Now that the election and World Series are over, let’s talk hockey

Hey there, don’t panic. Yes, everything is very bright, and you may see what appears to be a white light. It’s OK to move toward it. You’re just looking at ice for the first time in a long time.

See, while the Chicago Cubs were riding roughshod through October toward a World Series championship and the election was slowly killing us for months, you didn’t have time to prepare yourself for hockey season.

Totally understandable.

Yet the Blackhawks’ season has been underway for a while now. You’re just going to have to jump in. I’m sure you have some questions. Let’s go through it together.

Are the Blackhawks good again?

Well, kind of. Chicago (9-3-1, 19 points) is on a six-game winning streak, and goaltender Corey Crawford has been lights-out as of late, which has helped catapult the Hawks to the top of a strong Central Division.

But things have been shaky. The penalty kill (65.2 percent, last in the NHL) has mostly been a disaster. For a while it looked as though the Hawks were just a one-line team again — possession numbers are way down, and the six rookies were pulling more weight than the core veterans.

Wait, the Hawks are playing six rookies?

Yeah. And they’ve been quite fun to watch, for the most part.

Forwards Tyler Motte (three goals, three assists) and Nick Schmaltz (one goal, two assists) have an incredible knack for driving to the net and deking defensemen, while Ryan Hartman (two goals, one assist) has provided energy up and down the ice, including some toughness around the net. He’s been a mainstay on the third line for some time now, and it seems he really bought into the role.

Will this Hartman guy replace the Andrew Shaw–sized hole in my heart?

You’re damn right he will.

There are also rookies Vinnie Hinostroza, — who has yet to score a point and has been a healthy scratch lately — along with defensemen Gustav Forsling and Michal Kempny.

Wonderful. But if the core veterans weren’t scoring much, who was?

Richard Panik and Artem Anisimov. Seriously.

Panik (six goals, four assists) was one of the most consistent scorers the Hawks had in October, while Anisimov (eight goals, nine assists) is leading the league in both points and goals while riding an 11-game scoring streak.

Patrick Kane (five goals, 11 assists) has stepped his game up as of late, which has made all the difference, but Jonathan Toews (four goals, six assists) struggled to collect points in the early going.

I guess it makes sense that Anisimov and Kane are scoring so much since they’re on the same line.

They’re not on the same line anymore.

After losing to Calgary at the end of October, and with Toews and Marian Hossa (six goals, five assists) struggling to score, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville broke up the dynamic Artemi Panarin–Anisimov-Kane line to put Toews and Kane together — think of it as the $20 Million Line. Hossa moved to right wing alongside Panarin and Anisimov and, well, the Hawks have won six straight.

So these lines will stay consistent until the scoring stops or the Hawks lose a game.

See! You know this team!

I guess Chicago is pretty unbeatable with Panik and Anisimov scoring so much.

Relative to the six-game winning streak? Sure. But the regression will come, and for Panik it has already started. He’s had only one point in the past five games.

Quenneville had Panik playing alongside Toews and Kane on the top line but switched him with fourth-liner Schmaltz midway through Sunday’s win against Dallas.

What was that you said about the penalty kill being worst in the league?

Oh yeah. That unit was trash for the first few weeks of the season. At one point it had successfully killed off just nine of 21 power plays. Here’s a good breakdown of what went so horribly wrong to start the year.

It has since gotten much better. Chicago completed 15 straight kills until snapping that streak Sunday night.

How’s the power play doing?

Sitting at a cool 20.4 percent. Good for 11th in the league.

Am I allowed to say anything bad about Crawford?

If you want to. But you’ll look like a fool.

Even with a rough start to the year for the whole team, Crawford has looked rather unbeatable. He’s rocking a 93.6 save percentage — fifth-best in the league among goalies with five or more games played.

However, that jumps up to 97.6 percent if you look at how he’s fared at even strength — the penalty kill struggles distorted his numbers a bit.

Can I see some stats?

49.5 percent — Hawks’ Corsi for percentage, right in the middle of the league.

56.9 percent — Panarin’s Corsi for percentage, tops for Chicago.

42.4 percent — Gustav Forsling’s Corsi for percentage, worst among Hawks who have played in at least 11 games.

106.5 — Chicago’s PDO

3.54 — Average goals for per game

2.46 — Average goals against per game

49.5 percent — Faceoff win percentage

Four — Games this season in which the Blackhawks have outshot their opponents

Thank you so much. I feel ready to dive back in. I guess the only thing I want to know now is if there have been any adorable moments with the child of a Hawks player …

The Hossa Honk! Oh man, I almost forgot.