Chicago Blackhawks: Another huge week for playoff chase

Sunday, vs the Colorado Avalanche

Now, take all that was talked about on the previous slide and flip it around to the Blackhawks favor. This one is the second half of a back to back home and home with the Colorado Avalanche. This one unlike the one in Colorado will be played at night.

All of the same things said about the players remain the same, except the goalies most likely. It is unclear this far out who will start each game for both teams, but it is highly likely each game features a different goalie. Corey Crawford and Cam Ward will likely each get a start in the set of games and Semyon Varlamov and Phillip Grubauer will each likely get a start for Colorado.

This is the game that coach Jeremy Colliton will be able to get the matchups he wants because of the fact that it will be played at the United Center. If the Blackhawks are 3-0 on the week headed into this game, that might make this the toughest and most important regular season game this team has seen in a very long time.

In that scenario, the Avalanche would almost certainly be playing with as much desperation as a hockey team can play with. This week is certain to have some ups and downs but for the sake of the playoff chase, it needs to be more ups. If anything, the two games against Colorado are the most important because those are “four-point games” in the playoff race.

But the teams around them are sure to get some points because a few of them play each other so the Blackhawks need to keep pace. It is the best time of year to be a hockey fan.