The Blackhawks' Fourth Quarter: Bring on the Blues

For every one of the previous three quarterly updates, the Blackhawks had been holding off the St. Louis Blues for first place in the Central Division. The largest lead at any quarter's conclusion was a mere four points and the leads at the time were always somewhat misleading because St. Louis always had at least a couple games still in hand. It was shortly after that last update when the Blues boasted the biggest of all trade deadline acquisitions in star Sabres goalie Ryan Miller that St. Louis finally overtook the 'Hawks for the top spot in the Central and appeared well on their way to contending for the Presidents' Trophy. However, the month of April was not kind to the Blues, concluding the season by losing six in a row and, in the process, conceding the division title to a plucky Colorado Avalanche squad that I had originally forecast to finish in the cellar (so, you know, "oops").

With Detroit now a member of the Eastern Conference, St. Louis has certainly felt like the new regional rival for Chicago. In that sense, it's only appropriate that they meet in the first round of the NHL's newly revamped playoff system that wants to hype up division rivalries. The Blackhawks finished the year with the team's two biggest stars, Toews and Kane, sidelined by injuries. The Blues have also been dealing with their share of health woes, as Derek Roy, Vladimir Sobotka, T.J. Oshie, Brenden Morrow, David Backes, and Barret Jackman were all listed as "day-to-day" in the final two weeks.

Of course, paralysis, amputation, or decapitation are the only types of injuries that would cause a player to miss the playoffs in the NHL. Everybody's going to be banged up when the race for the Cup kicks off Wednesday night, but I don't see how 'Hawks fans cannot feel great about the team they drew. Whereas the last few weeks were fret with concern about how Chicago was ever going to be able to score on Colorado netminder Semyon Varlamov (boasting a stunning .960 save percentage against the Blackhawks this year), the Blues suddenly look like a complete mess and an ideal opponent for last year's Stanley Cup Champions to begin their title defense against. I might not be so optimistic a couple weeks from now, but for the time being, I'm pretty damn happy.

So like I said, Colorado wildly exceeded my expectations more than any other team in the league this year. They will be a tough out for every team they play along the way, and I'm not counting on Minnesota pulling off an upset against them in Round One. Five of the seven teams in this division made the playoffs, making it arguably the league's best collection of talent this year. I'm immediately tempted to believe Dallas will upset the Western Conference's top seed, Anaheim.

As for the Blackhawks, they can be somewhat forgive for not winning the Central outright. Remember, they are coming off a ridiculously brief off-season shortened by both last year starting late after the lockout and this season starting sooner because of the Olympic break. And speaking of the Olympics, the Blackhawks tied for the most players sent over to Sochi. So it's understandable why these guys might have been pooped on any given night in any city. The question now is can they quickly pull it all together in time to recapture the magic that led them to the top of the mountain last year?

This upcoming playoff run looks every bit as challenging as last season. While I'm feeling good about a lowly Blues squad to start things against, the Avs would be a most formidable foe in the following round, any one of the three Pacific teams could give Chicago fits in the conference finals, and it would be foolish to deny that the Bruins look even stronger than they did last year when they made it all the way to the Cup Final (although I think Detroit it going to be a tougher opening draw than they were probably hoping for). The most exciting time of year for this hockey fan kicks off on Wednesday, and then the personal investment of hope and shaving to start a new playoff beard begins the day after.

Bring on the razor, and let that facial hair grow, baby.