STREAKING
1. Marian Hossa: Like everyone else he cooled off some over the weekend but his recent move to the top line has been a boon for him and that trio. He’s taken over the team lead in points (23) and is among the league leaders after earning points in six straight games. He’s had multi-point nights in three of them and continues to make the players around him better. Jonathan Toews and Viktor Stalberg have a combined 15 points in seven games since Hossa was added to their line. Save a poor defensive moment in the third period in Calgary on Friday, he’s been sound on both ends of the ice and on special teams.
2. Nick Leddy: With a quarter of the season complete, Nick Leddy is the surprise leader in points among defensemen with 15. His rushes up the ice with the puck are becoming second nature for the 20 year-old. Several of his 13 assists have been the result of direct plays when he set up teammates. His shot from the point is getting better as well. With seven points in his last six games he hasn’t let up after a hot start.
SLUMPING
1. Duncan Keith: Sometimes the box score does tell the whole story. After being on the ice for 11-of-14 goals scored against the Hawks this past weekend, not much more needs to be said. Not all the goals were his fault, of course, but as a main line defenseman, and with his partner Brent Seabrook out of the lineup, Keith needs to do more to stop plays before they become dangerous scoring chances. He went from plus-9 to plus-1 in a matter of 24 hours. It wasn’t long ago he was on a hot streak, but the weekend's struggles negated those positives.
2. Steve Montador: Last week he was streaking but like Keith the weekend derailed his fine play. Minus-6 over the last two games, he didn’t do much to offset the goals scored by the opposition. Overall his offensive numbers are impressive but Joel Quenneville has said many times that Montador is judged first and foremost as a defensive player, not by his offense. He allowed Ales Hemsky to get around him on the Edmonton Oilers' first goal a minute into the game Saturday, which set the tone for a second consecutive bad night in the Hawks’ end. Filling in for the injured Seabrook, Montador hasn’t been the answer defensively.