Blackhawks, Panthers doing things nobody predicted when season began
Before this once-in-a-lifetime NHL season began in January, most pundits confidently selected Tampa Bay, Carolina, Dallas and Columbus to qualify for the postseason out of the Central Division.
Maybe a team like Florida or Nashville could upset the apple cart. Maybe.
As for the Blackhawks and Red Wings, they were destined to be low-hanging fruit that the elite teams would feast on all year.
Oh, how wrong we all have been.
Turns out the Hawks and Panthers - who met Saturday in Sunrise, Florida - had other plans. Both squads have shocked the entire league by combining a few star players with an influx of hardworking free agents and youngsters.
Joel Quenneville, who has been around long enough to know better than to provide any bulletin-board material, wouldn't go so far as to say he's shocked at the Hawks' success. Instead, he lauded their team game, structure and balance.
"Everybody's pretty handy with the puck," Quenneville said. "They've got good sticks, they've got good hockey sense, (and) a little balance with some young kids that are really contributing up front and on the back end. They're getting some enthusiasm and some excitement off that.
"Kaner's leading the charge. Duncs (Duncan Keith) is playing a lot of minutes as well. They've got a lot of good things going for them."
Patrick Kane (11G, 30A) has indeed taken his game to yet another level. If this were an 82-game season, he would be on pace to destroy his career high of 66 assists and 106 points.
He is also a huge reason why Alex DeBrincat already has 15 goals and why the power play ranked third heading into Saturday. Kane had 12 assists on the man advantage. His career high is 22 in 2008-09.
"His whole career's been like this," Quenneville said. "I mean he just seems to improve in every facet of the game. ...
"He's a cut above as far as how he evaluates the game, how he evaluates opportunities, how he can exploit an opponent. It's a privilege to have a guy like that around that's doing everything he can to be the best he can be. He wants the puck and he wants to win."
The Panthers were 35-26-8 last season and would have missed the playoffs if not for the NHL expanding the field to 24 teams. They were a dark horse candidate to reach the postseason this year, but most figured they couldn't hang with the Lightning, Hurricanes, Stars and Blue Jackets on a consistent basis.
Instead, Florida's in a dogfight for first place with Tampa Bay and Carolina.
Some of the Panthers' success stems from the strong play of forwards Jonathan Huberdeau (10G, 22A) and Aleksander Barkov (11G, 20A). But - like the Hawks - much of it comes from adding the right players to the mix.
Take two-time Stanley Cup winner Patric Hornqvist. After six years in Pittsburgh, the 34-year-old forward has fit in seamlessly with the Panthers. He scored 5 goals in the first six games and is tied for the team lead with 11.
Radko Gudas is another good example. The shot-blocking, physical defenseman is in his ninth year and has more than 500 games under his belt.
Then there's Carter Verhaege, a third-round pick of Toronto in 2013, who signed a two-year, $2 million deal in October. He's cooled off a bit after a torrid start (7G in first 11 games), but he may have been the steal of the off-season.
"I like our competitiveness this year," Quenneville said. "We've got some new guys in town that have enhanced our competitiveness and experience. Hornqvist at the net. Verhaeghe up front. Gudas on the back on the end gives us some bite and some personality. ...
"At the same time it seems like everybody across the board is adding to the mix. We've been pretty consistent."
Credit Quenneville for handling a dicey goaltending situation as well. The veteran coach has split duties between a struggling Sergei Bobrovsky - who carries a $9.5 million cap hit - and the relatively inexperienced Chris Driedger.
If the Panthers and Hawks both navigate difficult finishing stretches to their schedules and qualify for the postseason, we very well may be talking Quenneville vs. Jeremy Colliton for coach of the year honors.
Now that's something nobody could have predicted.