Chicago Blackhawks: Dominik Kubalik needs to continue dominance

The Chicago Blackhawks need Dominik Kubalik to have a chance in the playoffs.

It was a bit uncertain how Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kubalik would do in his rookie season. It was fair to assume that he would have a pretty good year, especially in the goal-scoring department, based on his resume but he probably exceeded expectations. Exactly three months ago yesterday, the Hawks played their last game of the season before COVID-19 put an end to the regular season and Kubalik scored his 30th goal in the win.

Kubalik was rock solid in 2019-20 and deserves a lot of credit for the Hawks even making it to the 24 team playoffs. His 30 goals made him only the fourth Blackhawks rookie to reach the 30 goal plateau. Only Steve Larmer, Darryl Sutter, and Artemi Panarin had done it before him.

He should be getting some Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) consideration for his efforts. He won’t win it because it is a two-horse race between Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks but seeing him get some top-three consideration would be lovely. There is a good chance that he receives some top-three votes and will almost certainly finish in the top-five.

The Blackhawks need Kubalik to hit the ground running again when the playoffs start in order to have a chance. You know exactly how the stars are going to perform but a lot of these guys like Kubalik have never experienced the playoffs. If he is able to score goals at the pace that he was before the season ended it would go a long way in Chicago’s chances.

Kubalik and the Hawks are going to match up against the Edmonton Oilers. They are a high flying team so that could help him in his offensive game. He is going to get his chances to score, especially since his regular-season success has earned him a spot on a top-six line.