Lost in the commotion of Connor Bedard’s two-goal performance in the Blackhawks’ win Wednesday against the Jets was the stellar goaltending of Petr Mrazek.
Mrazek saved 37 of 38 shots and helped the Hawks’ penalty kill go 4-for-4. The veteran has been a model of consistency for the Blackhawks this season amid a frustrating season filled with offensive inconsistencies, injuries and growing pains.
“His play has been unbelievable,” defenseman Alex Vlasic said. “You’re able to trust in him and know that if something breaks down or if there’s a good scoring chance, he’s going be there to make that save. We’ve talked about it as a team: very rarely do you have that, where you have a goalie that you know will make those saves. He has been arguably our best player this year.”
The stats back up Mrazek’s play. Among 64 goalies league-wide with at least 400 minutes played, his .911 save percentage is tied for 19th and his plus-5.3 GSAA (goals saved above average) is 16th.
The Hawks, as a team, rank 27th in terms of shots on goal allowed (33.14) per 60 minutes at five-on-five. Remarkably, Mrazek has a 2.98 GAA (goals-against average) despite facing the eighth-most shots per minute out of those 64 goalies.
“[It’s impressive] with how many odd-man rushes we’ve given up,” defenseman Connor Murphy said. “And getting outshot in the majority of the games we played this year — there’s probably only one or two games we’ve outshot the other team. [Given] those two stats alone, for us to be able to pull out wins with him shows how big of a difference [he has] made.”
Mrazek is also providing much-needed veteran leadership to the younger defenseman. He’s constantly talking on the ice and instructing them where they need to be. The Hawks are currently trotting out three defensemen under the age of 22.
“He’s very talkative,” Vlasic said. “He’s vocal, and he helps us out on breakouts. He’s always telling us if we have a guy coming at us hard or if there’s no pressure or stuff — like just little communication.”
With fellow goalie Arvid Söderblom struggling — he has a 4.15 GAA and an .870 save percentage this season — Mrazek’s steadiness in net is felt even more through his play and interactions with players.
Hawks coach Luke Richardson said Mrazek’s impact is felt in more ways than solely through “big saves at the right time.”
“He gets out and plays a lot of pucks, and that helps out our defense core, especially the young guys,” Richardson added. “He talks to them. He’s not in his own world just milling about — some goalies are like that — [but] he’s at the bench, talking to the young ‘D’ and telling them where they should be or what might work better. That goes a long way.
“They learn more from that than a coach telling them all the time, ‘Do this, do that.’ I think it makes sense because the play just happened and it’s fresh in their mind, and they figure it out themselves. That’s good professionalism by him.”
Mrazek’s solid play as of late has earned him more playing opportunities despite the Hawks’ efforts to keep his workload manageable to minimize injury risk.
Richardson said he still has confidence in Söderblom, but he added that “you go with the hot hand sometimes, and ‘Sody’ has to get back in there and battle himself, as well.” Richardson said Mrazek is expected to start again Friday against the Stars as the Hawks begin a five-game road trip.
“He has deserved that,” Richardson said. “I have no problem going with him a little bit more than usual.”
