Chicago Blackhawks season snapshot fantasy honors

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, a fantasy recap of the Chicago Blackhawks at the pause:

NOTE: Rank for most-valuable fantasy player is based on standard-category production to date.

Fantasy MVP: Patrick Kane, RW (11) -- He is eighth in the NHL with 84 points (33 goals, 51 assists) in 70 games and fourth in even-strength points with 61 behind forwards Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers (71), Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers (66) and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (62). Kane has had at least 76 points in five straight seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks despite inconsistent linemates over the span and is among the NHL leaders in goals (T-11th) and shots on goal (275; sixth) this season. He leads Chicago in goals, assists, points, power-play points (23) and SOG, and he has the best plus/minus (plus-8) among their forwards.

Biggest surprise: Dominik Kubalik, LW/RW -- He leads NHL rookies with 30 goals, 10 more than Buffalo Sabres forward Victor Olofsson and Dallas Stars forward Denis Gurianov, who each has 20. Kubalik ranks second to Kane on Chicago in goals and is third in points (46) behind Kane and frequent linemate Jonathan Toews (60). One of the biggest surprises of the NHL season, going from undrafted on average in fantasy to third among rookies in scoring behind defensemen Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks (53 points) and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche (50). Kubalik has a respectable plus/minus (plus-2) and hits total (79), and he is tied for seventh in the NHL with 26 even-strength goals.

Unsung hero: Duncan Keith, D -- The veteran leads Chicago defensemen in assists (24), points (27), power-play points (11) and multipoint games (five). Those numbers don't stack up with some of Keith's best fantasy seasons over the years, but it's impressive that he still shoulders such a heavy workload (24:23 of ice time per game; 12th in NHL) at 36 years old. Keith leads NHL defensemen with 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in 11 games since Feb. 19 and is plus-8 over that stretch, when he played 26:24 per game, the third-highest average in the NHL behind San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (27:42) and Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse (26:25) in the span.

Listen: Video: SJS@CHI: Kane taps DeBrincat's nice feed home for PPG