Chicago Blackhawks: Maple Leafs come to town very angry

The Chicago Blackhawks are about to play their first game back after the results of the sexual assault allegations came out. It is also their first game where Stan Bowman is no longer their GM which will really make things interesting. There are a lot more changes that need to be made but the team is also desperate for their first win of the season.

The Hawks’ players should be angry. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in town and also very angry. They are 2-4-1 in their first seven games of the season which is very bad. They aren’t quite 0-5-1 like the Chicago Blackhawks are but the expectations were a little bit different for each team.

Regardless, each team is upset. The Leafs’ biggest problem right now is that they are having a very tough time scoring. Their shooting percentages are unsustainable low. The percentages will come up and that will surely lead the team to more wins.

With superstars like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner leading the way, this team has so much offensive skill. When they finally get it going, the rest of their regular season will go just fine.

The Chicago Blackhawks are in trouble with the Toronto Maple Leafs in town.

It is when the playoffs roll around that their depth will be tested and ultimately be beaten. They have a lot of money against the cap because of those four players. They have to get over the hump for anyone to believe that they can do anything with this group.

The Hawks are catching them at the worst possible time. The Leafs are dangerous no matter what but now they are angry. They want to get a win so bad and it may come at the expense of the Hawks. If they are without Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews due to COVID-19 issues, it may be even tougher for Chicago to get anything going.

This is a tough situation for Chicago. They get the Leafs at home but they are without a win and their two best players. That puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the group. If they don’t get that first win, it is hard to see where it is going to come for this team. Jeremy Colliton has to be on the hot seat with Bowman gone as it is and this game could be the last test.

For the Hawks to win this game, they are going to have to play a perfect 60 minutes. Alex DeBrincat, Kirby Dach, and Dominik Kubalik need to lead the offense. They need to be hard on the puck and get support from guys like Seth Jones on the back end. It would also be nice to see Marc-Andre Fleury or Kevin Lankinen make some big saves in the meantime.

If they do all of these things, they can take advantage of the Leafs at this point. They don’t want that team to get some confidence offensively otherwise it won’t be pretty. There have been a few “must-wins” over the past few days and this feels like another one. They need to stop the bleeding right now.