Blackhawks made the grade during impressive first half
The first half is in the books for the Blackhawks.
And what a first half it was for coach Jeremy Colliton's squad, firmly in a playoff spot at 14-9-5.
This season has been made possible for myriad reasons:
• The solid play of goaltenders Kevin Lankinen and Malcolm Subban.
• Patrick Kane's consistency.
• Alex DeBrincat's resurgence.
• A No. 3 power play at 31%.
• Duncan Keith's leadership.
• The emergence of a host of energetic, hustling youngsters who with a team-first attitude.
Colliton wasn't exactly gushing about the first 28 games after a 4-2 win at Dallas Thursday, but he's excited about the Hawks' path.
"We're improving," he said. "We need to continue to have the hunger to get better and realize we need to get to our level (consistently). We need to go head to head with the top teams in our division and hopefully be able to compete in a playoff series. We've got to earn that.
"Overall, I like our mentality. I like the work ethic. ... We're willing to play for the team. We've just got to keep building on our experience and confidence that we're good enough."
My first half grades:
Forwards
Patrick Kane: A
Hawks can't ask for much more out of Kane, who has 11 goals and 29 assists. If the Hawks made the playoffs, he ought to be named MVP for the second time.
Alex DeBrincat: A
It's been an impressive bounceback campaign for DeBrincat, who has nearly matched his goal total of last season (18). The 5-foot-7, 165-pound sniper has 15 scores, 10 at even strength, and has added 14 assists. He's one of the strongest defenders, too.
Brandon Hagel: A-
Nobody brings more energy and tenacity on a consistent basis than the rookie out of Saskatoon. Hagel's ice awareness is off the charts. He's set up countless scoring chances over the past month and has 6 assists in the last 15 games.
Pius Suter: A-
The 24-year-old is doing an admirable job centering the top line and is No. 1 among rookie with 8 goals.
Mattias Janmark: A-
The fifth-year veteran came to Chicago hoping to prove himself offensively. He's done so, scoring nine times and adding 6 assists. He's had a defensive lapse or two, but it's safe to say this was money well spent by GM Stan Bowman.
Dominik Kubalik: B
The Calder Trophy finalist of a year ago got off to a slow start, but he notched his 10th goal in the win over Dallas. The defensive side of his game may never be perfect, but if Kubalik is going to score 25-plus goals a season the Hawks will take it.
Philipp Kurashev: B-
The rookie has 6 goals and his game has been up and down. No big deal. It figures to take time to feel comfortable on North American ice.
Dylan Strome: C-
Strome was having a rough season before going into concussion protocol in mid-February. He seemed a step slow during 5-on-5 play and was struggling in the faceoff dot.
Other forwards: B
Carl Soderberg (5) and Ryan Carpenter (4) have scored some, and David Kampf, Matthew Highmore and Lucas Wallmark have been solid defensively. Carpenter and Kampf must step up to help the penalty kill do a better job.
Defensemen
Duncan Keith: A-
The 37-year-old veteran leads the Hawks in average ice time (23:51) and has 8 assists. His leadership is what impresses most and is a big reason younger teammates have stepped in so seamlessly.
Connor Murphy: B+
The physicality Murphy brings truly keeps opponents honest. He's been solid all season, but needs to help the PK improve.
Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin: B
Beaudin looks like he shouldn't miss a game the rest of the season. He's been that good. Boqvist leads the blue liners with 11 assists and does a nice job quarterbacking the top power-play unit. He does, however, need to clean up the defensive side of his game.
Calvin de Haan, Ian Mitchell, Nikita Zadorov: B-
De Haan and Mitchell, who have two of the worst plus/minus ratings (-6), could be a lot more consistent. Zadorov has been mostly solid, but needs to bring more offense.
Goalies
Kevin Lankinen, Malcolm Subban: B
Lankinen almost deserves two grades - an A for his first nine games (. 933 save percentage, 2.17 goals against average) and a C+ for his last nine (. 906, 3.28). There's a temptation to give Subban (. 907, 3.04) a slightly lower grade, but it's tough to quibble with his play. It's never easy to be the backup and he's given the Hawks five excellent performances.
Coaching: A+
Jeremy Colliton and his staff have done a masterful job of getting this team to gel, as well as navigating a difficult COVID situation early on. They've accomplished this without Jonathan Toews or Kirby Dach, and they've lost players like Connor Murphy, Dylan Strome and Andrew Shaw to injury. Colliton should be on the shortlist for coach of the year honors.