FEEDING FRENZY
Resurgent Toews, Kane have two top lines clicking
Nomatter howmany goals he scores, how much his line tears up the league or how much hardware he racks up, Patrick Kane always is going to be a second- liner with the Blackhawks.
That’s because Jonathan Toews is the No. 1 center, and his line — in all its dozenplus incarnations in the last two seasons— always is designated the top line.
‘‘ Yeah, I think they’ve always been the first line, right?’’ Kane said with a laugh. ‘‘ They’re No. 1 on the depth chart. Hopefully, going into the playoffs, you have that 1A- 1B type of situation.’’
That’s certainly the case these days. The Hawks’ top two lines are red- hot and feeding off each other.
Since Toews was joined on the top line by Nick Schmaltz and Richard Panik, the trio has combined for 15 goals and 23 assists in 10 games, nine of which were victories. In that same span, Kane has nine goals and seven assists and matched Toews’ hat trick Tuesday against the Wild with one of his own Thursday against the Coyotes.
Toews shrugged off the idea there’s internal competition between him and Kane, but Kane freely admitted it exists.
‘‘ Sure, absolutely,’’ Kane said. ‘‘ There’s definitely some motivation there, for sure. You see Jonny get hot, you want to follow him. He’s been doing a great job of leading us as of late, so I think that’s an important thing.’’
Both players were having subpar seasons through the first half. Kane still was racking up points, thanks in part to a career season by linemate Artem Anisimov, but he had only eight goals in the first 32 games, far below the pace he set when he scored a career- high 46 last season. But only five players in the league have more goals than his 16 since.
Toews, meanwhile, had only four goals in his first 26 games but has 12 in the 27 games since. Two months ago, Toews was destined for the worst offensive season of his career. But he has been so productive lately that he’s back at his career average of 0.87 points per game.
After dealing with a back injury that cost him nine games in November and December, Toews looks like his old self again, with that familiar burst of acceleration and the strength to win battles in the corners and to get to loose pucks in the crease.
‘‘ We’re so much deeper as a team when both lines are dangerous [ and] effective,’’ Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. ‘‘ It gives the other team something to think about over the course of a game. And when they’re both contributing offensively, it’s tough to contain.’’
Indeed, Toews’ resurgence has changed the complexion of the team. For the first time since the start of last season, the Hawks aren’t just a one- line team, leaning heavily on Kane, Artemi Panarin and Anisimov. Opponents now have to pick their poison because they only can use their shutdown line against one or the other.
Not that anyone has been able to shut down either line lately.
‘‘ It’s good that both lines are producing,’’ Toews said. ‘‘ We’re clicking and want to keep that going.’’
And with the Wild and the top seed in the Western Conference suddenly within reach, the top two lines — or, perhaps more accurately, the two top lines — might make the difference.
‘‘ You see the way they play,’’ Kane said of Toews’ line. ‘‘ They control the puck, they’re fending off checks, they get to the net. It’s definitely a little bit of motivation. It couldn’t come at a better time, especially with this stretch run, where we need to win games going into the playoffs. Those guys have been playing awesome. They’ve been leading the charge, and [ we’re] just trying to follow.’’