Patrick Sharp is Halfway There

Patrick Sharp scored his 25th goal of the season Sunday night in Chicago's 5-0 stomping of the New York Islanders. This matches his goal output from last season, when the Blackhawks had more players to shoulder the goal-scoring load.

"Sharpie" is now halfway to the 50-goal mark. And with 38 games left in the season for the Blackhawks, he can pull it off.

If Sharp scores at a pace of 2 goals in every 3 games, then he'll reach the coveted plateau. He will just need to keep feasting on the weak teams like the Islanders, Senators and Blue Jackets. But as the team's leading scorer, the Blackhawks need Sharp to step up to the tougher teams too.

This upcoming two-week stretch--featuring some of the Western Conference's top teams--will gauge if Sharp can keep pace during the season's second half.