If The Blackhawks Want Balance Out Of Their Forward Lines There's Only One Way To Do It
Well, well, well…the Blackhawks are finally going to experiment with splitting up Kane and Schmaltz. A move that some(only me) have been suggesting since the beginning of the year. Here is what I said in the season preview about the logic behind splitting up Kane and Schmaltz.
Kane wants to play with Schmaltz, Schmaltz wants to get fucking PAID as an RFA next summer and the best way to do that is to spend 82 games with Patrick Kane. That’s not the best way for the team to have success though. I believe Schmaltz is capable of carrying a line offensively by himself. He and Kane are the only ones on the team with that ability. It doesn’t make sense, to me, to have your two most dynamic players on the same line when you likely with be starving for production elsewhere. We’ve also already seen that Anisimov CAN’T play with anyone besides Patrick Kane. Kane is an offensive genius and the man in the room. People listen to him. Even the coaches. But, this is a time where he needs to just put the team and a line on his shoulders.
So after 8 games of banking on essentially just the Debrincat-Toews-Kahun line and a few heroic moments from Patrick Kane for the bulk of the scoring the coaching staff has decided to do what Joel loves most…and that is have balance on all four lines. The morning skate lines today were as follows:
Debrincat-Toews-Kahun
Saad-Anisimov-Kane
Fortin-Kampf-Schmaltz
Kunitz-Kruger-Hayden
These combos are better in my estimation, but not exactly what I’d like to see. At minimum I would flip Fortin with Saad and then also probably make Schmaltz 3C and move Kunitz to 3RW and Kampf down to the 4th line. So my lines would be:
Debrincat-Toews-Kahun
Fortin-Anisimov-Kane
Saad-Schmaltz-Kunitz
Kampf-Kruger-Hayden
I understand wanting to put Saad with Kane. The Hawks NEED to get Saad going and playing with Kane is the methamphetamine for offense. HOWEVER, the Blackhawks want Saad going to hard areas and living in front of the net. That’s where Saad needs to go in order to score goals because he doesn’t have a great shot. Well…that’s typically Anisimov’s role when he plays with Kane, so if Anisimov is the center-lane drive/net-front guy then that means Saad is on the perimeter where he is less effective. If Saad were to be bumped off of the Kane line he’d also likely be facing weaker competition as well. That’s another way to get yourself going…have a few cupcake matchups.
And while Fortin hasn’t shown much ability to finish early in the season I love the intensity with which he forechecks and retrieves pucks. He also seems to have a little bit more creativity instinctually than Saad. Fortin puts himself in good areas, dangerous areas, and the puck has been finding him. He just needs to bury with more consistency.
A line with Saad, Schmaltz, and Kunitz is balanced too. Saad can be the net front guy who forechecks and retrieves pucks for his linemates, Schmaltz drives play and chances, and Kunitz plays off of Schmaltz using his brain to find those dead areas and get himself open for goals.
Finally…I don’t like the idea of a 4th line featuring Kunitz, Kruger, and Hayden because it lacks some serious speed. Switching Kampf for Kunitz gives that line a little extra gas and some defensive zone face-off help.
The team isn’t very deep. We know that. I’m not going to keep saying it, but you know why that is. Splitting up Schmaltz and Kane is the only way to give the Blackhawks a balanced attack. These lines Joel and the boys are rolling out today are always going to be fluid but this is definitely a step in the right direction. Anaheim is coming to town tonight and even though they’re currently in first place, this is a team the Blackhawks should be able to beat at home. They aren’t particularly fast, they aren’t particularly deep, and they’ve relied on a WORLD CLASS goaltending from John Gibson to start the year. This is the night the Blackhawks get back on track. This is the night they put together a full 60 minutes. THIS is the night both Schmaltz and Saad get it going. THIS is the night we win. Join or fucking DIE.