Blackhawks do what they can to make noise down the stretch
Louder. Louder! Louder!!
That was the message Patrick Kane sent to a hysterical United Center crowd after he miraculously tied the Blackhawks' game with Toronto at 6-6 with just 29 seconds to go on Oct. 7.
An ecstatic Kane - responding to the audacious move of Auston Matthews just moments before - raised his left hand to his ear, asking for as much noise as possible out of the 21,812 on hand.
Five months later, the teams are set to square off again in Toronto on Wednesday, with the surging Hawks suddenly stomping right behind Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota and Dallas in the wild-card race.
If Kane and Co. hope to continue this unlikely push, however, they can't let up for a second - and especially against the Maple Leafs, who were just embarrassed 6-2 by Tampa Bay in their own building Monday.
Three recent trends are a big reason why Jeremy Colliton's squad is in this position, and if they continue, it's not entirely crazy to think the last week of the season could get awfully entertaining.
And, ahem, noisy.
Check it out
It's been a long, strange season for Chris Kunitz, the four-time Stanley Cup-winning forward who signed with the Hawks for one year and $1 million in the off-season.
He played on the top line for a while in training camp, saw a bit of power-play time early in the season … and then fell off the map. After sitting just once in the first 20 contests, new coach Jeremy Colliton proceeded to scratch Kunitz a whopping 21 times in the next 28 games.
Recently, though, Kunitz, Marcus Kruger and David Kampf have been doing a masterful job of shutting down the opponents' top line.
And Kunitz is even pitching in offensively, notching 2 goals and 2 assists over the last seven games.
After the Hawks' 7-1 thumping of Arizona on Monday, Colliton admitted Kunitz fell out of favor mostly because Colliton wanted to develop his "young guys."
"He doesn't get the benefit of the doubt in those situations," Colliton said. "So he had a long stretch where he wasn't playing, and then you go back in and it's one game (for) 7-8 minutes and you're out again. That's tough to get a good rhythm going.
"(Lately) he's been really good and a huge part of the balance we have in our lineup. … He's been great to have around."
Free Perlini
Motivation comes from many sources. Songs. Movies. Posters. Facebook, Twitter, you name it.
In Brendan Perlini's case, he credits teammate Artem Anisimov for introducing him to "Free Solo," a documentary about professional rock climber Alex Honnold. In it, Honnold successfully scales El Capitan without the use of ropes, harnesses or any other protective equipment.
"If that guy makes one mistake, he's dead," Perlini said. "For us, sometimes it feels like that for us out there, but you've got to look big picture. One mistake is not costing me my life, so it's like just relax and play."
And, wow, has Perlini done that, scoring six times in the last five games. Three of those goals came against the Coyotes, and afterward he talked extensively about how Anisimov's "calming influence" has been good for him since arriving from Arizona in November.
"Anisimov is kind of in this state too as far as being really relaxed," Perlini said. "It's great to have another guy to really lean on and talk to about those sort of things. He's big on that, so I've been working with him a lot in practice. (He just) plays his style.
"So I see that, and he's been in the league for a long time and I want to be similar to that in how he works and how he prepares. It's been a lot of fun."
Showing signs
Until Drake Caggiula returns from a concussion, Jeremy Colliton needs a non-star to prove they can play with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad so that Colliton can spread the lineup out the way he wants.
After John Hayden saw just 6½ minutes in a shootout win over Buffalo on Thursday, Colliton elected to give Dylan Sikura a chance two nights later at Dallas. Sikura wasn't flashy, but was part of an impressive 2-1 win over the Stars. Colliton stayed with Sikura against Arizona, and the rookie rewarded him with a solid performance that included springing Jonathan Toews on a breakaway that led to a penalty shot.
Toews converted, the Hawks went up 6-1 and they went on to claim 2 huge points.
"He doesn't get a point for that (pass to Toews), but it doesn't mean we don't notice," Colliton said. "Thought he was really clean with the puck and won battles on the wall, helped advance the puck, get out of 'D' zone and that's what he's got to do."
Sikura has yet to score in 23 games, but he does have 6 assists.
"The numbers we're not worried about," Colliton said. "He's getting chances; (they're) just not going in. If he does the right things and gives us positive shifts then he's contributing."
Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 7 p.m., Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena
TV: NBCSCH • Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: Toronto (42-22-5) is in third place in the Atlantic Division and is 8-2-0 in its last 10 home games. The only losses came to Washington and Tampa Bay. … John Tavares, in his first season with the Maple Leafs, leads the team with 38 goals. Tavares notched a hat trick in Toronto's 7-6 OT victory over the Hawks Oct. 7. Patrick Kane scored twice (the second coming with 29 seconds remaining), and Henri Jokiharju recorded 3 primary assists for the Hawks. … Auston Matthews (31 goals) has already scored 105 times in 199 career games. ... Toronto has 4 short-handed goals in the last 13 games and has also given opponents zero or one PP chance in nine of the last 21 contests. The Hawks have accomplished that feat five times in the last 21 games. … Kane needs 2 points for the second 100-point campaign of his career. … The Hawks are 0-for-14 on the power play over the last five games. They were 33-for-99 over the previous 32.
Next: Montreal Canadiens, 6 p.m. Saturday at Bell Centre
- John Dietz