What to Expect from the Hawks' Matchups in the First Round

ANAHEIM, CA -- Well, last night wasn't exactly fun.

I didn't really go into that game expecting to win, because without Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, the Hawks just don't fare as well. And that's okay--I would rather have those guys sitting for these last two games to rest up rather than win two games that don't wholly matter in the scheme of things. Because at the end of the day, if those four players had been in the game last night, the Hawks probably would have stood a better chance.

But, we're not here to analyze last night's game. We're here to talk playoffs.

And since the playoffs aren't completely set in stone yet, there's still wiggle room. The St. Louis Blues are still a possible contender, as are the Nashville Predators and the Calgary Flames. The question, then, is who do the Hawks want to face?

There are some obvious pros and cons to each team, obviously.

St. Louis Blues

Facing the Blues first round again would definitely bring back some rough memories. From a fan standpoint, I do not want to see the Blues again, simply because of how the series ended last year. I don't think, though, that the Blues are as strong as they were last year, and the Hawks did win the season series against them this year, tallying wins in three out of the five games this year.

Still, though, the playoffs are a completely different animal. It's hard to know exactly how a team will play in the first round, which can often make for a stressful series.

Overall, I think the Blues are probably the last team the Blackhawks fans would want to see as the match up, but I think the Hawks could feasibly win a series against them.

Nashville Predators

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but it's a little more complicated than that. Sure, in 2015, the Hawks eliminated the Predators in six games, but it certainly wasn't easy, and if it wasn't for Scott Darling, they might not have come out of that series with the win. I think the Hawks could defeat them, possibly in six games again.

The Predators were eliminated in the second round last year by the San Jose Sharks in seven games, so I'd think they'll fight a bit harder to get past the first and second rounds this season. They've definitely been a force to be reckoned with this season (they routed the Dallas Stars last night 7-3), but the Hawks only struggled with them in the start of the season, coming out with wins in four out of five games.

I think the Predators would be a good match up from a fan standpoint, and for the Hawks, it would probably be a good match up as well. The Predators would definitely be a challenge, but I do think they would be a challenge the Hawks could fairly easily defeat. Plus, aside from St. Louis (who will more likely than not play Minnesota), Nashville is the closest as far as traveling goes. More on that in a second.

Calgary Flames

Now, this is sort of new territory.

The two teams have not faced off in the playoffs in recent years, so this would be a new match up. The Hawks managed to seal up two wins in the three-game series this season, and their lone loss in the series was in the shootout. 

The Flames have been heating up this season (oh, come on, you knew that was coming), especially in the last half. But, I'm still not sure how to approach them. They have a young team, and the only players with previous playoff experience are incidentally Blackhawks alums Kris Versteeg and Michael Frolik. Though, that doesn't always mean that a team can't push its way past the first round--I think this match up could easily go seven games if both teams are as good as they've been in recent weeks. Plus, the Flames have ex-Blues goaltender Brian Elliot, who definitely gave them problems in the playoffs last season.

Back to the distance thing I mentioned earlier--Calgary is over 1700 miles away from Chicago. The first round is usually two weeks, and say they do go seven games, worst-case scenario. That's at least four trips back-and-forth, which is 6,800 miles in about two weeks. I know hockey players are used to traveling, but that is a lot of flying back and forth between games that likely won't be light.

So, I'm not sure how much the Hawks really would like to see the Flames, then. They certainly don't seem like a threat at first glance, but looking harder, they have more thorns than either the Blues or the Predators.


Overall, I think we're going to get a good first round, no matter the team. It'll be high-intensity, high-stakes, real, honest-to-god playoff  hockey. And I've been itching for it since October.

It comes down to this then: do you believe in the Blackhawks this year?