Blackhawks’ search for missing top-six winger focuses on Dominik Kubalik, with early returns

From the start of training camp, the Blackhawks have needed a sixth top-six scorer. Dominik Kubalik, whose debut on Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad’s wing went well Sunday, could be the right guy.

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Dominik Kubalik was elevated to the Jonathan Toews-Brandon Saad line Sunday and scored a goal.

Dominik Kubalik was elevated to the Jonathan Toews-Brandon Saad line Sunday and scored a goal.

Tony Gutierrez/AP

Dominik Kubalik is a logical fit on the wing with Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad. He’s an accurate, shoot-first finisher who can bury the chances that Toews and Saad, two elite puck-movers, regularly create but so often can’t translate into goals themselves.

So the fact that Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton waited two months — stubbornly forcing a square peg, Alex Nylander, into a round hole even after Nylander’s early chemistry had long since evaporated — before trying Kubalik in that role was perplexing.

On Sunday against the Coyotes, Colliton finally did so — and the early results were promising.

“They just told me to be open, because both of them like to play with the puck, and especially in the corners,” Kubalik said Monday. “I’m just trying to be in the slot or in front of the net to give them the opportunity to shoot [or pass] it.

“I was just trying to fit in, and I think it was right.”

The switch resulted in the best night the Hawks’ official first line has experienced in weeks. The Toews-Saad-Kubalik line accounted for both of the Hawks’ five-on-five goals in an eventual 4-3 shootout loss — the first a goal by Toews off a feed by defenseman Calvin de Haan, the second a tip-in by Kubalik of a shot by defenseman Connor Murphy after Toews won a faceoff in the offensive zone. The first line also dominated possession throughout the night, finishing with a lopsided 11-5 advantage in scoring chances.

For Kubalik, who began his rookie season brilliantly alongside Saad and David Kampf but endured a rocky November, a game like that had been a long time coming.

“I’m trying to do my best, but I know that during this season [there have] already been a couple up-and-downs, when I didn’t play the right way,” he said. “Especially without the puck, I’ve got to still work on it. So [I’m] really happy I get the opportunity to play with those two guys.”

Colliton has been hard on Kubalik for his defensive work ethic and his consistency from shift to shift, and although he admitted after practice Monday that Kubalik was “really skating and making confident plays” against the Coyotes, he implied he still hasn’t seen the 24-year-old Czech winger reach the desired level of consistency.

Kubalik will likely never be a defensive specialist, but improved off-puck play could nonetheless give him more opportunities to showcase his skills with the puck.

“I’m trying to use my strength, and that’s my speed and my shot,” he said. “But you need to have the puck to use it, so I’m just trying to be the quickest possible to get the puck on my tape again.”

Even before Kubalik reaches his peak potential, he already seems like a good option for the first-line wing. Since the start of training camp, that final top-six spot has been a hole in this lineup; Kane, Toews, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Strome and Saad are all clear top-six scorers, but there’s no obvious sixth guy on the roster. Colliton tried Nylander, Andrew Shaw and Kirby Dach, but none stuck.

Kubalik could buck that trend. His skills, combined with Toews’ and Saad’s, cover all the bases.

And even if Colliton isn’t fully convinced yet, his lineup decisions Sunday showed he’s open to the idea.

“Different guys are going to get the opportunity [to fill that spot] based on how they’re playing, and that’s just part of the process we’re going through,” Colliton said. “We have a lot of young players who have the potential to break through and do that for us. It’s just a race to try to make that happen.”

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