive pairing in Buffalo on Saturday.
Blashill cannot put Vlasic and Byram together right now.
2. Time For Korchinski?
With eight defensemen on the NHL roster, one would think Blashill might consider a change in his six-man unit. Both Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro are waiting in the wings for an opportunity, but it doesn't sound like that will come in Buffalo.
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"I'm not there, probably. We'll see," Blashill said when asked whether Korchinski or Del Mastro could play against the Sabres. "We consider everything, so we'll look at it and see if we think the two other options are better than the options that played. We'll look at it, for sure."
Between the two, Korchinski will presumably get the first chance to draw into the lineup, whenever the time comes. The 2022 No. 7 overall pick put together a strong preseason and training camp, but remains on the outside looking in.
While none of the six defensemen to play in Vegas or Utah were particularly effective whatsoever, Sam Rinzel was probably the one who struggled the most. Through two games, Rinzel has committed several woeful defensive-zone turnovers that instantly led to quality scoring chances against his team.
With Rinzel and Korchinski both as swift-skating, puck-moving defensemen, it would be a relatively natural swap in the lineup, although the Blackhawks could be looking for more hard-nosed play on their blue line.
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3. Young Centers Struggle
Not only did the Blackhawks get widely outscored, outshot, and outchanced by Utah on Thursday, but they were also throttled at the faceoff dot.
The Mammoth won an astounding 39 of 54 faceoffs in the game, giving the Blackhawks a measly 27.8 win-rate percentage. With all four of their primary centers either in their first or second full NHL season, while being 22 years old or younger, faceoffs could be an issue again this year.
Rookies Anton Frondell and Roman Kantserov were the top-six centers against the Mammoth, and the two combined to go 6-for-24 at the faceoff circle. Ryan Greene also won only two of 11 faceoffs as the fourth-line center.
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Entering the season, Blashill and GM Kyle Davidson seemed comfortable going with such a youthful center group, but one negative side effect of that is the inexperience at the faceoff dot. It's an aspect that young forwards like Frondell, Kantserov, Greene, and Oliver Moore must improve at throughout the season, as Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno are no longer around to help them out.
4. Mammoth Checks
Physically, the Blackhawks have stood no match in their first two outings. The lack of aggression and intensity has perhaps been the most worrying aspect of their play. With the puck, they surrender possession after the slightest contact. Without the puck, there's seemingly no interest in getting it back.
After getting outhit 23-14 in Las Vegas, the Blackhawks were pulverized in that category by the Mammoth. Utah produced 42 hits in 60 minutes, while the Hawks only had 12. Levshunov was the lone defenseman credited with a hit in the game, which is almost unfathomable.
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Between the six defensemen in the lineup, five are listed above 200 pounds, while Wyatt Kaiser is the only one shorter than 6-foot-1. It's not the most rugged blue line in the league, but they're more capable physically than they've shown so far. That needs to change immediately.
5. Lardis Limited
Aside from Andrew Mangiapane, who played only nine shifts in Tuesday's season opener due to a lower-body injury, no one has seen less ice time through two games than Nick Lardis. After playing 11:44 in Las Vegas, Lardis received a team-low 10:18 of ice time against the Mammoth.
With limited offensive-zone time as a team, Lardis has been stuck defending on most of his shifts, which isn't the strength of his game. The Blackhawks collective failures haven't helped Lardis establish himself as a goal scorer in the top-nine forward group.
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Lardis has also bounced around in the lineup so far and hasn't had consistent linemates to gel with, which hasn't made things easier for him. Whether his fault or not, Blashill clearly is still figuring out how to get the most out of Lardis' game, and who he should play with.
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The post Hawks Hits: Vlasic-Byram Disaster, Lopsided Stats, Defensive Changes? appeared first on Chicago Hockey Now .
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