Tyler Bertuzzi went to Jeff Blashill during training camp and asked for his help. Last season, he knew he was too streaky. This season, he wanted to smooth out his production. So far, he has. New Blackhawks story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

What's driving the Blackhawks' surprising success? Well, it helps when you have these three things: 🔹Top-two scorer 🔹Top-two goalie 🔹Great coach Is it sustainable? Probably not. But is it encouraging? Yes. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Yesterday might’ve been the first time in Blackhawks history that their PP and PK were both perfect in 3+ opportunities. For the power play, some savvy adjustments — plus confidence in themselves — have led to a turnaround. New story breaking it down: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Louis Crevier is more settled (literally), more confident and expanding his skills with the Blackhawks this season. "The Jell-O is coming together." New story analyzing his improvements: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

On the Blackhawks’ long-awaited flight home tonight, Connor Bedard will look down not only at the Michigan countryside but also at the entire NHL. He added three points to his league-leading total of 25 as the Hawks beat the Red Wings 5-1. Story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

No linemate consistency issue for Connor Bedard this year. He's already spent 174 minutes 5v5 with Andre Burakovsky. That's more time than the Blackhawks have spent trailing (165 min), the second-fewest in the NHL. New story with more Blackhawks stats: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Half of Patrick Kane's brain struggles to believe he's already in his third season in Detroit. The other half finds it normal. "When I watch [the Blackhawks], it feels like a different organization... You feel like you belong here now." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Big night for the Blackhawks in Calgary: Spencer Knight earns the team's first shutout in nearly two years in a 4-0 win, and Connor Bedard moves into second in the NHL scoring race with four points. Postgame story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks will inevitably end up trading some of their young players. There isn't room for all of them. How will the other kids handle that? It'll be a new experience, and it'll test their chemistry. New column: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Connor Bedard is taking a Bigfoot-sized step this season. He's up to tied-for-9th in the NHL in scoring with 18 points in 14 games. He's faster. He's winning faceoffs. He's playing solid defense. He looks like a true superstar. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks resembled last year's helpless team during the second period tonight. But in the third, they looked different, pulling away for a 5-2 win. "We talked about [how] good teams find a way to win this game." Postgame story from Vancouver: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Wyatt Kaiser was in the AHL less than a year ago. Now, he's a Blackhawks defensive stalwart with Jeff Blashill's full trust. "When I play my best, I feel like I can be one of the best D out there." What changed? Well, a couple things. New feature: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Connor Murphy's ice time has fallen off a cliff, down to just 8:30 last night. The Blackhawks' longest-tenured player is in a tenuous spot. "I don’t think anyone would be happy with having less minutes. But I understand there are decisions." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

NEW: Kyle Davidson shares his thoughts on the Blackhawks' start, which he's "really encouraged" by. He's especially impressed by Connor Bedard so far. "He's been fantastic... Those might be the best games he’s played in the NHL." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks weren't able to convert ample possession time into much offense tonight in a 3-1 loss to the Kraken. "Sometimes you need some ugly ones, and we just didn’t get quite enough pucks through." Postgame story from Seattle: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

When the Blackhawks sent Oliver Moore to Rockford to start the season, Kyle Davidson told him, "Make us make a spot for you." With 9 points in 9 AHL games, that's exactly what Moore did. He'll make his Hawks season debut tonight in Seattle. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks have progressed to learning the next-level details of Jeff Blashill's defensive system. One of those is forcing and then cutting off rims behind the net. "That’s the next progression to allow us to play less D-zone." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Blackhawks rookies Ryan Greene and Colton Dach have stood out mostly because of their defense and physicality, respectively. But they're both working on growing offensively, too. New story breaking down what exactly they're working on: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks battled the Oilers very evenly tonight before falling 3-2 in OT. But the 18,347 fans at Rogers Place weren't paying much attention. "It was a weird, interesting moment." Postgame story from Edmonton: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Doppelgängers Nick Foligno and Nick Sirianni dressed up as each other for Halloween. But they've never met. Foligno hopes to change that soon. "We’ll do the Spiderman thing where we just point at each other." Fun new story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Jeff Blashill is almost like an MLB manager in terms of how he thinks about balancing workloads. "You have to watch how much stress you’re putting on players." So how are his 11F/7D Blackhawks lineups affecting those ice-time numbers? New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks' first lopsided defeat of the season marks an ominous start to their long trip. "Some of your big mistakes — that honestly we’ve made a little bit at home — come to bite you more on the road." Postgame story from Winnipeg: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

In Winnipeg, Jonathan Toews is still Jonathan Toews. His hockey IQ is still elite. He still dominates faceoffs. He’s still quiet and thoughtful most of the time. He simply wears blue now, not red. "Every day, he’s gotten better." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Ten games into the season, the Blackhawks are enjoying the sweet taste of success. It's making them hungry for more. "I don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves and jinx anything, but it’s just been a lot different than in years past." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Connor Bedard is showing a more honest, genuine, unrestrained side of himself this season. Why? Because he realized opinions can't hurt him. "If you say something that people don’t like, it doesn’t really matter in the end." New Blackhawks story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

"It’s nice to see Connor have an offensive night like tonight — to get rewarded for the good two-way play that he’s had." Bedard's first NHL hat trick powered the Blackhawks past the Senators 7-3 tonight. Postgame notebook: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks' power play has struggled lately, especially with zone entries. That was a focus area during practice today. "It’s [about] recognition." New story breaking down what they're working on: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

It meant something to Jeff Blashill to go home to Tampa last week. His experience there the last three years molded and prepared him for this Blackhawks challenge. "He’s one of the premier coaches in the league. And I think he’s proving it now." Feature story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Five minutes of mistakes were all it took to seal the Blackhawks' fate tonight against a Kings team that knows how to protect a lead. "I think we stopped taking what was given." Postgame story after a 3-1 loss: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Today marked an underwhelming, anticlimactic conclusion to the tenure of a player who — at one time — seemed to embody the future of the Blackhawks' franchise. Full story analyzing the Lukas Reichel trade to Vancouver: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Sam Rinzel knows he tends to lose weight during games faster than most guys. As a 195-pound NHL rookie, though, he can't afford to lose too much. That's where salt comes in. New Blackhawks story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks are overcoming mistakes with hard work and a relentless will to win. Frank Nazar puts it well: "That’s something that we’ve built the last few years. There’s been some hard times...but [we’re] learning." Postgame story from Tampa: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Ilya Mikheyev has given a Herculean effort to keep the Blackhawks' overworked penalty kill afloat this month. His teammates and coaches are amazed. "He’s a workhorse. [He has] one of the craziest engines I’ve seen." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

An example of Ilya Mikheyev’s tireless penalty killing early this season:

The Blackhawks' new defensive system allows fewer shots but gives goalies less support on rebounds. That plays into Spencer Knight's strengths while minimizing his weaknesses. And so far, Knight has been spectacular. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

In a month filled with positive Blackhawks news, Nick Foligno's update on his daughter's health today was the best yet. "I’m so proud of how she’s recovering, and I know she’s an inspiration to me and a lot of people." New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Just this morning, the Blackhawks talked about keys to 3-on-3 OT success: valuing possession, being smart about shot selection, executing timely line changes. Then they followed those keys to a 2-1 OT win tonight against Anaheim. Postgame story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Joel Quenneville's legacy with the Blackhawks will forever be complicated. But right now, he and the Hawks have both "moved on," and it feels like the fan base has, too. His presence was an afterthought tonight. New column: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks have outscored their opponents 15-10 at 5on5. Analytics suggest that's unsustainable, but their 45.8% xG ratio (49.0% excluding Florida) is still way better than previous years. That and more takeaways from the Hawks' first six games: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Ryan Greene's Oct. 5th was crazy. “I [had] just gotten to the hotel in Rockford. I hadn’t even unpacked my car or gotten the room key yet. I got the call in the lobby I was going to Florida." Two weeks later, he's still with the Blackhawks. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Tyler Bertuzzi's disallowed goal weighed on the Blackhawks tonight, but they also rued blowing a two-goal lead in a 3-2 shootout loss to Vancouver. "We didn’t do enough to earn the win that we should’ve gotten." Lengthy postgame notebook: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Ryan Greene has worked on winning more puck battles. Here’s a great example from Wednesday:

The hockey world isn't referring to the Blackhawks as "Connor Bedard and Co." anymore. Now they're "Bedard, Nazar and Co." Yes, Frank Nazar is evolving into a star, and that changes everything for this team. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

TNT’s intermission panel ripped the Blackhawks last season. Tonight, they lauded them. For the Hawks, this win was step #1 in terms of changing their reputation around the NHL. Postgame story from St. Louis: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks gambled on Andre Burakovsky last summer. So far, it looks like a wise buy-low move. Burakovsky's poise and patience with the puck adds a different element to this offense. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks earned their first win tonight despite putting forth their sloppiest and least emotional effort so far. Perhaps it was cosmic justice after feeling robbed of positive results in the last two games. Postgame story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

I talked to Blackhawks chairman Danny Wirtz today about the team's rebuild, financial outlook, TV deal and more. He's "very pleased" with Kyle Davidson's performance as GM: "Everything Kyle set out to do, he continues to deliver on." Full story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks have played with admirable energy, emotion and determination in their first 3 games. If they can maintain those traits over 82 games, wins will inevitably come. New column: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

The Blackhawks let no transgressions against them go unpunished in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Montreal tonight. But they also paraded to the penalty box. Finding the balance between toughness and discipline needs to be a priority. Postgame story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...

Every week reveals a little more about Jeff Blashill's approach to coaching the Blackhawks. This week, I've learned about his 11F/7D inclination on the road, why he's trying to savor moments more than he did in Detroit, etc. New story: chicago.suntimes.com/blackhawks/2...