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With Kane out, Toews lighting it up offensively

Chicago Blackhawks v Toronto Maple Leafs

TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 01: Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates up the ice with the puck during NHL game action against the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 1, 2014 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

Known more for his two-way play than pure offensive exploits, Chicago captain Jonathan Toews has shown off the latter in the wake of Patrick Kane’s broken collarbone -- in the 10 games since Kane went down to injury, Toews has five goals and 10 points.

“I’ve been looking to score more all season,” Toews said, per the Chicago Tribune. “With Kaner gone that definitely adds to it, but even if he was in the lineup I’d still be looking for more production out of myself.”

Though he’s been close to a point-a-game player throughout his career, Toews’ offense was a bit lacking through portions of this season. December and January were real dry spells in terms of goals -- Toews scored just five over a stretch of 27 games -- and it’s clear the ‘Hawks needed Toews to step up in that department, especially with Kane out (he was on pace for a career high in goals this year) and Patrick Sharp well below his usual clip (a four-time 30-goal scorer, Sharp has just 12 this season.)

But a bigger test awaits in the playoffs.

Kane’s scoring exploits in the postseason are well-known, and will obviously be missed. Toews stepped up last year -- with nine goals in 17 games -- after a Stanley Cup run in 2013 where he rarely found the back of the net; he scored just three times in 23 games and it’s clear that can’t happen again if the ‘Hawks want to make another deep run.

Toews is hopeful that this recent stretch of production will carry over.

“I’ve been talking about looking for a breakout all season,” he explained. “At this point, the games are just getting tough, so you have to go out there and fight for every bounce and every scoring chance you get.”