Chicago Blackhawks: 5 Takeaways From Last Week’s Games

The Chicago Blackhawks are heading into the final stretch of their season.  Last week, they took on the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, and the Dallas Stars, in that order.  They dominated the Islanders by a score of 4-1, squeaked past the Rangers by a score of 1-0, and then were shut out by the Stars by a score of 4-0.  What the heck happened?   Let’s get to my 5 takeaways from these last 3 games.

5.  To Versteeg or not to Versteeg. It was the big story when Kris Versteeg did not practice among the top four lines during Monday’s practice.  Would he be a healthy scratch?  Well, he played on the third line for the Islanders game on Tuesday, but then was a surprise scratch the next night against the Rangers.

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He was back in the lineup on Saturday, but he certainly didn’t do much.  I thought Steeger would look better now that he is on the third line, but this hasn’t been the case.  He had countless turnovers on Saturday night, and just wasn’t able to help get any offense going.  He was only able to generate 2 shots on goal in his last two contests.

Coach Quenneville says that Versteeg needs to work on his pace, and try to keep things simple.  Whatever it is, he better figure it out fast.  The Hawks are going to need Steeger in the playoffs.

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