Feb. 18--Rookie Artemi Panarin rode the wave of the Blackhawks' sizzling power play to record his first career NHL hat trick and Andrew Shaw and Andrew Desjardins also scored in the 5-3 win over the Rangers. Teuvo Teravainen earned two assists and goaltender Corey Crawford made 31 saves as the Hawks jumped into first place in the Central Division with their 38-18-5 record.
Bread Man continues to rise
Panarin became the first rookie in the NHL to reach 20 goals this season. The Russian notched his first two scores while the Hawks held a man advantage and ended things with an empty-net goal. With 22 goals and 35 assists, Panarin moved into fifth in the league in scoring with 57 points.
"He's been great for us," coach Joel Quenneville said. "The consistency, be it him, the contribution to that line, our power play, our puck possession game (or) our offense, from Day 1 he's been fun to watch. He's enjoying himself here."
The Hawks are enjoying Panarin's play, which is fairly remarkable as the Russian adjusted to the North American style of play -- and smaller rinks -- without difficulty.
"He's a special player," winger Patrick Kane said of his linemate. "You can see out there he's got a good shot, he's good with the puck (and) strong on his edges. Good to see him get rewarded for his good play. He's been a great fit for us, kind of one of those players that maybe exceeded some expectations coming in. Great find by the organization. We're happy to have him here."
Here comes Teuvo
After being held off the scoresheet for 10 consecutive games, Teuvo Teravainen has three points over the last two games, including two assists against the Rangers.
"I'm being focused on my defensive game," Teravainen said. "I'm playing with Phil (Danault) and (Andrew) Desjardins and we have to play good 'D' if we want to be out there. We've been pretty responsible out there but for myself I want to score, too, and make things happen. That's why I've been a little down on myself lately because we haven't scored that much but (Wednesday night) was a good game."
Teravainen made terrific passes to set up Desjardins and Shaw on their goals and showed how dangerous he can be with some room to roam.
"I know when I get some time and space I can make some plays," Teravainen said.
With the Hawks still searching for scoring from more than just the line of Kane, Panarin and Artem Anisimov, an offensive surge from Teravainen is a good sign.
"If we want to be successful we need more than one line to be effective and productive," Quenneville said. "That stretch when we won (12 consecutive) games we got more contributions from across the board. You can't win in this league with one line."
Playing with power
With a combined eight power-play goals over their last three games -- including three on Wednesday night -- the Hawks now rank second in the NHL with a 22.9 percent success rate with a man advantage. They trail only the Capitals' 23.7 percent.
"We're moving the puck good," Teravainen said. "We're shooting the puck and winning those little battles. Sometimes it just goes in."
It's been more than luck as the both units have been dangerous despite the loss of Marian Hossa with a leg injury. Kane, who picked up his NHL-leading 83rd point with an assist on Panarin's second power-play goal, was used on both units against the Rangers and led the Hawks with 4 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time with a man advantage.
When No. 88 is on the ice, good things tend to happen.
Killing time
The Rangers were less than thrilled with the officiating that saw the Hawks awarded four power plays while they had only one.
"I know that there were a few chosen words said," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. 'I think that three of those calls were in my opinion borderline, but that's part of the game. You've got to find a way to get the job done, killing the penalty. We didn't do that. That's where our focus should have been."
