On the same day the Blackhawks suffered their second loss in a row, this time to Winnipeg, another bit of discouraging information leaked out via team beat reporter Chris Hine:
Jonathan Toews, whose injury absence is glaring, is not getting any better (for now).
At moments like these, some might despair, and some might expect me to go into full nuclear negativity mode. But I'm going to lay out some positive perspective, along with a few suggestions here (or thoughts on what the coaching staff might be working on as we speak) to carry the Hawks through this dark hour.
First, as I've said all season, the points the Blackhawks banked earlier on in the season will pay off now. Yeah, the team probably wasn't as good (as suggested here) as the record they vaulted to. But they're also not as bad, certainly not when healthy, as they're playing now.
So, there's that.
And yet again, Scott Darling is stepping up when this team asks him to. Something else to build on.
So here are some possible options for the coaching staff:
1) Shorten the bench, cobble together a second line
Earlier in the season, when Joel Quenneville moved Patrick Kane up to play with Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa to play with Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin, the Hawks played their best hockey of the season.
Clearly, the old chemistry that existed between Kane and Toews was not quite there for that 7-8 game or so stretch. But, the fact remains, Kane is one of the league's premier offensive talent and he has the ability to drive a line.
If I were Q, I'd put Hossa back with Panarin and Anisimov. And I'd try Kane with Marcus Kruger and maybe Ryan Hartman or Tyler Motte. Kruger is the lefty center that Kane typically prefers, and capable of doing some heavy lifting down low like Anisimov and Toews do.
Dunno, something like that. Because as constructed, the Hawks are truly a one-line team offensively. They tended that way with Toews. Now, without him, only the certifiably insane would expect otherwise.
And as much as some wanted to ooh and ahh over the line of Hossa, Vince Hinostroza and Hartman, the production you need from a second scoring line is really not there.
2) Work on the power play. And when you're done, work on it some more.
Toews is important to the Hawk power play. But this is a team that has enough elite offensive talent to put together two strong units. And yet, this special team, after a strong start to the season, has slowly sunk in the league rankings.
The Hawk power play is much better when the players move their bodies, and not just the puck. When the Hawks just move the puck around the perimeter to basically stationary players, other teams jam up shooting lanes and you get a lot of one shot and done chances or blocked shots and done.
3) Beat the forecheck, keep it simple
More than one opponent lately has taken advantage of Quenneville's all-rookie lines by dialing up the forecheck and disrupting any kind of breakout.
Hawk forward Richard Panik suggested a response between periods on the WGN radio broadcast last night that worked well for the Hawks in the 2015 WCF, which is getting more forward help in the defensive zone when trying to break out.
This is where veterans like Andrew Desjardins, Jordin Tootoo and Dennis Rasmussen can help—perhaps interspersed throughout the lower line along with the rookies to just get some basic, station to station, smart hockey going.
On the offensive end, these are guys you can do some business with just getting pucks deep and going to war. It's not pretty, it's not exciting, but it worked for the Hawks the last time they won a Cup, with some of the same names and faces involved.
4) Fill the void
Jonathan Toews is a great, really almost generational, leader.
And maybe the Hawks are really feeling that absence more than anything. But this is where a Brent Seabrook, a Duncan Keith, a Brian Campbell, a Marian Hossa, yes, even a more mature Patrick Kane can and should step up, be the on-ice coaches, and ask for accountability not just of the rookies, but other vets as well.
I know, it all sounds simple and easy to execute on paper, but common sense and the overall trends this club has shown over several seasons would seem to support much of the above.
I'll have a Coyotes preview tomorrow.
JJ
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