No need to panic about sleepy start, Blackhawks fans
Before this season began, Jonathan Toews was asked if a slow start for the Blackhawks could be justified because of all the new faces on the team.
Toews' response - no shock here - was that he believed the Hawks should be fine coming out of the gates; that a poor start just meant a potential mountain would have to be climbed in order to reach the playoffs in the Western Conference.
We're far away from being able to put the "slow start" tag on any team, but at the same time, the Hawks (2-3-0) haven't exactly come charging out of the gates.
As they get set to welcome back former teammate and current Blue Jacket Brandon Saad on Saturday, let's examine why fans should remain at ease, but also why they might have reasons to worry about their 2015-16 Blackhawks.
Easy does it:
One reason for the Hawks' struggles is the fact that Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa have been so quiet offensively. How rare is that at this embryonic stage of the season?
Well, other than the 1997-98 campaign in which he played just seven games, this is the first time in Hossa's storied career that he failed to score five games into his season. As for Toews, he hasn't started this slowly since 2009-10 when it took him until the eighth game to score.
Coach Joel Quenneville has been shoving left wingers at Toews and Hossa at a machine-gun like pace, trying to find the right chemistry for two of his biggest stars. In the losses to the Flyers and Capitals, Bryan Bickell and Viktor Tikhonov played well at times, but it still didn't result in a goal.
At some point we're going to see Marko Dano on that top line, but until he impresses the coaching staff, the 20-year-old up-and-comer will stay in Rockford.
Meanwhile, Toews and Hossa must end this scoring drought soon - no team is going to excel without production from its top players.
Worrisome:
Quenneville said a week ago that he's never seen a faster Hossa on the ice, but it's still fair to wonder if the 36-year-old is slowing down a bit from an offensive standpoint. Last season, Hossa had just 3 goals after 26 games. He finished with 22, but 7 of those came in a quick four-game burst in February.
This isn't the 30-40 goal scorer the NHL saw 10 years ago. Other players are going to have to step up and find ways to contribute on a regular basis.
"We're not happy with how we played the last few games," center Marcus Kruger said Thursday. "All of us have got to get better and take responsibility."
Easy does it:
Let's pause for a moment and remember this: The Hawks had ample scoring opportunities Wednesday and Thursday.
In the second period vs. the Capitals, Artemi Panarin hit the post and Andrew Desjardins somehow missed a wide-open net after getting a perfect pass from Andrew Shaw.
Against the Flyers, Toews and Panarin were denied on point-blank shots; Patrick Kane hit goalie Michal Neuvirth in the mask with a shot; and Kane also befuddled many by failing to pull the trigger not more than 15 feet from the net on a power play.
Eventually pucks are going to find the back of the net and the outcomes of the games will change in the Hawks' favor.
Worrisome:
The Blackhawks have logged a ton of ice time over the last seven seasons - especially the last three when the core guys have played in 65 postseason games. These guys are human and getting jazzed up for the beginning of the season may not be all that easy.
For that reason, it's imperative that Artem Anisimov, Artemi Panarin, Andrew Desjardins, Teuvo Teravainen, Trevor Daley, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Viktor Tikhonov and Ryan Garbutt come out flying each and every night. They don't have all those heavy miles on the tires and can provide a huge boost, especially if they can generate the offense that has been lacking of late.
Easy does it:
Eight of the next 11 games are at the United Center and half of those should be fairly easy Ws. Come out on top in just four of the other seven and the Hawks would be 10-6-0, which would put this sleepy start to the season in everybody's rearview mirror.
New assignments:
The Blackhawks called Bartlett's Vincent Hinostroza up from Rockford on Friday, while assigning Kyle Baun to the IceHogs. The Hawks also assigned defenseman Kyle Cumiskey, who signed a one-year contract Thursday, to Rockford after he cleared waivers.
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