Chicago Blackhawks Host Minnesota Wild Live Streaming, Predictions, And More

The Chicago Blackhawks play their last home game of 2017 tonight when the Minnesota Wild visit the United Center in a matchup of two teams trying to stay above the playoff line in the Western Conference.

It’s still seems pretty silly to me that we are dwelling on the playoff picture 32 games into the season. There is a ton of hockey left to be played this season. The thing is there are going to be a couple of teams that get hot and run off long winning streaks, and there will be teams holding down playoff spots right now that will lose a bunch of games and miss the playoffs entirely.

The one thing that is certain in the current format used to make the playoffs, that you can’t get too far behind because securing 2 points while the teams above you pick up no points is very hard to accomplish.

This is why the current Blackhawks winning streak has been important because it’s brought them up in the standings and when you win 5-1 on the road in the division it helps you out while hurting the team you are chasing.

The Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks both have 37 points and are currently in a tie with a couple other teams for the last playoff spot.

Last year the Hawks got hot around this time of year, and it was because Patrick Kane started scoring on a regular basis. This year I feel that it’s Nick Schmaltz that will become the player that decides the fate of the Hawks. When he’s on the Hawks look like a serious playoff team, but when he’s off the ice or off his game they look incredibly average.