Blackhawks: Last Week Of The 2020 NHL Season Recap

The 2020 NHL season is coming to a close, with the Chicago Blackhawks being a playoff team again for the first time since 2017. Here’s the season recap.

The 2020 NHL season was one that will go down in history as the weirdest one yet. The NHL was paused for months on end due to a global pandemic. The Chicago Blackhawks were out of the playoffs until they were back in. It was all just too weird.

Let’s take it back to the beginning of the season. The season started overseas for the Blackhawks, as they lost to the Flyers in Prague. They lost their first three games of the year, starting 0-2-1 before they had their first win.

Key Points

The goalie battle between Robin Lehner and Corey Crawford was interesting, as the two played some great hockey, with Lehner being the better of the two in many fan’s eyes.

Dominik Kubalik impressed the entire hockey world, as he scored 30-goals in his rookie season, finishing third in the Calder Trophy voting. Not many fans saw that happening, including Kubalik himself, as he was just excited to have a spot on the Hawks roster.

Moving forward, Patrick Kane scored his 1000th career point on an assist late against the Jets. He didn’t hit 100-points back-to-back seasons, but he was on pace to get close if the season didn’t get postponed.

Pandemic

In March, the Hawks finished up a game against the Sharks, where they won their 32nd game of the season. That would be their last regular-season game, unknowingly. It also would be the last game where Blackhawks’ fans were in attendance.

When the season paused, the Blackhawks were 32-30-8 (72 points). In May, the NHL announced a 24-team format for their return to play plan for the playoffs. The Blackhawks were the 12th-seed in the Western Conference. They’d have to go through the Oilers to make the playoffs.

Playoffs

They’d beat the Oilers in 4-games (3-1, best of 5 series) and move on to face the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights had former goalie Robin Lehner, who was traded at the deadline. Vegas took the Hawks out in 5-games.

It was nice to see playoff hockey with the Blackhawks back in it. They have some experience now for their young guys. These next few seasons will be interesting. I’m really excited about the draft, free agency, and to see who the Blackhawks re-sign, who they get rid of, and who starts in goal next season!

Stanley Cup Final Prediction

Tonight, the Stanley Cup Final continues with Game 6 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. If Tampa wins, the season is over. If Dallas wins, we will see a Game 7 on Wednesday.

I have Tampa winning tonight. It’s been a fun season and an interesting playoff without fans, but they’re just too good to blow this series.