After three days of rest, the Hawks are back home for a set of back-to-back games against Central Division rivals, first up the dominant Dallas Stars. The past two games for the Hawks have been about spoiling the team's chances of making the playoffs. While the Stars have already clinched their playoff spot, the Hawks still find themselves in an oppurtunity to play the role of spoilers. The Stars are in the mix for the Central Division title with the Avalanche; currently, they hold a three-point lead with a game in hand. They are also battling the Canucks for number one seed in the West and home ice advantage throughout the Western Conference Playoffs. Adding to even all that, they are 3 points behind the Rangers with a game in hand for the President's Trophy and home ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs. So at first glance, this seems like a meaningless game of top dog vs. bottom feeder; it is actually more important when you take a deeper look. Now the stakes aren’t as high as they were for the Flyers or Islanders, but when it comes to the Stanley Cup playoffs, every advantage helps, especially if you can spend less time on the road.
The Stars come into this one as the hottest team in the NHL, currently on an 8-game winning streak. They are coming off a dominant 5-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers and have not let up a goal for the last 152:21 minutes since JT Miller scored against them back on March 28th. This team is locked in and ready to make a deep run in the playoffs. I am always very impressed with this Dallas team when I go back and look at their roster. I know I have mentioned this before, but they are the blueprint for how I hope KD is rebuilding the Hawks. They knocked it out of the park with the 2017 draft-grabbing Jake Oettinger, Jason Robertson, and Miro Heiskanen, and then have done a great job filling their roster with the right veterans and role guys. A very impressive job by GM Jim Nill and his team of scouts.
Projected line-up
#Blackhawks lineup at practice: Bedard-Dickinson-Kurashev Foligno-T. Johnson-Anderson Reichel-Athanasiou-Blackwell Slaggert-Entwistle-Donato
With it being an earlier game, there will be no morning skate, so these were the lines that the team ran with in practice on Friday. Not much changing around, which is ok by me. Going into the final stretch of games, I wouldn’t hate seeing different combos, but the idea that they can keep some consistency and build off of each other is great. I still really like Bedard on the wing for the rest of the year; let him focus on just playing his game and let his responsibilities be just that. Jason Dickinson has earned the right to be playing 1C minutes, and I am glad to see that Richardson not only recognizes it but is also delivering for him. With today being a “bigger” game, I expect Mrazek to get the nod and for Soderblom to play the “meaningless” game tomorrow.
Quick Hits
Connor Murphy
Murphy has been skating with the team but will not play this weekend. He has been out of the lineup since January 13th with a groin injury. He shed some light on what he has been dealing with, and he has been out with osteitis pubis, which is the same issue Sharks Captain Logan Couture has been battling and has cost him most of his season. Murphy hopes to get back sometime next week and get a few games under his belt before the end of the season.
Reese Johnson
Another injured Hawk, Johnson, has been out since March 12th with a concussion. He has not been skating after suffering a setback and was expected to see a doctor on Friday to get a better idea of the next steps. At this rate, with the season having no meaning in the final few weeks, it might be best to shut him down and not risk making things worse.
Colin Blackwell
The forward has been out of the lineup due to injury but will make his return today against the Stars. On top of that, he was named the Hawks representative for the Masterton Trophy. This award is given to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. While he more than likely won’t win, this is a great honor for someone who typically doesn’t get recognized for his game.
Connor Bedard
I couldn’t go through a whole blog and not talk, especially about Bedard, could I? News came out that once the Hawks season ends on April 18th, we won’t have to wait long to see Bedard back in action. The World Championship kicks off in May, and GM Rick Nash has stated that Bedard and Ducks forward Mason McTavish have already been approached about playing for Team Canada. Just knowing Bedard, I don’t think we have to speculate whether or not he will accept the invitation to play more hockey. It will be fun to watch him play with some top players, as this tournament usually brings out some of the best players not in the NHL Playoffs and has been the closest thing we have gotten to best-on-best international action since the NHL kept their players out of the Olympics.
That’s going to be it for me puck drop is an early one today coming in at 2:30 central time. There will be two broadcast for this one with being a traditional broadcast with John Weideman and Darren Pang and the other being an animated “kids” game with Chris Vosters and Dominic Moore on the call. I bet you can guess which one most of us will be tuning into. As always, Lets Go Hawks!
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