Ironically, the Blues’ one even-strength goal in last week’s preseason opener was actually one of the first good examples of the Blackhawks correctly executing new coach Luke Richardson’s defensive system.
In that play, Blues forward Brandon Saad skated up the half-wall in possession with Hawks defenseman Kevin Korchinski on his tail.
Michal Teply, the Hawks’ strong-side winger, correctly crashed down on Saad from the other direction, forcing Saad to pass inside to Kyrou at the faceoff dot. Then Josiah Slavin, the Hawks’ low center, also correctly moved up — with an active stick — to block Kyrou’s potential shooting lane.
The issue was Samuel Savoie, the Hawks’ weak-side winger, also went to Kyrou. That left Blues defenseman Griffin Luce wide-open in the space Savoie vacated, and Luce scored.
Besides Savoie’s mistake, though, the Hawks’ rotation closely matched what Richardson has spent training camp teaching. While none of those players remain on the Hawks’ NHL roster, those who do have regularly reviewed clips like that to adjust to his approach.
Richardson's analysis of this play: They largely defended it as planned/hoped. He wants the strong-side winger (Teply #71) to force down on the puck-carrier, and he wants the low forward (Slavin #36) to charge up into the shot lane. Savoie #67 just failed to cover the weak side. https://t.co/CClVY1GgoK
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) September 28, 2022
“We’re looking to kill plays quickly,” Richardson said. “It’s hard defense, and that just gives us more energy to play offense instead of chipping the puck out after being in [our] zone for a minute.”
Richardson’s system is based on a standard “box-plus-one,” one of the most commonly used defensive structures throughout all levels of hockey.
It’s a zone defense in which wingers each cover half the zone above the dots and defensemen cover half the zone below the dots, with support from a roving center. That zone aspect alone differentiates it substantially from the hybrid man-to-man coverage the Hawks used during Jeremy Colliton and Derek King’s coaching tenures.
A typical “box-plus-one” system focuses on protecting the slot while conceding possession on the perimeter, but Richardson’s version is more aggressive than most and sometimes pressures even on the perimeter.
“It’s more aggressive than anything I’ve played, and I really like it,” Sam Lafferty said. “Because as a center, you can strike sooner. And as a winger, you can strike sooner when the guy climbs the wall.”
Beyond the defensive zone, the Hawks won’t follow as specific and predetermined of a system — few NHL teams do — but Richardson has nonetheless given a few points of emphasis.
One point is that, during breakouts, forwards should circle back below the defensive blue line to assist their defensemen. Another is that players carrying the puck through the neutral zone — be it defenseman or forward — should move the puck vertically rather than horizontally whenever possible. Following both rules will reduce the risk of turnovers leading to counterattacks.
“We ask our forwards to get back for our ‘D,’” Richardson said. “We don’t want to go ‘D’-to-‘D’ and slow it down all the time. We want to go right back at them. ... We’re skating back hard, not just waiting for the ‘D’ to get it back to you waiting at the far blue line. It makes you work early, but it pays off in the end.”
Once in the offensive zone, if the Hawks’ forecheck forces a turnover or wins a puck battle below the goal line, Richardson wants them to first see if they can hit the trailing forward — the “F3” — cruising down into the slot.
If that’s unavailable, he wants them passing low-to-high — back up to defensemen at the blue line — and then either finding open space or crashing the net to create traffic.
“A lot of teams swarm now and they’re all down low, so [that’ll] give us time out high to work something out with a forward running high, or simply shooting the puck at the net with a couple of bodies there,” he said. “Those are probably our best chances [during] all of training camp...so we’re going to start with that and build off it.”
