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Dustin Byfuglien in 2010.

Bryan Bickell in 2013.

With each of the Hawks' last two Cup runs have come unlikely heroes. I'm not sure any surprise dark horse will emerge, much less that the Hawks will make the finals or win the Cup itself. But the following are 5 guys who I think could be key to the Hawks' hopes:

1) Marian Hossa, RW

People keep writing him off and he keeps proving over and over he's still one of the game's best players over 200 feet of ice. Plus, he was healthy all year and often looked ten years younger than his age (35). People also forget he was hurt in last year's playoffs. Well, he goes into these playoffs 100%. And the Hawks may need him to stay there. It appears Patrick Kane is 100%, but there are some questions about the nature and extent of captain Jonathan Toews' upper body injury. If Toews is not 100%, or misses some games, the Hawks will need Hossa to come up big—as he did down the stretch in the regular season while Toews was out.

2) Niklas Hjalmarsson, D

A relatively unsung hero from last Spring, Hjalmarsson was key to the Western Conference Final win over L.A., effectively carrying the defense when Duncan Keith was suspended. And Hjalmarsson is key to the Hawks' depth, stabilizing a second pairing coach Joel Quenneville can confidently match against opposing top lines, and taking immense pressure off Keith and Brent Seabrook. If the Hammer strikes for the Hawks in April, May and June, it could pay huge dividends.

3) Marcus Kruger, C

Kruger has become a top shutdown center man, improving his face-off percentage alone by nearly 15% over last season. What his "fourth" line does, often sent out against the opponent's top line, is give the Hawks the luxury of three scoring lines. Kruger must come up big on the penalty kill as well—an area where the Hawks improved over the second half of the season before a recent dip the last few games.

4) Corey Crawford, G

Make no mistake, going into a $6 million per year contract this summer, Crawford is the man. And he must play like it. More up than down in last year's playoffs, he might need to be better this year as the Hawks' team defense is not quite to where it was last season.

5) Bryan Bickell, W

Bickell came back from injury at the end of the regular season looking snarly and ready. Which is great news for the Hawks. Bickell is a lot like Byfuglien, a player whose pilot light must be "on," and when it is—look out. Combined with Andrew Shaw and Brandon Bollig, Bickell gives the Hawks plenty of muscle and nasty for the tough going.


I'll be back soon with a detailed breakdown and prediction on the Hawks-Blues Series.


JJ

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