Chicago Blackhawks: A third line potentially developing
The Chicago Blackhawks appear to have a really good top six going into the season, but how will their third line be behind them?
The Chicago Blackhawks have had some good performances during the preseason so far. It is apparent who the stars are and they will continue to play like stars. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, and Dylan Strome are all going to be fantastic scorers over two separate lines in the top six. They are more than likely going to be the four leading scores amongst forwards on the team and it will keep the Hawks in lots of games.
What separates good teams from bad teams though, is depth. A good two-way third line is very important to every team in the NHL and the Blackhawks appear to have a pretty good one cooking. It is all centered around David Kampf. He has the ability to make plays, break out, and defend. His career Corsi-for is 49.9 percent and his offensive game gets better every season. Coach Jeremy Colliton made comments about wanting to see him have the ability to finish the plays made for him or that he creates for himself more often. If he can develop some better finish, he will be a solid third-line center.
One thing that might help Kampf develop offensively is the play of his new wingers. Colliton is considering using Brandon Saad and Dominik Kubalik on each side of Kampf. Brandon Saad is a fantastic player as far as possession with a career 54.6 Corsi-for and he will be able to help Kampf finish plays off as well, as he has scored 20 goals or more in four out of the last five years. Kubalik is just getting his NHL career started, but he has looked really good in the preseason scoring a few goals using his ability to bury rebounds and his deadly shot.
Killing penalties is also something the Blackhawks desperately need to improve on. They added a few defensemen to the team to help that cause, but the forwards need to step up. Kampf and Saad will certainly get their opportunities short-handed, and the jury is still out on whether or not Kubalik will get those reps as well.
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It is very important to get secondary scoring from your third line in addition to them being able to kill penalties and play solid defensively at even strength. Obviously, a guy like Toews is going to match up against the other team’s top scoring lines, especially at home, but Kampf’s line surely should be relied upon a decent amount. It is no guarantee that this line is going to stick, but according to the head coach, they like what they are seeing from this combination at this time.