Blackhawks: Patrick Kane’s success helps during important January 2020 stretch

On New Year’s Eve, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Calgary Flames 5-3. Patrick Kane finished the game in style with a four-point night. Kane’s success in 2019 is important during the first month of 2020.

Throughout the 2010s, Patrick Kane has played great for the Chicago Blackhawks. Kane, now 31, captured three Stanley Cup’s with the team, along with a few individual awards for himself. Now that the 2010s are over, what can we expect for the near future?

Well, with that 5-3 win Tuesday, the Blackhawks are over .500 for the first time since Thanksgiving. The team sits at 18-17-6 after 41 games. Halfway through the season and the team is just four points away from the last wildcard spot. They still will play the teams ahead of them multiple times.

The Blackhawks have won six of their last eight games. They really should have beaten the St. Louis Blues while they had a chance. They were up 3-0 in the third period, there are no excuses for that loss. If they would have beaten the Blues, the Blackhawks would have won seven of their last nine games. They would be only two points out of the wildcard.

The ugly part of this recent roll the team has been on was the 7-1 loss against the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have been struggling a lot this season. That loss could become a key factor towards the end of March. Every year each team will lose a game or two that they’re not supposed to. Those games can cost teams playoff spots.

For example, last season the Blackhawks were six points out from making the playoffs. They lost a few games late that they should have won. They even had multiple-goal leads against some of those teams before losing the game. The loss to the Devils is something that happens to every hockey team once a year.

Finishing 2019 down only four points from the last wildcard is good for Chicago. They had a rough finish in November and a rough start to December. As of late, the team is firing on all cylinders. The goal is to keep that up. If the Blackhawks want to make a push towards the playoffs, these next few games are important.

Tonight the Blackhawks take on the Vancouver Canucks at 9 PM CT. The next four games after that are in Chicago. Three of those four games are against Western Conference teams fighting for that wildcard spot.

The first three weeks in 2020 will be a big test for the Blackhawks. If they can make a solid push during these next three weeks and maybe snag the wildcard spot, the team will have time off during the All-Star break.

Besides Kane, the rest of the team won’t be playing in the All-Star game. That gives the team some needed rest before another big run. The regular season is officially half over for the Blackhawks. Tonight is game one of the second season. The team will need to win more than half of their next 41 games to make the playoffs.

If Kane can keep up his amazing season, the team has a better shot at doing that. A benefit the team has salary cap-wise involves the injury to Brent Seabrook. Seabrook is under contract through 2023-24 for $6,875,000 AVV. With his injury, the team now has $6,875,000 AVV to spend while he is on the injured reserved list.

If the team can add another forward or defenseman to the mix without giving up much, that could make the difference. The team shouldn’t trade away any key prospects or a first-round draft pick, but if the trade is right, a second-round pick or lower would be fine.

After a strong finish to 2019, let’s see what the 2020 Blackhawks have in-store for the NHL. It all starts tonight.