Preseason results paint ugly picture
Coach Luke Richardson hasn’t seemed too concerned about it, but the Blackhawks’ preseason results were undeniably ugly.
A 6-0 loss Saturday to the Blues in St. Louis ended a six-game slate during which the Hawks won only once. That was against the Red Wings in Detroit with a lineup made up mostly of prospects and fringe players.
Very few players the Hawks will count on to be top contributors this season showed semblances of life. Jonathan Toews’ effort seemed uncharacteristically low on several opponent goals after he committed defensive-zone turnovers. Patrick Kane couldn’t find much chemistry with anyone who rotated through the first line, including new additions Andreas Athanasiou and Max Domi. The Hawks were outscored 22-6.
Richardson said Friday — after a 4-1 loss Thursday to the Wild but before the blowout Saturday — that he thought a few critical breakdowns were marring otherwise-respectable performances.
‘‘We’ve been happy with the execution and effort,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s just [that] the big opportunities [our opponents] get are really big. They’re bad.
‘‘The mistakes are just too big. We have to start cleaning those up. Hockey’s never going to be perfect because it’s too fast a game and there are 10 guys moving at 30 miles per hour out there. It’s tough to be perfect. But we have to just be solid, and we have a ways to go.’’
The Hawks will hope for better results when the regular season starts and the games start counting, although such optimism might be misplaced, given the roster construction. They’ll travel Monday to Denver for two high-altitude practices before the season opener Wednesday against the Avalanche.
Roos’ contract complexity
When the Hawks signed defenseman Filip Roos asa European free agent in May, his Swedish team — Skelleftea AIK — technically retained his rights.
If the Hawks try to demote Roos to the American Hockey League, Skelleftea will have the option to bring him back to Sweden rather than let him go to Rockford, Roos said Friday — even though he would prefer to stay in America and keep fighting for an NHL opportunity.
‘‘It’s up to them,’’ Roos said.
‘‘I’m just trying to stay focused on this and do my best here, so hopefully it goes well. If that comes up, we’ll take it from there.’’
That contract complication might influence how the Hawks manage their defensive roster decisions, with Roos sitting on the bubble.
‘‘He’s calm and moves the puck well on the power play,’’ Richardson said Friday. ‘‘I’ve seen some progress. Also, in his first time in North America on the smaller rink, he’s adjusting fast, which is a good sign.’’
Lafferty adjusting to center
Sam Lafferty has spent much of camp making the transition from wing to center.
It’s not a drastic change for him — Lafferty played some center while coming up with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in 201819 — but it has required some adjustments, particularly when it comes to making reads in the defensive zone.
Lafferty centered Athanasiou and Jujhar Khaira on Saturday. Richardson likes the idea of Lafferty and Athanasiou, the Hawks’ two fastest skaters, playing together and thinks Lafferty’s speed will help him at center.
‘‘He’s bright, and even if he’s off-key a little bit on positioning out there, he has the ability to react quickly and get back into position,’’ Richardson said. ‘‘Center ice is a great fit for him.’’