In my last blog, I suggested the Hawks have benefitted hugely this season from the star turns being taken mainly by Corey Crawford and Patrick Kane.
The previous night, Crawford delivered an inhuman performance in Montreal, lifting the Hawks to a 2-1 victory when they didn't play that well overall.
Last night, the Hawks were sloppy with the puck much of the night, Scott Darling gave up a bad goal, both teams had 26 shots and the Hawks won 4-1.
Oh, and Patrick Kane had his first NHL hat trick.
Crawford, Kane, repeat. But that isn't entirely accurate or fair.
Kane's season has a lot to do with his being at the height of his ability, but also the arrival of one A. Panarin from the KHL. So let me "broaden" the theorem: Crawford and the Kane Line are really vaulting an otherwise kinda, meh, average team to the top of the standings.
Panarin does a lot of things well, and we haven't seen all he can do yet, but perhaps the two biggest things he does are shooting and passing the biscuit like few others can. His setups to Kane last night were gorgeous.
Trevor van Riemsdyk also stepped up with a nice game last night—his best in a while. The Toews line didn't score (an allowed goal at least—man, NHL officiating is taking on a Wacky Races quality), but they drew a lot of penalties through hard work in the Leafs end. And quite honestly, Darling, in spite of the bad goal and being a rebound machine all night, made a couple of fantastic saves, while obviously working through some rust. His is one of the hardest jobs on the team—to come in and face game action—and be good— after sitting for 5 or 6 nights.
It was good enough to beat a not-so-good Leafs club, and that's how you build a streak like the one the Hawks are on.
Although the season isn't ending today or even this week, this surge is positioning the Hawks nicely for the playoffs, even if (when) they do hit some bumps in the road over the next 2 1/2 months.
Points in the bank. Making hay while the sun shines. Call it what you will, it gives the whole organization some collective breathing room—and even improves the Hawks' bargaining position if/when they try to make a move or two to ratchet the rest of the team up to Stanley Cup caliber.
So it's back to the UC tomorrow night, where Crawford gets to face the Canadiens again. I'll have a preview.
JJ