ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Offense hasn't always come this easy for the Chicago Blackhawks this season.
Even before Patrick Kane fractured his clavicle in late February, the Blackhawks weren’t producing a whole lot of goals. They were 11th in the league with a 2.83 goals-for average before Kane was hurt and finished the season 16th with a 2.68 average. Those numbers are far off from when the Blackhawks were among the teams setting the pace for goals with a 3.18 average last season and 3.10 average in 2013.
The Stanley Cup playoffs have brought out those old Blackhawks. They have surged offensively throughout the playoffs and averaged 3.19 goals per game. It’s the greatest positive goal differential the Blackhawks have had from regular season to playoffs in coach Joel Quenneville’s seven seasons.
Quenneville had a number of explanations for the turnaround.
“Defense has been part of that,” Quenneville said Friday. “The back end has been fine, be it off the rush or in zone. I think balance on our lines, Kaner coming back, giving us a boost is a big part of that as well.”
The Blackhawks have gotten more from their defensemen. Brent Seabrook scored eight goals in 82 regular-season games and has five goals in 19 playoff games. Duncan Keith has been distributing at a higher rate and has 14 assists in the playoffs. The defensemen have combined for eight goals and 26 assists.
The Blackhawks have also had more balance from their lines. Chicago has especially benefited from more scoring from its third and fourth lines. The third line of Patrick Sharp, Antoine Vermette and Teuvo Teravainen has combined for eight playoff goals, and the fourth line of Andrew Desjardins, Marcus Kruger and Andrew Shaw has totaled seven goals.
As a team, the Blackhawks were one of the worst teams in the regular season with a 6.9 shooting percentage in five-on-five play, and they’ve been one of the better teams in the playoffs with a 7.6 percentage.
Kane’s return, of course, has certainly helped. He has scored 10 goals on 47 shots on net for a 21.3 percentage. Jonathan Toews is second on the Blackhawks with seven playoff goals this season.
The Blackhawks began the Western Conference finals quiet on the offensive side. They were held to one goal in Games 1 and 3 and won 3-2 in triple overtime in Game 2. The Blackhawks have come on since then. They scored five goals in Game 4, four goals in Game 5 and five goals again in Game 6.
“Puck’s gone in,” Quenneville said. “You can talk about Game 5. I think the last few games, we're scoring some goals, which is not an easy thing to do. It seems like this round of the playoffs, both sides, it's gone in a little bit more than it has the prior two rounds. I just think we got to get the bodies and pucks to the net. That's what we're focusing on. I don't care how they go in.”
Anaheim Ducks goaltender Frederik Andresen was in net for 13 of those goals. After stopping 112 of 117 shots for a .957 save percentage in the first three games, he has had a .856 save percentage (77-of-90 shots) in the past three games. The Blackhawks won two of the past three games and are 8-1 when they’ve scored at least four goals in this year’s playoffs.
Andersen said the Ducks’ issues allowing those goals are fixable heading into Saturday’s Game 7.
“Obviously, they won two out of the three last games, and that comes along with scoring goals,” Andersen said Friday. “It’s some mistakes on our part and my part, so I’m not too worried. We can fix that tomorrow, and if we come at them, we have a really good chance.”
Sharp, who has four goals in the playoffs, admitted that as much success as the Blackhawks have had recently against Andersen, it won’t be any easier Saturday.
“I don't think we've figured anything out,” Sharp said. “We've done a better job of capitalizing on our opportunities. He's a good goalie, good team in front of him. Makes it tough to get to the net. When he sees the puck, he's going to stop it. We expect him to play his best in Game 7. We have to find a way to beat him.”