March 10--Interacting with Blackhawks teammates during his rehabilitation from surgery to repair his broken left collarbone has been beneficial for Patrick Kane.
"Some of the best therapy for me has been coming to the rink and hanging out with the guys and talking to them, have a few laughs, hear some stories," Kane said. "That's been good for me."
What hasn't been good during Kane's absence from the lineup -- and is in need of some serious therapy of its own -- is the Hawks offense.
In the five games Kane has missed since suffering the injury Feb. 24 against the Panthers, the Hawks have scored nine times, with the bulk of the goals coming during a 5-2 trouncing of the Hurricanes on March 2 at the United Center. In their last two games, the Hawks have scored once -- although they earned three points anyway thanks to strong play from goaltender Corey Crawford.
"Without Kaner, to be effective we have to make sure that we check first," coach Joel Quenneville said. "That's how you win in our league anyway. We still think there's some opportunity there. Sometimes we look for better plays, sometimes (with) plays at the net we don't shoot it because there's nobody (there). That's where it has to be more predictable where somebody is there and (the puck) is going there."
The Hawks' biggest struggles have come on the power play. They cashed in on the man advantage they received when the Panthers' Alex Petrovic cross-checked Kane and helped send the winger into the boards shoulder-first. But since then, the Hawks are 0-for-15.
Failing to score on the power play is one thing, but lacking energy and momentum while appearing discombobulated on it is another. During their 1-0 overtime loss to the Rangers on Sunday night, the Hawks managed a combined three shots on goal on four power plays and each time an unsuccessful power play ended, they had to work to get back into the flow of the fast-paced game.
"The power play, it slows our team game down a bit," Quenneville said. "The guys that are out there, they don't get the production and all of a sudden they get a little hesitation in their game. That can slow us down."
In recent weeks, Quenneville had taken to using Kane on both power-play units and the 26-year-old leads the Hawks in time on ice with a man advantage at 3 minutes, 40 seconds per game. Without Kane, who was tied for the NHL's scoring lead at the time of his injury, the units are in disarray.
"We realize how fortunate you are when you've got Kaner on your power play, be it entries, loose pucks, patience, play recognition and all of a sudden there are great opportunities," Quenneville said. "There's a void there. There are opportunities at the same time (and) somebody has to seize it and grab it. When we do that, it will be a big difference to our team game."
All should not be lost on the power play without Kane as the Hawks are still loaded with talent across the two units. Patrick Sharp leads the team with seven power-play goals, while Kane, Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews each have six.
Added Kris Versteeg: "He's obviously a huge loss there, but there are still a lot of guys who have done it before," Kris Versteeg said.
To that end, rookie Teuvo Teravainen has replaced Kane on the power play and has appeared dangerous while taking advantage of the time and space with opponents short-handed.
"I've always been good on the power play," Teravainen said. "That's one of my strengths."
ckuc@tribpub.com
