Can The Blackhawks Keep Up In Difficult Central Division?

The Chicago Blackhawks are currently in last place in the central division, holding a 22-17-6 record. They have 50 points on the year, and are only three points away from climbing up two spots in the division, hoping to turn around an ugly season. However, with rising teams surrounding them, a climb to the top may be harder than ever.

This season was be awkward, to say the least. Teams that had terrible years are having great years, some good teams are staying good, but for the Blackhawks, they’ve had a lost of lust for victories.

After claiming the central division last year with one of the best records the franchise has ever seen, the Blackhawks are seemingly stuck at the bottom of the list. Granted, they’ve had a lot of shakes and stumbles along the way that weren’t anyone’s fault, they still are hurting.

Chicago Blackhawks

Looking at it right now, a hopeful playoff window may be shutting- especially with the way things are looking in our division. For example, even if the Hawks surpassed the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche, they’d still have to fight for a wildcard spot. That seems harder than usual, based on the premise that the Avs are playing their best hockey all year, having won eight games in a row.

Not to mention, nearly the entire central division is playing great hockey. Let’s take a look.

Who’s Hot?

The Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, and Colorado Avalanche have been playing incredible hockey this year. The Preds, who lead the division, are 27-11-6 and seem to be back on track to being the craze of the playoffs. The Blues, who are riding a two game win streak, are 28-17-3 with a turnaround performance after a mini-slump.

Finally, the Avs are looking insanely hard to beat, and are probably the biggest threat to the ‘Hawks playoff chances. They’re thriving, going 9-1-0 in their previous ten games. They’ve found a way to fire on all cylinders, giving them a threshold on the wildcard position. If they’re to keep it up, the Hawks will have no chance.

Every team in the central has a record above .500, and are ding pretty well in their previous ten games. The Winnipeg Jets are the only team that seem to be in a slump currently. In fact, they’re only team to have a two-game losing streak.

Da Windy City

So the big question is, “Can the Blackhawks keep up in the improving central division?”

From the looks of it, no. But, if they’re to get on a win-streak and turn the tide without Corey Crawford and the beloved Marian Hossa, it’s possible. But, the climb is going to be much harder than the fall, even if the fall seems like the easier way out.