Colliton challenges Blackhawks’ defensemen to get more shots cleanly on goal

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An easily overlooked but nonetheless important statistic upon which the Blackhawks are increasingly evaluating their defensemen is the ability to get more shot attempts on goal.

Doing so requires accuracy to hit the net — something the Hawks’ entire defensive unit practices at every morning skate, when every miss necessitates one lap.

But it also requires smart passing and positioning to create open shooting lanes to the net, unobstructed by opposing forwards ready to block any attempt headed their way. And that’s a challenge that repeatedly has confounded the Hawks this year.

Volume isn’t the issue: The Hawks’ defensive unit ranks 15th — middle of the pack — in the NHL in shot attempts per minute during normal 5-on-5 play. But they’re 27th in shots on goal per minute (and 29th in shots that create rebounds, a key thing that shots from the blue line aim to accomplish).

And that’s because the Hawks’ defensemen can’t seem to get their looks past the guys right in front of them.

An incredible 39.1 percent of their shot attempts are blocked, the highest rate in the league (by more than a full percentage point over the second-worst Sharks). The NHL average is 32.4 percent; the division-leading Blues and their elite ‘D’ corps are down at 26.9 percent.

And that metric is factoring more and more lately into coach Jeremy Colliton’s assessments of his defensemen.

With rookie Adam Boqvist returning to the Hawks’ lineup Sunday against the Blue Jackets, Colliton mentioned this very subject as a key skill Boqvist has brought to the team.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but we absolutely believe he can give us more,” Colliton said. “He’s very good at getting the puck through from the top. That’s one thing he can do more of. And it’s been a weakness of our group, finding a way to get pucks to the net.”

A few minutes earlier, Colliton made a similar comment when asked about Erik Gustafsson’s decreased offensive production from last season.

“We’d like him to shoot the puck,” Colliton said. “When he’s a threat to shoot, then it opens up the passes he wants to make. He’s got a good shot, he’s shown he can score, so we don’t want him to be shy to get pucks to the net.”

And indeed, 48.3 percent of Boqvist’s shot attempts have been on goal, whereas only 31 percent have been blocked. For Gustafsson, conversely, 43 percent have been on goal while almost 39 percent have been blocked.

The issue came blatantly to the forefront in the shootout victory against the Blue Jackets.

The Jackets blocked seemingly every Hawks shot through the first two periods, and although both of the third-period goals eventually came on high shots from Connor Murphy (deflected in by Dylan Strome) and Gustafsson, the Hawks’ defense’s season numbers got even worse.

The six defensemen collectively attempted 22 shots in the game, but only nine were on goal (40.9 percent) while eight were blocked (36.4 percent) and five missed.

Despite the Hawks’ winning ways recently, improvement in this area remains a frustration and an important box to check moving forward.

“We’ve got to give ‘D’ better opportunities to shoot the puck, and we’ve got to also get to the net, and they’ve got to get it through, so it’s a combination of everything,” Strome said. “We’re working on it, we’re trying to get guys there, and that’s how you score goals.”