THREE THINGS: M-V-Kane, Hagel at Last and Closing Out

The Blackhawks and Blue Jackets are becoming a must-see matchup in the NHL. Again on Tuesday night, the score was back and forth, with the two teams combining for a double-digit regulation goal total for the second time in three meetings -- the latest a 6-5 shootout decision to the visitors.

In the first Ohio-based tilt, Carl Soderberg, Patrick Kane, Brandon Hagel, Dominik Kubalik and Adam Boqvist all scored in regulation, with Alex DeBrincat scoring the lone goal for either side in the shootout. Kevin Lankinen made 25 stops for his eighth win of the season, none bigger than the five overtime denials and a perfect 3-for-3 in the skills competition.
"Big two points. Team we're battling with for position and we knew it was going to be a hard-fought game," head coach Jeremy Colliton said. "Overall we did a lot of good. We would've loved to kill the game, but we didn't. Got some big saves in overtime to keep us alive and nice to get the shootout win."

Here are three takeaways from the 6-5 win in Columbus:

M-V-KANE?

Kane posted his second four-point night of the season on Tuesday night, with a goal and a trio of primary assists.
"I feel pretty good," he said, casually, after the shootout win. "I got a couple on the power play tonight, which is always nice. Trying to get the puck as much as possible and do what I can to help the team out there."
He now has seven points in his last two games, and 20 games into the year, leads the team in points (30), assists (21) and is tied for the team lead in goals (9). At his current rate, over the course of a full, 82-game slate, Kane would be on pace for some 123 points on the season -- by far a career mark. Even so, he's on pace to match his 84 points from a year ago and do it in 14 fewer games.
It's the second time in his career he's hit 30 points in the first 20 games of the season. The last time he did it, he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player in 2016. There's a case to be made on points alone why he's the most valuable member of this Blackhawks roster, but for his head coach, he deserves it based on so much more.
"Yeah," Colliton said without hesitation then asked if Kane was worthy of the award at this point in the season. "Look at what the expectations were for our team and where everyone had us finishing, and yet we're right there. We're in the battle. Obviously he's a big part of that.
"His production is better than ever, but to me it's all about his work ethic away from the puck… That type of team-first mentality, that's what we're trying to build here… Not only is he doing it, but he's encouraging other guys to do it. I think everyone as a group sees when you do selfless things -- when you're unselfish -- it comes around. When he's driving that, it sure is powerful."

HAGEL AT LAST

Hagel has been one of the brightest spots of the new-look Blackhawks this season. He's grinded from a fourth-line role, waiting through the opening three games of the year to even get into a game, to now occupying a regular position on the second line with a growing ice time total each and every night. Coming into Tuesday's game, he'd done just about everything right over his first 17 games this season, except find the back of the net. And it wasn't for a lack of skill effort or scoring chances. It wasn't a concern in the eyes of coaches or fellow teammates, but something that obviously stuck in the back of the rookie's mind.
"Definitely crosses my mind a little bit, but at the same time I'm trying to state myself as a full-time NHL player, so that's not really one of the things I'm too focused on," he told reporters on Tuesday morning. "I know I can produce at this level, it may not have happened yet, but I'm sure it will."
Just over eight minutes into the second period in Columbus, Hagel's wait was over.
"There's really no words to describe this," he said. "Dream come true. I've dreamt of this my whole life."

The moment came in an unforgettable fashion as well, with future a Hall of Famer in Kane chasing down his own deflected shot behind the goal and finding the wide-open Hagel in the slot with a deft backhand feed from behind the goal line.
"I was really happy for him," the set-up man said postgame. "He's been around the net, he's had a lot of chances and nice to see him put that one in. He shot that one pretty hard. I think he wanted to put it through the net. I'm sure he wanted to get that one off his back."
"No better feeling than getting a pass from a legend as well," Hagel said. "He's going to go down as one of the best in the world, so I'll be able to tell everyone about that one."

CLOSING OUT

For the second time in the last three meetings with the Blue Jackets, it was a back-and-forth goal fest with a tied scoreline at three different stages of the game. On Feb. 11, the Blackhawks gave up a two-goal advantage in the third at home to fall, 6-5. On Tuesday night, they managed to hold on, earning a point in overtime and ultimately taking the second in the shootout.
Against a team that sits now just three points back on an equal 20 games this season, every point is crucial, and it's clear the Central Division playoff race could feature the two teams that slugged it out yet again in an 11-goal contest.
"I just feel like we're giving up these leads late in the third. They're big points," Kane said. "You get up 5-3, you want to finish off the game. They just kept coming and had some chances and ended up tying it up. Obviously nice to get two points but would've been nice to give them nothing."
"We had the lead a few times. They obviously came back, but we stuck with it and we got the two points and that's the most important part," Hagel said. "Of course we want it in regulation, but two points is two points. Just got to keep going... We did enough to win tonight."
The Blue Jackets' comeback for a standings point was fueled by going 3-for-4 on the power play, two each in the second and third periods.
"I thought a lot of what they did to get back in the game was they were good on the power play. They don't get so many power plays and they don't convert, it's a totally different game," Colliton said. "There's a lot of good we can take from the game. We'll obviously address where we let them off the mat a bit, but if we keep getting two points, it's going to add up to where we want to be."