ANALYSIS: Toews, Kane Lead Blackhawks Response in Comeback OT Loss to Avs

It would be easy to look at the last five games against crucial Western Conference opponents and see that the Blackhawks haven't posted a win (0-2-3), but Tuesday's overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche was a defining performance for the team -- one that proved that the group is still in the fight and can hold their own in any game when they play their way.
The Avalanche took an early two-goal lead at the United Center before Chicago pushed back, leading 3-2 early in the third period. A late bouncing equalizer by the visitors and a highlight-reel move to cap a thrilling overtime was all that stood in the way of the full payoff for the Blackhawks in the comeback bid.
Colorado moved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games with the victory, tied for the best such stretch in the league.

POSTGAME LINKS
GAMECENTER: CHI vs. COL
RECAP: Blackhawks Drop Division Battle to Avalanche in OT, 4-3
HIGHLIGHTS: Blackhawks vs. Avalanche
GALLERY: Blackhawks vs. Avalanche
"We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the league there," defenseman Calvin de Haan said. "I think there's a lot of positives we can build off of. We'll watch some game tape tomorrow and look at the negatives, but overall I thought it was a pretty good game. At the end of the day it sucks to lose, but I think we lost the right way. We played a really good game."
"First period, I didn't think we were too bad, we just made some mistakes early and then we cleaned it up," interim head coach Derek King said. "We held our own with one of the top teams in the league."

COMPETE LEVEL

The performance in the overtime loss was a night-and-day improvement for the Blackhawks over their previous two outings to start the new year, a pair of lopsided losses.
For a team struggling with confidence, an early two-goal hole on home ice against one of the league's best could've very well been the end of the game. But Chicago came out flying in the second, outshooting the Avs 17-7 while pulling a goal back in the second, and then capitalizing on a pair of Colorado penalties in the third to make it a whole new game.
"I think we all wanted to show up for each other tonight, " Toews said. "I think these first two games back, at times we've played good hockey, but not solid enough for 60 and when things fall apart, it's kind of a tough feeling that we have to battle. I think we were maybe a little bit tentative in that first period, but after that we just settled in and started playing our way and supporting each other and things started clicking a little bit."
"Exactly what we wanted to see as a staff," King said, "and I'm sure that's exactly what they wanted to see as a team -- respond, prepared, ready to play and they stuck together the whole time."

KANE THE CATALYST

Alex DeBrincat will rightfully warrant a lot of headlines after burying his 19th and 20th goals of the season in his 33rd skate, both power-play tallies within a 40-second span to tie and then take the lead in the third period. But the goals were byproducts of elite plays made by none other than Patrick Kane, the primary assist man on each.
On the first goal, it was Kane with a quick one-touch slap pass, receiving a cross-ice feed from Seth Jones and then immediately dishing it back across the ice to DeBrincat for a one-timer to tie the game during a 5-on-3. Seconds later, Kane picked up a drop pass while bursting into the offensive zone, drove the goal line while pulling a pair of Avs with him and then found the late-trailing DeBrincat in the high slot for a quick wrister and a lead.
"They're dynamic players," King said of the duo. "I thought Kaner, he was flying out there. That's the fastest I've seen him skate since I've been here. He was focused and he wanted to win this hockey game."

O CAPTAIN

Toews is clearly feeling more like himself over the last month of action. He scored Chicago's first goal of the night to pull back into the game in the second period, had a pair of near-misses for the game-winner at the end of regulation and again in OT off the post, and was all over the ice for the Blackhawks on the night overall.
"He was hungry. He was moving; I thought he had some jump. He was winning those puck battles. He was making plays,' King said. "That's one of the better hockey games I've seen him play this year."
"I've got to be happy with the chances, but you want to see those go in," Toews said of his chances to call game. "Those are big chances that you've got to find ways to feel that knack and feel like you're going to get that bounce and get lucky, make the goalie make a stop and score a big goal."
With his goal in the second, Toews briefly pulled even for the Blackhawks lead in goals (4) and points (5) over the last eight games -- that is until DeBrincat and Kane did their thing to break the tie in each category, DeBrincat now with 6 goals and 6 points, and Kane with 7 points.
Given his slow start to the season after an entire season away last year, it's easy to see the difference in the captain.
"I feel like I'm improving a little bit day by day and just trying to stay patient," he said. "At this time of the year, too, when you play three, four games in a week or whatever it is, you're never going to feel perfect. Not looking for that, just trying to find more consistently and using my energy a little smarter, being a little heavier on the puck and letting plays develop instead of being a little too quick, a little impatient with the puck out there. Definitely feeling better out there in that sense."
Toews remains a stalwart on the faceoff dot as well, going 13-for-23 to bring his season success rate to 59.3%, the third-highest of his career (59.9% in 2012-13, 59.4% in 2011-12). He was fifth in the NHL coming into the night at the dot (min. 400 faceoffs).