When the Blackhawks and Washington Capitals face off Wednesday night at the United Center, the league’s future will be on display.
Three of the NHL’s top rookies, the Hawks’ Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and the Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom, will be on the same stage.
Kane and Backstrom are locked in a battle for the rookie scoring title with Kane leading 62-61 entering the game.
“It would be nice to get a few [points] on him,” Kane said after Tuesday’s practice. “More importantly we have to get two points. He’s obviously a good player and he’s helping that team out a lot. From watching their games, him and [Alex] Ovechkin seem to have some chemistry.”
Entering Tuesday night’s play, Toews is second among rookie goal scorers with 20, one behind Phoenix’s Peter Mueller, despite missing 18 games with injuries. He has 47 points in 55 games.
Hawks coach Denis Savard already has decided who the front-runners are for the Calder Trophy, given to the league’s rookie of the year.
“My guys,” Savard said. “Our little guy (Kane) has played well. Toews, with everything that has happened this year, he probably would have ended with 30 goals if he would have stayed healthy. And he’s a great leader. All those three kids are good. Certainly all three will be one, two and three.”
Alex the great
The Hawks will have to find a way to shut down the league’s most explosive offensive player in Ovechkin, who leads the league in goals with 58 and points with 102.
“The biggest thing is his shot,” Kane said. “It’s so deadly. We were watching power-play clips the other day of him and he has a bomb. Another thing that makes him so deadly is he just loves to score. He celebrates after every goal like it’s his first so it makes hockey fun. He’s definitely fun to watch.”
Ovechkin could become the first player since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in 1995-96 to reach 60.
“Not a lot of teams have stopped him from scoring,” defenseman Brent Seabrook said. “You have to play him tough and try to take away his ability to shoot the puck. We need to get in his lane and take away his shots and block his shots and get sticks on pucks.”
Sitting out
Seabrook said he understood Savard’s decision to bench him during the third period of Sunday’s 4-2 loss to Calgary. Seabrook made two turnovers that led directly to goals by Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf.
“Both were definitely the result of what I was doing and I think [Savard] felt he needed to sit me down,” Seabrook said. “I felt good going into the game and felt like I was prepared. After the one bad pass to Iginla and the goal it just snowballed from there and I just lost my confidence.”
One-timers
Savard said Nikolai Khabibulin will start in goal against the Capitals. … Yanic Perreault is scheduled to play on the top line with Robert Lang and Jason Williams. Perreault will replace Kevyn Adams in the lineup.
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ckuc@tribune.com
