Blackhawks' power play continues epic run
Blackhawks opponents be warned: Take a penalty and chances are excellent the puck is about to end up in the back of your net.
The Hawks continued their ridiculous power-play run against Vancouver on Thursday when Alex DeBrincat and Brandon Saad scored just 59 seconds apart in the first period to put the Canucks in a 2-0 hole.
The Hawks went 2-for-5 in their 4-3 OT win over Vancouver and are now 25-for-64 - 39.1 percent! - in their last 20 games. According to the Hawks PR staff, the best 20-game run in team history came when the Hawks went 26-for-66 (39.39 percent) during the 1981-82 season.
"It's fun to be a part of because anytime there's a penalty, we're excited to go out there," Patrick Kane said before the game. "We want to (make) a difference. We want to score goals. And if we don't score, everyone's kind of pissed off and expecting to score (on) the next one."
With the Hawks skating 5-on-3, DeBrincat scored when he took a pass from Dylan Strome and fired a shot that found its mark at 17:59 for his 27th goal of the season. Because DeBrincat four seconds before Jay Beagle's hooking penalty was set to expire, the Hawks stayed on the power play and Saad took advantage and notched his 18th goal. That matches his total from all of last season.
Streaking:
Patrick Kane extended his point streak to 13 games when he assisted on Alex DeBrincat's first-period goal. This is the longest streak by a Blackhawks player since Kane's team-record 26-game run from Oct. 17-Dec. 13, 2015. During that run, the longest ever by an American-born player, Kane averaged 1.54 points per game with 16 goals and 24 assists.
During this stretch, Kane is averaging 2.23 points with 10 goals and 19 assists.
Just like three years ago, the Hawks' star tries not to focus on keeping the streak alive.
"Sometimes you start thinking about it a little bit, it only goes negatively to what's going to happen out there to you," Kane said. "Just try to focus on playing your game, create chances and hopefully you can produce at the end of the night."
Kane also has at least 1 point in 16 straight road games, which is a franchise record. The previous mark of 14 was held by Doug Bentley, who accomplished the feat in 1949.
Injury update:
David Kampf, who was hurt in the Hawks' victory over Edmonton on Tuesday, will miss 3-4 weeks with a foot injury. The Hawks did not call anyone up from Rockford on Thursday, meaning they have just 12 forwards on the roster.
The 24-year-old Kampf has 3 goals, 13 assists and is averaging 14.5 minutes of ice time in 50 games.
Convention set:
The Blackhawks announced that their annual fan convention will take place July 26-28 at the Hilton Chicago. Hotel room packages and all individual passes go on sale Friday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m.
Weekend pass holders will have exclusive access to special events and attractions. For more information, visit chicagoblackhawks.com/convention.
Slap shots:
When the Hawks scored 4 goals in 2:48 in Edmonton on Tuesday, it marked the fourth-fastest span in franchise history the team scored four times in one game. The team's fastest 4-goal spurt was 1:51 on Jan. 9, 1947. … Erik Gustafsson needs 4 goals to become the first Blackhawks D-man to score 15 in one season since Phil Housley in 2001-02. (Dustin Byfuglien also scored 15-plus goals in three straight seasons from 2007-10, but he played many of those games as a forward) ... Defenseman Carl Dahlstrom was the Hawks' only healthy scratch against Vancouver on Thursday.