Sassone: Hawks hit halfway mark with engines at full speed
When Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville looks back at the first half of the season, he has to search hard for something that needs improvement.
"You know, our power play has been, I'm going to say, a little sporadic if we're looking for something to talk about in a negative way," Quenneville said.
And the power play ranks a not-so-bad ninth in the NHL.
That's how good a first half it has been for the Hawks, who are 29-10-3, 8 points ahead of Nashville for first place in the Central Division and right in the hunt for the President's Trophy, which goes to the team with the best record in the regular season.
This is a special team that clearly has all the tools to bring the city its first Stanley Cup in 49 years.
If only the playoffs weren't still four months away.
The Hawks are first in the league in defense with a team goals-against average of 2.07. They are third in goals scored at 3.17 per game, third in penalty killing, and fourth on faceoffs. They also are 8-3 in overtime and shootouts and have the best home record in the NHL at 19-4-1.
So far the Hawks have answered most questions about their goaltending, their toughness, their depth on defense, and they have overcome lengthy injuries to key regulars Marian Hossa, Dave Bolland and Adam Burish.
"Across the board we're pretty happy with our overall team game," Quenneville said. "Our penalty killing has been outstanding, our goaltending, our lines - and our power play is starting to heat up.
"I don't want to say we're satisfied, but we like the way we're playing and we think we can still improve on what we're doing."
The defense
The top six of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Cam Barker and Brent Sopel have accounted for 20 goals, 87 points and are a combined plus-66.
There isn't a more versatile or mobile defense in the league, and it's led by Keith, who has to be considered a candidate for the Norris Trophy along with Boston's Zdeno Chara, Washington's Mike Green and Nashville's Shea Weber.
The Hawks' dominating puck possession game starts on the blue line and a real key of late has been the play of Campbell, whose plus-17 leads the defense to go with 5 goals and 21 points.
Spreading the wealth
The Hawks have six forwards with 11 goals or more, led by Patrick Kane's 17. Kane has made a difference on most nights and is on pace to pass 30 goals and approach 90 points. He is also plus-17.
Patrick Sharp (14), Jonathan Toews (13), Kris Versteeg (12), Dustin Byfuglien (11) and Troy Brouwer (11) are also in double figures in goals with Hossa and John Madden not far behind with 8.
"It's tough on other teams when they don't know where the scoring is coming from," Madden said.
After some serious line tinkering, Quenneville appears to have found the right combinations.
Brouwer has fit in nicely with Toews and Kane while the second line of Sharp, Hossa and Andrew Ladd has found some chemistry.
"It's getting there," Hossa said. "We weren't happy with how things were going on the ice so we talked about it a little bit and have tried to communicate more on the ice."
The third line of Madden, Versteeg and Byfuglien offers a little bit of everything while the fourth line of Colin Fraser, Ben Eager and Tomas Kopecky has played its best hockey of the season in the last week.
"It seems like all the lines recently are having some production and have the puck," Quenneville said. "That consistency in the rotation has been pretty good. We've been getting some offense across the board here."
Oh, stop it
Every goaltender has an off night here and there, but it's the full body of work that counts.
Cristobal Huet is 19-8-2 with a 2.12 goals-against average after a rough start. Huet has been as good as the Hawks have needed him to be for more than two months.
Huet has started 31 of the Hawks' 42 games, but that number might start to even out a bit more with backup Antti Niemi showing he can win anywhere. Niemi is 10-2-1 with a 1.81 goals-against average.
Tough enough?
The Hawks answered that question first in the playoffs last spring, then again on Saturday in St. Louis when the Blues tried to goon it up only to lose 6-3.
The Hawks have only 19 fighting majors in 42 games, yet look where they are. The name of the game now is speed and skill so let teams such as St. Louis, Philadelphia and Anaheim fight all they want and check where they are in the standings.
There's plenty of toughness in the Hawks' lineup in Eager, Seabrook, Brouwer, Fraser and Burish.
"One thing about our team is we really stick together well," Quenneville said. "Our support for one another is outstanding. We have a competitive team and I don't know if teams might discount that part of our team, but it's one of our strengths.
"We're a hungry team, we're fast and quick, and at the same time we can count on being there for one another."
Looking ahead
There are 40 games to play, an eight-game road trip coming up, the two-week Olympic break, where six Hawks won't get much rest, then a dash to the finish line with 17 of the final 20 games against Western Conference opponents.
The fun might be only starting.
Wild @ BlackhawksTime: 7 p.m. TuesdayTV: VersusRadio: WGN 720-AMWhat to watch: Minnesota has lost three in a row and sits 11th in the Western Conference. Martin Havlat has only 7 goals in 36 games and is minus-12. Hawks winger Patrick Kane was named the NHL's third star for December on Monday with 8 goals and 12 assists in 15 games. Cristobal Huet is expected to start in goal.Season series: Hawks lead 1-0.Next: Boston Bruins at TD Garden, 6 p.m. Thursday.False15982000Chicago Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi, right, of Finland, celebrates with teammate John Madden after the Blackhawks defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 during an NHL hockey game in Chicago, Sunday, Jan. 3.Associated PressFalse