Chicago Blackhawks: New decade begins against a 2010s rival

The Chicago Blackhawks begin the decade hoping to recapture some of the magic from the previous one. It all gets underway against the Vancouver Canucks.

The Chicago Blackhawks had an incredible decade. Chances are that they are not going to ever repeat a long term dominance like that. They can, however, have another strong decade and see what comes of it. They have Hall of Fame players still to their disposal so things could still get better if they work together.  That all begins tonight when the Blackhawks get to Brittish Columbia to take on the Vancouver Canucks. This is the perfect type of game against a playoff bubble team to try and get the Hawks going with some confidence.

The Canucks are one of those young teams on the rise. They have some stud young players leading the way like Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Bo Horvat. This is a developing core that folks in Western Canada believe will become a championship contender. They are not anywhere close to those Vancouver teams that the Hawks used to meet in the playoffs. They are very fast and very skilled.

Patrick Kane is looking to get his 2020 off the same way he ended his 2019. His two goals and two assists for four points in Calgary led Chicago to a 5-3 New Year’s Eve win. He ended up being the 2010s decade’s leading scorer with 802 points.  If he can continue to play like that this team will win even more games so they can perhaps go on a run. They are in last place in the Central Division but only remain four points out of a playoff spot.

One thing that has made this team a little weaker this year is some of their depth has dried up. Guys like Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome had amazing years last year but have been a little bit underwhelming so far this year. If those guys could get going this team would be good. The forwards would then score enough along with receiving some great goaltending split between Corey Crawford and Robin Lehner.

Penalties and special teams could be a big key in this game. That power play unity Vancouver throws out there is lethal. It doesn’t matter who Jeremy Colliton decides to start in the net if the Blackhawks get into penalty trouble because Vancouver will score power-play goals on anyone. They click at a 26.4 percent which ranks fourth in the entire NHL. Vancouver also, has a very average penalty kill so if the Hawks can get a few power-play opportunities they might be able to take advantage as well.

Basically the keys to this game are Patrick Kane making an impact, getting good goaltending from whoever starts, and the special teams play by both teams. A win for the Blackhawks would be huge for them. They have shown the ability to play well against the good teams so that trend continuing very well could happen here. It should be a very entertaining game for anyone who likes exciting hockey.