The Blackhawks were able to leap-frog the Minnesota Wild and take control of the NHL Central Division this evening with their 4-2 victory over the trendy Montreal Canadiens who had won six out of their last seven games. There was no shortage of subplots to be mindful of throughout this tilt, a couple of which will likely affect the Hawks moving forward. Let’s touch on a few.
1. The Blackhawks’ defensive pairings were once again juggled.
Coaches Joel Quenneville and Mike Kitchen went ahead and did what they’ve become notorious for this time of the year and mixed up the Hawks’ top four pairings when they partnered Duncan Keith with Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook with Johnny Oduya.