Hawks change up lines, pair Kane and Toews together originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
With the Blackhawks on a seven-game winless skid, head coach Luke Richardson changed up his lines for Tuesday's practice, which most notably included Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews playing together for the first time all season.
"It’s been done before but I haven’t done it, so let’s try it," Richardson said. "I think that makes the most sense. I saw a lot of speed out of both those lines. Let’s see what they’re going to be able to bring in a game."
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Kane and Domi had been on a line together for the first 21 games, but they are expected to be separated for Wednesday's contest against the Edmonton Oilers. Domi is now centering the second line with Philipp Kurashev and Taylor Raddysh while Andreas Athanasiou remains on the first line with Kane and Toews.
"We've played together before, so I know his tendencies of course and what he likes to do out there and where he's good on the ice," Kane said. "Even with Max, I think we've been snakebitten a little bit. We've had some looks, we've had some chances, it just hasn't went in for us, so hopefully we can get some bounces and get back on track."
The Athanasiou-Domi-Kane trio had several high-quality chances in Sunday's 7-2 loss to Winnipeg, which was probably one of the line's better performances of late. But they just couldn't capitalize on them, and at some point a mini shake-up was necessary.
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"I mentioned to all the guys this morning and they’re all good with it," Richardson said. "I think they realize there has to be some shuffling and changes just to change things up. Let’s rock the boat and get things going in the right direction."
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