The situation has gotten quite serious for the Chicago Blackhawks.
The defending Stanley Cup champions find themselves in fifth place in the Western Conference and third in the Central Division with 16 games to go in the fast-moving regular season.
That means that if the playoffs started today, the Blackhawks would engage the Colorado Avalanche in the first round and they would not have home-ice advantage.
That's a far cry from last year's results when the Blackhawks did not taste a defeat in regulation time in the first 24 games of the season, won the President's Trophy and went on to hoist the Stanley Cup.
This year, the Blackhawks were in first place in the Central Division for much of the regular season, but they were caught and passed by the St. Louis Blues in late January and the Colorado Avalanche went by them into second place Wednesday night.
While the Avs have been a surprise this year, they have not been a fluke. They have handled the Blackhawks quite well during the regular season, beating them in four of five regular-season meetings.
The Blackhawks have an eight ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
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