SEABROOK SOARS WITH DROP
More productive with less ice time vs. Rangers
Brent Seabrook had by far his least ice time of the season Wednesday against the Rangers. Perhaps not coincidentally, he had one of his best games, with four shots on goal, two blocked shots, an assist and a plus- 2 rating.
“I want to play as much as I can, [ but] I want to help the team out any way I can,” Seabrook said. “Whatever the case may be, I thought I had a better game [ Wednesday] night. I had more jump, more pace to my game.”
Removed from power- play duty for the game, Seabrook played only 16 minutes, 26 seconds against the Rangers — more than five minutes less than his season average. That’s a massive drop in ice time for any player, let alone an established veteran. In fact, it was the 32- year- old workhorse’s least amount of ice time in a game since the 2013 postseason.
And while no player ever wants to relinquish ice time, the Blackhawks have been riding Seabrook and Duncan Keith ( 25: 03 per game) particularly hard with all the turnover on the blue line. Spreading that ice time around could prove beneficial in the short and long term.
Coach Joel Quenneville hedged when asked if that was his aim, however. He made it sound like it was more performance- based. Seabrook has struggled at times to keep up with faster teams and has taken a team- high 10 minor penalties as a result. And his possession numbers are some of the worst of his career.
“As a defenseman, I find the more you play, the better you play,” Quenneville said. “In the case with [ Seabrook], he’s looking to get his game back to where he’s more confident with it and feels better about it. I thought he took a nice step in that direction.
‘‘ Whether it’s because the minutes were lower or an awareness thing, his game was more complete. So I would expect Seabrook’s minutes to progress from those levels. . . . I thought everyone was contributing in a meaningful way. [ Keith] will get a fair share more [ minutes] than anyone else, but if we can get everyone around comparable numbers and happy with it, that can be good for our team.”
Seabrook has been paired with Connor Murphy the last three games, with Murphy playing on his off side as a fellow right- hander. It has been a work in progress, but Seabrook likes the potential with two physical presences with big shots.
“Anytime you’re with a new guy — he’s a righty, I’m a righty — it’s going to take a little bit of getting used to,” Seabrook said. “But he’s a great player. I think getting out there and practicing and playing is good for us.”
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