On a roll. You could say that about a few Blackhawks right now. You could kind of say that about the Blackhawks, too, right now.
That mess in Nashville aside, the Blackhawks have looked good lately. With their 4-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday, the Blackhawks have won four of their last five games and ended the night second in the Central Division. There’s a long way to go, but the Blackhawks look like they’re getting into a rhythm.
So before we take off for the evening, let’s look at the Five Things to take from the Blackhawks’ victory over the Canucks.
1. Corey Crawford is complacent no more. Crawford used that word to describe several of his recent games. Well, he’s apparently gotten over it. Crawford was sharp once again, recording his second shutout in as many starts. By our calculations, Crawford’s current shutout streak is 140 minutes, 46 seconds — the last goal he gave up was Nashville forward Eric Nystrom’s at 19:14 of the second period on Tuesday night. Crawford is tracking the puck well right now, and most of them have remained in front of him.
2. Patrick Kane keeps it going. It wasn’t your usual assist, but it was nevertheless a legitimate one — possession never changed — and Kane now has a 26-game point streak because of it. Getting these points early in games has helped the Blackhawks maintain focus where it needs to be: on getting the best team result. Kane’s focus has also been team first. He’s just scoring a hell of a lot of points in the process.
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3. Dennis Rasmussen finding his niche. The center has only been here for four games, but he’s making a great impact. Rasmussen scored his second goal in his brief stint here, a goal that he wishes he had held back on so Bryan Bickell could’ve gotten credit for it. Rasmussen blamed his instincts, but he shouldn’t have. He was aggressive and making sure a goal counted. Coach Joel Quenneville liked that line of Rasmussen, Bickell and Andrew Shaw on Sunday, another sign the Blackhawks’ lines might be coming together better.
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4. Others are scoring. This is a bit of a continuation of the Rasmussen mention. It was him, Shaw and, for the first time in his NHL career, Brandon Mashinter contributing goals in the third period. The Blackhawks haven’t had enough of that this season, especially from the bottom six. As Crawford said, “We’ve had our other lines play well, but it’s nice to see those guys chip in with some goals.”
5. Sizzling at home. The Blackhawks still have some things to figure out on the road, and they’ll get a chance to do that later on this month. But right now they’re taking advantage of these December home games. The Blackhawks improved to 12-3-1 at the United Center this season. They’re currently second in the Central Division, and their home record has a lot to do with that.