![\"Spencer](\"https:\/\/cst.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/8dee40d\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4610x3073+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F7b%2F6b%2F24f05b224f54a65acdf54bbcea06%2Fknight-2.jpg\")
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Since March 12, the Blackhawks have had the second-worst goaltending in the NHL.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the main reason why they\u2019ve gone 1-8-0 during that span (including their loss Sunday) despite only getting outshot 231-221, a shot ratio that ranks a respectable 20th in the league.<\/p>\n
Goalie Arvid Soderblom started Sunday, giving Spencer Knight a break after he started each of the last five home games. Soderblom conceded five goals on 31 shots against Utah, dropping his save percentage in nine appearances since the 4 Nations break to an ugly .870.<\/p>\n
Things haven\u2019t gone very well for Knight recently, either. After beginning his Hawks tenure allowing three or fewer goals in each of his first four starts \u2014 posting a .928 save percentage over that span \u2014 he has allowed four or more goals in four of those five most recent starts, posting an .847 save percentage over that span.<\/p>\n
He probably should\u2019ve stopped two or three of the Golden Knights\u2019 goals Friday, and he has developed a pattern of getting beat up high on the glove side. But it\u2019s also true that many of the goals against him, especially prior to Friday, have been either perfectly placed shots or wacky deflections.<\/p>\n
All things considered, a nine-game sample is small. It\u2019s unwise to make many judgments based on the end of this going-nowhere season. As far as Knight goes specifically, the hype around him during his spectacular first two weeks was probably excessive, and the concern during the past two weeks is also probably excessive.<\/p>\n
For Knight personally, he\u2019s taking these problems seriously but not getting too worked up about them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s skilled players in this league, they\u2019re going to make great plays, and you\u2019ve just got to try to focus on what you can and learn how to get better,\u201d Knight said recently. \u201cI always try to err on the side of, \u2018Oh, how can I get better?\u2019 rather than, \u2018Oh, every goal is really good. There\u2019s nothing I could do.\u2019 I think that\u2019s a mindset you\u2019re not going to get better with.<\/p>\n
“[There are] little things you can always get better on, and I try each day in practice to stay on top of those things, whether it\u2019s skating, tracking, handling the puck or moving into shots. … I think about them, but I don\u2019t make them overly complicated and be too [stressed] like, \u2018Oh my gosh.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In the Hawks\u2019 player headshots, it\u2019s comical how much tanner than everyone else Knight is, coming from Florida.<\/p>\n
He grew up in Connecticut and obviously went on plenty of road trips with the Panthers, so he\u2019s no stranger to cold. But he is excited for the coming Chicago summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard it\u2019s really nice when the weather gets better, so I\u2019m waiting for that,\u201d Knight said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to get out a bit. I\u2019ve been exploring the area, [figuring out] where I want to live and whatnot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Knight and Arvid Soderblom have both struggled in recent weeks, but it’s not a large-enough sample size to justify much concern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chicago-blackhawks"],"yoast_head":"\n