Why center Anisimov is excellent fit for Blackhawks

Ask Artem Anisimov how he likes playing in Chicago, and the hulking centerman pauses, then smiles.

After a brief second he whispers in his thick, Russian accent: "It's nice. … It's nice. … It's different, but I don't know how to explain it."

Oh, it's different all right. And really, it's easy to explain.

It's different in that 20,000-plus United Center fans are keyed up from the get-go, screaming the moment Jim Cornelison bellows the first words of the national anthem.

It's different in that he's playing for a team that has serious Stanley Cup aspirations every season.

And it's different in that he's passing to (or receiving passes from) electric players such as Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin.

Those differences have helped Anisimov's game reach a new level in his short time in Chicago. Having fun - and playing in a winning atmosphere - will have that effect on a player. Anisimov had a difficult time expressing that verbally, so let's allow Marko Dano, who also came from Columbus to the Hawks last summer in the Brandon Saad trade, to explain.

"The players in here are more experienced. They know what to do to keep the locker room in a positive (mood)," Dano said. "Probably that's the biggest difference between Chicago and Columbus.

"I don't want to say anything bad about Columbus. But here there's a winning mentality in the locker room every night. Maybe there they couldn't feel that (as) much there as in here."

Certainly, this is all music to GM Stan Bowman's ears.

"It's nice to know that he feels excited about being here. And I think that's a big part of having success, is being comfortable and liking your surroundings."

Locked in

Bowman and the Hawks have been searching for a long-term answer at second-line center since Jonathan Toews was drafted in 2006. Nobody - from Patrick Sharp to Dave Bolland to Marcus Kruger to Michal Handzus to Brad Richards - has held down the role for any significant length of time.

That certainly looks to have changed with Anisimov, whom the Hawks signed to a five-year, $22.75 million extension that runs through the 2020-21 season.

With one year remaining on Anisimov's contract, Bowman could have waited to see how the 6-foot-4, 198-pounder fit in the Hawks' system. That thought, however, never really crossed Bowman's mind.

"We've been looking for that player for a long time," Bowman said, "and it's very difficult to find a big centerman in the league. I mean, they're just not available. There's a handful of them in the whole NHL - guys that are over 6-3 and that you can trust to play both ways. …

"I was never concerned about how he would fit in. He's just too good of a player."

Kane's game has certainly blossomed with Anisimov as his center. Through 16 games last season, Kane had scored just 4 goals and was talking about how he needed to shoot the puck more (he'd taken 46 shots). It's been the polar opposite in 19 games this year as Kane has 13 goals on 72 shots. Anisimov, too, has been reborn, already equaling his paltry goal total of 7 in 52 games last season. He's on pace for what would be a career-high 30 goals and has shown remarkable ability at finishing his scoring chances.

"He's scored 3 breakaway-type goals and it just shows you that he's got some maybe underrated skills," Bowman said. "But that's not what we were primarily looking for. We wanted to have somebody that we could trust to play both ways, and he's certainly been that for us."

Face time

If there's one place Anisimov can improve on it's in the faceoff dot. He has yet to win more than 50 percent of his draws in any of his six previous seasons and has won just 45.5 percent with the Hawks so far this year - and that includes a 13 of 18 showing in Edmonton on Wednesday.

Coach Joel Quenneville is hoping that Yanic Perreault, whom the Hawks hired four years ago to help players improve their faceoff techniques, will help Anisimov boost his numbers.

"I think it'll be a gradual improvement with him," Quenneville said. "Working with (Perreault) gives him some new ideas and some different thought-processes going into faceoffs."

But, really, we're nitpicking here. Anisimov has been everything Bowman, Quenneville and Kane have wanted in a second-line center.

"He's been an excellent fit for us," Quenneville said.

Dano certainly sees a different player than the one he played with in Columbus last year. Not that it's any shock to him, considering the company Anisimov is now in.

"Anytime you play with better players, you become a better player too," Dano said. "Now he's showing he's a great player. You have to give him credit."

Just don't ask the soft-spoken Anisimov for a long explanation about his resurgence. Or about playing in Chicago. Or about playing for Quenneville.

As for playing with Kane and Panarin?

"It's fun," he said. "It's fun to play with them."

And it certainly shows … with no further explanation needed.

• Follow John on Twitter @johndietzdh

Scouting report

Blackhawks (11-7-1) vs. Flames (7-12-1) at Scotiabank Saddledome, 8 p.m. Friday

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: The Blackhawks said Thursday that Teuvo Teravainen, who suffered an upper-body injury Wednesday in Edmonton, will miss a couple of games. Andrew Desjardins is expected to return to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three straight games. ... If Patrick Kane gets a goal or an assist, he will extend his points streak to a career-best 15 games. ... All three Calgary goalies have under a .900 save percentage. Starter Karri Ramo (.898) is 5-7 and allows 3.22 goals per game. ... Scott Darling will start in net for the Hawks. He made 25 saves in a 4-1 win over Calgary on Sunday. ...

Next: Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, 9 p.m. Saturday

- John Dietz