Blackhawks have progressed to learning next-level details of Jeff Blashill's defensive system
SEATTLE — Coach Jeff Blashill’s aggressive defensive system appears to be working relatively well for the Blackhawks.
They rank 12th in the NHL in goals allowed per minute during five-on-five play, although Spencer Knight’s excellent goaltending has contributed to that stat.
In terms of expected goals allowed, they rank 21st, but even that ranking is much improved compared to the last few seasons. Their analytics are less atrocious across the board, according to Natural Stat Trick, plus they’re improving over time.
The Hawks’ system encourages their defensemen to follow their marks and pressure the puck toward the perimeter of the defensive zone to try to kill plays quickly. It subsequently puts pressure on everyone — defensemen and forwards alike — to box out effectively because there’s less team support in the interior of the zone and around the net.
The Hawks have done a good job of boxing out, giving Knight clean sight lines to make saves. They’ve blocked only 25.4% of opponent shots, and that’s largely intentional; they want to reduce traffic wearing any color.
Now that they’ve gotten accustomed to the basic tenets of the system, Blashill has shifted toward coaching and explaining next-level intricacies. There’s still a ways to go until they master it completely.
“You can’t teach every little detail in a system right away,” Blashill said recently. “You give the main version of it, and then you start to teach the details within it as you go. That’s what we’ve tried to do. Part of it is just repetition. We try it in practice, get those reps, [get more] repetition in games and then guys get more comfortable with it.”
That’s true in all areas, not only the defensive zone. The Hawks have dived into greater detail about plays at both blue lines, forechecking strategies, penalty-kill entry defense and all sorts of other things. On Sunday, they practiced setting up below the goal line on five-on-three power plays — a trendy thing.
In the defensive zone specifically, though, a critical detail they’ve worked on involves cutting the zone in half vertically. That requires not only blocking lanes for always-dangerous seam passes but also cutting off pucks rimmed around the boards before they make it to the opposite corner.
To do that, Hawks wingers must pressure the opposing defensemen at the point, block their shooting lanes and angle them in such a way that their only option is to rim the puck down low.
“[We need to] find where the puck is and get our body or stick in the lane where it makes him uncomfortable to shoot,” forward Colton Dach said. “You have to have a good angle, as well. If you go straight at him, he could make the play around you. But you’ve just got to find a way to make him force the puck low.”
If a Hawks defenseman has his eyes up and can recognize and anticipate that’s about to happen, he can stop boxing out — leaving his man in front of the net — and jump the play, so he reaches the puck first behind the net. Blashill calls it “cutting the bottom off.”
Then he can send the puck back toward the side it came from or, if he has enough time, orchestrate a breakout by looking for a tape-to-tape pass.
“That’s the next progression to allow us to play less D-zone and put the puck in the forwards’ hands, which is where we have a lot of speed and skill,” defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said.
“That’s a tough balance as a D-man, [deciding] when to box out or when to jump off your check a second early. But we watched some clips [Thursday about] understanding when the puck is at the point, maybe just take a look — more than you would.”
Mac Jones reveals secret to 49ers winning despite endless injuries
The San Francisco 49ers just keep on chugging along. Any other team that's dealt with as many injuries as the Niners this season would have most likely folded at this point. Not this team, though. Against all odds, the 49ers are 6-3 after nine injury-riddled weeks this season. Despite a few stumbles here and there, a division title is well within reach for this team.
How are they doing this? Well, Mac Jones, who's been a beneficiary of the 49ers' injury woes, has an answer. The backup quarterback said that Kyle Shanahan's next-man-up mentality and his commitment to developing the younger players have allowed this team to thrive despite missing multiple key stars.
“It starts with the culture, for sure,” Jones told Albert Breer. “Kyle [Shanahan], the way he sets the table for the team, he wants to develop everybody—from undrafted rookies to fifth-year quarterbacks on their third team. He wants everyone to be great. That’s what it’s all about. Kyle just does a great job, defense, too, and special teams, everybody has a system. And when you have a system you believe in and it works, these are the results.”
The 49ers have missed multiple key players on both sides of the ball. Jones has only gotten multiple starts this season due to Brock Purdy's injury issues. Jones is also working with a depleted cast: Brandon Aiyuk is yet to make his return from his ACL tear, Jauan Jennings has missed some time this season, Ricky Pearsall has been out since Week 4, and George Kittle has only recently made his return to the field.
On defense, the losses have been far more devastating. They first lost star pass rusher Nick Bosa early in the season with an ACL tear. Later on, they lost star linebacker Fred Warner, this time to an Achilles tear. Coupled with the various injuries the other players have sustained, you have a recipe for disaster. Instead, Shanahan has reinvented this recipe to turn the 49ers into a contender this season.
The 49ers are coming off a dominant win against the New York Giants. They opened the game with a 17-7 run and never looked back, eventually ending the game with a 34-24 score.
