RISING
1. Patrick Sharp, forward: Sharp was recognized for his play last week by being named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week on Monday. He led the league with six assists and seven points in three games. His most productive outing came Saturday when he had four assists against the Dallas Stars. He has also matched his 13-game October total of eight points in just five games in November. He has four goals and 12 assists on the season.
2. Corey Crawford, goaltender: Crawford has been carrying the goaltending load with Nikolai Khabibulin struggling in his recent starts. Crawford has started the team’s last five games and played in their last eight. He’s gone 4-0-1 with a 2.20 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in his last five starts. Of the four goals he allowed against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, only one of them came at even strength. He has a .933 save percentage when at even strength this season.
3. Duncan Keith, defenseman: Keith has continued to be his steady self throughout November. He has one goal, four assists and a plus-5 rating in five games this month. Keith has been one of the team’s leading shooters and had some assists to show for it, but not a goal until Sunday, when he got his first of the season. He has 51 shots on goal, 21 shots blocked and 20 missed shots this season.
FALLING
1. Penalty kill: The Blackhawks’ penalty kill was surging forward, especially after killing off 6-of-6 penalties on Saturday, but then they allowed two power-play goals on two chances to the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday and lost that momentum. The Oilers came into Sunday’s game with a 15.5 power-play percentage. The Blackhawks are no longer last in penalty-kill percentage -- the New York Islanders are there at 72.9 percent -- but the Blackhawks are second to last at 74.5 percent and still have some issues to figure out.
2. Jeremy Morin, forward: Morin has fallen out of Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville’s good graces. Morin was made a healthy scratch in the Blackhawks’ last three games. Not only was Morin scratched, but Quenneville opted to use defenseman Sheldon Brookbank instead of him. Morin hasn’t played since Nov. 3 when he had a minus-1 rating and was given a season-low 7:21 of ice time against the Calgary Flames. He has two assists in five games this season.