Scott Powers published some Blackhawks notes at The Athletic on Thursday that got my attention in a number of ways. On two specific players, the comments really stood out as a contrast — and spoke to the truth of this time of the year for NHL players.
Frank Nazar is finishing the season hot offensively. Teuvo Teräväinen is not. Those two have spent a lot of time together this year, but are separated as Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill experiments with lines. Both commented about how energy/mojo/momentum/confidence is a real thing. And they’re at opposite ends of that right now.
“Just overall, no confidence,” [Teräväinen] said after Wednesday’s practice. “Kind of hard to play with no confidence.” …
“I feel like it’s been a long season without really even any breaks,” Teräväinen said. “Of course, you go day by day, but … it’s been a tough season.”
Compare that to what Nazar said:
“I think it’s almost like an energy boost when you score,” Nazar said recently. “Nick (Lardis) and I were talking about it (in a recent game). It’s like, you score a goal, and you get that, like, momentum and energy boost. It’s like you took a caffeine shot or something.”
Teräväinen is signed thru next year, and his versatility could make him a nice option on any of the four lines next year. But it would certainly help the Blackhawks if putting points on the board more consistently helped him get thru the long season. And Nazar putting together a full season with the spark he’s had lately — and had to start the season — would be a huge boost for the overall offense.
10 thoughts on the Blackhawks: Nazar’s surging confidence, Teräväinen’s lack of it, Bedard as the power play quarterback, Crevier’s skate cut scare, where Gajan fits in the goalie mix and more t.co/qfZ1Pm3uV3
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) April 2, 2026 Focusing on prospects, Powers wrote that newly signed goaltender Adam Gajan “is expected to get most of his starts next season with the Indy Fuel in the ECHL. That could change if there’s a roster move.” Powers also wrote: “The only prospects who could sign before next season are likely John Mustard, Jack Pridham and Roman Kantserov.” Throw in AJ Spellacy and Marek Vanacker going pro full-time next year (they’re both already signed) and that could be a nice influx of youth to Rockford (except Kantserov, who would likely be in Chicago). After the game last night, Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill would only say “we’ll see tomorrow” regarding Lardis’ hand injury. It felt kinda not great… but maybe not definitively the worst case scenario? We’ll have to wait for an update whenever the Blackhawks hit the ice in Seattle. A thought I had last night after watching another one: if turnovers that turned into goals counted as assists, how many points would André Burakovsky have right now? Fans have voiced their thoughts about the amount of time Burakovsky has spent on the top line this year, but last night we saw some immediate accountability from the Blackhawks’ coaches. Burakovsky’s brutal turnover led to Edmonton’s first goal of the night and he was demoted to the fourth line. He didn’t get on the ice for four minutes after that goal and saw only six more shifts in the game. Here’s what head coach Jeff Blashill said about him getting the silent treatment for the second half of last night’s game:“He’s not feeling it right now. Unfortunately, he’s trying hard, he cares, he wants to be a good player, it’s just not going right now… Sometimes my job as a coach is to get them out of those situations, almost like when you pull a pitcher.”
The Blackhawks went young at center last night with Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, Nazar and Sacha Boisvert. However, eight different skaters took a faceoff for the Blackhawks in the game. And they did pretty well at the dot. Frondell won only 1 of 10 faceoffs. The rest of the Blackhawks won 29 of 50, led by Bedard (won 10 of 16) and Nazar (won 8 of 14). According to Natural Stat Trick, Frondell spent more 5-on-5 ice time against Connor McDavid (6:43) than any other Oilers skater. During the time their lines were on the ice: the Blackhawks had a 10-8 shot attempt advantage and a 59.41 expected goals for percentage. Again: it wasn’t perfect. But a really impressive outing for an 18-year-old’s sixth career NHL game against the best player on the planet. Frondell showed some love to his Djurgårdens friends on Instagram.A post shared by antonfrondell (@antonfrondell)
Let’s talk goaltending for a moment. Ben Pope pointed out a seemingly crazy stat in the second period last night: when Arvid Söderblom had to replace Spencer Knight because of an equipment issue, it was only the second time all season the Blackhawks have made an in-game goalie change. The other was on Dec. 27 against the Penguins. On the goaltending note, I just want to take a moment to make something clear: Söderblom cannot simultaneously be the “worst goalie in the NHL” and “easy to trade; someone will take him this summer.” It seems the same segment of the fan base who are happily willing to pay for a one-way plane ticket out of town when the “easy to consummate” trade takes place believe there’s also a robust trade market for a player they will energetically tell everyone on social media/in the comments has absolutely, positively no value. In the real world, it takes two general managers seeing value for a trade to happen. Sorry. In the OHL playoffs, Marek Vanacker did not have a point but Brantford beat Sudbury 2-1 to advance to the next round of the OHL playoffs. Parker Holmes didn’t play for Brantford. Kitchener beat Saginaw 5-1. Jack Pridham had two assists. The Rangers advance to the next round of the OHL playoffs. AJ Spellacy picked up an assist before dropping the gloves and earning a 5 + 10 in the PIM category. Windsor put an 11-spot on the board (yes, eleven goals) against Guelph. Spellacy’s assist came on a goal from Alex Pharand, who was drafted by the Blackhawks in the fourth round in 2023 but the organization didn’t retain his rights. The Spitfires won the game and swept the series to advance to the next round of the OHL playoffs.Flying into the second round ✈️The @SpitsHockey have advanced with a 4-0 series win.#OHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/QgsCzKQ4d8
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) April 3, 2026 Finally, the Blackhawks were officially eliminated from the playoffs last night. But shoutout to the Vancouver Canucks for clinching first place — in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. They have already locked up the worst record in the NHL for this season. What a remarkable trainwreck they have been all year.#Canucks have clinched 32nd place and will have the best odds in the 2026 #NHLDraft Lottery.25.5% chance at No. 1 overall.Vancouver has never selected first.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 3, 2026BLEACHER NATION: Go Ad Free | Subscribe to the BN Newsletter
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