NEWSLETTER
I know… I know… we’re all comfortably settling into this whole “don’t win another game” mentality. But the players and coaches on the Blackhawks are still grinding every day and could really use a breakout game every once in a while. Morale could use a lil’ something, ya know? And Ottawa happily obliged them with an awful defensive performance in the second period. But it’s okay. This isn’t going to end the Blackhawks’ chances of a top pick in the draft. Really.
Star 1: Anders Bjork
He made terrific passes on each of Seth’s goals, executing a lovely give-and-go for the first and crossing the offensive end to an open Seth for a second snipe. For good measure he then assisted on Jason Dickinson’s goal in the second period as well, giving him a three-point period. He’s been really good since coming in from Buffalo (remember: the Blackhawks got him for nothing). If you’re looking for the “guy who’s the next Sam Lafferty” in the lineup, Bjork might be in that mix. As Charlie Roumeliotis pointed out on Twitter, Bjork had three assists in 58 games for Buffalo last year. He matched that in less than nine minutes in the second period tonight. After 40 minutes, Bjork had an 85.60 expected goals percentage (per Natural Stat Trick). That’s ridiculous.
Star 2: Seth Jones
Seth came into Monday night’s game with goals in his previous two games. He scored twice — both on pretty passes from Anders Bjork. He has really elevated his offense lately; after a six-game pointless steak from Feb. 11-21, Seth now has seven points in seven games (including two multi-point games).
Star 3: Jason Dickinson
After scoring goals in two straight games leading into the All-Star Game and the first game after, Dickinson hadn’t scored 13 games. In fact, he only had two assists to show for those 13 contests. Well, he kept working and it paid off with a goal and a helper tonight to get him back in the point column twice.
