Now that the playoffs are over, the NHL is back in full swing.
The Regular-Season is winding down to the end as teams prepare to advance into the Stanley Cup Playoffs or, for those less fortunate, start preparing for next season.
The Blackhawks have played two games in the last week and one will be played on Tuesday, March 4.
However, this article will already be submitted Monday night so the outcome will be known after the paper is printed.
The two games played, as of writing this column, have been against the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Hawks visited the Rangers at Madison Square Garden in the hopes of starting the last stretch of the season off with a win.
However, the Rangers had something else in mind as they defeated the Hawks in a 2-1 battle of an Original Six matchup.
New York’s goals came from goal-scorer Rick Nash and forward Derick Brassard.
Both goals were even-strength goals but were more than the Blackhawks could score.
The Blackhawks’ goal came from newly acquired forward Peter Regin late in the third period with just 12 seconds to go.
It was too late for the Hawks to come back.
Though New York bested the Hawks on that night, the Hawks would take out their revenge on another Eastern Conference foe in Pittsburgh.
This next game was no ordinary game.
This game would be played outside, under the lights at Soldier Field in Chicago as apart of the NHL Stadium Series Games.
The Hawks and Penguins had to endure the weather as the skies continued to spew out thick snow showers.
Aside from the snow, another outdoor factor that played a part in the adversity of this game would be the Chicago cold and frigid wind.
The cold and snow wouldn’t hinder the Hawks’ play as they defeated the Eastern Conference leaders 5-1.
This was a high scoring game considering the puck visibility was notably difficult with all the snow covering the ice.
The Blackhawks goals came from Jonathan Toews (2), Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, and Bryan Bickell.
These goals were more than enough to push past the Penguins.
The only Penguins’ goal came from a goal credited to forward James Neal.
It was credited to James Neal because Blackhawks’ defenseman Brent Seabrook accidentally threw the puck into his own net.
The Blackhawks will go into Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche with a record of 36-12-14 and a point total of 86.
The Blackhawks are now in 2nd place behind the St. Louis Blues who have 86 points as well but have played 2 games less than the Hawks.
Trailing the Blackhawks are the Colorado Avalanche with 83 points, Minnesota with 73 points, Dallas with 66 points, Winnipeg with 66 points and Nashville with 62 points.
Blackhawks News
There have been some recent developments for the Blackhawks as of late, some good and some not so good.
On the bright side of things, The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that they have come to terms with the contract extension of forward Brandon Bollig.
Bollig’s contact has been extended an additional three years, which will run through the end of the 2016-17 NHL season. Congrats to Bollig!
He has definitely improved from when he first entered the Hawks’ lineup and I cannot wait to see him continue to grow.
In other news, I am sad to say that Marian Hossa has been dealt another injury.
Hossa was injured during the Stadium Series game against the Penguins.
His injury is classified as an upper-body injury that will keep him sidelined for up to three weeks.
Hopefully he is back in the lineup as soon as possible!
Hossa has contributed a lot this season and missing him in the lineup will definitely make an impact.
Coach Quenneville claims that with this injury dealt to Hossa, more ice-time will be opened up to more players.
This can be a good thing considering that the Hawks have so much talent just waiting to be unleashed in the lines below Toews, Kane, and Sharp.
After the game that took place at Soldier Field Saturday night, March 1, goalie Corey Crawford noticed something was missing.
That something was his white-based goalie pads and some other accompanying goalie gear. Someone actually took Crawford’s gear!
If I had to guess I say it was Sidney Crosby, that guy is always doing something irritating at any given time.
But seriously, Crawford is upset and was forced to wear his black and red goalie pads from the Stadium Series at practice since he has no other pads as of right now.
Lastly, there has been another development that I am not very fond of.
And that is the trade made between the Florida Panthers and the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Hawks dealt rookie forward Brandon Pirri to Florida in exchange for a 2014 3rd Round Draft Pick and a 2016 5th Round Draft Pick.
Brandon Pirri is a young and talented center that was drafted by the Hawks in 2009 a 59th overall pick.
In my opinion, Pirri had more value than a 3rd and 5th round.
I believed that Pirri would really step up for the Hawks next season, as he did not play too much this season.
But, unfortunetly that is how it goes when it comes to the Trade Deadline.
Hopefully those picks acquired from Florida end up being worthwile in the future and I hope that Brandon Pirri gets more playing time down in Florida.
The Trade Deadline is Wednesday, March 5, so stay tuned to NHL News or wait until next issue to see which teams, including the Hawks, made trades that will benefit their teams!
Frank Markasovic
Sports Editor