Tyler Johnson fed up with Blackhawks’ power-play woes: ‘It’s embarrass…

Tyler Johnson fed up with Blackhawks’ power-play woes: ‘It’s embarrassing’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

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DETROIT — It has been a crazy last week or so for the Chicago Blackhawks, to say the least.

Corey Perry was mysteriously held away from the team while the organization conducted a private internal investigation, which led to him having his contract terminated for code of conduct reasons. The Blackhawks still haven’t won consecutive games, which is starting to take its toll on the group mentally. And Taylor Hall officially underwent ACL surgery on his right knee that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

The glue through it all has been Nick Foligno, who wears an ‘A’ on his sweater but has acted as the de-facto ‘C’ for the Blackhawks. I’m not sure what state this team would be in if he wasn’t here.

“He’s really one of the best teammates I’ve ever played with,” Philipp Kurashev told NBC Sports Chicago. “He’s been huge for our room and our team. He’s so vocal, he’s always talking and always helping everyone out. It’s been some hard situations but he’s really helped us get through it because he has so much experience. He’s been awesome.”

Connor Bedard will likely be Chicago’s next captain. It’s only a matter of when, not if. And he absolutely should be the next captain because this is now his team.

But right now, there isn’t a better leader for the Blackhawks to be following than Foligno, who has helped the team navigate through some muddy waters and distractions of late.

“Anytime there’s ups and downs throughout a season, it’s very important to have those guys or certain guys that take charge and kind of control the room and they give way,” Reese Johnson said. “Nick’s done an amazing job of that. Ever since he came in, you could definitely tell he’s got a leadership presence to him. I can’t say enough good things about him.

“He’s done an awesome job coming in and getting to know the guys, and…