Chicago Blackhawks Projected Lines After Hinostroza Call-Up

By Sean Fitzgerald | Oct 17, 2015

The Chicago Blackhawks have struggled offensively this season. They are tied for 19th in the league so far with 10 goals, having scored 10 times along with Nashville (which is 3-1-0) and Carolina (which is 1-3-0). In order to combat their scoring woes, the Blackhawks recalled Vincent Hinostroza on Friday and sent down Kyle Baun. After a great offseason and preseason, Baun showed some promise. The Blackhawks were hoping Baun could provide a scoring threat on the third or fourth line this season, but he did not live up the promise in his brief time with the big club this season.

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With Hinostroza now in the fold, the Blackhawks’ lines will be different. Here are my new projected lines:

First line: Teuvo Teravainen, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.

Coach Joel Quenneville wanted Teuvo to replace Brandon Saad on the top line. Teuvo now gets his second chance at on the top line. Toews and Hossa need to get going, as they have zero goals between the two of them. They both have two assists each, but the Blackhawks need to score more goals.

Second line: Artemi Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane.

This line has been the most productive line for the Blackhawks this season. Panarin has two goals and three assists, Anisimov has one goal and one assist, and Patrick Kane has three goals and three assists. This line has half of the goals scored for the Blackhawks this season, so the coaching staff will not break up this line at this time.

Third line: Bryan Bickell, Vincent Hinostroza and Viktor Tikhonov.

Hinostroza was brought in to provide an offensive jump. He is a natural center and had success during the preseason. Last year at Notre Dame, Hinostroza had 11 goals and 22 assists in 42 games. He had one assist in two games at Rockford before his promotion. In college and in his brief stint at Rockford, Hinostroza has shown the ability to put teammates in scoring position. The third line is in desperate need of a facilitator, as Bickell and Tikhonov have a combined zero points this season.

Fourth line: Andrew Desjardins, Marcus Kruger and Andrew Shaw.

This line is not expected to score much, but it has offensive talent. Kruger has 28 career NHL goals, Desjardins has 15 NHL goals and Shaw has 56 NHL goals. Shaw is a better player on the wing than he is at center. He had a good game despite the score against the Capitals on Thursday.

Hinostroza might be a short-term fix until the Blackhawks are ready to recall Marko Dano.

A wild-card move that the Blackhawks could pull is recalling Tanner Kero from Rockford. Kero is known for his scoring, as he recorded 20 goals and 26 assists in his senior year at Michigan Tech. In his brief stint with Rockford last season, he recorded five goals in six games. This season, Kero has stayed hot in scoring two goals and two games. He also has one assist.

Next: Chicago Blackhawks Stats: Blocked Shots, Offensive Defensemen

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