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Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard celebrates with defenseman Artyom Levshunov and center Teuvo Teravainen after scoring a goal (Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images)

5 Blackhawks Observations From Six-Game Road Trip

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Brooke LoFurno | Last updated Nov 10, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Chicago Blackhawks just returned to Chicago after a six-game, 12-day road trip. Extended road trips are testy for any NHL team, but especially a young Blackhawks team. They wanted to have a successful road trip, rack up points, and further cement that their strong start wasn’t a fluke.

They did just that. They ended the road trip with a 3-2-1 record (8-5-3 overall) and continue to make noise around the league. Here are some observations.

1. Power Play Finding Its Groove

To start the season, the power play was a sore spot. Throughout October, they were operating at 16.7%, which was the ninth-worst in the NHL. Now, their power play is seventh-best at 25.5%. Their power play has converted in three straight games, including against the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 9, where they went 3-for-3 on the man advantage in a 5-1 win.

Connor Bedard and Tyler Bertuzzi have connected a lot on the power play. Bertuzzi and Bedard both have five power-play points in their last five games, but defenseman Artyom Levshunov has also been a story. Head coach Jeff Blashill has rookies Levshunov and Sam Rinzel quarterbacking the two units. With Levshunov now on the first unit, he has notched 4 power-play points in his last 3 games.

Andre Burakovsky, being on the first unit, has also done wonders.

Blashill said after the game against Detroit, “Confidence is a huge factor in life, and especially special teams, and I think right now, the power play is obviously feeling it…”

The power play has contributed to their three-game winning streak, and they’ll look to keep that going.

2. The Top Players Are Performing As Such

Like any team, if you want to have success, you need your top players to be at their best, and that is exactly what’s happening.

Connor Bedard has 25 points in 16 games. Andre Burakovsky and Tyler Bertuzzi have 14 points in 15 games. Frank Nazar has 11 points in 15 games, etc.

Last season, the Blackhawks’ leading scorer had 67 points (Bedard). As of now, four players are on pace to record 60-plus points by the end of the season.

Just on this six-game road trip alone, Bedard had 13 points. Bertuzzi and Burakovsky had eight points. When top forwards put up numbers like that, it’s paramount.

Moreover, their rookies, like Oliver Moore, who got recalled from the Rockford IceHogs on Nov. 3, has two points in four games. Even Ryan Greene has been great on the top line.

They are receiving contributions across the board, and their defense has adapted well to the 11/7 lineup. All difference makers.

3. Solid Goaltending

There is something very special going on with the Blackhawks’ goaltending. Between Spencer Knight and Arvid Söderblom, their goaltending has been their backbone. Knight’s .926 SV% save percentage is fourth-best in the NHL.

On the road trip, Knight had a .921 SV% in four games, including his first shutout of the season against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 7, stopping 33 shots.

With Söderblom, he has only played in five games, including two on the road trip. But his win against the Red Wings was the standout for him, with a .978 SV% and stopping 45 of 46 shots on goal.

Both goalies had “down” nights by their standards, but recovered.

Overall, the Blackhawks’ 2.50 goals-against per game is tied for second-best in the NHL. The players and coach have stressed all season about how their netminders have given them a chance to win every night, and that continued to hold true on the road trip.

They were stellar.

4. Bedard’s Hot Streak

You can’t do an observations list and not talk about the run Bedard is on, alone. When the road trip started, Bedard had 14 points in 11 games, which was tied for sixth-best in the NHL. Now, he is tied for second-best in the NHL. (He was leading at one point.) Bedard is on an eight-game point streak (18 points) and is on pace for 128 points.

8-game point streak for 9️⃣8️⃣ pic.twitter.com/VbWSDnSHdZ
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) November 9, 2025

He reached 150 career points against the Calgary Flames on Nov. 7, which surpassed Eddie Olczyk as the youngest Blackhawks player to reach that milestone. On the road trip, he played only two games in which he didn’t register two or more points.

Bedard is one of the hottest players in the league right now. The puck is finding him everywhere, and he is on another level.

When Knight was asked what he’s seen from Bedard on Nov. 7, he responded, “He’s a really smart player. I think everyone sees his shot and the skill, but he’s a very intelligent player. The way he thinks the game, his vision, I think, is a very underrated aspect of his game, and I think that just ties in well with his whole game, in general. And it just gives him so many different ways to attack the offensive zone.”

Bedard is leading the way.

5. Blackhawks Keep Pushing

The Blackhawks started the road trip 0-2-1. It had the potential to keep spiraling, but they have been resilient, and their ability to rebound with three straight wins afterward was telling.

Söderblom said after the Detroit game, “We’re playing for each other. We’re playing to win. We’re not playing for [ourselves]. We’re playing for the guy next to us, and I think when everybody does that, it goes a long way. We’re competing and we’re finding ways to win, whether it’s through special teams or five-on-five. I feel like we’re finding ways to win, and that’s what a good team does.”

Söderblom is spot on. Chicago is finding ways to win, even when they’re not playing perfectly. In the Detroit game, for example, they were outshot 46-20. But they won because of their goaltending, the penalty kill went 5-for-5, and their power play executed. Against Vancouver, they got outshot 45-28, but a four-goal explosion in the third period led the Blackhawks to a win.

Despite being without Jason Dickinson, who was placed on injured reserve earlier in the road trip, and is their best faceoff man. Despite being without Nazar, who got hurt in the first period against the Flames, and had to miss the Red Wings game (he is day-to-day).

Despite not always having the prettiest 60-minute game, they’re pulling through. It says a lot about their character.

There is still plenty of season left, but the road trip left a good impression.

Now, they’ll have to keep momentum going during their November homestand, where eight of their nine games will be at home.