Sharp-Kane-Richards look to anchor Hawks second line

Adding Patrick Sharp alongside Brad Richards and Patrick Kane should keep the Blackhawks second line as a force to be reckoned with.

That is if coach Joel Quenneville decides to stick with that trio, which is always the great unknown.

"He's playing well, Richie's playing well and I'm kind of feeding off what they're doing," Kane said of Sharp, who replaces the injured Kris Versteeg.

The chemistry between Kane and Sharp should come naturally considering how long they've been together.

"You play with a guy for 8 years, you're going to develop some chemistry," Kane said. "It seemed to develop early on in our careers where I was more the passer and he was the shooter on more of the goals. Now it's kind of mixed and matched.

"The thing about Sharpie is he's one of those guys who really wants to do well, and when you play with a guy like that you can really enjoy playing hockey."

No Saad story:

Brandon Saad has 3 goals in his last five games, including one in Sunday's victory over Dallas, and has been way more noticeable in recent weeks.

"I think he's gotten better," coach Joel Quenneville said. "He started off not at the level we were looking for - kind of like our team the first part of the season.

"His play has definitely picked up, and that line (including Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa) has been tough to contain playing against top defense pairings and top lines."

Tip-ins:

Joakim Nordstrom and T.J. Brennan of the Rockford IceHogs were named to Western Conference team for 2015 AHL All-Star Classic. ... Jonathan Toews didn't participate in Tuesday's morning skate but was in the lineup against Colorado. ... Weekend passes for Blackhawks Convention go on sale on Monday. Fans can purchase them at chicagoblackhawks.com or through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. The convention is July 18-20. ... Patrick Kane had the top-selling jersey in the NHL last year, followed by Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews.

He said it:

"You get shifts with Krugs and Smitty and you go out there and have a good shift because they work so hard - you can learn a lot from playing with those guys. It's healthy to play with new guys, but it's really been nice having some consistency playing with the same center."

- Patrick Kane on coach Joel Quenneville's mixing and matching during games.