Blackhawks Postgame Chatter: ‘I Think It Shows That We Have It In Here’

It’s been a long season for the Blackhawks beyond just the normal 76 game slog of a season. Losing–often in bunches–has been the norm until the month of March. Not only have the Blackhawks found their stride a bit, but they’ve also shown just what they can be, especially after beating a Stanley Cup contender Saturday afternoon.

“I think it shows that we have it in here,” defenseman Seth Jones said. “Haven’t played a lot of great hockey this year, we went long stretches of not winning, not great on the road. But it’s nice this past month that we can put it all together, play simple hockey, north hockey, direct hockey. We didn’t have a lot of chances tonight, but we were putting the puck in the net on the ones we did. We haven’t won that way a lot this year, so it’s nice to see that we can do that.”

It also helps when they have Petr Mrazek in the net, too. But for all the times that Mrazek has bailed them out, the Blackhawks gave him the comfort of a 3-0 lead in the second period. In spite of being outshot 23-5 in that middle frame, Mrazek kept the puck out of the net while his teammates deposited three into Dallas’.

“I think we feel more comfortable when we got the lead and we know we can defend,” Mrazek said.  “So that’s the key for us to be up and then we can learn how to close those games.”

And close they did.

Blackhawks Showing What They Can Be Down the Road

The roster will have changes next season which is to be expected. Younger players are knocking on the door while some of the veterans here now will muscle each other for the few spots remaining. But the culture they’ve been talking about–complete with the structure–was present in the 3-2 win over Dallas.

Despite what has been a challenging year for a rebuilding team, a win like Saturday’s shows that things are indeed working.

“It’s big,” rookie Connor Bedard admitted. “It’s been a tough year with our record and everything, but it shows a lot about our group that we’re sticking with it, we’re still trying to get better every day. To see some results here in the last little bit is great for us. I think a lot of guys coming in haven’t got to win in this league — there’s obviously the guys who have played in the league a bit that have experienced that — but for us to not get used to it but to feel above .500 is a big positive.”

Since the beginning of March, the Blackhawks pulled back even with an 8-8 stretch dating back to the March 2 loss to Columbus, which was a frustrating low for the team.

Arguably, this afternoon’s win may be one of the better wins of the season because of the caliber of team they beat as well as holding on during a tense final minute. Head coach Luke Richardson didn’t think the beginning was great, but it was a strong showing after that, especially on special teams, that caught his attention.

“Petr was solid all night for us and we have to credit him to keep us in that game and let us find it in the second,” Richardson. “I thought we made some plays in the second obviously and we didn’t just hang on in the threads by the third. I thought we played really well–hard. Unfortunate on the tipped goal but we got the call on the one that was not a goal. I thought there was one each way. I thought our penalty killing was excellent and our power play scored a big goal.”

The Hawks success came from their structure and hard play–something they’ve been harping on all season long. To Jones’ point, they’re maybe showing precisely what they do have on the roster.

And the recent returns certainly boost hope for what is on the way.

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