Monday’s Three Stars: Toews Strong in Comeback

Jim Neveau, PIB Co-conspirator

The return of Jonathan Toews to the Blackhawks line-up was certainly a welcome addition, and it certainly paid immediate dividends.

A power play unit that had only converted three of its previous 33 chances came alive on Monday night, scoring twice and propelling the Hawks to a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at the United Center.

Toews scored a goal on the man-advantage, and Troy Brouwer, John Madden, and Andrew Ebbett scored as well in the victory.

“I felt great on the ice,”  Toews told nhl.com.  “If you look at a lot of our games in the past couple weeks, they were low-scoring. We struggled a bit on the power play. That was the difference tonight.”

The Hawks have indeed struggled with the man-advantage, coming into the game as the 22nd ranked power play in the league, and also averaging only 2.8 goals per game, good for 17th in the league. Tonight represented a departure from the low-scoring affairs that the Hawks have found themselves in recently.

With Toews’ return to the line-up, and with Marian Hossa getting ever closer to suiting up for the Hawks, it’s only a matter of time before we see if the Hawks’ offense can be all it was cracked up to be before the season.

In terms of the defense, the effort they turned in tonight was once again stellar. Coming into the game, the Hawks were allowing 22.7 shots per game, the fewest in the league. After allowing 11 first period shots, they tightened up, and only allowed five shots in the second and a mere two shots in the third. If the Kings had any aspirations of making a comeback, Chicago’s suffocating defense certainly prevented that from happening.

Anze Kopitar, now tied for the league lead in goals (14), tallied the only score for the Kings in the contest.

Third Star: Andrew Ebbett

It took him a while, but Mr. Ebbett finally scored his first goal in a Hawks sweater on Monday night, tipping the puck in with about 10:40 left in the contest.

The waiver-wire pick-up from Anaheim had struggled in his time in the Windy City, looking lost frequently on the ice and not really looking at all comfortable. Hopefully his first goal with the Hawks will help alleviate some of that anxiety, and enable him to play a looser game.

Second Star: Jonathan Toews

The debut of Captain Serious was easily the biggest story of the night. Toews looked like he was 100% healed from the concussion he suffered at the hands of Willie Mitchell back in October, and he proved it by scoring a goal and playing over 19 minutes, which was the most of any forward on the squad.

He also provided a good point man for the team’s struggling power play unit, and if he can continue to do that, then the team should be in a lot better shape with the man-advantage.

First Star: Troy Brouwer

It’s hard to believe how good Troy looked on the ice tonight. Rarely is #22 looked at as an offensive force, but he certainly was that tonight, tallying the game-winning goal in the third period, and also assisting on two other tallies for the Hawks.

Known more for his suffocating defense and physical style, Brouwer led the scoring brigade tonight, helping out the power play immensely and shouldering the burden of helping an offense that hasn’t scored much recently.

It’s role players like Brouwer that make success for the rest of the guys possible, and he certainly deserved PIB’s First Star honors, as well as the First Star honors in the game itself.

The Hawks next take the ice on Wednesday night when they face the Colorado Avalanche at the United Center. The puck will drop at 7:30pm CST, and the game can be seen on Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

As a side note, it is Bobby Hull Heritage Night at the United Center, so tune in early for the festivities honoring the Golden Jet.

Tags: Andrew Ebbett, Anze Kopitar, Bobby Hull, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, John Madden, Jonathan Toews, Los Angeles Kings, marian hossa, Troy Brouwer, Willie Mitchell