Toews rebound season helping Blackhawks to surprising start

CHICAGO -- Jonathan Toews is looking more like himself these days.

The Chicago Blackhawks captain leads the team with seven goals, is playing good minutes and winning face-offs.
Is he playing his best hockey right now?
"No," Toews said with a smile.
That aside, the 34-year-old forward is pretty happy with where his game is. Toews' rebound has been a welcome sight for the Blackhawks (6-7-3), who have gotten off to a solid start in a rebuild season.
Toews has come a long way from missing the 2020-21 season because of chronic immune response syndrome and then finishing with 12 goals and 37 points in 71 games last season, each the lowest totals of his 15-season NHL career.
In 16 games this season, Toews' 10 points (seven goals, three assists) are third on the Blackhawks. Toews is averaging 17:10 of ice time per game, third among Blackhawks forwards after Patrick Kane (19:51) and Max Domi (18:09).
"I think at this point I feel I'm getting better and better and getting closer and closer to playing the game at a high level and at a level that I feel, maybe, I haven't reached before, because of the experience I've had over the course of my career," he said.
After winning 18 of 23 face-offs in a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, Toews has won 65.4 percent this season; his best success rate for a season is 59.1 percent, in 2012-13.
"He's working hard, he keeps his shifts short," Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said. "He knows that sometimes I rely on him for defensive-zone face-offs, especially at the end of games, one-goal games. We have to count on him. He's really excited to be back playing and feeling healthy again.
"I count on him a lot. I know the team does and I think he expects a lot from himself. There are a lot of things that drive him to be what he is, and he's been the leader so far. So that's great to see."
Defenseman Connor Murphy was around often to see Toews work out this offseason and said the center is back to his usual form.
"He skated a ton, probably more than anyone, doing conditioning skates on the ice," Murphy said.
"To see him kind of be himself around the net, it seems like he gets all those goals [there]. It's hard for guys to defend him. He has that strong, wide base and he knows how to time plays to get to the net and get those plays.
"Like [on his overtime goal against the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 3], it wasn't backdoor, but it was timing for him to know how to maneuver around the slot and around the crease to get pucks. A lot of the best goal scorers in the League are like that, they know how to find the soft areas to be able to get those goals."

Even for someone as confident as Toews, he wasn't sure he'd ever be the player he wanted to be again because of his health problems.
"There were definitely moments of doubt like that, but you just work through them," he said. "I think it's just learning a whole new level of patience and understanding the new challenge ahead of you. It gives you a new appreciation for your health and your body and what you get to do for a living. You really cherish and be grateful for it."
Toews said it's also been a more pleasant season with the Blackhawks playing solid hockey under Richardson. Their sixth win of the season came in their 14th game, when they defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 on Saturday. Last season Chicago lost its first nine games (0-7-2), and coach Jeremy Colliton was fired 12 games into the season. The Blackhawks didn't get their sixth win until their 18th game.
"I think it's always uplifting when all five guys on the ice are playing pretty good hockey together, and we've won some games, we've got some confidence, we're building chemistry as a team," Toews said. "There were situations last year where it felt like chaos and everyone's trying really hard, guys are going in the wrong direction and no one's really complementing each other. That can drain you pretty good too, so I think it's always an energy boost when everyone's on the same page and playing hockey together. It's a lot easier."