Chicago Blackhawks: Playoff chances take a major hit with loss

The Chicago Blackhawks needed to have a good start to their Western Canadian road trip to enhance their playoff chances and that isn’t happening.

The Chicago Blackhawks came into the game against the Vancouver Canucks trailing a playoff position by six points. They were on a two-game losing streak after playing well so this was as close to a must-win game as you could have in mid-February. They didn’t win the game as Vancouver downed them 3-0 to pad their status as the Pacific Division leader.

It was a game that the Chicago Blackhawks played well in for most of the game but Vancouver was opportunistic and the Hawks just couldn’t find a way to bury any of their chances. The story of the game was Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom. He earned the shutout victory after making 49 saves on 49 shots. It was an incredible performance by the Vancouver netminder.

The Blackhawks simply needed to win this game. The playoffs already were looking bleak for them but this win would have brought them within four points. They played very well and deserved better but that isn’t how the NHL works. You have to bury your chances and they did not do that. Markstrom earned Vancouver a goalie win but wins are wins and losses are losses when it comes to making the playoffs.

So what do the Blackhawks do from here? Well, they need to play the exact same way they played against Vancouver the rest of the way. If they outshoot the opposition 49-20 every single game the rest of the way, they should win more than they lose. It doesn’t happen often for a shot counter to be that lopsided in your favor and still lose.

The power play continues to be brutal for Chicago. That was a big key to losing to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night and it was a key to losing to Vancouver last night. With players like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Alex DeBrincat, Dominik Kubalik, and Brandon Saad in the lineup, they should never go 0-5. Scoring even just one could have changed the entire flow of the game. It needs to be better or they will continue to sink.

They will face the Calgary Flames on Saturday to continue the road trip. Calgary is also a fragile team right now as they also lost last night to the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames play again tonight against the Anaheim Ducks while the Hawks will head there to get ready for them. Their playoff chances took a hit in this one but it isn’t over. They would be wise to finish this trip out strong.