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Chicago Blackhawks: Playing another desperate team in West

By Vincent Parise

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 21: Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks makes the first period stop as Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild looks for the rebound at the TCF Bank Stadium during the 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series game on February 21, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 21: Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks makes the first period stop as Zach Parise #11 of the Minnesota Wild looks for the rebound at the TCF Bank Stadium during the 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series game on February 21, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Blackhawks are going to have to realize that a lot of teams are desperate to get wins just like they are so it will require their best effort.

The Chicago Blackhawks are at that point where every game they play is the most important game of the season. They have the equally, if not more, desperate Minnesota Wild tonight. The Wild are a few points behind the Hawks in their race for the Western Conference Wild Cards. The Blackhawks have played a little better than the Wild as of late but both clubs have not given up despite a tough start to the season.

The Blackhawks picked Nick Seeler off of waivers from Minnesota yesterday morning. He was claimed by the team that plays his old team the very next day which has to be a bit weird for the player. He is a stay at home defenseman that likes to punch people in the face. He is going to give you little to no offense but he could provide a physical presence on the Blackhawks blue line.

The Wild are still led by some familiar foes. Zach Parise, Eric Staal, and Mikko Koivu still lead the way of the forwards while Ryan Suter is still their anchor on the blue line. They were expected to be a pretty bad team this year because of some mistakes made by their previous general manager but they have fought through to not be completely out of it. A strong week or two of consistent winning and they will be right there just like the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks winning this game along with some help from a few other teams could see them get that much closer to a playoff spot. They are going to be in that bubble window all season long so every win counts. Minnesota is good at home so the Hawks going in there and winning would be solid for this group. They need their star players in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews to be at their best in order to have their best chance to beat the Wild.

light. Related Story. The Blackhawks came out of the break very strong

This game is the first half of a back to back. After they are done with the Wild they will come home to play one of the top two teams in the National Hockey League. The Boston Bruins will be there waiting for them coming off a back to back themselves. The fact that the Bruins loom on Wednesday makes this game against Minnesota that much more important. The good news is that the fact that these games mean so much means that the Blackhawks are in a decent spot.

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