EDMONTON, Alberta — Running the point on an NHL power play can be stressful.
You’re the furthest player back, so a fumbled puck or blocked shot or intercepted pass can easily lead to a breakaway. And you’re quarterbacking the whole unit with the pressure of the two-minute penalty clock counting down.
Blackhawks rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski has been eased into power-play usage for that reason, especially after getting burned for shorthanded goals in consecutive games in late November.
But since returning to the Hawks’ lineup in late December, Korchinski — while mainly operating on the second unit — has shown signs of improvement.
“He’s starting to get that puck moving a little better from side to side,” coach Luke Richardson said Thursday. “At the beginning, he was a little bit jumpy and would jam it back down the same side [it came from]. Now, we’re trying to get him confident to go to the other side.”
Even if it looks like an opposing penalty-killer is moving to cut off the passing lane to the other side, it’s still generally better to send the puck to the half of the zone containing one killer instead of three. Skating along the line can help open up lanes, too.
“If you can drag a guy to you and give it to another guy, [it] creates more time for them and then they have more time to make a play, and so on,” Korchinski said. “Obviously, when you see a lane, you try to shoot. But [I’m] just trying to snap it around and get the ‘PK’ moving.
“As you get more reps, you get more confident; you get more used to what to expect. Obviously, the PK’s pace is still pretty high and they’re trying to bait you for some stuff.”
Korchinski’s stat line (entering Thursday) of nine points in 42 games doesn’t exactly scream “future elite offensive defenseman,” and he admitted his relatively meager box-score production has been frustrating.
The Hawks’ severe team-wide scoring issues are weighing down everyone’s stats, though. And this season was never destined to be more than an adjustment season for Korchinski, who already checked off his biggest accomplishment by sticking on the NHL roster.
The Hawks kept him because they saw he wasn’t overwhelmed at this level and wouldn’t have his confidence dented by learning lessons-by-fire this season — lessons which should help him take bigger steps forward next season, when expectations will begin rising.
“He looks to me like he’s getting bigger and stronger and handling things defensively,” Richardson said. “If he had 40 points and he was really struggling defensively, we’d be concerned. It’s the other way around, and...we know the offense will come.”
And when it comes, it may largely come on the power play. Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, an example of a top-tier offensive defenseman whom Richardson often mentions to his youngsters as a good model, recorded 34 of his 73 points on the power play last season.
In a few years, the Hawks would be thrilled if Korchinski was producing like that, and they’re starting to notice progress.
Prior to his Dec. 8 bereavement leave, he had averaged 2:02 of power-play ice time per game, during which the Hawks produced 0.61 scoring chances per minute and outscored opponents only 3-2 — dismal numbers with a man advantage.
Since Dec. 22, however, he has averaged 2:57 of power-play ice time per game, during which the Hawks have produced 0.74 scoring chances per minute and outscored opponents 4-0. The NHL average is 0.98 scoring chances per minute, so those numbers still aren’t great, but he isn’t working with particularly talented forwards, to be fair.
“Since the start of the year, [I have] gotten a lot better,” Korchinski said. “The last 10 or so games, I’ve felt really confident.”