Another week, another story. The Chicago Blackhawks have slipped in the standings but ever so slightly. The Hawks did okay in the last week with two victories and one ugly loss.
The Hawks’ current record sits at 35-11-14 (as of 2/10/2014). They have a total of 84 points in 60 games played. However, they are no longer technically in first.
The St. Louis Blues have surpassed the Hawks in the standings with their record of 39-12-6 and a point total of 84 as well. The difference between the Blues and Blackhawks is that the Blues have only played 57 games.
We all knew this day might come with the Hawks struggling for points lately. But this does not mean that the Hawks cant take back the lead…don’t think that for one second! With the 2014 Winter Olympics break, the Blackhawks have a chance to recuperate.
Well, at least some do. Most of the Hawks will be competing in Sochi for the gold.
But, regardless, the Hawks might benefit from this break in the hopes of coming back hungry for the Stanley Cup.
Let’s hope that when the Olympics end, the playoff mentality of the Blackhawks kicks in right away! Because after the Olympics, there only 22 regular-season games left!
These last 22 games will be crucial in regards to which team earns the No.1 spot in the Division.
Last Week’s Recap
As mentioned earlier, the Hawks went 2-1-0 last week. The two wins came from well-fought games over Western Conference foes, the Anaheim Ducks and the Las Angeles Kings.
First the Hawks defeated LA. This game was a high scoring, high adrenaline bout. The Hawks bested the Kings with a 5-3 victory with goals coming from Patrick Kane (2), Bryan Bickell, Marcus Kruger, and Nick Leddy.
However, this was no ordinary game for Patrick Kane. Hours before puck-drop, Patrick learned that his grandfather had passed away. Unlike many other people and/or professional sports players in the world, Patrick went on to play, and play he did.
Despite being emotionally distraught over the loss of his grandfather, whom he was very close to, Kane went out on the ice and scored 2 goals and even registered an assist.
To those of you that remember the young, party animal Patrick Kane, this display of maturity and sportsmanship for his team puts all those immature memories to rest, at least for me. The fact that Patrick decided to play, let alone register 3 points on the night, is extremely admirable.
Patrick Kane expressed his grief to the media after the game, which caused viewers to feel nothing short of empathy. Kane then missed the game against Phoenix days later to attend his grandfather’s ceremonies in Buffalo, New York.
When the Hawks showed up in Anaheim, they knew it would be a tough Western Conference showdown. Despite playing against the No.1 team in the Western Conference, the Blackhawks shut out the Anaheim Ducks 2-0.
The two goals came from Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews. Hossa also assisted Toews’ goal, giving him 2 points on the night. Corey Crawford earned the 1st Star of the night with his impressive 29 save shutout.
Now the ugly part. The Hawks finished up their Pacific Division road trip with an ugly loss. The Hawks got shut out 2-0. The goals came from Keith Yandle and Radim Vrbata.
Phoenix Coyotes’ goaltender Mike Smith played a great game resulting in the lack of scoring by the Blackhawks. By the looks of it Mike Smith looked like he wanted to prove his position on Team Canada for the 2014 Winter Olympics over Corey Crawford.
This was the first time the Blackhawks had been shut out in 126 regular-season games. This dates back to the 2011-12 season! Let’s hope that does not happen again anytime soon.
When the Blackhawks return from the Olympic break, they will square-off against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, February 27 at 6:00 p.m.
Blackhawks News
There have some more recent developments for the Chicago Blackhawks. General Manager Stan Bowman has dealt a 2014 4th Round Draft Pick to the New York Islanders in exchange for forwards Peter Regin and Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
Peter Regin was selected by the Ottawa Senators in the third round, 87th overall, in the 2004 NHL Enry Draft. Pierre-Marc Bouchard was selected by the Minnesota Wild in the first round, 8th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
Peter Regin has been added to the Chicago Blackhawks active roster and played against the Phoenix Coyotes while Bouchard was assigned to the Rockford IceHogs along with forward Brandon Pirri.
I believe this move has added more experience to the lineup for the Hawks and I think this move can work out for the best. Regin only has 5 goals and 2 assists in 44 NHL games played this season, but I expect those numbers to increase while playing among the Blackhawks.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard has only 4 goals and 5 assists in his 28 NHL games played this season. Bouchard was a solid player for the Minnesota Wild prior to being traded last off-season to the New York Islanders.
I would like to see some growth from him as well.
Frank’s Three Stars of the Week
1st: Patrick Kane
2nd: Marian Hossa
3rd: Jonathan Toews
Kane: Patrick Kane, despite having a terrible week emotionally due to his grandfather’s loss, played very well this week. In just 2 games, since he missed the third game due to the loss in the family, Kaner scored 2 goals and 1 assist, all coming from the game against the LA Kings, the game where Kane was informed of his grandfather’s passing just hours before. Kane showed tremendous courage and maturity as he saved his tears to win the game against the Kings. For this, Kane deserves the 1st Star of the Week, no doubt.
Hossa: Marian Hossa has earned the 2nd Star of the Week for his great play of late. Big “Hoss” has tallied 1 goal and 2 assists last week. Hossa scored his goal against the Anaheim Ducks adding to the 2-0 shutout and also added an assist on the night. Marian Hossa also registered an assist against the Las Angeles Kings.
Toews: Captain Toews’ contributions on the week include 1 goal and 2 assists and a +2 rating in his last 3 games.
Frank Markasovic
Sports Editor