A pattern has emerged in Blackhawk games of late: dominate early, get dominated later on, then come back and tie or win the game, often in OT or the shootout.
The bottom line is points. The Hawks are getting those—and in the process they have strengthened their positioning for the playoffs, where the seeding and even reaching the postseason was in doubt just a few weeks ago.
Secondarily, they have shown some improvement overall. Say what you want about Rob Scuderi, but his arrival has allowed Joel Quenneville to juggle the pairings and as a result, the blue line overall has been better.
Not great. But better.
The Blackhawks are still giving up shots at a high rate compared to what they've done historically, often forcing Corey Crawford (especially) and Scott Darling to stand on their heads.
The Hawks beat San Jose in overtime last night—yet they were outshot and at times outplayed by the Sharks.
Another positive note—and one that underscores an important point about the way the Hawks work today—they are getting reliably solid performances form recent call ups Dennis Rasmussen and Philip Danault. For years, Hawk fans have repeated the "play the kids" mantra, or "Q is too hard on young players."
But the truth is, the Blackhawks recent adherence to more of the old Detroit Model for talent development—letting players "over-marinate" at the AHL level—is to be credited for these players being ready to step in and contribute now.
Sure, you can give a higher-talent level player such as Teuvo Teravainen the chance to learn on the job in the NHL—but even he wasn't allowed to premier at the NHL level last year quite soon enough for some.
And this is why Rockford might not be a bad place for the Marko Danos, Erik Gustafssons and Viktor Svedbergs right now.
The Blackhawks have improved since early in the year—but clearly remain a work in progress, not the juggernaut of recent years. At least not yet.
Marian Hossa is out now with an upper body injury rumored to have him shut down through Christmas. Hossa's presence was obviously missed last night.
In my opinion, an injury to any one of the top 3 defensemen puts the Hawks in a huge bind—as it did when Duncan Keith was out earlier this year.
Ultimately, the salary cap and success will drain your depth like a succubus in the night.
But never fear, I also hear from a reliable source that the Hawks are working still on improving the roster for the playoffs.
But before then, the Hawks (sans Hossa) face a major test Tuesday night in Dallas. I will preview tomorrow.