January 21, 2019: Strong Core

For all the talk about the aging core of the Blackhawks, there are a couple pieces that haven’t blinked.  Of course I’m talking about Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.  Their prowess was on display for the national TV audience on Sunday vs the defending Stanley Cup champs the Capitals. 

I didn’t watch much of the game.  We took the opportunity on this cold winter day to watch a movie we hadn’t seen yet;  Solo didn’t do well in the theaters, but come on… it’s a Star Wars flick.  It was pretty good; can’t believe we waited until now to see it.  After it was over, I checked in, and saw the results.  For all the crappy moments this year has brought for the Hawks, they still have a couple good ones left in them.  For all the crappy players on the roster, they still have that original couple.  Ok, it’s not the original couple; those are the guys that have statues outside the UC.  There is that other couple… the other half of the core, you know, the one that has seemingly aged the most over the past couple years.  Yes Keith and Seabrook may deserve statues of their own for being the top defensive pairing during the 3 Cup years, but now… Seabs is the last pairing, and Keith shouldn’t be higher than the 2nd.  Actually, it would be OK if they were the 3rd defensive pairing, together, for the rest of their time with us.  That leaves a lot of room on defense for the Hawks to fill.  I know we have a lot of guys, but besides Henri, who will be the other 3?

OK, back to the strong core members that are still skating for the Hawks.  Patrick Kane has been an absolute monster this season.  I’ve talked about him a little bit already.  His increased ice time was a smart move by Colliton; the proof is in the results.  He hasn’t been slowed down by it, in fact, he has more chances to tally those points.  Jonathan Toews certainly had an off year last year or two; he’s had to deal with some injuries.  Some people were writing him off.  He certainly is back this year.  These guys should have those statues outside the UC too one day.

There was some great stats being tossed around by @ckamka about the Hawks legendary duo.  Here’s a few:

• Three NHL players have 20+ goals in each of the last 12 seasons.  Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, & Jonathan Toews.
• Sunday was the 96th time they both scored a goal in the same game.  90 times in the regular season and 6 times in the postseason
• The Hawks record in those games has been:  79-6-5 in the regular season and 6-0 in the playoffs

He did also mention that original duo.  Hull and Mikita scored a goal in the same game 148 times!  139 times in the regular season with a record of 110-14-15 & 9 times in the playoffs where they were 8-1.  There is a reason they have statues in front of the UC… not too shabby. 

I still loving watching these guys play.  Kane has 70 points so far:  29 goals and 41 assists.  Toews has 41 points:  21 goals and 20 assists.  Next guy up is DeBrincat, but after that, it’s a pretty steep fall off.  Trying to figure out why the Hawks are in last place; I think we may have just done it.  Team depth is the biggest issue, along with the defensive issues I mentioned above.  You can’t blame 88 & 19, although I’m sure they would take it.  Love those guys.  Go Hawks!