Chicago's Top Line Has Been Good, but How Good?
At the beginning of March, Coach Derek King finally did what fans have been calling for since Jeremy Colliton was behind the bench- put Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome on the same line. Not for half a game. Not for a few shifts. Not for a simple Kane double shift.
No, actually give them time to develop and become a line.
Since March 3, this line has been on fire. In those 13 games where Strome wasn't relegated to a bottom six role, he has responded amazingly. In those games, Strome has tallied ten goals and ten assists. His linemates? Patrick Kane notched five goals and a whopping 20 assists. Alex DeBrincat was the recipient of quite a few of those; he scored nine times and added 10 assists of his own.
The line notched 64 points, or 4.9 points per game.
Blackhawks fans are elated, but how happy should we be? How does this line fare against others in the league.
During the same time period, the line of Sam Reinhart, Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe for the Florida Panthers lit the lamp 15 times and added 24 assists for a total of 39 points. In Colorado, Nathan McKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin scored 18 goals and had 24 apples for a total of 42 points.
Toronto isn't long on defense, but they do put the puck in the back of the net a lot. Their line of Austin Matthews, Mitch Marner and Michael Bunting had 20 goals and 25 assists for 45 points. Finally, the other young guns in Edmonton Connor McDavid, Jesse Puljujarvi and Evander Kane notched 18 goals and 22 assists. (Puljujarvi missed some games during that stretch) Adding Leon Draisaitl to that total still only nets the Oilers 61 total points. Finally, scoring the top two lines for the Bruins (six players)- Boston scored 24 goals and tallied 33 assists for a grand total of 57 points.
So, the Blackhawks' top line scored 64 points, Panthers 39, Avalanche 42, Maple Leafs 45, Oilers 40 (61 with Draisaitl) and Bruins top 6 - 57. It's safe to say that the Cat, Kane and Strome have been on fire. Many now believe that Dylan Strome has found a permanent place on this team and this line is the line of the future.
Is having all of this power on one line sustainable? Should the line be broken up to provide more consistency across the lines? Find out next time.
| POLL | ||
What should the Blackhawks do with Dylan Strome? | ||
| Leave him with Cat and Kane. | 73 | 54.9 % |
| Switch him to another line. | 34 | 25.6 % |
| Trade him over the summer. | 26 | 19.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
