Chicago Blackhawks

February 17, 2017

While the Bears were awful and the Bulls bad, it's a good thing Chicago has the Blackhawks.
.
In the beginning months of the season things were not going smoothly. Opponents looked faster, their trademark puck possession was down and they weren't scoring goals. If not for great goal tending they wouldn't be as close to first place as they are.

After 57 games they are currently 7 points behind Minnesota. There are 25 games left so the Hawks may not catch Minnesota. However, they have been playing much better as of late with 4  and 5 goals against Winnipeg and Edmonton, teams they had trouble with earlier in the season. With the six day rest, they should be fully healthy when play resumes Saturday. It seems they have gotten interested. Continue to play well, hold on to second place and have home ice advantage in the first round.  If  you go on to play Minnesota, the way they played on the the last road trip (5 straight wins) they can win on the road.

Another reason to be optimistic is at playoff time things are played closer to the vest. With a hot goalie and their core offensive players we may end up in Grant Park come June,

One question remains. Why activate Rozival ? They initially had to send down 4 players who by the end of the year won't be rookies. They were able to bring back up Schmaltz and Kero. I don't know if it's just me but Rozival brings nothing to the table and seems to be on the ice when opponents score. I'd rather have Forsling and  Hinostroza.