Toews' resurgence no surprise to Chicago Blackhawks
Right from the start, it was clear that Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was a new man this season.
He scored and earned high praise from coach Joel Quenneville in a season-opening victory at Ottawa. He potted the game-tying and game-winning goals at St. Louis two nights later. He scored yet again in a thrilling 7-6 overtime loss to Toronto in the Hawks' home opener.
And he went on to notch 4 assists in the next three games as the Hawks started 3-1-2.
Five-and-a-half months later, Toews eclipsed his career high in points and tied his career high in goals during a 4-3 overtime loss to Winnipeg at the United Center.
One of the sport's best captains accomplished those feats despite a coaching change that forever altered the landscape of his team. He remained consistent despite the many shuffling of lines and a pair of stressful eight-game losing streaks.
But most amazing of all, he erased the memories of three disappointing campaigns by investing in himself and in the game he loves so much.
Some pundits are no doubt surprised that Toews revived his career. Some players and coaches may be as well.
Just don't count teammate Duncan Keith as one of them.
“He's got a lot of pride,” Keith said, “and last year was a situation for everybody where it was a tough year. … You could sit here and name a bunch of things (that went on), but at the end of the day, I think Tazer's a great player.
“He's always been a great player in this league. … He's still that top-line centerman that we've got on our team that a lot of teams would like to have.”
Almost exactly a year ago to the day, Toews put the onus on himself to come back a better player this season. He vowed to forget about the numbers and to have more fun — to play the game as it was meant to be played.
As a game.
“(I) put a lot of pressure on myself to create offense and put numbers on the board and sometimes when that didn't happen, it just seemed to snowball in the wrong direction,” Toews said last April. “In some cases maybe that pressure kind of trickled down and was applied to my linemates a little bit.
“You watch the top players in the league nowadays — the way they play with the puck — you've got to go out there and not only have all your ducks in a row as far as feeling good and working on your skill, but go out and let it happen and let it be natural.”
Credit Toews for doing exactly that.
He was far looser in practices — messing with teammates, playing games after Quenneville or Jeremy Colliton blew the final whistle, laughing all the time and celebrating with linemates after they'd score a goal.
That kind of positive energy seemed to translate to games and helped us remember why he was named one of the greatest 100 players in NHL history.
Now we'll see what he does for an encore in 2019-20 and if he can help the Hawks become a force to be reckoned with once again.
Play for the fans:
Even if the Hawks have nothing to play for in their final two home games of the season Wednesday and Friday, that doesn't mean they're just going to lie down against the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars.
Corey Crawford said as much after a 4-3 overtime loss to Winnipeg on Monday in which the goaltender made 35 saves.
“It's been a long time where I've faced (a situation) where you're playing without a reason,” Crawford said. “It's still fun to play the game and we're pretty lucky to have the building full. We could be in Florida or something and having 7,000 fans in the crowd. …
“If it does happen where we're eliminated, at least we have them to play for to try and put on some kind of show.”
Crawford allowed 10 goals in his first two games after returning from a concussion, but he is 6-3-3 with a .931 save percentage and 2.04 goals-against average in his last 12 contests.
Sikura to Rockford:
The Hawks assigned forward Dylan Sikura to Rockford on Tuesday, leaving them with 13 forwards on the roster. Sikura has no goals and 8 assists in 33 games with the Hawks and 13 goals and 17 assists in 40 games with the IceHogs.