from Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times,

Ken Hitchcock is as surprised as anybody that his St. Louis Blues have kept Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Andrew Ladd off the scoresheet through the first three games of their first-round series with the Blackhawks.

Both sides seem to think it’s only a matter of time before they break through.

“Let me put it this way — since I’ve come into the league, I’ve been concerned that they’re going to break through,” Hitchcock joked. “So nothing’s changed. They’re good. They’re strong. They’ve got definition in those two lines; they’re completely different. One does it off the rush, and one does it off the cycle. … You’re never going to be able to eliminate [them].”

The Hawks’ top two lines have generated so many scoring chances in the last two games, particularly during the wide-open second period of Game 3, that Hitchcock said the Blues looked like the hapless Washington Generals chasing them around. Kane has 13 shots on goal through three games. Ladd and Toews have 12 each, and Hossa has 11 — and for that trio, many of them have come from close range, with goaltender Brian Elliott bailing out the Blues defense. The top line had nine scoring chances in Game 3 alone, and Kane had three more, according to war-on-ice.com.

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