Back on October 8, the first day of the 2024-25 regular season for the Chicago Blackhawks, the Blackhawks took the ice in Utah. After an empty preseason that left a great deal to be desired and already had fans questioning roster decisions, there were concerns. And the top line that night had two newly added wings on either side of Connor Bedard.
On one side of Bedard: Ilya Mikheyev. He lasted about as long as a fart in a hurricane on Bedard’s line back in October. There were a lot of comments here an on social media about him being a bad add (go look, there are receipts everywhere). Mikheyev had two points in October. He had two points in November. Before last night, he had three points in December. But one goal and one assist later, he helped the Blackhawks come back against the best team in the Eastern Conference.
On the other side of Bedard: Teuvo Teräväinen. That worked a little better, and lasted a little longer, than the Mikheyev attempt. Because of his previous tenure in Chicago, Blackhawks fans weren’t nearly as quick to punt on the return of a player many wished had never left… but his production wasn’t good. In fact, he openly talked about his confidence being shook.
Teräväinen had seven points in October — including four in the win in Edmonton. He had four points in November and failed to register a point in five straight games in the middle of the month. He had two points in eight games before Sunday, a game in which he was *this close* to being a healthy scratch. Nick Foligno got sick, Teräväinen stayed in the lineup and six points in two games later, it looks like he’ll be just fine.
Apparently the Blackhawks needed to put Jason Dickinson between them to open up the offense for them both.
After the game last night, interim head coach Anders Sorensen was asked if he was tempted at all to put Teräväinen with Bedard while he was hot. His answer was fairly obvious: why mess with something that’s working? Mikheyev-Dickinson-Teräväinen has been really good against a couple good teams this week. Everyone has been begging for the Blackhawks to find and stick with lines that work. Like the Maroon-Reichel-Smith line, this one is good. So leave it alone.
David Banks-Imagn ImagesThe Kurashev Conundrum
I guess the reason someone would ask about messing with a line that’s white hot right now is because there’s still a desperation to find the right players to put around Bedard. And one of the biggest reasons that continues to be an issue is the fact that Philipp Kurashev has been… awful.
By any metric, this has been a brutal season for the young forward who had 54 points last year but is once again playing for his next paycheck this year. He’s minus-27!
Before the game, Sorensen said Kurashev has obviously not been working with Bedard so they’re punting that combination. After the game, Mark Lazerus at The Athletic did a lovely job of using his flamethrower on Kurashev’s stats this season:
Five hundred and seventy-eight men have played at least 200 minutes of five-on-five hockey this season in the NHL.
Five hundred and seventy-seven of them are having better seasons than Philipp Kurashev.
There’s no getting around the numbers. Kurashev is dead last in the league with a sickly 11.54 goals-for percentage. That’s not expected goals, that’s actual goals. The Chicago Blackhawks have been outscored 23-3 with Kurashev on the ice this season. No other player is worse than minus-14.
The Blackhawks tried Kurashev at center. Nope. They tried to skate him back with Bedard. Also a nope. And, frankly, the fact that Kurashev had as many points as he did with Bedard last year is increasingly looking like a statement of how good Bedard is as a player that he could drag that much offense out of a player who has underwhelmed every other season of his career.
Now that Frank Nazar is up, the Blackhawks have too many bodies up front. And, as soon as Craig Smith‘s back feels better, they’ll have to decide what to do with Joey Anderson (who is terrific killing penalties).
Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY SportsDonato’s Donations
After an awfully slow start to the season, the Blackhawks now have six forwards with at least seven goals. Ryan Donato‘s game-winner on Tuesday night gives him a team-leading 11 this season. For what the Blackhawks have lacked in production from Kurashev this season, Donato has absolutely picked up the slack.
Consider this crazy stat as we wake up on Wednesday morning: Donato’s 10 even-strength goals are as many as Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, Kyle Connor, Artemi Panarin, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett.
The depth scoring — especially the production from the third line we already discussed here — will make it harder for teams to only circle Bedard in their pre-scouting. And Donato continuing to score well has made him a legit consideration to get some more run with Bedard, which could be a perfect complement as Donato is willing and able to go to the dirty areas to finish a play (see his game-winner from Tuesday night).
There are still going to be some bumps in the road as Sorensen works with this roster to make it a more up-tempo offensive group. And it took longer than anyone expected or hoped for the Blackhawks to identify some combinations that work consistently. But it appears the Hawks are starting to settle in, which bodes well moving forward.
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