Three Stars:

1. Kane –  Patrick Kane

2. G – Artem Anisimov

3. B – Artemi Panarin

So this is what this year has been brought to. One line is productive. That’s not great. The goaltending is starting to shrink back as well. Hawks can’t be allowing four goals to teams. They can’t. It’s starting to be hard to be optimistic with this team. With that said, here’s how to do it.

KaneGB continues to be the greatest line in hockey. It’s a historic team, made up of the best player in the league right now, one of (although he’s definetly top 2 AT LEAST) the top rookies, and a good center. That’s all Artem Anisimov has to be in this line. He does not have to be great (although it’s appreciated when he is), but consistent, and the line is magnificent. This is the reason the Hawks are even in the playoff hunt right now. If you took Kane off of this team… it’s not as pretty. He’s also tied Bobby Hull for franchise point streak record.

The other lines are not so pretty, although that may be because the blender was finally re-activated and the lines need to develop chemistry. I disagree with the choice of Teuvo in the lotto line, it didn’t work out in the beginning of the year, and personally I believe Marko Dano is the best fit on that line. Again, he’s very Saad-esque and that’s a good thing.

Andrew Shaw neeeds to convert on chances. Jonathon Toews needs to earn chances. Marian Hossa needs to finish chances. Those three are the biggest ifs on the team right now. If they start scoring we’re back in the clear. Once Toews has more points than PIM I’ll stop criticizing him. Until then – earn your contract.

Ponderings:

What is with goaltending and inconsistency? I thoroughly expect it to improve once the defense does, but still. These are not the potentials of Crawford and Darling. They have much higher ceilings.

Trevor Daley has a 0 plus/minus. I would have expected that to be much worse.

Brandon Mashinter is this year’s Brandon Bollig – what did this guy do to end up on this team? Why is he still in the majors? He’s not productive but he’s also at a zero plus/minus. Is that why he’s up? My theory: once Stanbo took away Q’s prized big guy who hits and stole his Pickles, he made the mistake of bringing up another one. At least Bickell tried to score.

Once again, the question must be asked, what does it take to light a fire under the rest of the team? I think it’s time for some benchings.

Also, Lions got robbed. Again. A shoulder pad is not a facemask. Not hockey related but I’m angry. Lions should be 11-5 with good refs making consistent calls.