Since the Olympics ended, the Blackhawks are 1-2-0. A lot has been made of the Chicago Blackhawks' scoring depth during this stretch.
In the two losses, they scored a combined 3 goals, two of which came off the stick of Connor Bedard. In the one win, they scored four, and Bedard had none of them.
In all of the games, win or lose, the goaltending has been excellent. In the first game against the Nashville Predators, Spencer Knight allowed 3 goals on 25 shots.
Against Colorado on Saturday, he allowed 2 goals on 34 shots. One day later, Arvid Soderblom blanked the Utah Mammoth, the first shutout of his NHL career. In the victory, Soderblom made 22 saves.
Nashville and Colorado each had an empty-net goal, which is obviously not placed on the goaltenders. Knight and Soderblom combined to allow just 5 goals on 81 shots.
That type of goaltending performance between two guys will cut it in the NHL. Lack of scoring is the reason the Blackhawks went 1-2-0 with this level of goalie play.
Moving forward, the Blackhawks need this to continue from their goalies. That much pressure shouldn’t be put on them, but it’s the reality of the situation. This young team relies on the netminders more than a veteran team that is seasoned to winning.
Spencer Knight, whom the Blackhawks acquired in the Seth Jones trade, has emerged as a number-one goalie in the NHL. He still has some things to improve in his game, but the tools are there for him to be a star. The team in front of him getting better certainly won’t hurt either.
As for Soderblom, he has had an up-and-down season. The low points were not great, but there have been some really good outings as well, including his first career shutout over the weekend. For the rest of the year, you can expect him to play one of every three games or one half of any back-to-back situation.
Drew Commesso is doing well in the AHL, but he is unlikely to carve out a role in the NHL full-time this season. He should be allowed to compete for Knight’s backup job next year.
They could also use him as trade bait at some point as well. Either way, the Blackhawks haven’t had super-elite goaltending all year, but it is far from the problem, especially when Knight is on top of his game.
If this post-Olympic run continues, the Blackhawks will have a strong record-wise finish, which will spark expectations coming into next year.
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