Over the next three weeks, the Chicago Blackhawks will learn a lot about how they stack up against the rest of hockey's elite teams.
Between now and March 25, the Hawks will play nine games against playoff teams, most of whom made significant moves at the trade deadline to improve their club.
When the Hawks play a home-and-home against Columbus, they should have a good idea of what they'll need to do to win the Stanley Cup .
Starting Friday, when the Vancouver Canucks come to the United Center (after hammering the Red Wings 6-3 on Wednesday), the Hawks will face one of the toughest stretches of games on their calendar. Four of the first five games are at home, against Vancouver, Detroit (now at 11:30 AM in Chicago, thanks NBC), Los Angeles, then at Philadelphia, before hosting Washington on the 14th.
In that stretch, the Hawks will do battle with teams currently in third, fourth, and eighth place in the Western Conference and first and sixth in the East.
If the last two games against the Islanders and Oilers seemed rough at times, wait until this stretch.
The little mistakes in the corners will turn into goals, ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by TAB BAMFORD
Chicago Blackhawks Face Tough Schedule Ahead
March 4th, 2010 by TAB BAMFORD Leave a reply »
Advertisement