Blackhawks: Schedule makers did no favors in recent weeks
The Chicago Blackhawks are about to play the Colorado Avalanche yet again, proving that the schedule makers did them no favors over this little stretch.
The Chicago Blackhawks have had no fun with the Colorado Avalanche this season. Nobody really has as they are one of the premier teams in the National Hockey League. They kicked off their series with the Avs to end November. It was a home and home with them so they played in both Denver and Chicago. The Avalanche smoked the Hawks in both games by a combined score of 12-5. Then they played them on Wednesday and were defeated once again.
In between the third matchup and the first two, was no easy stretch either. Games against top teams like the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins, Arizona Coyotes, and Vegas Golden Knights saw the Hawks take a dip in the standings. Now they have to play the Avalanche for the fourth and final time tonight. They are trying to avoid the season sweet by them as it will be the last meeting between the two.
As usual, Nathan MacKinnon and his linemates Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are a problem. They are right there with the top line of the Boston Bruins for the best trio in the NHL. The Blackhawks have had no success stopping them this season. 11 out of the 16 goals scored by the Avalanche against the Hawks this season have either been scored or assisted by one of these three. The Blackhawks need to do a much better job of containing them if they want any chance to win.
Patrick Kane has been on a roll lately. He has four goals and three assists in the last three games. He has been so good and you can argue that he has saved a few jobs. They have been not playing great as a team lately but he is still the same elite Kane that we have come to know. In fact, he somehow appears to be getting better despite being on the wrong side of 30. Like the MacKinnon line in Colorado, the Blackhawks need Kane to have a big game here.
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Kane and Robin Lehner led the Blackhawks to a much-needed win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. This game will likely feature Corey Crawford as they have had the 50/50 mentality going all season long so far. It doesn’t matter which goalie Colorado uses because they are both very good. A win for Chicago against one of the leagues best would go a long way, especially because it would be their second in a row over a great team.