Chicago Blackhawks: Detroit Red Wings are wildly improved

The Chicago Blackhawks went into the season with lots of hype. Additions like Marc-Andre Fleury, Tyler Johnson, Seth Jones, and Jake McCabe seemed to be enough to take their roster and make it a bubble team at minimum. Unfortunately, they have been beaten badly over the first five games and sit with an 0-4-1 record.

The Hawks are playing a system that just doesn’t work for them. They can’t defend properly playing man coverage and they have a very hard time scoring. They have nine goals this season so far and six of them came on the power play. Three even-strength goals over five games are certainly not going to cut it. Changes need to be made and fast.

Sunday is the day that the team hopes to get its first win of the season. The Detroit Red Wings have been an easier team to play against over the last few seasons but that tide is starting to turn. They are going into the weekend with a record of 2-1-1. They have stocked their farm with lots of young talent and now it is starting to show up.

They have a few studs that have been impressive like Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi. However, even younger players like Filip Zadina, Mortiz Seider, and Lucas Raymond amongst others make an impact as well. All of these guys are growing up together and will have the Red Wings back in contention soon enough.

The Chicago Blackhawks will have their hands full against the Detroit Red Wings.

We don’t know exactly how long they will sustain success this season but they will certainly be hard to play against. If the Hawks want to beat them and collect their first win of the season, they need to play the best game they’ve played on Sunday night.

There is a bit of a scheduling break involved here. The Hawks’ most recent game against the Vancouver Canucks came on Thursday night. However, the Red Wings will be playing against them in the second half of a back-to-back after playing the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. We can only hope that the extra time off in between games helps the Blackhawks out.

It is tough to go into the sixth game of the season without a win but that is the reality. It can’t keep going like this otherwise it will get ugly for a lot of people involved. After this game against Detroit, they have the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and St. Louis Blues who all look like championship quality teams right now. Getting their first win of the season against a wildly improved Detroit Red Wings team feels like a must.