Patrick Kane knows the pressure to win in Chicago.
It's easy to hoist the Stanley Cup one year and be the city's poster boy, but staying on a winning track with fans, well- that's an entirely other battle. (Look at the Bears Jay Cutler, the new star of TMZ!) So, it should come as no surprise Kane wants to rekindle the Blackhawks winning ways following the All-Star break.
"We take two steps forward and one step back," said Kane to the Chicago Tribune. "I still feel we're a real good team but we have work to do to get into the playoffs. It's kind of tough to put a finger on it."
The Blackhawks enter the All-Star break in 7th place, with 56 points in the Western Conference. Basically, if the regular season ended right now, they barely make the playoffs. That's not too much to show for the Stanley Cup team which took Chicago by storm one year ago.
Yes, injuries to core players like Kane and Marian Hossa plagued the Hawks in the first half, but so did a lack of urgency. To turn things around the Hawks, need to pick up the pace and pick up the defense.
"When we increase the pace, I'd say we're pretty dangerous. We just haven't done that often enough," said Kane to the Chicago Tribune.
To win, the Blackhawks need to do it on the road. They head into the All-Star break, 10-7-4 on enemy ice, they head out of the All-Star break with 20 of 32 games on the road.
