For the third straight season, the Blackhawks have hit the halfway mark in very bad shape.
The future remains bright, but for now, the Hawks remain buried in the NHL’s basement. Through 41 games, their 12-27-2 record is good for only 26 points, putting them second-to-last in the standings — ahead of the Sharks (21 points) and behind the Senators (28), Ducks (29) and the entire rest of the league.
Before starting the second half with game No. 42 against the Jets on Thursday, their team statistics are not much prettier. Here’s a breakdown of all of them:
Even strength
In each of the past two seasons, the Hawks ranked 32nd — as in, last — in the NHL in terms of five-on-five goals per 60 minutes at the halfway point.
Remarkably, that is not the case this season. Their rate of 2.06 goals per 60 is merely tied for 29th with the Capitals, ahead of the Sharks (whose rate of 1.50 is truly horrendous) and Ducks (1.99). At the opposite end, the Canucks (3.32) are miles ahead of the Stars (2.95) in first place.
The Hawks mingle only with the Sharks in every other offensive category, though, ranking 31st in shot attempts, shots on goal and scoring chances and 32nd in expected goals. The high-scoring Canucks rank 28th in shots on goal, representing one of the league’s weirdest midseason stats.
Defensively, the Hawks’ rate of 3.16 goals allowed per 60 ranks 31st, ahead of only the Sharks (3.33). The Devils, Wings and Lightning are surprisingly 26th through 28th, while the Jets (1.64) are well ahead of the Panthers (2.00) as the league’s stingiest defense.
The Hawks rank 29th in shot attempts allowed, 30th in shots on goal allowed and 31st in both scoring chances and expected goals allowed. They’re ahead of the Sharks in all four categories; they’re also ahead of the Islanders and Blue Jackets in one or two categories.
Combining offensive and defensive performance, the Hawks rank 31st with a 42.2% overall scoring-chance ratio, up from 40.2% at this point last year but putting them on track for their sixth consecutive season in the bottom five.
Special teams
The Hawks’ power play has been terrible, posting a mere 9.3% net conversion rate (which factors in shorthanded goals). That’s down from 15.8% at this point last season. Somehow, they rank only 29th — ahead of the Blues, Sabres and Flames — but they have been utterly inept.
That’s reflected in their advanced power-play metrics. They’re 32nd in every category by wide margins. For example, in terms of shot attempts per 60 minutes, they’ve averaged 79.2 whereas the 31st-place Coyotes have averaged 92.3.
Conversely, their penalty-kill stats are eye-opening. The Hawks’ net kill rate of 77.1% ranks 28th — ahead of only the Sharks, Senators, Wild and Canadiens — but in terms of advanced metrics, they have actually been quite stout.
They rank third in shot attempts allowed, as only the Hurricanes and Panthers have allowed fewer. They’re also ninth in shots on goal allowed, sixth in scoring chances allowed and seventh in expected goals allowed.
They deserve far better results on the scoreboard, but their goaltending on the penalty kill has been problematic — their .818 shorthanded save percentage ranks 31st.
Goaltending
That aforementioned stat correctly implies the Hawks’ goaltending has been subpar this season, too.
Their team save percentage of .892 ranks 27th, ahead of only the Hurricanes (at a league-worst .887), Devils, Senators, Sabres and Sharks. The Jets boast the league’s best goaltending (.923), followed by the Bruins (.918). The NHL’s .903 overall save percentage is its lowest since 2005-06.
Out of 64 goalies league-wide, Petr Mrazek’s minus-0.8 GSAA ranks 37th, .783 high-danger save percentage ranks 50th and 18.8% rebound percentage ranks ninth. Meanwhile, Arvid Soderblom’s minus-14.0 GSAA ranks 62nd, .772 high-danger save percentage ranks 55th and 24.7% rebound percentage ranks 48th.
