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2-11-2020: Chicago Blackhawks’ Morning Update, Playoffs Race

By Ryan Fedrau

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 14: The Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after scoring against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period at the United Center on October 14, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 14: The Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after scoring against the Edmonton Oilers in the second period at the United Center on October 14, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Blackhawks travel to Edmonton to face the Oilers today. Here is everything you need to know about the game and the team.

Game Preview

The Chicago Blackhawks play the Oilers on the road tonight at 8 PM CST. This is the team’s second meeting with the Oilers. Their first matchup ended in a 3-1 Blackhawks’ win.

Since then, both teams have changed. Leon Draisaitl is leading the league in points with 85. Teammate Connor McDavid is just four points behind them. The Oilers are well in the playoffs right now. They’re second in their division.

The Blackhawks, on the other hand, are coming off of three straight losses. For tonight’s game, no lead is safe. Even if the Blackhawks start scoring in the first minute, it’s still a long game. After being up 2-0 early against the Jets on Sunday and losing, the Blackhawks have a lot of work to do.

The playoff race is still wide open. The Blackhawks are on their second of five straight road games. All of these games are against teams that are ahead of them in the standings. A win tonight puts the Blackhawks right back in the hunt.

Playoff Standings

The Blackhawks are in big trouble if they keep losing. As of right now, they’re five points out of the last wildcard spot. The Jets have that spot, and they’ll play them on Sunday. They still have a few games to go before then.

The Wild and Blackhawks are tied with 58 points each. They’ve both played in 55 games and will matchup two more times this season. If the season were to end today, the Wild would have the tiebreaker.

The Predators lost last night but still are ahead of the Blackhawks with 59 points. They’ve also played in 55 games. These teams losing benefits the Blackhawks. It does get frustrating to know if the Blackhawks didn’t lose, they’d be ahead of them.

The Coyotes have played 58 games and are five points ahead of the Blackhawks. They’re tied with the Jets with 63 points. Since the Jets have played fewer games, they have the tiebreaker.

The Jets, Coyotes, Wild, and Blackhawks all play tonight. This is a huge night for Chicago if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Blackhawks’ News

Adam Boqvist is still day-to-day. Expect Nick Seeler to play again tonight. Boqvist could be as far as a game-time decision. We’ll know more as the day progresses.

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