The defending champs are a very hard team to bet against right now even with two major questions looming above their heads, those surround the health of their two young super stars.
On paper this team is still the near unstoppable behemoth that won the Cup last season and enjoyed some record setting success. In the midst of all this; Duncan Keith is all but assured to win the Norris Trophy thanks to being good at defense AND putting up points…the media needs their point watch, Patrick Sharp had a career year, Patrick Kane for a while there was looking to finish top 5 in points, Toews, Hossa, Saad, Seabrook, you know what you get the drift, things were looking really swell. Yet now, there are serious doubts despite this team being extremely dangerous.
No Toews, No Kane, No Gain?
In March the Blackhawks lost first Patrick Kane on March 19 then Toews on the 30th to injury a lower-body one that required a brace for Kane and an upper-body one that required some hate mail from a demographic of the fan base to Brooks Orpik. Now optimism is high and the organization is saying all the right things, “Gives them time to rest, they should be 100% by the playoffs, they’re close to practicing, etc.… Look I have no doubt that we will likely see both starting in game one against the Blues, I just wonder if they can afford to have both struggle (If they do). The Blackhawks have some great depth, arguably the best in the league, but take out these two or have them playing below average and you have a recipe for controversy in an already tight playoff format. I think it goes without saying that every single team would/will struggle if their top players are not 100% and this is a legitimate concern.
A team with
Shaw Handzus Smith Kruger
Down the middle is simply not going to get you out of that Conference without major luck or breakout performances. Without Toews that group is easily the weakest in the Western conference through no fault of their own. Do you put Sharp at centre again? He’s clearly better as a winger. Will Toews be 100% after that hit?
Obviously this is major speculation until the puck drops because no organization would release details about their injured player unless it was 100% certain they had no chance to play at this stage with two days before the game. This team is likely the favourite to win it all, so we need to find something to quibble about.
The Good Backend and the Bad Backend
Corey Crawford proved doubters wrong last season and won the Cup. Huzzah! It has to be said that he was very strong both in the regular season and post season and seemed to shake the crippling softies that hampered him in the previous playoff series. This season though…he doesn’t seem to have that spark again. Playing behind the best defense in hockey on a team that usually has two Selke Trophy candidates is a bonus, but despite having won it all I don’t think most are sold on the Crawfish to get it done again. Now I’m not saying he has been bad, because he hasn’t, he just isn’t as good as he was in the half season (imo of course). Now he isn’t at Fleury levels of mistrust, far from it and as mentioned before he has the benefit of a top notch defense…man that defense. If there is a weak link beyond injuries to two super stars, it has to be between the pipes and perhaps the penalty kill which isn’t anything to brag about yet still serviceable…hell that seems like the definition of Crawford.
A Bickell Problem with Depth Scoring
Last playoff run one story that caught the headlines was obviously the Fernando Pisani-esque performance of one Bryan Bickell. The big man had 9 goals and 17 points to go with being extra physical; this earned him his shiny new contract. Disappointing is an understatement, and I do feel sorry for those who picked Bickell in their fantasy keeper pools hoping for a breakout. With just 11 goals all year long it has been a trying season for Bickell and it’s a testament to the Blackhawks depth and sheer dominant top-end skill that their fifth highest paid forward can slump (or be himself) for that long and never have them miss a beat all season. Will he have another dose of spinach and bring his play up to snuff? Can the depth players like Versteeg, Kruger, Smith, Handzus and Morin (I really hope they play him more, been waiting for him for a long time) play better? Especially Versteeg who has had one of his worst years in an NHL uniform.
Round One between the Blues and Blackhawks will be one to watch as both have legitimate gripes and concerns around injuries, plus an air of invincibility that has tarnished nearing the end of the year coinciding with said injuries (Blues more so than the Blackhawks).
Thanks for reading. Next the Avalanche, I hope to get these all out before the second games the teams play at the latest. Doing the top teams (St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, LA) are definitely the hardest with more nitpicky things to show.