Category Archives: NHL

Top 10 NHL Jerseys

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Here’s a list of my top 10 current NHL jerseys. I hope you enjoy.

10. Montreal Canadiens

Like most Original 6 teams, this jersey hasn’t changed much over the years.

9. Edmonton Oilers

After years of trying to make the navy blue and copper colors work, Edmonton finally went back to their originals.

8. Vancouver Canucks

They’ve had some of the worst jerseys in NHL history, but this one works. The blue and green fit perfectly together.

7. Detroit Red Wings

These jerseys have barely changed over time. True classics.

6. Buffalo Sabres

I love the navy blue and yellow together. They also finally brought back their original logo last year.

5. New York Rangers

The navy blue jersey above is actually their alternate jersey, and I love it. The diagonal lettering has appeared on the Rangers’ jerseys ever since day one of their existence, except for a couple of years when they tried switching it up.

4. Los Angeles Kings

The black ones had actually served as the Kings’ alternate home jerseys for the past few years until this year. I really like the black, white, and silver.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs

I love the colors, and I love the Maple Leaf logo. The white jersey is their alternate jersey this year, but I thought I’d put it up here to show you the two different logos.

2. Boston Bruins

Easily one of my favorite jerseys in sports. I love the classic logo, and I love the colors.

1. Chicago Blackhawks

Often referred to as the best jersey in sports (their red one), and the best logo in sports. I’d have to agree.

As you may have noticed, all of the Original 6 teams made my top ten. Their jerseys are all classics and have not changed too much throughout the years. Please give your own opinions!

My Top 10 Best NHL Atmospheres

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I haven’t seen a home game for all of these teams, but I have watched them all on TV many times. I am ranking them based on the atmosphere inside each team’s stadium for their home games. I’d also like to see a game at each one of these arenas.

10. HP Pavillion – Sharks

Easily one of the loudest arenas in hockey, especially come playoff time.

9. Scotiabank Saddledome – Flames

It’s a sea of red here for each game. Just about every fan wears a Flames jersey to the game, which is something you don’t see at every stadium.

8. Wells Fargo Center – Flyers

They’re third in attendance in the entire NHL. Philadelphia fans are always tough on their teams, but they are one of the loudest bunches in sports.

7. Rogers Arena – Canucks

All Canadian hockey teams have great home atmospheres, but Vancouver is one of their best. They showed just how loud they can be during last years Cup Finals.

6. Air Canada Centre – Maple Leafs

Regardless of how well their team is playing, they continuously sell out each game (currently 5th in NHL attendance). Also, being one of hockey’s original 6 adds to the history of attending a Leafs game.

5. Joe Louis Arena – Red Wings

They don’t call Detroit “Hockeytown” for no reason. Just take a look at all the banners hanging above the ice. I would have liked to have had the Joe higher on my list, but I’ve seen too many games where there have been a lot of empty seats in the stands even though the games are all sold-out.

4. MTS Centre – Jets

Every game played here seems like a playoff game. The fans in Winnipeg had their team returned to them this season, and they are doing everything they can in the stands to will their team to the playoffs.

3. TD Garden – Bruins

I was very impressed as to how loud this place got during last year’s Stanley Cup Finals. Boston, and every original 6 team, has some great fans and they proved that during the postseason a year ago. It was tough trying to decide whether this should be number 2 or 3…

2. United Center – Blackhawks

It’s called the “Madhouse on Madison” for a good reason. This place is a madhouse night in and night out, while leading the NHL in attendance, and it all starts with the national anthem. If you think you’ve heard “loud,” just wait until you hear this place erupt.

1. Bell Centre – Canadiens

Nobody in hockey has more Stanley Cup banners than Montreal. Whether it’s cheering, singing, or chanting, these fans are always making it hard to hear inside the Bell Centre. It’s often been referred to as “the toughest place to play” in hockey.

Please feel free to share your own opinions!

Blackhawks’ Keith Gets 5 Game Suspension

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NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety, Brendan Shanahan, announced this afternoon that Duncan Keith has been suspended for the next 5 games for his elbow to the head on Daniel Sedin. The incident occurred during the first period of Wednesday night’s match-up between the Hawks and Canucks at the United Center in Chicago.

To me, 5 games seems a bit harsh, and I’m not just saying that because I am a Blackhawks fan. After going back and looking at some of the previous incidents that resulted in suspensions of less than 5 games this year, this one seems a bit drastic. Yes, Keith definitely deserved a suspension. There is no doubt about that. I, however, thought that it should have been more along the lines of a 3-game suspension. Here is my reason why:

This past Tuesday night in Dallas, Shane Doan of the Phoenix Coyotes delivered an elbow to the head of Jamie Benn. As the replay shows, Doan clearly intentionally stuck out his elbow to try and make contact with Benn (Video: Doan’s hit on Benn). Only about a week before that, Doan was fined by the NHL for a boarding penalty that he took. For the elbow to the head on Benn, Doan only received a 3-game suspension, even though he is a “repeat offender.” Granted, Jamie Benn did not suffer any injury on the play.

If you watch the replay of Duncan Keith’s hit on Daniel Sedin and compare it to Doan’s hit on Jamie Benn, they are pretty similar incidents (Video: Keith’s hit on Sedin). Yes, Daniel Sedin now apparently has a concussion and Benn does not, but if you are going to give Doan just 3 games for what he did, Keith should have gotten 3 as well; 4 at the most. Also, this is Keith’s first offense, whereas Doan has a history with this stuff.

I dislike the fact that the NHL takes into consideration whether or not the victim was injured in plays like these. Regardless of the outcome of the hit, it’s still an illegal hit! Punish the guys who deliver the hits for the hit itself. Don’t add games onto the suspension if the victim ends up being hurt. I’m not saying that this is the case at all with Daniel Sedin, but what if he and the Canucks are “faking” his concussion? What if they want Sedin to look injured just so that Keith misses a few extra games via his suspension? Again, I am in no way implying that this is what the Canucks are doing, but it is possible that some team could do that in the future. Because of that possibility in and of itself, I don’t think injuries should be taken into consideration when deciding how many games to suspend someone.

I will say again that I totally agree with suspending Duncan Keith, but I think that 5 games is a bit much. Now the Blackhawks are without their best forward, Jonathan Toews, and their best defenseman, Duncan Keith, for the most important stretch of the season. There is still no word on when Toews might return.

Thanks for reading.

 

Blackhawks Get Big Win Over Blues

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After looking terrible the last time that these two teams met, the Blackhawks turned in one of their best performances of the year tonight against the Blues. They managed to battle back from an early 3-1 deficit to get the 4-3 victory in the shootout.

The Hawks started off the game with a bang. Just under 3 minutes in, Andrew Brunette scored on a 2 on 1 after a great pass from Marian Hossa found him open in the slot. It looked like it was going to be a good night for the Hawks after scoring this rare, early goal on Jaroslav Halak. However, that was far from the case.

About a minute after Brunette found the back of the net, Jamie Langenbrunner beat Ray Emery on a slapshot from just above the left circle. Talk about a momentum killer… Then, a few minutes later, Andy McDonald scored with a wicked wristshot from about 15 feet in front of Emery. This goal was all set up by beautiful passes from Patrik Berglund and David Perron. With about 4 minutes left in the first period, Patrik Berglund added the Blues third goal after redirecting a shot from Barret Jackman. The two teams headed into the intermission with the Blues leading 3-1.

After watching the Hawks completely fall apart after scoring their first goal, it looked like St. Louis was going to get another blowout victory over the Blackhawks. Fortunately, that did not happen.

Ray Emery was pulled at intermission, and Corey Crawford came into the game for his first action since February 29. In the second period, the Hawks really seemed to step up their game. They began getting more physical, which was a major factor in the outcome of the game, and they were getting some good shots on goal. With just over 6 minutes left in the period, Johnny Oduya made a great play to keep the puck in the Hawks’ offensive zone after an attempted clear by St. Louis. Kruger grabbed the puck along the right boards after the keep-in, wristed a soft shot at Halak, and the rebound hit off of Viktor Stalberg’s skate and went in the net. This was a HUGE goal for the Hawks. Heading into the third period being down by just 1 goal rather than 2 is a big difference.

After going 0-4 on the powerplay through the first 2 periods, the Hawks were given another powerplay opportunity a little over 6 minutes into the third period. On this powerplay, Brent Seabrook let go an absolute bomb of a slapshot off a one-timer from Hossa that beat Halak to tie the game at 3. This was the first powerplay goal scored against in the Blues in their last 51 powerplays against. They were just 2 more penalty kills away from tying the all-time record at 53 in a row. As the third period progressed, the Hawks had a few more chances to take the lead, but Halak answered the bell on all of them.

Then, the game moved into overtime where Duncan Keith had the best scoring chance from either team with only about 3 seconds left on the clock. Patrick Kane found a wide-open Keith in the slot for a one-timer, but the shot seemed to hit Halak in the mask and deflect over the net.

In the shootout, Patrick Kane scored the only goal for either team, and the Hawks prevailed with the 4-3 victory.

There were a lot of positive signs in tonight’s win by the Hawks. First, they out-shot St. Louis 46-24. That is pure domination. Second, they tied the Blues with 29 hits in the game. If you have watched the Hawks on a frequent basis this year, then you know that they have not been a physical team up to this point in the season. Also, Jamal Mayers and Brandon Bollig got into a couple big fights that helped give the Blackhawks energy boosts. I specifically liked Brandon Bollig going right after Ryan Reaves after Reaves put a major hit on Jamal Mayers. Bollig was given a 2 minute instigator penalty (I don’t like this rule), but the Hawks were able to kill that off.

Maybe the biggest positive that came out of tonight’s win (aside from the 2 points) was Corey Crawford. He came in to start the second period and played a great game from then on. He needed to be perfect in net to give the Hawks a chance at winning, and he was. He didn’t allow a goal on 18 shots against, including overtime, and he was perfect in the shootout. Hopefully he will get a big boost in confidence after getting the win tonight.

All in all, this was an absolutely huge win for the Blackhawks, who again were without their captain.

Thanks for reading.

NHL Predictions

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I had previously stated that I would give my predictions on how the NHL playoffs would end up playing out. After thinking about it, I am going to wait until the playoffs are set, and then make my predictions as to how far each team will go. So for now, I am going to stick with what I have already written, which were my predictions as to which teams will make the playoffs and what seeds they will get.

Please check back here once the NHL playoff match-ups are set! I will have my playoff-outcome predictions posted then.

My Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Eastern Conference

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1. New York Rangers

This has been arguably the best team in the East all season, and I see no reason for that to change. They have the best goalie in all of hockey in Henrik Lundqvist, and one of the best defenses in the game. With as many big names that this team has, especially on offense, you would think that their powerplay would be ranked a lot higher than 29th. Luckily for them, however, they still lead the Eastern Conference in points despite their lack of production with a man advantage. Barring any major injuries to key players, I expect this team to play pretty deep into the playoffs.

2. Boston Bruins

The Bruins have hit a major rut recently, and are only 2 points ahead of Ottawa for their division lead. Over their last 10 games, Boston is a meager 4-5-1. That’s just not going to be good enough heading into the last 14 games of the regular season. I know that they have suffered some injuries lately, but the Bruins are going to have to find a way to get 2 points on a nightly basis more often than not from here on out. If they don’t, Ottawa could end up surprising everyone by winning the division.

3. Washington Capitals

They play in by far the weakest division in hockey. They have just 74 points on the season right now and trail Florida by one point for the division lead. There are a lot of issues concerning the Capitals this year, but their offense has the potential to put themselves in front of Florida and win the division. Expect to see them turn up their game here in the last month of the regular season.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

With the way they are playing right now, it is possible that they could find themselves overtaking the Rangers for first in their division and first in the conference before it is all said and done with. Sidney Crosby said the other day that he hopes to be back in the lineup this Thursday. If he can come back and play anywhere close to the way he is capable of playing, Pittsburgh might just become the best team in hockey. However, that is all a big unknown. Until Crosby proves that he can play effectively, I don’t see them passing up New York.

5. Philadelphia Flyers

These guys lead the entire NHL in goals per game, averaging 3.22. That is the reason why they have been able to keep themselves in the top 5 of the Eastern Conference all year long. Their goaltending has been sub-par most of the year, which should be concerning to the Flyers, but it has been better in the past few game. The Flyers need to hope that Bryzgalov can continue his strong play heading into the final month of the season and the playoffs.

6. New Jersey Devils

This was arguably the most disappointing team last season. This year, however, they have been playing much more like we expected them to. They are second in penalty killing in the NHL, which is an area of the game that they are going to have to stay strong at come playoff time. Martin Brodeur is not his old self, but he is still an above average goalie. He knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup, and I expect him to step up his game once the playoffs begin.

7. Ottawa Senators

They might just be the biggest surprise in the NHL this year. Last year, they finished third to last in the Eastern Conference. Like I said earlier, they trail Boston by just 2 points in the division. If Boston continues to struggle and Ottawa stays hot, they could take over the number 2 spot in the conference. Jason Spezza is having a great “bounce-back” year this year after struggling a bit last season. They also have Erik Karlsson, who leads all NHL defenseman with 69 points (25 more than the next closest), leading their defense. Their biggest problem is goaltending. Look for this to really hurt them in the playoffs.

8. Winnipeg Jets

This is pretty much a toss-up between 3 teams: Florida, Winnipeg, and Buffalo. I’m saying that Winnipeg finishes in the number 8 spot because of the fact that they will have a throng of playoff-hungry fans supporting them during each home game down the stretch. Winnipeg fans had their hockey team taken away from them in the mid-90’s, and they want nothing more than for this team to make the postseason. Don’t be surprised to see the Jets’ players absorb that same hunger for the playoffs. This team will do everything it can to make sure they are playing in the postseason.

My Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: Western Conference

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I’ll start tonight by giving my predictions on who will make the NHL playoffs from the Western Conference. Then, over the next few days I will do the same for the Eastern Conference, as well as tell you just how far I think each team will go in this year’s playoffs. Tonight, I am going to rank the teams in the order that I think they will finish in the Western Conference. Keep in mind that the winners of the 3 three divisions in each conference automatically get a top 3 seed. Therefore, it is possible for a bottom 5 seed to finish with more points than the number 2 or 3 seed.

1. Vancouver Canucks

They finished with the number 1 seed in the West a year ago, and are also the defending Western Conference champions. This team is better than they were last year, believe it or not. Their offensive depth is greater than just about any team in the entire NHL, and their defense is as strong as any other in the Western Conference. Add in the experience that they gained by making it to the Cup Finals last year, and this team just about has it all. My only concern with the Canucks heading into the playoffs is their goaltending. It wasn’t good enough to win the Cup last year, and they will be heading into this year’s playoffs with the same goalies.

2. Detroit Red Wings

They are currently 4 points behind the Blues in the Central Division, but I think the Wings will make a late push and get to the top spot in the Central before the season is over. If there is one team that can match the Canucks’ offensive and defensive depth in the Western Conference, it’s Detroit. This team has a handful of players that have been to and won the Stanley Cup before, including their 7-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman, Nicklas Lidstrom. The Wings know what it takes to be the best team in the NHL, and they will prove that heading into the home-stretch of the regular season.

3. Dallas Stars

If this team wasn’t leading their division, they would be tied with Chicago for the number 6 seed in the conference. However, considering that the Pacific Division is by no means a very strong division this year, Dallas will end up walking away as division champions. They currently have a 3-point lead over Phoenix, and with the way Kari Lehtonen has been playing in net lately, I don’t see them losing the top spot in their division.

4. St. Louis Blues

It was tough for me to put Detroit ahead of these guys, but the Blues just aren’t as good as the Wings when it comes to overall team-depth. Because of that reason, and the fact that St. Louis has hardly any playoff/late-season pressure experience, I have them finishing 4th in the West. This is going to be a dangerous team come playoff time, largely in part because of their team defense and goaltending. The question of, “Which goalie should the Blues start in the playoffs?” has been a reoccurring one lately. When you look at the stats, Brian Elliot makes the most sense. However, since Halak started the season 0-6, he has arguably been the better goalie of the 2. He ranks second in the NHL (behind Elliot) in Goals Against Average, and has more playoff experience. He was the starting goalie for the Canadiens in the 2010 playoffs when they lost to the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Because of the fact that both Elliot and Halak have such similar stats, and because Halak has more playoff experience, he should be in net to start the playoffs.

5. Nashville Predators

If there is one spot in the West that looks to be pretty well locked up, it is the number 5 seed. The Predators are 4 points out of the number 4 spot, and 6 points ahead of the number 6 spot. Nashville greatly increased their chances of making a deep playoff run at the trade deadline this year by acquiring Hal Gill, Andrei Kostitsyn, and Paul Gaustad. Also, they have Pekka Rinne,who should be a Vezina Trophy finalist, as their starting goaltender, and possible Norris Trophy finalists, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter on defense. This is a very strong defensive team that can shut down the best offensive teams in the league. It is their offense that has me questioning just how far they can make it in the playoffs.

6. Chicago Blackhawks

They desperately need Jonathan Toews back if they are going to do any damage come playoff time. Lately, even without Toews in the lineup, the Hawks have been playing fairly decent while getting wins over St. Louis, Detroit (twice), and the New York Rangers. If they can keep winning most of their games until Toews comes back, they should be a lock to finish as the number 6 seed once Toews does come back. Ray Emery has started 4 straight games for the Hawks, going 3-1 over that stretch. If he can continue to turn in solid performances and essentially lock himself up as the Blackhawks’ starting goalie for the playoffs, this could be an extremely dangerous team heading into the postseason.

7. Phoenix Coyotes

Somehow, I don’t know how, this team keeps making the playoffs. Lately, their wins have been coming via great goaltending by Mike Smith. I hate to put all the focus on one guy, but whether or not the Coyotes do end up making the playoffs lies in the hands of Smith. He needs to continue to be great in net. Being just good isn’t going to be enough for this team.

8. San Jose Sharks

Currently, the Sharks are 9th in the West. They trail the Avalanche for 8th place by just 1 point, and the Sharks have played 3 fewer games than the Avs. San Jose has shown in recent years that they are a good team. Now that they are currently sitting in a non-playoff spot in the conference, expect these guys to wake up, and really step up their game. They could definitely end the season as even the number 7 seed in the West. It just comes down to how bad they want it.

Blackhawks Get Destroyed in St. Louis

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Tonight’s game between the Blackhawks and Blues in St. Louis was a showcase of most, if not all of, the Blackhawks’ weaknesses as proven by the 5-1 final score. They were outplayed by the Blues in every area of the game, and showed virtually no desperation whatsoever.

One of the biggest areas of weakness on the Blackhawks’ roster is their toughness. Night in and night out they are being out-hit by their opponents. St. Louis, on the other hand, is by no means afraid to hit guys at will. Throughout tonight’s game, the Blues were running the ‘Hawks into the boards and flat on their backs left and right. This created a couple of good scoring chances for the Blues after putting some big hits on the ‘Hawks in the Chicago defensive zone. The Blackhawks’ on the other hand, had just a small handful of hits, and they were not effective.

Another area of weakness for the ‘Hawks that was blatantly obvious tonight was their board-play. It seemed as though the Blues won just about every board-battle from start to finish. This is one of the most crucial aspects of a hockey game. By winning board-battles, you gain possession of the puck. You can’t win hockey games without having possession of the hockey puck. One way to really judge a team’s effort and toughness in a hockey game is to look at the number of battles that they win along the boards. Tonight, the ‘Hawks did not get the job done in this aspect of the game, to say the least.

Shots-on-goals, what was once one of the Blackhawks strong-suits, has recently become another area of weakness for this team. In order to win, you need to score goals. In order to score goals, you need to get multiple shots-on-goal. It’s really not that hard of a concept. Yet over the past month or so, the Blackhawks are consistently getting out-shot by their opposition. In tonight’s game, the Blackhawks got out-shot, again, 31-20. They passed up a number of opportunities to get good shots on the net by trying to make an extra pass. I specifically noticed a couple of instances tonight where Patrick Sharp tried making tough passes through a lot of traffic rather than taking the open shot that he was given. When you are a team that has struggled to score goals as of late, you cannot afford to pass up shooting opportunities to try and make unnecessary passes.

The last area of weakness for the ‘Hawks that I want to mention is their powerplay. They were 0-5 on it tonight. If a team is going to give you 5 different opportunities to try and score on them with a one-man advantage, you have to convert on at least a couple of them. This has been a problem all year long for the Blackhawks, and they are showing no signs of improving.

All in all, tonight was an embarrassment for the Blackhawks. If they want any hope at making it past the first round of the playoffs, or even into the playoffs, they are going to have to get better in at least a couple areas of their game that I mentioned above. Also, getting Jonathan Toews back cannot be overvalued. They need him healthy as soon as possible, and right now, there is no timetable for his return.

Thanks for reading.

‘Hawks Win!

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I just wanted to quickly talk about the Blackhawks’ win today in Detroit. This is one of their best wins of the season in my opinion, and it came without their captain…again.

Yes, Detroit was without 2 of their biggest stars, Datsyuk and Lidstrom, but the Hawks were without Jonathan Toews as well. Heading into today’s game, the Wings had the best home record in all of hockey. That, coupled with the fact that the ‘Hawks are desperate for every point they can get right now, is what makes this win so big for them. They are now 7 points out of the number 9 spot in the Western Conference, and 6 points ahead of the 7 and 8 spots. The more distance that the Blackhawks can put between themselves and the teams below them in the conference, the better.

It is encouraging to see this team putting up some big wins lately in Ottawa, and now Detroit, without Toews being in the lineup. Because of the injuries to Toews, Hjalmarsson, and Montador, rookies like Andrew Shaw, Dylan Olsen, and Jimmy Hayes are all getting the chance to prove themselves at the NHL level. These guys have been providing a ton of energy to this team lately, which is exactly what the ‘Hawks need. A great example of this came today when Shaw got into a fight with Detroit’s Brendan Smith with about 5 minutes left in the second period. The fight energized not just the fans, but the two teams as well, and less than 3 minutes later Patrick Kane scored what ended up being the game winning goal. Sometimes that’s all it takes. A simple fight to boost your team’s energy, and it’s the little things like that these rookies have been providing lately. Hopefully they can keep it up.

I’m not saying that the ‘Hawks will be fine without Toews moving forward, because they won’t be (Toews was leading the league in faceoff percentage before his injury). But, the Blackhawks and their rookies have been showing some good signs the past 3 games. Now all they need is Toews and Hjalmarsson to get healthy again. That will only provide more energy to this team.

The ‘Hawks Need Toews

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The Blackhawks came out today and said that Jonathan Toews will miss at least 2 more games. The ‘Hawks play tomorrow afternoon in Detroit, and Tuesday night in St. Louis. Detroit and St. Louis currently have the 2 best home records in the NHL. Even with Toews in the lineup, these would be 2 extremely tough games to win. Toews has missed the last 6 games now due to what the Blackhawks are calling an “upper body injury.” Some people believe that he suffered a concussion in San Jose during their 9-game road trip. Others are saying that he has a shoulder injury. Regardless of what the injury may be, the Blackhawks need their captain back for the stretch run.

Prior to this injury, Jonathan Toews’ name was being mentioned in MVP talks. That’s how good of a season he was having and how important he is to the Blackhawks. Toews played in every one of the 9 straight losses that the ‘Hawks suffered beginning in late January. Because of the fact that this team was able to lose 9 straight games with him in the lineup gives me no confidence that they will be able to lock up a playoff spot with him out of the lineup. The ‘Hawks are currently on a 2-game win streak after beating Toronto at home on Wednesday and winning in Ottawa on Friday (Coach Q was calling this their biggest win of the year). Because of this short winning streak, some fans are jumping to the conclusion that the Blackhawks will be fine without Toews heading into the home stretch of the season. Those fans couldn’t be any further from the truth! Jonathan Toews still leads the ‘Hawks with 29 goals on the season, even since missing the last 6 games. Also, he is still second on the team in points. He was first before getting hurt. You cannot tell me that this team will be “fine” without him heading into the last 16 games of the year.

From here on out, the Blackhawks have possibly the toughest remaining schedule in hockey with 2 games against Detroit, 3 with St. Louis, 2 with Nashville, and the rest with teams such as Vancouver and New York (the Rangers). So while this could easily be their toughest stretch of the year, not to mention the fact that they have yet to give themselves a comfortable cushion in the standings, they will be playing possibly a handful of these remaining games without their captain and best player. The Blackhawks desperately need Jonathan Toews back in the lineup, regardless of the fact that they have won 2 games in a row.