The Chicago Blackhawks are in a great spot when it comes to the center position.
Stan Bowman says so.
The fact that the 'Hawks skated with 11 forwards in their season opener, a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars, suggests that Bowman's confidence may be a bit misguided. Tell me again why John Madden isn't worth a phone call, Stan?
It would be silly to panic after 60 minutes of hockey. The shorthanded Blackhawks had plenty of offensive opportunities throughout the contest. It just seems odd that Bowman would not be able to fill Joel Quenneville's lineup with an adequate number of centers for the first game.
Friday's centers were Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brandon Pirri, and...well, I guess Jamal Mayers. The fourth line was a potpourri all evening. By the third period, so was the rest of the lineup.
When the going got tough, it was back to Toews, Kane and Patrick Sharp on the first line. And so it will probably go all season. Kane and Marian Hossa generated some prime scoring chances (Hoss had eight shots on the night with Kane adding five), but Quenneville ended the experiment in the final 20 minutes.
And with that, we'v ...
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Article written by Jon Fromi
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