Three Stars:
- Scott Darling
- Jonathon Toews
- Patrick Kane
Well. In a postgame interview, Q called this an “uncharacteristic” loss. I completely agree. I also can’t say this result surprised me. As soon as I found out Panarin was out for this game I knew it was one for the loss column. The Blackhawks need a spark and they haven’t found it.
Andrew Shaw continues to be one of the biggest night in night out players for the Blackhawks. He’s the only guy bringing his A game every single day and it shows. He’s at 26 points now and is on his way to his best season ever. Don’t doubt the Mutt as a legitimate first line left wing, I think he’s gonna surprise a lot of people in the playoffs.
Jonathon Toews got two points last night and with Shaw’s assist and great play it continues to be Hossa who’s the weakest link on this first line. His aging has finally caught up to him, showing even legends get old. Hossa is like the hockey version of Peyton Manning, he can’t quite do it anymore but he won’t stop the team from winning championships.
Patrick Kane is trying to be the same player without Panarin but he can’t be. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Panarin extension happens within the first week of summer. Expect something like 4.5×5.
Corey Crawford… he wasn’t Corey Crawford. The biggest issue in his game the last three years has been his consistency and that issue showed up last night. He’s gonna come back angry and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got another shut out within the next week.
On the flip side, Darling looked better than he has in a long time. He held the Hawks in it after the first period but we couldn’t capitalize on the power play, which remains an issue. Something will need to be done about that, or something switched, because this season we have at times been top 10 in power play, so we have the capabilities. Maybe it’s another Panarin side effect.
Next Game: Saturday vs. Ducks. Must Win.