When the Blackhawks went through their salary-cap changes last summer, they knew their roster would change. They would have to reconfigure lines and defensive pairs.
The same was true for their penalty kill, which has been ranked in the league’s top 10 since the 2012-13 season. Gone were Johnny Oduya and Brandon Saad, two key parts of the kill, and the Blackhawks had to find players to fill those voids. But in this early portion of the season the Blackhawks’ kill, thanks to young guys who were already here or acquisitions, has done just fine.
In nine games the Blackhawks have killed off 22 of 25 power plays, including three vs.