NHL Power Rankings: Most captivating game for each team in March

There are several reasons a general manager fires an assistant coach the way Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman whacked Mike Kitchen this week, and almost none of the fallout is good. One reason is to threaten the head coach with his job if a particular assistant isn’t canned after a bad event, such as a top seed getting swept by the last team in the playoffs, even if that head coach is a three-time Stanley Cup-winner and sure-fire Hall-of-Famer. Another reason is to prompt the head coach to resign after his usual control of assistant coaches is usurped. Another is that it was a necessary move that the head coach was too close to properly evaluate. Yet another reason is for the GM to cover his backside

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The Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane is among many players setting the pace early in the season. Can they keep it going the entire season?