The Blackhawks' Second Quarter: You Keep Me Hangin' On

For this quarterly update, I used the photo from a game that came at about the midway point between the last update and this new one, a December 11 overtime win over San Jose that was in the team's "Best Photos of 2011" gallery. That win was back when the Hawks were still in first, and things were going quite swimmingly.

Currently, however, Chicago is in the midst of a three-game skid. And if the playoffs were to start today, the fact that the team is not in first place means they would actually have to open the postseason with the Red Wings. I wish there were some sort of consolatory statement about St. Louis currently had the advantage of having played an extra game or something, but instead, the Blues end up one point ahead of the Hawks after 41 games because of one extra overtime loss. Sorry, that probably doesn't help at all, actually.
 
Still, as it currently stands, there's a lot more to like than dislike about the team. And unless you really believe the Blues can maintain a pace that would amass them something like 115 points (I know I sure don't), it seems safe to assume that Chicago will very likely be contending for home-ice throughout the season's second half.

 
At this time, half of the Western Conference's playoff teams would be coming out of the Central division and four of the top six seeds as well. Nashville may be challenged, but I expect them to hang in there like they always do. As I hinted at in the last paragraph, the collapse would most likely have to come from St. Louis. Certainly, the Washington Capitals over in the East have to be hoping that Dale Hunter can provide the sort of improvement Ken Hitchcock seems to have given the Blues.
 
In Chicago, it's not like there's areas that don't need to be improved upon. There's almost certainly going to be some sort of outcry about a goaltending concern as both Corey Crawford and Ray Emery have had their hot streaks, but have each given fans plenty of reason to squirm as well. How well both men play in the coming weeks is going to go a long way toward determining who gets started come April.
 
There's also numerous issues with defense, and I'm hesitant to blame some of the deficiencies of the move of that high-cost salary Brian Campbell carried, but the way that man moved the puck admittedly made a huge difference. I think it's sort of critical to keep in mind that the Hawks were on the ropes in that first round of the Cup year until Campbell got back on the ice. His absence this year has led to some fairly lackluster second and third pairings that need to improve before there can be real confidence going into the playoffs.

However seriously you want to take the problems the Hawks might be having, the division is no longer a guarantee. Even without St. Louis, there's the annual problem with that squad out of Detroit. Like I said though, the difference between first and second in the Central at the end of the year could equate to a substantial difference in the quality of opponent with which the playoffs would begin.