The Chicago Blackhawks are back at the bottom

The Chicago Blackhawks played one of their biggest rivals on Thursday night in the St. Louis Blues. It, no matter where either team is in the standings, is always fun to watch these two organizations come together for a game.

The Blackhawks got goals from Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Johnson, and Boris Katchouk but lost the game by a final score of 5-3. The Blues aren’t a great team this year and have traded some of their biggest stars but they are still better than the Blackhawks right now.

In fact, as of right now, everyone in the league is higher in the standings again. The Columbus Blue Jackets looked like they were running away with 32nd place in the league but the point they got from the overtime loss to the Boston Bruins put them ahead in the standings.

Both Chicago and Columbus have 54 points but the Blackhawks have one more game played so they are below the Jackets. The Anaheim Ducks have been in the mix all season long. They are just ahead at 56 points.

The San Jose Sharks entered the lottery sweepstakes late in the season but a Logan Couture overtime-winning goal vs the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday got them up to 57 points which is 29th in the league.

The Chicago Blackhawks want to end the season in last place for the best odds.

Columbus has the Florida Panthers on Saturday night who are fighting hard for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The players on the Jackets would love to spoil the fun for Florida as losing to them would be detrimental but the organization has to be wanting Florida to pull it out.

Meanwhile, next in the tank wars for the Blackhawks is the New Jersey Devils, also on Saturday night. New Jersey is one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They have already clinched a playoff spot but they are still playing hard for good seeding in the postseason.

Connor Bedard, the reason that the tank wars are so entertaining, now has 71 goals and 72 assists for 143 points in 57 games for the Regina Pats. Whichever team wins the lottery is going to love having this generational talent for over a decade.

Even if coming in last or second to last helps them win the second lottery, Adam Fantilli is going to be an NHL star soon too. He isn’t at Connor Bedard’s generational status but he is going to be an impact player right away for whichever team has the second pick.

He is trying to end his college career with a National Championship and the Frozen Four will take place next weekend.

With the Blackhawks in dead last, they have a good chance at him as of right now. If the season ended today, they’d enter the lottery with the best chance to get him. You don’t have to root for your favorite team to lose but you can see the bright side when they do.