Analyzing Blackhawks defenseman Sam Rinzel's play at his personal 82-game mark

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.’’