At the beginning of the season, I predicted there would be a rematch of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, which provided all of Blackhawks nation with the best 17 seconds of hockey ever. At the time, I thought each team would be strong enough to get back to the finals the next season. I still think that this is possible however, things are looking somewhat grim for the Blackhawks at the moment.
Captain Jonathan Toews and winger Patrick Kane are both out with injuries; it was reported yesterday Toews will be out for the remainder of the season, which is the same timeline as was given earlier for Kane, but will reportedly be 100 percent for the playoffs. Even Bryan Bickell still does not know if he will suit up and play against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.
Despite these three injuries, I believe the Blackhawks will make it back to the Stanley Cup Final and have a chance at a repeat victory. I still believe it will be against the big and nasty Boston Bruins as well. How are the Hawks going to pull that off with all of these injury troubles you ask? I have the answer in these three words: experience, Detroit, defense.
Experience is one of the most valuable things you can have in the playoffs. This held true for the Blackhawks in 2010 when veterans Andrew Ladd and John Madden were still on the team. They helped lead the Hawks to a Stanley Cup victory alongside other vets, like Marian Hossa, who had been there before. This year, despite being young, they have a plethora of talent with the experience of hoisting the Stanley Cup.
Take Brandon Saad for example; he was only 20 years old when he hoisted the cup in Boston last year. You can’t forget Andrew Shaw either, who scored the game-winning goal of game one in the third overtime on a double deflection from Michael Rozsival and David Bolland. These young players know what it feels like to make it to the top, which is going to make them want it even more again now and in the future.
Another reason the Blackhawks have a chance at making it back to the finals, despite all of the injuries, is the Detroit series in the 2013 playoffs. The Blackhawks dominantly took game one of that series but then fell to the Wings in three straight games to go down 3-1 in the series going back to Chicago. Stars on the team shined, stepped up, played their hearts out, and the Blackhawks came back and forced a game 7 in Chicago. As you may remember, the Hawks really won game 7 twice, once in the third period on a terribly waived-off goal, and a second time in overtime when Brent “overtime” Seabrook smashed one home against Jimmy Howard and sent the Wings flying back home to Detroit. Not only did the players have to overcome that 3-1 series deficit, they had to overcome the bad call with just under four minutes left in the game to come back in overtime and win it again. This team shows incredible resilency and also goes back to my original point that the Hawks have the experience needed to have a chance at making it back to the finals.
The last reason is defense. With defensemen like Duncan Keith, Johnny Oduya, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Nick Leddy, Sheldon Brookbank, Rozsival, and Seabrook, the Hawks have one of the best defense corps in the league. Not only do they have the number-one defensive group, but the Blackhawks also have the top candidate for the Norris Trophy race at the moment in Duncan Keith. If Keith can continue to play like he has all season, the Blackhawks have some goaltending to back them up as well. To go with the good defense, the Hawks have Corey Crawford between the pipes and Antti Raanta to back him up. With all those names on defense, and a goalie like Crawford, the Blackhawks have an awesome chance at going back to the finals this year.
Defense wins Championships, and Crawford is posting career-best numbers so far this season with a 2.22 GAA, and a .918 save percentage. He is one win away from 30, with a record that stands at 29-14-10. If he continues to only allow around two goals each game, the Blackhawks have more than enough fire power to keep up with the playoff pack especially when Toews and Kane make their comebacks in two weeks.
The Blackhawks are currently sitting in third place in the Central Division and would have to play the Colorado Avalanche if the playoffs started today. Colorado has had the Blackhawks number the last few years, and hopefully they do not have to meet in the first round of the playoffs, as I feel like that would be one of the few things that would hold them back from getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2014.
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