Don’t Mean to Be Critical but…
Yeah, I really don’t mean to be critical but I can’t help but notice that the Blackhawks have been struggling the past few games. Is it because it’s mid-season and other teams are on to the Hawks’ strategy? Is it because the Hawks have had so many injuries and there are too many players working at a deficit? Are they just tired? What is it???
Patrick Kane in particular really seems to be struggling. Unlike all the other hockey pundits who believe it’s because of Kane’s twisted ankle a handful of games ago, my thinking is that there is more to it than that. Seems to me that Kane has struggled getting to the net for a while. (And while he is still a leading scorer, maybe that’s because his teammates set him up quite a bit.) Are we really surprised by this? He’s so small at only 175 pounds. And though this is his weight according to the Blackhawks website, does anyone really believe he weighs even that much?
Kane is not a scrapper either unlike the only other smaller forward, Kris Versteeg, with a height/weight comparable to Kane’s. So strategically speaking, doesn’t it just make good sense for opponents to target not only one of the top scorers on the Hawks, but the top scorer who also happens to be the smallest on the team? Sure, it’s well known that Patrick Kane does not scrap, but clearly opposing teams are zeroing in on him for dirty hits and very hard checks anyway. But how long can Kane survive without defending himself? Or maybe the better question is, how long can Kane’s teammates be expected to run to his aid every time he is manhandled? It’s almost as if Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews must shadow Kane because they are certainly there the instant Kane takes a dirty hit or even a hard check.
I used to think it was just me, but now I’m hearing it from other fans at the game that Patrick Kane may just be too small to hold his own out there on the ice with the big boys. That would be a horrible shame because Chicago has embraced Patrick Kane as one of their own. Kane and Toews are two of the best reasons for the revival of not only the Hawks themselves but of hockey in Chicago. Maybe Patrick Kane can find himself some of that Weight Gain 4000 that Eric Cartman downed to become a “BEEFCAAAAKE!” Kaner is going to have to do something (like put some lead in his shorts), because I know this fan fears he may get a more severe injury than a twisted ankle if he doesn’t.