Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton retooled the second line a few games ago and on Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks. The move paid off.
Alex Nylander, Dylan Strome and Patrick Kane collaborated on four goals in the second period of Tuesday's 6-2 win, which extended the Hawks' winning streak to three games.
Outside of their beneficial production against the Ducks and the potential for future success as a trio, the game gave Strome and Nylander a much-needed confidence boost.
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Strome had two goals and an assist in the contest, the first of which came at 3:46 of the second period to give Chicago a 2-0 lead. His first marker on Tuesday also helped him end a 14-game goal drought.
"From Dylan's perspective, for say the last couple weeks, he's getting better all the time and it's just a matter of time," Colliton said following Thursday's morning skate. "Now the challenge is to keep that going and keep building on it, and that'll help us."
Kane and Nylander each had a goal and an assist against Anaheim. Nylander had 21 points in 60 games with the Hawks this season before the outing. The forward shows flashes of a high-skill level, but has struggled with consistency his first year with the Blackhawks.
Nylander know how to achieve positive results, it's just a matter of doing it.
NHL
"I'm moving my feet out there, I have the puck on my stick, I'm making plays, giving and going and just playing a simple game I think is when I play my best. And [trying] to get to the shooting areas and [trying] to get shots off."
The pair, as well as their teammates, will need all the confidence they can get as they face the Edmonton Oilers, who sit in second place in the Pacific Division, at the United Center Thursday night. Oilers forwards Leon Draisaitl (108 points) and Connor McDavid (95 points) rank first and second for most points in the NHL.
"Just need consistency from shift to shift," Colliton said of trying to solve Edmonton. "Start the game on time. And the periods of the game where they have control, we have to weather the storm and get it turned as quickly as we can.
"And the details will help you, your play away from the puck, your work ethic away from the puck, managing the puck when we have it, being an option, wanting to share the load as far as carrying the puck from zone to zone. Those are all things we can do to help ourselves be more consistent."
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