Today's News Clips Jan. 19, 2020
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Today’s News Clips Jan. 19, 2020 Chicago Tribune Jonathan Toews and Dominik Kubalik score twice and Patrick Kane hits 999 career points in the Blackhawks’ 6-2 victory against the Maple Leafs for their 4th straight win Jimmy Greenfield Jan. 18, 2020 Blackhawks fans not only will have a chance to see Patrick Kane pick up his 1,000th career point Sunday at the United Center, they’ll welcome home the NHL’s hottest team. Drake Caggiula scored 21 seconds into the game, Jonathan Toews had two goals and two assists and Brandon Saad scored in his first game back after missing a month with an ankle injury in the Blackhawks’ 6-2 rout of the Maple Leafs for their league-best fourth straight victory. The Hawks improved to 23-20-6 and pulled within four points of the Canucks — who played the Sharks late Saturday — for the final Western Conference wild-card spot. Kane’s first-period assist moved him within one of 1,000 points, but that’s a story for another night — perhaps Sunday when the Hawks play host to the Jets. Saturday’s win belonged to every other Hawks player, it seemed. Rookie Dominik Kubalik scored twice in the second period to give him 20 goals on the season and nine in his last seven games. His second Saturday came on an incredible play in which Toews sent a long, backhanded, cross-ice pass to the opposite side of the net, and Kubalik somehow hit the puck in midflight past goalie Frederik Andersen. The Hawks scored three times in each of the first two periods, never letting the Leafs back in the game. Corey Crawford stopped 31 shots for his second straight win after dropping six of his previous seven starts. Toews’ season-high four points gave him 12 in his last five games and 798 in his career. Caggiula had his second straight game with a goal and an assist, and Erik Gustafsson added a pair of helpers for his first multipoint game since the season opener in Prague. As great as the individual efforts were, the most important outcome was picking up two points against a tough opponent to sweep a three-game trip and win for the seventh time in eight road games. Chicago Sun-Times Blackhawks rookie Kirby Dach has been a different type of player than expected Ben Pope Jan. 18, 2020 TORONTO — Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton has been asked about rookie Kirby Dach’s nonexistent production a lot lately. A third overall pick having only one point in his last 27 games will do that. But Colliton repeatedly has said he’s happy with Dach’s play. On Saturday, he elaborated more on the party line. ‘‘Of course, you’d love to see him break through,’’ Colliton said. ‘‘But as far as how we evaluate his progression, we’re very happy with how he’s improved as the year’s gone on. He’s playing very well defensively, he’s physical, he’s got a great stick. ‘‘The points haven’t been there, but he’s been part of the production of some of the other guys throughout this stretch, where he’s played really well but just happens to not touch the puck at the end. It doesn’t mean he’s not doing great things.’’ Colliton is correct that Dach has been unlucky not to have a few more points than the 11 (in 42 games entering Saturday) he has. Dach has scored or assisted on only 56 percent of the five-on-five goals he has been on the ice for. Only Ryan Carpenter and Matthew Highmore, two defense-first forwards, have gotten fewer box-score rewards for the goals they’ve helped produce. But maybe Dach is a defense-first forward, too. That’s not what his draft position, scouting report or prospects tournament performance indicated he would be — at least not immediately. He was pegged to be a two-way center, a Jonathan Toews-type guy down the line, but most young players develop their offense first. Yet more than halfway through his rookie season, Dach is doing the opposite. ‘‘I’ve always wanted to be a complete centerman and find that two-way game, where you’re able to be counted on defensively and offensively,’’ Dach said Saturday. ‘‘I’ve worked hard on that aspect.’’ Dach’s season so far can be divided into three portions. In his first 11 games, he had no stable linemates and played few minutes (10 per game at five-on-five). The results were fine, but they weren’t very interesting. In his next 16 games, he started to develop some line consistency. Carpenter and Zack Smith were alongside him more often than not, and his five-on-five minutes increased to just less than 12 per game. After a torrid four-game stretch, Dach really struggled. The Hawks were outscored 7-0 at five-on-five in a 12-game span with him on the ice, and his scoring-chance ratio was a miserable 42.1 percent. In his last 15 games (entering Saturday), Dach has played a lot alongside Alex DeBrincat, and his five-on-five minutes are up to about 13.5 per game. He has been on the ice for seven Hawks goals (and six against), even though he has only one point individually. His offensive role has decreased, partly because of playing with a shoot-first guy such as DeBrincat. He has taken only 17.8 percent of the Hawks’ shots during his shifts, down from 23 percent before, which was already low. And yet he has become fantastic defensively. For the season, Dach ranks second only to Highmore (and his 18 appearances) among 14 Hawks forwards in fewest opponents’ shots per minute. And he only has improved that rate in his last 15 games, despite playing with a defender as historically poor as DeBrincat. The Hawks certainly want Dach’s offensive side to reveal itself — and the sooner, the better. But if this is the path he takes to stardom, there’s nothing wrong with it. Chicago Sun-Times Dominik Kubalik’s explosive January marches on as Blackhawks hammer Maple Leafs Ben Pope Jan. 18, 2020 TORONTO — Wing Dominik Kubalik’s rise from overlooked European league star to bona fide NHL player is a nice story. When Kubalik said last week that he entered training camp just hoping to make the Blackhawks’ roster and that he ‘‘can’t believe’’ the success he has had since, it was a heartwarming moment. The 24-year-old Czech’s humble approachability — he contentedly occupies his corner-of-the-locker-room spot among taxi-squad guys — has endeared him to teammates even more. But Kubalik quickly is becoming more than a cool tale, more than a pleasant surprise. With another big night in the Hawks’ 6-2 victory Saturday against the Maple Leafs, Kubalik is cementing himself as a should-be key piece of the team for years to come. ‘‘He showed right away, early in the season, that he’s a gifted goal-scorer,’’ captain Jonathan Toews said. ‘‘Now, if you get moved to a top line, you’re expected to play good two-way hockey against other teams’ top lines. And he’s shown that he can be a top player in all facets of the game.’’ The chemistry between Kubalik and Toews went up another notch late in the second period, when Kubalik batted in a lofted pass from Toews from knee height. It was a swing worthy of Wrigley — or Guaranteed Rate — Field. It was Toews’ fourth point and Kubalik’s second goal of the night and extended impressive streaks for both players. Toews has 12 points in his last five games and 28 in his last 20. And Kubalik has scored nine goals in his last seven games. He’s up to 20 this season, including 18 at even strength, tying him with Hawks teammate Patrick Kane and reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov for eighth in the NHL. Among rookies, he has more than doubled second-place Cale Makar and Martin Necas. ‘‘It sounds unreal,’’ Kubalik said. ‘‘He’s finding different ways to score,’’ coach Jeremy Colliton said. ‘‘It’s fun to watch. He’s shooting the puck, he’s going to the net, pucks are going in off him, he’s playing baseball.’’ When Kubalik scored the Hawks’ first home goal of the season on Oct. 10, he did so while playing on a line with Brandon Saad and David Kampf. Kubalik’s career trajectory — a free agent at the end of this season, he suddenly looks poised for a sizable new contract — and role on the Hawks have changed dramatically and unexpectedly since. At this point, he needs to be viewed as an important piece of the Hawks’ young generation, not merely a productive complementary scorer. Saad, who returned to the lineup after a month injured and scored one of the Hawks’ three goals in the first 11 minutes, said he saw it coming all along. ‘‘Even early on, getting a chance to play with him and see the things he can do, [I knew it was] only a matter of time,’’ Saad said. ‘‘He’s got the size and the speed and a great shot. The more he gets experience, the more confidence he gets, and you’re seeing that now. He’s a pretty special player.’’ Kubalik’s eruption this month has coincided with the Hawks’ most impressive extended run of the season. They have won four consecutive games, including all three on their road trip, and 10 of their last 14.