Blackhawks defenseman Sam Rinzel talks a lot about playing to strengths — his strength being his play in the offensive zone — and finally is starting to make hay from that.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, Rinzel’s weakness — playing in the defensive zone — continues to be problematic.
Coach Jeff Blashill called the Jets’ two goals late in the second period the turning point of the Hawks’ loss Saturday. Considering the second was a fluke, the first is worth analyzing closely.
Leading up to it, the Jets’ Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Viggo Bjorck and Josh Morrissey went to work in the left corner of the Hawks’ defensive zone, executing a smooth cycle play that ended with Morrissey finding Scheifele in front of the net.
Connor Bedard deserves some of the blame as the low center. Bedard moved away from the net a few seconds before the goal to cut off Morrissey’s lane for a potential seam pass to Mario Ferraro on the far side, and he was too slow to reassess the play and return to Scheifele.
But the whole sequence took place in Rinzel’s corner, which he didn’t control assertively enough. He looked torn about whether to be aggressive or passive and mostly opted for passiveness. When he finally chose to pressure Morrissey, he was a half-second late, and his stick wasn’t in position to disrupt the pass.
It’s another lesson for Rinzel. He said earlier this season he thinks many people — including himself sometimes — tend to forget how inexperienced he is, and that’s true.
Saturday was his 82nd career NHL game, meaning he just now has played the equivalent of a full season. The fact that those games have been spread over three real-life seasons distorts perception.
But that doesn’t excuse the frequency of the defensive-zone turnovers, failed breakouts and minor penalties that have plagued him this season. The Hawks need better from him in his own zone.
Rinzel’s offensive growth
Still, Rinzel recently has shown more flashes of the offensively dynamic version of himself Hawks fans briefly saw when he made his NHL debut in April 2025.
He picked up two assists Saturday — both on the power play, which he’s quarterbacking right now — to give him seven in his last seven games. His nine points this season lead Hawks defensemen.
He didn’t get an assist but also deserved kudos for an accurate breakout pass from the defensive zone to Tyler Bertuzzi in the first period. That jump-started a rush on which Bertuzzi scored.
‘‘Overall, I think he’s had real good progress over the last couple of weeks,’’ Blashill said Thursday. ‘‘He just has to stay with that kind of progress.’’
Kaiser’s highs and lows
Fellow defenseman Wyatt Kaiser has been on the ice for 28 five-on-five goals against this season, the most in the league. It’s an ugly stat that reflects how low his lows have been.
His highs are still high, however. His shifty skating style and creative mind give him the potential to be a difference-maker when he’s on his A-game.
The problem lately has been his ratio of good games to bad games. He strung some good ones together in October, but November has been less consistent.
In the first period Saturday, for example, he committed a bad turnover in the defensive zone on one shift, then executed an impressive solo breakout just a couple of shifts later.
‘‘He’s always hypercompetitive,’’ Blashill said Saturday. ‘‘When he’s efficient with the puck is when he’s at his best. . . . And staying away from big errors defensively.’’
Analyzing Blackhawks defenseman Sam Rinzel’s play at his personal 82-game mark 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-11-15 02:31:01
Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
