The Blackhawks' First Quarter

We're now 22 games into the year for the beloved Blackhawks and I don't really know what else I could ask for—especially considering that the big prized free agent will finally be hitting the ice tomorrow night.

So as it is right now, the Blackhawks are exactly where I said they'd be at the end of the year—which is to say first in their division and second in the conference. In all honesty, however, I expected the start to be a little slower, what with Hossa not on the ice yet.

Instead, much to my pleasant surprise, the team has come out and played lights out most every time I've watched them. Their longest losing streak of the season so far hasn't been but a mere two games while right now they're enjoying a seven-game winning streak—the last three of those all coming on the road during the typically not-so-hot "Circus Trip" (it appears the Bulls—whom we'll get to later—are upholding the traditionally disappointing results of a fortnight-long road trip).

Perhaps best of all would be the recent report that the big three of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Kieth would ALL be staying in Chicago. While that's not official yet and it's fair to wonder what contracts would have to be moved in order to finally put this concern to rest, the bottom line remains that there truly is not time like right now for this team. Whatever your feelings on whom is expendable and whom is not among those contracts, this is the one year you have all the guys in one place, so you might as well make the most of it.

Our concerns heading into this season had primarily been with the goaltending, but that doesn't seem to be bothering me too much of late. Cristobal Huet has been fine so far but even rookie goalie Antti Niemi has been a pleasant surprise, already having recorded two shutouts this season. (Longtime Devil center John Madden is certainly proving to be as equally pleasant a surprise in his first year as a Hawk.)

So what's stopping Chicago from hoisting the Stanley Cup? Well, there's still three more quarters of a season yet to come, so there's the usual concerns about somebody getting hurt. And of course we still haven't seen how Hossa will fit in best among the lines Coach Q will more than likely be toying with in the coming weeks, but both of those are very minor points of contention. What we have right now one-fourth of the way into the NHL season is a lot of cause for optimism among the hockey fans in Chicago, because certainly we're suffering from "high-class problems" that are typically the minor annoyances from perennial contenders.

And I'm fairly confident that we're not going to be seeing a more memorable game though (at least as far as the regular season goes) than the mid-October rally from five goals down to beat the Flames (Puck Daddy included it as No. 8 on the best games of the decade). Forgive me as I get reacquainted with the feeling of being out in front, but I think I could get used to this.