Patrick Kane, Connor Bedard and Roman Kantserov came to a realization while watching video clips before Blackhawks practice last Friday.
"We looked at our rushes and, as a line, we were like, 'Let's get someone to drive the middle of the ice,'" Kane said.
Added coach Jeff Blashill: "It’s hard to get some of the seam passes to open up because you don’t have that middle drive."
As they crossed the red line during a third-period rush Saturday, they successfully put that plan into action. Kantserov turned on his jets and pushed back Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist with a center-lane drive, allowing Bedard — skating with the puck down the right wing — to find Kane wide-open with a perfect pass.
That's a great example of the value of ample video review and practice time for the 3-6-0 Hawks, who are not only young but also don't have a ton of familiarity with each other yet.
Since Monday marked the first of three consecutive practices before their next game Friday, this week offers a prime opportunity for more breakthroughs.
Knowing that, Kane, Bedard and Kantserov all hit the ice early to work on further refining their rush strategies.
"Now it's like, 'OK, how can we do that and get the puck carrier to the middle of the ice if there's space?'" Kane said.
"When you watch guys around the league, sometimes it's just as simple as your first touch on a puck, bringing it to the middle of the ice. That sets you up for space instead of taking it wide, [because] maybe then you get squeezed off."
What a pass from Bedard but Kane puts it wide: pic.twitter.com/z5GEflOmCr
— BHF (@BlackhawksFocus) October 18, 2026
Kane is also personally using this week to think about how to bear down on chances. Through nine games, the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer is stuck on one goal — which he scored all the way back in the opener — and four assists.
During his five-on-five ice time, he has only two points, and the Hawks have been outscored 11-2 and outshot 75-47.
Only three of those games have been with Bedard, and he and Kane have shown promise together, even though the analytics don't yet reflect it.
But Kane is responsible for his own finishing, and he hasn't been satisfied with that. He was especially upset about missing the net on that aforementioned third-period chance Saturday.
"The production and numbers aren't there, so obviously that's disappointing," Kane said. "It's not a dream start for me. But I still think there's moments throughout the game where there's times you could create. [The] numbers could be a little bit different.
"Even last game, you're coming out of the rink pissed off, and then you watch it over and it's like, 'There's some moments there where the game could've changed and you could've been on the scoresheet.' [Like when] Roman's in front, he has an open net and [his shot] hits [Lundkvist's] leg and the post."
Leadership-wise, Kane has spent recent weeks reminding his younger teammates that "everyone's in here for a reason," encouraging them to remain confident in their unique skills and playing styles.
He mentioned several examples Monday of that paying off: Bedard "coming back and playing well," Kantserov scoring twice last Tuesday, Artyom Levshunov scoring in overtime last Thursday, Frank Nazar "flying" and Anton Frondell looking "like he's going to be a big-time player."
Kane believes the Hawks' lingering problems stem more from mistakes or poor execution of systems than from flaws in the roster. And those could be reduced by simply finding ways to "take the risk out of our game."
"I don't think it's a talent issue at all, to be honest," he added. "It's just the way we're playing.
"You see a lot of mistakes either come when we have the puck on our sticks or give up odd-man rushes when there's no need to."
