Blackhawks: New Jersey brings similar struggles as Chicago
The Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils have a lot in common as they move into their head to head battle with each other.
The Chicago Blackhawks are a struggling hockey team in a lot of ways. They have a lot of off-ice issues that they are dealing with as well as not being that great of a hockey team on the ice. They just defeated the Boston Bruins last night in overtime but they almost blew it. They were leading the Bruins 3-0 and let them come back to tie it late. They won the game, however, when Jonathan Toews won the game in overtime.
They have a quick turnaround as a very different team awaits the Hawks. The New Jersey Devils won the offseason as they added Jack Hughes, Nikita Gusev, P.K. Subban, and Wayne Simmonds via the draft, trades, and free agency. They have a bunch of other skilled players like Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier, but they just haven’t been able to put it together so far this season. They are one game removed from firing their head coach John Hynes so they are a hungry team looking to get a big win.
The Hawks need to be ready to face a team that is motivated to get a win while facing lots of adversity. They each have a recent Hart Trophy winner in Taylor Hall for New Jersey and Patrick Kane for Chicago. Hall is a pending free agent and might be on the move any week now. The Hawks definitely still need to keep an eye on him as he can change a game when he creates space and sees the ice.
One matchup to watch is Hischier against Jonathan Toews. Nico was drafted first overall in when the draft was held at the United Center in 2017 and he is developing into a player who plays just like Toews does. They are each team’s top-line center that is known for their two-way game. They also need to keep an eye on Hughes who is coming off a three-game absence from injury but can really impact a game.
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The Blackhawks have a chance to go on a run here as they play some teams that are similar to them in skill set. If they don’t play their game they will be destroyed because New Jersey has a lot of skill. Both teams are highly skilled but haven’t been able to put it together and have severely underachieved. This should be a very entertaining game.