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The All-Star Weekend was especially gratifying for the Hawks and their fans.
Arguably, no NHL franchise, other than the host Blue Jackets, was more front and center throughout the weekend than the beloved Indianhead.
But, as the old saying goes, now it’s back to business, and that means answering some questions that were left hanging with the suspension of play a few days back.
The big issue right now is points. Playoff seeding and home-ice in the playoffs matters.
In third place in the Central Division, and just two points ahead of Winnipeg (one of two Wild Card teams at present), the Hawks would serve themselves well by reversing the fortunes of December 20-January 20. Two points tomorrow might are every bit as valuable as two points at the end of March.
The Hawks did win their last two games before the break, a laugher over a bad Coyotes team at home and then a shootout squeaker over an injured Penguins club in Pittsburgh. So that’s something to build on. But there’s not a significant body of evidence there that suggests the Hawks had it “turned around” completely either.
Making things tougher, the Hawks start the second half on a long West Coast roadie, starting with the Kings, ending with the Jets. And with three very good teams in between.
In seasons past, this kind of trip has typically seen the Hawks come together and start a roll of sorts. This would be a good time for the same to happen.
A bad road trip would not only perpetuate the doldrums of the last month-plus, and maybe deepen a psychological rut, but would also accentuate the need for points. Better to rack them up early, than to struggle for them late.
So, yes, this trip can be seen as a bit of a bellwether, and definitely a tone-setter for the second half of the season, if not the playoffs.
RASMUSSEN UP
I’ll confess, I haven’t seen a lot of the newest Hawk, C/W Dennis Rasmussen, signed by the Hawks out of Sweden last summer and recently called up from Rockford.
What I have seen tells me he fits a “mold” the Hawks like: as good (or better) defending over 200 feet of ice as he is attacking. Can play center or wing. Think: Marcus Kruger with a bit more size.
What this also tells me is the Hawks are not necessarily following the script set forth in the blogosphere as far as matriculating which prospects to the NHL and when. When some expected Teuvo Teravainen earlier in the year, they got Philip Danault. After Teravainen was eventually called up, some might have expected Mark McNeill to be next. Instead, they got Rasmussen.
But Rasmussen could be reassigned this afternoon—his call-up just a cap move—and McNeill then called up and it wouldn’t really matter.
To my eye, it continues to appear that the Hawks are doling out auditions, one by one, to get a clear sense of the entirety of what they have at Rockford—likely in anticipation of a tight cap situation next year.
But the thing to be aware of with Rasmussen is he’s 24, with a number of years of pro (SEL) hockey under his belt. And this audition, with Kris Versteeg having gone to LTIR, could be to see if Rasmussen can help in the playoffs.
I'll have a Kings preview tomorrow.
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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