The Chicago Blackhawks are a long way from the top of their game.
They started to have notable struggles in the win-loss results in the weeks prior to the Olympics. It has not gotten much better since then. The defending Stanley Cup champion are 6-6-1 in their last 13 games, and 13-9-8 since the start of the 2014 portion of the schedule.
The news got worse last week when Patrick Kane suffered an apparent knee injury in the team's 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Blues. Kane has been placed on the long-term injured reserve list, and he is not expected to play again until the start of the playoffs.
Kane is perhaps the team's second-best player, behind Jonathan Toews, and easily their most exciting offensive force. He had gotten off to a brilliant start in the first half of the season when he was competing with Sidney Crosby for the league lead in scoring, and while he had slowed down a bit, Kane was still having an exceptional year.
Kane scored 29 goals and 40 assists in 69 games before his injury sent him to the trainer's room. Kane contributed in all situations, as he had been averaging 20:37 of ice time per game ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
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