It's just past the midpoint of the season for the Blackhawks, which is a good time to examine the first three-plus months for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations yet again.
Which Hawks are on coach Joel Quenneville's good side, and who has work left to make the grade? RedEye takes a look.
TEACHER'S PETS
The Hawks have plenty of these, but headlining them all is Patrick Kane.
He turned 26 in November, if you can believe that, and he's having another terrific season. Kane leads the Hawks in scoring with 51 points through 47 games (22 goals) and has a plus-9 rating. He's the Reggie Jackson of the team's second line, the "straw that stirs the drink."
Others sitting at the front of the class include captain Jonathan Toews, Brad Richards, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Brandon Saad, whose 15 goals are second only to Kane.
Goalies Corey Crawford, Antti Raanta and Scott Darling (currently in the AHL) also stood out, but the teacher's pet in net goes to first-year goaltending coach Jimmy Waite. The younger brother of former Hawks goaltending coach Stephane Waite has re-established many of the same work habits as his brother and puts his own impressive twists on the job.
OVERACHIEVERS
Three defensemen have earned this designation.
The dependable Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson, the team's No. 2 defenseman pairing, were asked to do quite a bit this season. The Nick Leddy trade forced Quenneville to deploy them in even more tough defensive-zone situations than usual. They responded well for the most part.
The same can be said for Rozsival, whose durability has surprised even him at age 36. He's missed only two of 28 games since rookie partner Trevor van Riemsdyk went down with a fractured kneecap (which is as painful as it sounds).
SEE 'PROFESSOR Q' AFTER CLASS
Energetic pest Andrew Shaw is usually a teacher's pet. Right now he's in the doghouse. His eight goals and six assists could be higher, but the bigger concern is the "minus-9" next to his name in the 44 gameshe's played this season.
The slightly-built Shaw, a scrappy fifth-round draft pick, succeeded in the NHL because he usually lives in the "dirty" areas of the ice. Once he gets that nasty streak back, he'll be one of the professor's favorites again.
Another underachiever for most of the first half was Bryan Bickell, but he saved his semester grades in the past few weeks. The guy Quenneville calls "Pickles" has been a lot more physical lately and has contributed more offensively. That's no coincidence. Crawford has some work left as well after his ill-fated ankle injury suffered at a concert that cost him two weeks while he recovered.
AT THE NURSES' OFFICE
Kris Versteeg was in the middle of a nice bounce-back season before a shot hit him in the left hand Jan. 1. He's still a few weeks from playing again, but his return will create an interesting roster decision. Will the Hawks return talented rookie Teuvo Terevainen to Rockford or will they clear a spot by dispatching somebody else?
The aforementioned van Riemsdyk, who had a solid start to his career, is improving but has a long road ahead. Look for him to return in March, possibly a few weeks before the playoffs.
'I' STANDS FOR INCOMPLETE
Patrick Sharp was heating up before he got hurt Nov. 4 in Montreal. The injury, thought to be a knee sprain, kept him out for a month. He scored six goals and had nine assists in 20 games since returning.The Hawks need him to keep up the scoring pace in the final two-plus months.
NHL ALL-STAR GAME
Featuring Blackhawks Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford
4 p.m. Sunday, NBC Sports
Brian Hedger is a RedEye special contributor. @brianhedger