When the team's performance slips a coach can always get the blender out and start mixing up the line combinations, hoping to find a bit of a spark. In addition to that spark, the Blackhawks are just trying to find some balance. They've been pushing their top players like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews so much that it's time to get some help from others, specifically in the bottom six.
"We need [our top lines] to produce and when they don't it's hard for us to win," said Colliton. "We welcome secondary scoring and positive shifts and playing in the offensive zone from the other lines. Even if they just do that it's going to help the whole team to control the momentum of the game and control the tempo of the game better than we have."
The high-octane offensive production from the top forwards has cooled off a bit of late, as has the team's overall performance.
"We've been riding them pretty hard," Colliton said. "That's how we've gotten in the position we're in, close to a playoff spot. They were coming through and they were playing a lot. That's sort of how we got back in the race. But production has dropped off a little bit, whether that's because they're tired or it's just tough to keep that pace up for a long period of time. Now we're going to build the lineup a little different, potentially."
Enter Kampf. If the forward could return it would give Colliton and Co. a few more options for combinations. The bench boss specifically mentioned reuniting Kampf with Marcus Kruger and Brandon Saad, a line he utilized in matchups earlier this season that freed up the other trios to produce more.
"Potentially getting Kampfy back, that allows us to maybe have a little more balance in our lineup," Colliton said.
The lines at practice on Wednesday were as follows:
Saad-Toews-Hayden
DeBrincat-Strome-Perlini
Kahun-Anisimov-Kane
Kunitz-Kampf-Kruger
Colliton called the lines a "test run" so don't be surprised if they look different during warmups on Thursday.
