Why? Why did you wait so long to figure it out 2018-19 Chicago Blackhawks?
The Hawks have won 5 in a row and are winning games the way a playoff team would win; a solid 2-0 win in Montreal was the latest victory. During this stretch, they have outscored their opponents 21-10.
The Hawks are making a valiant push towards the playoffs that will end their regular season in 1 of 2 ways: 1) By some miracle, they make the playoffs and give it their best in Round #1 OR 2) They fall just short and completely mess up their draft position.
Being in the hockey mecca of Toronto, year-after-year (from around 2005 to 2012) I would watch the Leafs make a nice push at the end of the season just to fall short and then end up drafting a Jiri Tlusty or a Tyler Biggs.
Listen, I'm never going to root against the Hawks to lose but months ago when they took up residence at the bottom of the league, I licked my lips at the prospect of getting a top tier pick in this year's draft.
The fact is, I just know how much help a top 5 pick would have on this team due to the potential immediate impact a Hughes or Kakko would have.
Well, after watching the strides this team has made – and more recently on the defensive side of the ice – I say go for it! I still don't think the Blackhawks will make the postseason but give it hell and what happens… happens.
Currently the Hawks have a 11.7% chance at making the playoffs (as per Hockey Reference):
With so many in-divisional games for all teams as the season closes out, the Hawks are really climbing an uphill battle. But damn, it's been impressive to see how well they've played at times during this transition year. It's not lost on me how poorly they have played at times this season but to think of how lost this team was after Quenneville got the boot and the turnaround since under Colliton has been fun to watch.
Here are the current standings after last night's games:
chemical name al2o3
What's the week hold for the Blackhawks?
Well, this week alone could determine how close they actually get to that last Wild Card spot; their schedule is:
Tonight - Home vs. Vancouver Canucks
Thursday – Home vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Saturday - @ Colorado Avalanche
Sunday – Home vs. Colorado Avalanche
Those weekend games vs. the Avs are going to be huge. As I said, it's an uphill battle but the Hawks are humming and it's been entertaining to have somewhat meaningful games at this point in the season.
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From the department of swine, the Rockford IceHogs had a kick-ass weekend winning all 3 games.
The ‘Hogs are catching fire at the right time. They are 13-5-1-1 since January 25th. Peter Holland was acquired on February 18th and has been a huge part of adding more scoring punch to this team. He's currently the 1C on this team. If you're curious to how the rest of the lineup is looking these days, here is last game's lines:
Louis-Holland-Schroeder
Martinsen-T.Sikura-Pelletier
Ejdsell-Johnson-McLaughlin
Fortin-Knott-Watson
Gilbert-Jokiharju
Carlsson-Tuulola
Hillman-Osipov
Forsberg
If I were the Blackhawks, I would be looking hard at resigning Anton Forsberg this summer. He is an RFA so the Hawks do have some leverage even if Forsberg isn't loving his position on the depth chart in the organization these days.
Forsberg won 2 of the 3 games this weekend and has been lights out this year in the AHL. He is now leading the league with a .924 SV%. He and Delia will be an outstanding duo heading into the playoff race.
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Finally, so great to see Quenneville pop up in the media for the first time since he was let go. It sounds like he's been really enjoying his time with his family and I have no doubt that he's hired in June once the playoffs finish up.
The following is a quick interview courtesy of Dan Roan of WGN:
See ya out there!
JL
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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