Revisiting some preseason predictions for the Chicago Blackhawks

Anyone that thought the Blackhawks would have a three-game winning streak that included taking four points from two games with the Stars is lying.

Pretty much everyone was ready for a long and difficult season, that was mercifully going to be a shortened one. Those fears haven’t played out, and now people are considering Chicago could be in the mix for the postseason.

Personally, I’m not ready to say the Chicago Blackhawks are a playoff team. Even if the team made it into the NHL’s top 16 power rankings. (#15) Even if Chicago just beat the defending western conference champions twice, it’s still too early to say that Chicago is ready for the postseason. One thing that we can do is perhaps revisit some of the season’s earlier predictions. The 6-5 loss to Columbus really put on display how flawed the team is.

Chicago is surprising everyone with their play. Even if the barnburner against the Blue Jackets it was still a one-goal game. Somehow, even with a depleted lineup, Chicago is still winning, or at the very least competing in every game.

Connor Murphy sat because of a hip injury, and they STILL beat the Stars.  Rather than pretend Chicago’s success is some kind of diving miracle, let’s look at how things are playing out this year.

Earlier this year, Blackhawk Up contributors collaborated on an article to predict where Chicago would be. We didn’t all agree, but we definitely thought this season wouldn’t be looking like it is now.  To be fair, neither did some of the beat writers because of how improbable the turnaround has been since the first few games.  Take Mark Lazerus over at The Athletic:

Whatever is going on, it’s been a fun ride so far. These were my predictions for Chicago this season. After seeing how the first quarter of the season has gone, I found myself wondering if I were off the mark with how I’d thought the season would play out.