Blackhawks: New line combinations lead to success

It seems like Jeremy Colliton has finally found the perfect line combinations for the Chicago Blackhawks.

The start of the season was quite the struggle for the Chicago Blackhawks as they finished the first month at 3-6-2. After the start they had, many Blackhawk fans including myself thought it was time to move on from Colliton.

But heading into the second month of the season, the switch has flipped, and the Blackhawks seem like they are back to their winning ways.

Coach Colliton has finally found the perfect line combinations after messing with them during the first month of the season. Line Combinations actually do matter after all? Yes, they really do.

Colliton ended up putting Brandon Saad with Jonathan Toews and Alex Nylander on the first line and reunited Patrick Kane with Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat on the second line. The second line has been the most productive and could arguably be the best trio in the national hockey league.

The third line consists of Dominik Kubalik–David Kampf–Andrew Shaw, and the fourth line is Zach Smith–Kirby Dach–Ryan Carpenter.

Since switching up the lines the Blackhawks on November 7th, they are on fire. Earning 9 out of the possible 10 points in the last 5 games, and having a record of 5-0-1, with wins against the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, and the Buffalo Sabres.

A major part of the Blackhawks’ recent success has come from none other than Patrick Kane, which is not a surprise at all. Kane is currently on a 9 game point streak with a 6 game goal streak and is on pace to be an early MVP candidate.

Since being put on the top line with Saad and Toews, Alex Nylander has been productive. Already scoring more goals with the Blackhawks (4G) than he had his entire career with Buffalo. So you can pretty much already say that we won the Henri Jokiharju trade.

Another major surprise since Colliton switched up the lines, has been Kirby Dach. Although he is on the fourth line and playing limited minutes every night, he’s still putting the puck in the back of the net and is a key part of the Blackhawks’ current four-game winning streak. Dach is currently on a four-game point streak (4G, 2A).

With scoring 2 goals Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights, Dach ended up joining Eddy Olczyk and Kane as the only 18-year-olds to score have a multi-goal game in franchise history, which is a fantastic milestone. The Blackhawks have something special in Dach and I can’t wait to watch what he does for the rest of the season.

You can’t win games without excellent goaltending, well the Blackhawk sure do have that. Robin Lehner and Corey Crawford are by far one of the best duos in the league so far.

The Blackhawks currently have a record of 9-7-4 and 22 points, 5th place in the central division.

The Chicago Blackhawks are back and are by far the best team in Chicago at this moment. I believe if they continue to win as they have been, then this team is a playoff team.

Can they continue this success on Tuesday as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes? Let’s hope.