Blackhawks looking for power-play fixes

Chicago came into the regular season wanting to improve from the previous season on the power play and got the job done by becoming one of the League's most dangerous teams with the man advantage.

Now, the Blackhawks are looking to fix the power play in the postseason after going a combined 0-for-5 with the man advantage in the first two games against the Canucks.

As defenseman Brian Campbell aptly pointed out after Chicago's morning skate on Sunday, had they converted even one of those five chances, it probably wouldn't be a topic of discussion among the media. But they didn't … so it is.

As a result, the Hawks are searching for answers quickly now that they're down two games to none.

What’s the biggest issue?

"A little more urgency, maybe," said Patrick Sharp, who led the Hawks with 12 power-play goals in the regular season. "I think they're pressuring us up ice and in the zone, doing a good job of taking away time and space. We've got to realize that and support each other. It's not always the guy with the puck not being able to make a play, but it's the guys without that puck that have to support him."

Getting off to a strong start at even strength could also help, according to Hawks captain Jonathan Toews – a key playmaking center on the No. 1 power-play unit.

"It's all going to come off our work ethic and the way we play 5-on-5," said Toews, who has yet to record a single point and has a minus-2 rating. "If we show we're playing better as a team, 5-on-5, early in the game the power play can come off of that, too."

Another key member of the Hawks power play, Patrick Kane, said that coming out of their own end with the man advantage has also been an issue.

"That's probably the biggest thing," Kane said. "I thought in the (first) two games they kind of hemmed us in our own end a little bit on the power play and you definitely don't want that. We've got to settle down and make sure we're coming out with good breakouts."

Back to top