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Illinois.
Or as they say in Michigan, Ell-e-noize.
Kidding.
Let's dive in to where the Stanley Cup Champs are 18 games into the defense of their coveted Mug, shall we?
The Hawks sit at 12-2-4, third in the West, with a goal differential of +17 (tied for 4th in the conference), winners of 3 straight and 7-1-2 over their last ten. Their power play is 5th in the league—a drastic improvement over last season.
On the negative, the penalty kill is 29th and in goals against, they are 17th. The only silver lining here is those numbers are a slight improvement over a couple of weeks ago.
In fact, the Hawks have played their consistent best hockey over the last couple of weeks, showing flashes of the team they were last year. Joel Quenneville seems to have found some combinations, including even on the penalty kill, that are working.
The Hawks also healthy, maybe even healthier than they were to start the season.
Marian Hossa leads the forwards at +10, Niklas Hjalmarsson the defense at +8—no surprises there. Patrick Kane is a team worst -4.
One positive individual stat that really jumps out? Penalty killing center Marcus Kruger's numbers in the dot: 52.7%, and that number has improved dramatically since the start of the year.
But the Hawks have fattened up of late against the Oilers and Jets. Games against Phoenix, Nashville, Colorado and San Jose loom over the next week. Big games, much truer tests.
All for now, I'll be back with more,
JJ