Chicago Blackhawks Scariest Opponents Of All Time

Oct 30, 2015; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks forward

Jonathan Toews

(19) scores a goal during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. The Blackhawks have faced some scary opponents in their history. It seems only fitting that we discuss the five opponents the Blackhawks have faced in a playoff series. So here are some of the scariest opponents the Blackhawks have faced in the playoffs.

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#1: The 1971 Montreal Canadiens: The 1971 Montreal Canadiens had Ken Dryden, Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Lapointe, and Jean Beliveau. Dryden won the Con Smythe in 1970, he won the Calder Trophy in 1971 and the Hart Trophy. Cournoyer had won 4 of his 8 Stanley Cup Championships before 1970. Lapointe would would go onto to win 6 Stanley Cup Championships. Despite all that talent the 1971 Blackhawks lead by Dennis Hull, Bobby Hull Stan Mikita. and Tony Esposito had 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final. The Blackhawks could not seal the deal and would be defeated by the vaunted Canadiens. The Blackhawks would lose the Final 4-3.

#2. The 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins: The 1991-92 Penguins was lead by hall of fame coach Scotty Bowman. The team finished first in goals for that regular season. They had hall of fame players: Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis and Paul Coffey. The Penguins would go onto the sweep the Blackhawks 4-0 in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Blackhawks were lead by Ed Belfour, Chris Chelios, Steve Larmer, and Jeremy Roenick.

#3. The 2012-13 Detroit Red Wings: The Red Wings had been the Blackhawks ghost of playoffs past. The Red Wings had eliminated Blackhawks in the 2008-09 playoffs. The Red Wings were lead by Jimmy Howard, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall, and Henrik Zetterberg. In the the Semi-Finals, the Red Wings lead the series over the Blackhawks 3-1. The Blackhawks would rattle off 3 wins in a row to win the series. The Wings nearly brought a crashing end to the historic 2012-13 season.

#4. The 2012-13 Boston Bruins: The Bruins were the toughest challenge the Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane lead Blackhawks faced in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Bruins have overcame a 3 goal lead against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Quarter Finals. The Bruins were a bruising team. The Bruins were lead by Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, and Tuukka Rask. The Bruins had a 2-1 series lead over the Blackhawks heading Game 4 at TD Garden. The Blackhawks would win Game 4 and the rest of the series. The Blackhawks would need two goals in 17 seconds to defeat the Bruins and stave at Game 7 in the Stanley cup Finals. The goals were scored by Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland.

#5. The 2014-15 Anahiem Ducks: The Ducks had the chance to end the current Blackhawks dynasty. The Ducks plan was simple, they were going to crush the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were already short on the blue line. The Blackhawks only played four defensemen in Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Johnny Oduya. The Ducks Ryan Kesler said that “no human can withstand that many hits”. The Ducks had the Blackhawks on the ropes, leading 3 games to 2 in Chicago. The Blackhawks would win the next 2 games and the series. The Blackhawks players themselves would acknowledge that the 2014-15 championship was the toughest one to win.

Those are my scariest Blackhawks opponents, what are yours?

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