NEWSLETTER
You’ll notice when the Blackhawks’ lineup hits tonight that there are a few names revolving in the bottom six again. Reese Johnson and Zach Sanford will draw back into the lineup as the Blackhawks try to continue finding the right matchups with the forwards they have available.
The Blackhawks having forwards available has been an issue this entire season. Earlier in the year, MacKenzie Entwistle was part of that rotation, occasionally finding himself among the healthy scratches. But over the past couple months, Entwistle has found himself in the lineup pretty much every night.
And he’s earned that right.
Entwistle will center the Blackhawks’ third line against Vancouver with Lukas Reichel and Taylor Raddysh, who is one of his best friends on the roster. That line played together against the Rangers and has some good juice that night. Entwistle himself has been skating well lately; he’s won 19 of 30 faceoffs with six shots on net and seven hits in his last three games.
A lot of fans forget the Blackhawks acquired the rights to Entwistle in the deal that sent Marian Hossa’s contract to Arizona in 2018. He was originally a third-round pick (No. 69 overall) by the Coyotes in the 2017 NHL Draft and scored 30 goals in 57 games in his final OHL campaign.
Entwistle can skate and plays a physical game; he’s one of three Blackhawks who have appeared in at least five games to average over 10 hits per 60 minutes (Reese Johnson and Jarred Tinordi are, unsurprisingly, the other two). He’s averaging almost 13 minutes per game since the start of the 2024 calendar year, a full minute more than he averaged before the end of 2023. And he’s been used almost exclusively at even strength over those 16 games.
The fact that Entwistle is one of only six Blackhawks who have appeared in all 16 games in 2024 shows that the coaches have confidence in him playing his role well. For a guy who’s headed to restricted free agency this summer (and turns 25 in July), he’s having the kind of season you would want to show that he’s an established NHL player.
Connor Bedard should be back next week. Anthony Beauvillier could be back in a couple weeks as he continues to heal. We have no idea what’s up with Andreas Athanasiou, but he’s at least skating now. There will be a few guys who are looking over their shoulder as players start to come back from their injuries in the coming weeks. Some might need to clear waivers to head to Rockford as the looming roster crunch begins — unless a few bodies are moved in minor trades (wink). But it certainly appears that Entwistle has become a valuable part of the Blackhawks rotation.
