A Playoff Preview?

CHICAGO, IL -- The Blackhawks and Blues face off tonight as the last home game for the Blackhawks.

It's a big game with a lot at stake, seeing that it could mean home-ice advantage for the Hawks with a win. It could also give us a taste of what's to come in the playoffs.

The win won't com easy, though, that's for sure.

With five of the top players out (Keith still on his suspension; Hossa, Crawford, Anisimov and Shaw all still injured), it'll be interesting to see how the Blackhawks make up for the lost teammates.

And, the Blackhawks have had difficulties beating the Blues recently. They won the second and third games against the Blues, but struggled in the opening game of the series and lost in overtime just last month in shootouts.

There are a few things working in the Blackhawks' favor tonight, however.

St. Louis is missing some of their key players, too--their captain, David Backes, and their own starting goalie, Jake Allen. Two players that often cause trouble for the Hawks.

And, to be fair, the Blackhawks have beaten the Blues in two out of four games. The only losses were in overtime, meaning they could catch up from behind and stay with them.

What the Hawks need to watch out for tonight are penalties. Since the Blues are a rival team, it seems to get into their heads and both teams play rougher. However, the Hawks penalty kill has been great since Kruger's return (13 for 13, and two shorthanded goals), should help out.

They need to be careful not to get anyone else injured. With four guys questionable for the next few games, they need that help. Keith will luckily be back in the second game of the playoffs, but injuries need to stop happening right now.

So, it's not a bad outlook. But, the Hawks better step onto the ice prepared to win tonight if they want that second seed and home ice. They play better at home more often than not, and going on the road would not be ideal.

The puck drops at 8:30 pm tonight, and boy, it'll be an interesting one.

EDIT: I stupidly forgot to point out that Bickell was back! Argh! Well, he's back, which might help as he's trying to regain his NHLer status. If he plays well enough, it might be easier to trade him, too, which would mean we could keep Shaw. Yes.

Comments

If You Like This Team, You Might Like... (Part II)

RALEIGH, NC -- Here's the second part to my 'If You Like This Team..." series! Same rules apply, and sound off in the comments if you agree or have other ideas! If you like the LA Kings, you might like... the Pittsburgh Penguins! This one was actually one of the first ones I thought of--the teams seem to kind of be two sides of the same coin. Both teams have a clear winning culture in the past ten or so years (the Penguins have won the Cup in 2009/2016/2017, and the Kings won in 2012/2014), and because of that, most fans don't like either team, or are just sick of seeing them win. However, both teams are also kind of struggling with older core groups of players, and both are likely going to start rebuilding a little over the summer. Even though the Penguins made it to the playoffs this season, with a sweep by the New York Islanders, it's clear something's not quite right with that team, and it'll be interesting to see what the organization deci

Checking In - Breaking Down the Blackhawks' Play Over a Month

CHICAGO, IL — I’m going to be absolutely real with you—I had no idea what to write about for the blog this week. I’ve written about the Blackhawks being good, bad, and everything in between, I’ve written about Patrick Kane a couple times now (#Kane4Hart), and I’ve even written about the best goal celebrations from the Hawks this season. The idea tank is running dry, my friends. So, I thought we could throw it back to a post I made a while back about what the Hawks really needed to do to make the playoffs, and grade them on how well they're meeting all three of those items a couple of weeks later. Let's just get right on into it, shall we? 1) With 27 games left, you have to go 18-9 to get to the 88-90-point range that would potentially get them into the playoffs. So, the Hawks currently sit at 71 points through 70 games, and since the date of this article (February 8th), the Hawks have gone 9-6, which is not terrible, but also only gives them a b

Out for the Count - Blackhawks Miss Playoffs for Second Straight Season

CHICAGO, IL -- Well, we've reached the end of the road, boys. If you haven't heard, the Blackhawks were eliminated from playoff contention with the Colorado Avalanche's win over the Oilers on Tuesday. I'm not going to lie, it's been a fun season. There have been definite highs and lows this season, and at the end of the day, the Hawks are ending on a higher note than they expected to. This season really has been a whirlwind for this team--there was a relatively big group of new guys at the start of the season (Brandon Manning, Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward, Henri Jokiharju, Andreas Martinsen, to name a few), and while some of them didn't stick around, they all left a mark on the team--good or bad, that's for you to decide. Coach Quenneville was fired fairly abruptly in the midst of what would be an eight-game losing streak in early November, and the Hawks brought in rookie coach Jeremy Colliton to replace him. Colliton really has grown on me this season

Sports with Megs

Search This Blog