The Chicago Blackhawks are fun to watch once again

Finally, fans of the Chicago Blackhawks have a legitimate reason to be excited again.

From the beginning of the season until mid or late January, watching the Chicago Blackhawks was no fun.

The once mighty Hawks were among the bottom feeders, and a legendary coach got the axe, only to be replaced by an up-and-coming 33-year-old no one had ever heard of. It looked like a second straight year of early tee times for the three-time Stanley Cup champions.

A seven-game winning streak that started January 20 against the defending Cup champion Washington Capitals changed all that. Even factoring in losses against Boston and Columbus last week, the Hawks now have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs.

Let’s put aside the age-old debate about whether it’s better for a team that’s having a middle-of-the-road season to make the playoffs, or to miss them and hope for a high draft pick. Both have pros and cons, and you’ve read that debate before.

No, I am here to say no matter what happens, I am back on board with watching this Chicago Blackhawks team and enjoying it.

That’s not to say I gave up during this year’s doldrums. I didn’t. But I didn’t get as upset if I had to miss a game as I used to, and that’s not a feeling I’ve felt since the first Cup season – or maybe even the season before.

Unlike many Johnny-come-lately fans, I did follow this team during the bad years, at least until the NHL lockout turned me off and I walked away for a couple seasons. I didn’t watch every game (of course, you couldn’t watch the home games without buying a ticket), but I kept tabs on the Hawks via newspaper.

I can’t honestly call myself a true die-hard – there are denizens of the 300 level who know more than I do, but I was at least aware of things such as Boris Mironov’s laziness.

Which meant I was somewhere between the forgotten Hawk diehard and the person rocking the new Toews jersey who didn’t know what the long change meant when it came to my level of fandom circa 2010. But I’ve always enjoyed watching hockey, even if there were years when the Hawks and the NHL in general captured less of my attention.

The Hawks have played a particularly entertaining version of it since their championship window opened. At least until relatively recently.

Last year was a slog, especially as a losing streak down the stretch sunk a team that was, until that point, hanging around in the playoff race despite having a disappointing record. Now the opposite has happened – the Hawks went from being putrid to being both in the hunt and fun to watch.

Chicago Blackhawks

Yes, last week’s game against Boston wasn’t easy on the eyes. And the slow starts in both a comeback win against New Jersey and a loss against Columbus are worrisome. But the Hawks showed hints of a comeback in both losses, despite also not playing very well at times.

I do have functioning eyes, and I am aware that the Hawks’ recent success has come on the back of a red-hot Patrick Kane. I’m fully aware that they’ve given up a lot of shots even in games they won, that Cam Ward stood on his head a few times, that they needed extra time for three of the wins during the streak, and that they beat three teams that are out of the playoff picture.

So I’m not going to declare that this Chicago Blackhawks team is playing well enough to guarantee a playoff spot. They’re going to need to be better, both because of the hole they dug themselves and because some of the better teams in the league will beat them with some of the deficiencies they have in their game right now. The play is improved, but there are still flaws in the team game.

Yet, despite those flaws, the team remains fun to watch. There have been flashes of the old Hawks from just a few years ago. Some of the offensive shifts have been a joy to watch, even when they don’t score.

Indeed, Sergei Bobrovsky deserves kudos for stonewalling the Hawks on Saturday – his goaltending was just as instrumental in the Blue Jackets’ victory as were some self-inflicted wounds suffered by the Hawks (former Hawk Artemi Panarin’s line was also deadly for the Jackets, and the Hawks never had an answer).

Kane is playing well. So is Toews. Brandon Saad has had flashes, and Dylan Strome looks like the real deal. Alex DeBrincat has seemed quiet during recent games, but he’s had a good season.

The Hawks may yet be sunk by their flaws. Or they may tighten up their game and sneak into the final playoff spot. Either way, I’m going to enjoy the stretch.