Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Chicago Blackhawks Play Better As A Grinding Team

12/26/2019 at 8:43am EST

from Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times,

After a hideous 7-1 loss Monday to the Devils, the Hawks have lost five of their last six games at the United Center and are 8-9-3 at home this season. Only the Red Wings and Devils — the NHL’s two worst teams — have fewer home victories....

The Hawks are one of the few teams in the NHL with roughly equal home and road records. But their 7-8-3 road record ranks in the middle of the pack leaguewide, so it’s their play at home that most needs improvement.

Breaking down the first 20 home dates so far, coach Jeremy Colliton on Monday explained a pattern he had noticed: When playing fatigued hockey on the latter end of a back-to-back, which forces them to use the simplified, straightforward style they typically employ on the road, the Hawks are 4-0-0 on Madison Street. Take out those results, and they’re 4-9-3 with rest at home.

‘‘What we do on the road is we [play] a simple game,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘We understand we’re going to have to be simple and hard-working and competitive to survive, and that’s the case. We’ve gone into some rinks that are pretty tough to win in, against teams that are really good, and we’ve grinded it out.

‘‘The success we’ve had at home is on back-to-backs. You understand it’s going to be a grind, and you just grind it out. You’re willing to play 0-0 for a while. . . . [When] we have rest, it seems like we come in and think it’s just going to happen. That’s obviously far from the case.’’

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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