The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to meet the Chicago Blackhawks again

The Chicago Blackhawks have been very cold lately. However, they earned a comeback overtime win over the Ottawa Senators on Friday night. The tank is on everyone’s mind but it doesn’t hurt to end a long losing streak every now and again.

Chicago is going to be right there for the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery which tells you just how bad they have been this season. It is by design but it can’t be easy for the players and coaching staff. Everyone in that room wants to win despite the clear intentions of the front office.

Now, with the trade deadline just a couple of weeks away, the Hawks get to play these games with the hopes of being good sellers so they can improve their rebuild even more. It isn’t going to be a lot of fun on the ice but it might be fun in the summer.

Their next game will come on Sunday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. This game will come at the United Center as they meet for the second time in three games (the last one was obviously in Toronto). This is a matchup that isn’t all that great for the Hawks.

The Chicago Blackhawks will host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday night.

We know about the stars of the Maple Leafs who make them so hard to play against. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner are all supremely talented players that want to avoid another first-round disaster.

One thing that the Leafs did to address some of their issues is make a big trade. This team needed a little bit of toughness and grit to complement their skill so they went out and got it. Now, they might not be the softest elite team in the league.

They gave up a lot to land Ryan O’Reilly (and Noel Acciari) from the St. Louis Blues. It was a three-team deal where the Minnesota Wild joined in to help them with some salary cap issues. Obviously, this is an outstanding trade for all three teams in different ways.

Following a beat down of the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, the Leafs are headed to Chicago to try and get another big win. With the way things are going in the Eastern Conference, they are going to keep trying to stack as many points as they can.

You wouldn’t think that this matchup favors the Hawks very much. It is the type of game that would have to go perfectly for Chicago which is perfectly capable of happening in the NHL but not likely.

We can only hope that, regardless of the outcome, the trade chips play healthy and shine. It should be an interesting game for spectators but Hawks fans shouldn’t expect much.