Shaw consistent in top line, but not enough
Teuvo Teravainen. Viktor Tikhonov. Ryan Garbutt. Marko Dano.
They all had a chance to play on the Blackhawks' top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa this season, but not one of them impressed enough remain there.
Finally, on Dec. 29 in Arizona, coach Joel Quenneville found his glue in Andrew Shaw. The scrappy forward has stuck there like super glue for 30 straight games, giving Toews and Hossa - and recently Andrew Ladd - a consistency their line desperately needed.
Shaw has thrived in the role, scoring 5 goals and adding 12 assists.
It's a role that figures to be finished, though, when Hossa returns, possibly Wednesday in St. Louis. That means the scrappy winger is likely to move back to a third- or fourth-line spot as the season winds down, which will only make the Hawks deeper and more dangerous come playoff time.
"He's a guy that can pretty much fill any role," Patrick Kane said. "I know he's been a big fan favorite ever since he came to the team. But … he (also) does a lot of things on the ice that can get other players excited too - whether it's fights or big hits or taking hits to make plays, especially at his size.
"He's a valuable asset. And he's a great guy too. Great guy in the locker room."
Shaw didn't record a point in the Hawks' 4-1 win over the Red Wings on Sunday, but he certainly filled up the box score by taking 8 total shots (3 on goal) and 1 hit in 17:19.
Said Toews: "He shows up every night, especially this time of year - this is when he gets better and better."
Quietly doing his job:
Artem Anisimov hardly ever dominates the headlines after a Blackhawks win or loss, but the big Russian center has been a huge reason for the team's success this season. His presence in front of the net has led to numerous goals by teammates that don't show up for Anisimov in the box score.
Sunday, though, Anisimov got rewarded when he re-directed an Artemi Panarin shot 11:15 into the third period to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead. It was his 19th goal of the season, just 3 short of a career high.
"The net-front presence in today's game (is huge because) if goalies see pucks, you're not scoring," coach Joel Quenneville said.
Slap shots:
Duncan Keith's career-high fourth power-play of the season gave the Hawks a 2-0 lead in the first. Keith had four times scored 3 power-play goals in a season. … The Hawks have gone 14 of 28 on the power play in the last nine games. ... Michal Rozsival's assist on Patrick Kane's first-period goal was the 300th point of Rozsival's career. … A season-high 22,247 was in attendance Sunday.