There have been some special moments at the United Center this season, even though the Blackhawks haven’t won nearly as often as they/we would like. Whether it was at Marian Hossa‘s jersey retirement or watching Alexander Ovechkin become just the third player in NHL history to reach 800 goals, Chicago has had some special tickets. Today is another one of those games.
Sunday gives Blackhawks fans a moment to show our appreciation for what Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have meant to the organization. When the puck drops against the Rangers tonight, they’ll become the 11th pair of teammates in NHL history to skate in 1,000 games together. It’s wild to think that only 11 pairs of teammates have done it in league history and two of them came from the Blackhawks’ dynasty teams (Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith did it, too).
Tracey Myers at NHL.com wrote a nice piece on the legacies of the two, both individually and together. They will be tied together forever as the centerpieces of the Blackhawks’ renaissance that became a dynasty.
Troy Murray played for the Blackhawks, won a Selke Trophy here, and has seen some great players come and go. His thoughts on the two stars were noteworthy for me:
“If you look in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks, and it’s a long and rich tradition of hockey here in Chicago and you know, there’s Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita and there’s Toews and Kane,” Blackhawks broadcaster Troy Murray said.
“Those are names that generations will remember for years and the impact that Kane and Toews have had on the city of Chicago, not only the franchise but brought this franchise back into relevance, so to speak,” Murray said. “Three Stanley Cups, so the whole new generation of fans can appreciate the championships here in Chicago because of those two guys, namely, in large part. So, the impact is very significant of what these guys have meant to the city of Chicago as a duo and to the Blackhawks.”
A few fun statistical notes from Myers’ story:
The Blackhawks are 530-346-123 in the games Toews and Kane have played together.
They have combined to factor into 298 goals: Toews has scored 116 goals on which Kane has assisted and Kane has scored 101 goals where Toews has had an assist. Both have gotten an assist on 81 goals.
According to NHL Stats, when Toews and Kane each score a goal in a game, the Blackhawks are 91-9-5 in the regular season and 6-1 in the playoffs.
Ethan Del Mastro was named an assistant captain for Canada at the upcoming World Junior Championship on Sunday morning. As a two-time captain of his junior team, this is another big showing of leadership for a blue line prospect who has emerged as a terrific player and potential building block for the Blackhawks’ future.
There was heartbreak in the hockey community on Saturday. The London Knights announced 18-year-old forward Abakar Kazbekov has died. The Blackhawks have a number of ties to the Knights (Kane, Max Domi, Alec Regula). Domi shared his condolences on Saturday afternoon.
Tyler Johnson remains out of the Blackhawks’ lineup for tonight’s game against the Rangers, but it sounds like the news on his ankle was fairly positive. Luke Richardson told the media after the morning skate that he hopes to see TJ back on the ice on Monday. Here’s what the lineup looks like for Sunday night:
Just a brief reminder: everything is going according to plan…
Finally, it looks like the Cubs are finally starting to throw money around. First Dansby Swanson, now Drew Smyly. Busy weekend on the North Side…
NEWSLETTER
