Macklin Celebrini Watch Version Three

The Chicago Blackhawks snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon.

The biggest news over the past week was not snapping that skid, but the early return of Connor Bedard from his jaw injury. Bedard was expected to return from injured reserve this week, but the doctors cleared him to return in time to play against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Despite the phenom's return, the Blackhawks are still dead last in the NHL standings. That means they will get the most ping-pong balls in the NHL Draft Lottery according to Tankathon.com/NHL if the season were to end today. Remember we have a long way to go before the season concludes and thus determine the franchise's final odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick.

The winner of the NHL Draft Lottery gets the right to select Boston University's Macklin Celebrini, another generational talent on par with Bedard.

Can another team take over the top spot this week in the Tankathon standings?

The San Jose Sharks are two points ahead of the Blackhawks in the total NHL standings. The Hawks have 33 points on the season and three games this week. Chicago travels to Carolina on Monday and then comes back home to face Philadelphia on Wednesday and Winnipeg on Friday.

Winning this week is not going to be easy for the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hurricanes are second in the Metropolitan Division and have a 17-6-4 home record. The Flyers are right behind the Hurricanes in the standings. Philadelphia is 15-8-5 on the road.

The Jets are currently second in the Central Division and are 2-0-1 against the Blackhawks this season.

The Sharks stayed ahead of the Blackhawks in the standings with a win over Calgary last Thursday. San Jose has just two games this week. They host Las Vegas on Monday and Nashville on Saturday. The Knights are second in the Pacific Division but have struggled on the road with a 12-10-4 record. The Predators are 3-6-1 over the past 10 games.

The Sharks are 0-2-1 against the Knights this season. Vegas has outscored 14-5 in those three games. Nashville won the only match-up the Sharks have had with them so far this season.

It will be interesting to see if the Blackhawks move ahead of the Sharks in the standings.