Chicago Blackhawks: Lack of Patrick Kane Scoring Hurts

For years now, Patrick Kane has helped the Chicago Blackhawks in the big moments. In his last 16 games, he has only scored twice.

At 31 years old, Patrick Kane is still improving. He is coming off of his best career year last season, where he had 110 points. This season, he got his 1,000th career point. He is one of only five Chicago Blackhawks’ players to hit the mark. Not all has been bad for him.

The Blackhawks do rely a lot on Kane though. Sometimes too much. When Kane goes games without scoring, the team struggles. During the last 16 games, Kane has scored just two goals.

Kane still leads the team in goals with 26. He isn’t lacking in that department. He also leads the team with 70-points on the season. If he can get his scoring touch back, he’ll hit 100 points for the third time in his career.

The Blackhawks 8-4 win last night is their first win in five games. Even after losing five straight, the Blackhawks are still in the playoff hunt. They’re just six points out.

Arizona has played three more games than the Blackhawks. Them being up six points will even everything out. The Blackhawks will have time to catch up. In my opinion, their playoffs started in last night’s win against the Flames.

They have 24 games left. The Blackhawks’ five-game losing streak really hurt them. During that losing streak, Kane was scoreless. He was shut down offensively.

Things will get a little bit easier for the Blackhawks. They’ll have 13 of their last 24 games being played at the United Center. If they can go 10-3 at home and just 5-6 on the road, they’ll be a playoff team. That would give them 90 points, which was good enough for the last wildcard spot in 2019.

Besides the Flames and Coyotes, the Blackhawks will be playing the teams ahead of them in the wildcard race at least one more time this season. They really do control their own destiny to the playoffs now. We might see playoff hockey back at the United Center for the first time in three years.

We’re going to need playoff hockey out of Kane. When Kane plays better, the whole team improves. If he can get out of this slump, things will get easier for everyone around him. It just takes one goal for him to heat up. Hopefully, that one goal was the empty net goal last night.

Tonight, Kane and the Blackhawks take on the Jets. The Jets are three points ahead of the Blackhawks. This is a must-win game if the Blackhawks want to continue their rise in the standings.

It’ll be tough but the Blackhawks have had their number for most of the season. They just can’t blow any leads that they get. Consistency is key.