Desjardins hottest scorer for Blackhawks
The hottest player on the Blackhawks — from a goal-scoring standpoint anyway — isn't named Kane, Toews, Panarin, Keith or Seabrook.
No, that designation goes to none other than Andrew Desjardins. The 29-year-old winger, who had 1 measly goal in the team's first 37 games, racked up 3 in wins over Arizona and Colorado last week.
“It kind of (stinks) when you don't score for a while, and you know you're getting the chances and you know you're playing well,” Desjardins said. “It feels good when you get a few.”
Desjardins isn't known as a goal-scorer — his career high in four previous seasons is just 5 — but his play has been up and down all season. He's been a healthy scratch five times.
“I thought this year he started off ordinary (playing in tight areas),” coach Joel Quenneville said. “The last couple games he's had (the puck) on his stick a lot and he's made a lot of nice plays with it. The finish is the bonus.
“It's nice to see him produce, or that line produce. ... Great progression in Desi's game, for sure.”
Desjardins has been paired with Phillip Danault and Teuvo Teravainen on the third line and figures to be again when the Hawks host Ottawa on Sunday at the United Center.
Bickell bummin':
Based on the line combinations at Saturday's practice, it looks like Bryan Bickell will be a healthy scratch for a second straight game when the Hawks play Sunday.
Bickell has yet to score this season. He was asked if a fresh start on another team might help.
“Yeah, you always think about those things, but you want to be on a team that wins,” he said. “I want to win more than anybody in this locker room. Whatever opportunity I get to help the team win, I'm gonna do it.
“I've been here for a lot of years. I don't want to leave here. I'm happy here. Sometimes there's ups and downs, but you look at the plus sides of the team, the guys in the locker room ... (it's) a class group that wants to win.”
Honoring Kane:
The Blackhawks will have a pregame ceremony Sunday to celebrate Patrick Kane's 26-game point streak from earlier this season. There will be video highlights as well as an on-ice presentation by Hawks GM Stan Bowman.
“Obviously honored that the Blackhawks would do something like that,” Kane said. “For those 26 games, it was a fun little run.”
The streak broke Bobby Hull's franchise record of 22 games and was the longest in the NHL in over 20 years.