Todd Cordell
The Blackhawks have hit a bit of a wall of late, relatively speaking, but I still think they'll be atop the Central Division standings when all is said and done.
With all the firepower they have, all the depth they have and the Vezina caliber goaltending Corey Crawford is giving them I think they're too good not to win the division.
Jason Lewis What a race that is turning into. All three teams within two points of each other at the start of play Saturday.
I've really liked how St. Louis has played recently, and Dallas had a tremendous showing against Chicago on Friday night, but I still peg the Hawks as the favorite.
That's really a ridiculous group of quality teams though and it may simply come down to who gets the hot hand over the last few weeks. My money would be on Chicago-Dallas-St. Louis. Although part of me really wants a Chicago-St. Louis first round.
John Jaeckel Mmmmm . . . Dallas?
It's a three horse race and the Stars seem to be playing better of late.
I don't think it'll be Chicago because they are still assimilating a lot of new faces acquired a couple of weeks ago—and in spite of some opinions expressed in a recent Hotstove, the Hawks do miss Marcus Kriger, especially the penalty kill, a traditional strength of the team that has gone from 10th in the league to 26th while Kruger has been injured. The Blackhawks have learned that "winning the regular season" means very little. Remains to be seen how this year's team will fare in the playoffs—it's just not as good defensively as in years past—but that is where their sights are firmly set.