CHICAGO _ Every path to the playoffs for the Blackhawks involves posting one of the NHL's best records over the final three months of the season.
In other words, they'll have to become a team they haven't been.
Patrick Kane is a realist. Even though the Hawks have started to win regularly after bad stretches in November and early December, he's not willing to say they've been playing like a playoff contender just yet.
"I think it's been better," Kane said. "I don't know if we're at that level yet but it's been better. And I think we kind of know the recipe for success around here and what we need to do, what the coaches want us to do to win games. It's nice that we know that now and we know that if we play that way we give ourselves a chance every night. So I think it's coming."
