Yahoo Answers is shutting down on May 4th, 2021 (Eastern Time) and beginning April 20th, 2021 (Eastern Time) the Yahoo Answers website will be in read-only mode. There will be no changes to other Yahoo properties or services, or your Yahoo account. You can find more information about the Yahoo Answers shutdown and how to download your data on this help page.
Trending News
Do you think the Blackhawks are getting fundamentally dumber on defense?
Not only do I think the Blackhawks are getting fundamentally dumber on defense, but they have also forgotten to be more aggressive and physical on defense, because they're showing no discipline or intelligence to stop opponents from scoring easy goals, and they're always missing assignments and mishandling the puck. I'm not sure if this has something to do with the absence of Jonathan Toews. In addition, they're also getting fundamentally dumber on executing the power play, because all they're doing is waiting for something to happen, instead of creating traffic and putting pressure on their goalie. It's quite clear the Blackhawks have enough offense and talent to win games, but the defense has to get better somehow, and the Blackhawks have to execute their power play more efficiently, or their season will end in a red tide of "What if?" questions, should they miss the playoffs, because they didn't get either their defense or their power play in sync sooner.
I'm praying Johnny Oduwa can get the Blackhawks defense back in sync, and when Toews returns, then maybe they'll start clicking again on offense, defense, and on special teams.
Do you think the Blackhawks have suddenly gotten fundamentally dumber on defense and on the power play? And, does it have everything to do with the absence of Toews? And, what do the Blackhawks need to get their defense and power play back in sync?
4 Answers
- 9 years agoFavorite Answer
Of course Toews' absence is detrimental, but if your concern is the lack of aggression on defense and the powerplay, then the reason is because they don't have many large players.
None of their star forwards are big, but rather fast. During the early season after an offseason of rest, speedy players are the best on the ice. But after a season of injuries, big players dominate in the later season, when everyone is either hurt or tired, and speed of all players slows down. Big players can lean on defense in front of the net, which is why their lack there of is hurting the team on the powerplay.
On defense, they've never been amazingly great, rather, they have a lot of good players who play as defensemen. Keith and Seabrook are really good players that happen to be defensemen, but I wouldn't say they're the best defensive players. Keith is a big offensive defenseman, and Seabrook is a tough offensive defenseman (despite this season's numbers). The main reason for their lack of fundamentals on defense can probably be chalked up to Toews's injury, since they play more of a team defense rather than a defenseman based defense.
If Toews returns, they'll be better on both ends, but I think the problem of size will continue to hurt this teams ability to pressure the goalie and play aggressive defense
- ?Lv 69 years ago
Defense has been awful for quite some time, not only while Toews has been out. Keith and Seabrook are the best defensemen on the team by far, but even they are not playing at their very best. The rest of the defensemen on the team are mediocre at best. I wish Brian Campbell was never signed to a huge cap hit because he would be very useful right now for the Blackhawks. Campbell is a very good puck-moving defenseman and helps generate a lot of offense.
I don't understand how or why the Blackhawks went from being a top team in the league during the first half of the season, to the team they are now. We're looking at a team loaded with talent, but yet they are struggling right now to win games. It is interesting to note that the Blackhawks have done quite well against some of the top teams in the Western Conference.
In time, we shall see if Johnny Oduya will be of much help to the Blackhawks or not.
- 9 years ago
Well.....Jonathan Toews is like one of the best player on the team. So yea.....without him, they might be dumber than what they used to be. Johnny Oduya is a pretty good defensive guy so I think the defensive side has a little improvement. They should need to be a little more aggressive on the puck during the powerplay. They should stay in their position and block shots and clear the puck as much as they can. They need to read each other and stay between the enemy player with the puck and the goal net. They should still play well without Toews. I think if they get a little bit of more training on their powerplay and their defensive skills, then they would do fine without Toews.
