DENVER — Five months into this season, Boris Katchouk has finally found his niche on the Blackhawks and his recipe for success on the ice.

His forechecking ability has emerged as one of the Hawks’ brightest spots of March.

Obviously, coach Luke Richardson would’ve loved for Katchouk to discover that earlier, but the assertiveness with which he’s suddenly playing is nonetheless rewarding to see.

“He’s moving his feet, skating well and using his big body,” Richardson said. “The big difference for him now is he’s doing all those right things, but [he also has] confidence when he’s getting the puck back and making plays — instead of maybe tossing it away quick [like a] hot potato.”

“This has really boosted his confidence. Even when he makes a play that’s not the right play, he’s into the game and he knows that and he can self-correct. Even if we talk to him, he already knows. That’s a good sign.”

Katchouk’s line with Jujhar Khaira at center and Joey Anderson on the opposite wing has indeed been ridiculously good over the past couple weeks.

They were officially promoted from the fourth to third line based on warmups order, but Richardson recently joked he “might want to say they’re the first line right now.”

In 84 minutes together at five-on-five (entering Monday) since being united in practice March 3, they boast a 56.0% shot ratio and 57.3% scoring-chance ratio and have outscored opponents 6-1.

Individually, all three of them boast scoring-chance ratios above 52.0% over the last eight games, whereas every other Hawks forwards sits at or below 42.0% over the same time period. They’ve been carrying the team on their backs.

“We’re talking before every game to see what our tendencies are, and we’re just picking up off each other’s reads,” Katchouk said.

Anderson has greatly exceeded expectations since coming over from the Maple Leafs, exemplifying yet again general manager Kyle Davidson’s strong ability to identify underappreciated players in other organizations. Khaira, meanwhile, has seamlessly returned from injury and adjusted to playing center.

But Katchouk’s surge has been perhaps most surprising of all, considering how much he had struggled — and how little he had played — before this explosion.

He entered Monday having recorded many points (six) in his last six games as he had in his previous 39 games. Furthermore, 38% of his total shots and 29% of his total scoring chances this season have come just during this six-game span.

“I’m definitely getting a lot more opportunity,” he said. “My confidence is riding high right now.”

His goal last week against the Bruins — embarrassing Derek Forbort with a slick deke before sniping the top corner — looked more like a Connor McDavid highlight. Nothing demonstrated his growing confidence better.

But for the most part, Katchouk has made his contributions not with highlight-reel plays but rather with unheralded forechecking maneuvers. He ranks third on the Hawks in both forecheck pressures and recovered dump-ins per minute, per All Three Zones data.

He and Anderson, in particular, have scored several goals recently by terrorizing opponents below the goal line, forcing turnovers and then crashing the crease.

“It’s just [about either] forcing them to go up the wall or forcing them to go behind the net,” he said. “The first forechecker forces them one way, and then the second guy is right behind in close support to get the puck.”

As the Hawks’ front office begins looking toward next season, the fact Katchouk has turned this season from one to forget into one of substantial growth has to be encouraging.

He will more likely than not be sticking around, since he has another year under contract at a cheap $758,000 salary-cap hit.