The Blackhawks had the day off after their 5-2 victory over the Ducks last night at the United Center.
The win pushed the Hawks' record to 29-10-3 on the season and 19-4-1 at home. Along with the San Jose Sharks, they lead the NHL with 61 points. Their lead in the Central Division has blossomed to eight points over the Predators and 13 over the Red Wings.
Those are pretty gaudy numbers, so it's worth taking a look at what exactly what is going right for the Hawks right now.
How about everything?
It has been seven games since the offense scored fewer than four goals, and that seventh game was a 3-0 shutout of the Wings on Dec. 23.
Defensively, opponents have a combined six goals over the last three games. The Hawks are allowing a league-low 2.07 goals per game.
Special teams have been just that. The Hawks have scored at least one power-play in a season-high seven consecutive games. The penalty-killing unit is third in the NHL with an 86.9 percent kill rate.
Count the Ducks as among those singing the praises of the Hawks, who have won 10 of their last 12.
"They're a young, energetic team and very difficult to match up against," Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said.
It's another busy week ahead as beginning Tuesday, when they host former teammate Martin Havlat and the Wild, the Hawks play four games in six nights.
One-timer: Hawks winger Patrick Kane has been named December's No. 3 star of the month in the NHL. Canucks center Henrik Sedin was No. 1 and Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was second star.
Kane was the leading scorer on the Hawks with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists), helping them post an 11-4-0 record in December. The 21-year-old had points in 13 of 15 games, including a pair of six-game streaks.
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It’s not that Cristobal Huet has been bad, because he has improved his game significantly since last year, it’s just that Niemi has the same, if not better, abilities as Huet. I am not asking for Huet to be benched and Niemi start. I am just asking for a more balanced approach to the playing time of each goalie. I know Quennville likes to shake things up, especially in the lines, and I am positive he is smart enough to realize the potential Niemi has.
If a player is playing as well as Niemi why waste his talent and keep him on the bench for most games? It’s nonsensical to waste such talent. They can smell the Stanley Cup just around the corner.