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Blackhawks' Strome is winning more faceoffs this season

Dylan Strome has never had a great deal of luck in the faceoff circle, winning 47.6 percent of his 1,831 draws before Friday's game against Detroit.

But maybe Strome's luck is starting to turn.

The Blackhawks' center came into Friday ranked 11th in the league in faceoff win percentage at 61.3.

So did Strome relentlessly work on this phase of his game in the off-season by studying film and/or taking thousands and thousands of draws?

Ehh, not exactly.

"Just buckling down. Not really sure what the secret is," Strome said. "Some games go well, some games don't. It's basically a 50-50 battle every time you drop the puck."

Strome points to two reasons his numbers might be up after four games: He's physically stronger and his wingers are doing a good job tracking down loose pucks.

"I can think of five to six draws easily that Alex (DeBrincat) or Andrew Shaw has helped me on the power play faceoff where it's been scrambled and they kicked it back - and it counts as a win for me," Strome said. "Lots to do with the wingers and helping you out. It's nice to have."

Bankin' on Lankinen:

Kevin Lankinen, getting his second straight start in net, made 30 saves during the Hawks' 4-1 victory over Detroit at the United Center on Friday. The Finn stopped 25 shots in his NHL debut, a 5-4 overtime loss at Florida on Tuesday.

It's early, but Lankinen seems to be seperating himself a bit from Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban in the three-headed netminder battle.

"He was great tonight," said Patrick Kane. "He's a confident kid. He wants to do well and I think he believes in himself, so nice to see him get his first win and play that well doing it."

Although there were no fans in the UC, it was nonetheless a special night for Lankinen.

"It feels great. I mean, what can I say?" Lankinen said. "Friday night in Chicago, home opener at the United Center, get your first NHL win. Only the fans were missing. That (stinks), but other than that, it feels awesome."

Slap shots: Carl Soderberg and Brandon Hagel were moved to the Hawks' active roster and forward Brandon Pirri was reassigned to the taxi squad. Soderberg practiced with the team for the first time Thursday but did not play against Detroit. Pirri was placed on waivers Thursday and cleared. ... The Hawks went 2-for-5 on the power play vs. Detroit and are now 7-for-17 on the season.

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