Jonathan Toews didn’t need any help with this one. He crossed a Capitals defender, went top shelf to score, then delivered an emphatic fist pump as hats rained from the seats. The United Center roared, “Chelsea Dagger” blared and Blackhawks teammates mobbed Toews at the boards to celebrate his first hat trick in months.
In the middle of a miserable season, Toews looked as good Sunday as he did during the Hawks’ Stanley Cup seasons in an 8-5 victory against the defending champion Capitals.
Toews’ three goals and two assists boosted his season total to 21 goals and 47 points. With 32 games left, he already has surpassed last season’s 20 goals.
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“He’s been a big producer for us ever since he came in the league,” Patrick Kane said. “We’d be lying if we said it’s surprising. Just kind of used to it from Johnny.”
Kane joined Toews in giving fans a blast from the past. He got a pair of goals, his 28th and 29th of the season, and extended his point streak to eight games. And he took it upon himself to keep the Hawks (17-24-9) above water. When the momentum seemed to slide — with the Capitals (27-16-5) narrowing the deficit to 4-3 early in the third period on a goal by John Carlson — Kane responded 36 seconds later, scoring on the power play.
“We’ve been in that position this year where we’ve been up and kind of sat back in the third, so we wanted to keep playing,” Kane said. “[We got] in their end, held onto the puck, we drew a penalty, got a power play and scored on the power play. That was a big difference right there.”
The Hawks’ defense also looked somewhat revived — at least for the first two periods, when it was breaking up passes.
“The biggest thing is we created a lot of offense from our defense,” Kane said. “Kind of played strong, made some quick plays in our end, and next thing you know, we got an odd-man rush or one-on-one or you’re coming up the ice with speed.”
The Hawks gave up three goals in the final period, but their defensive lapses didn’t lead to their demise for a change. With the offense carrying them through, they snapped a five-game losing streak.
Although it’s not realistic for the Hawks to consistently go out there and score eight goals on a good team, coach Jeremy Colliton believes they can just do a better job at controlling the puck.
“When you’re controlling things, you want to get something out of it, whether it’s goals or drawing penalties or generating pressure, and when they have their moments when they’re controlling things, you’ve got to survive,” Colliton said. “You’ve got to find a way to keep the puck out of your net. Get pucks out, win lines.”
Toews also doesn’t expect the Hawks to do this every game, but he believes the victory gives them a much-needed boost as they head into their final game before the All-Star break. Even if it was just for an afternoon, the Hawks were fun again.
“It gives our team confidence when you see goals go in,” Toews said. “We played the way we played tonight in front of our fans — we heard the horn and the fans responding. It’s nice to play an exciting game in front of them and get a little something to cheer for.”
