Has anybody realized how dominant the Chicago Blackhawks
have been so far in this lockout-shortened season? With last night’s 4-3
shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks tied the NHL record
for consecutive games to with a point to start the season matching the
2006-2007 Anaheim Ducks’ record of 16. The Blackhawks have good fortune on
their side as the Ducks went on to win the 2007 Stanley Cup.
2010 was a
magical year for the Blackhawks after they won their first Stanley Cup since
1961. The past two seasons have not been as successful as they lost in the
conference quarterfinals in each year.
Through 16
games this year, the Blackhawks have yet to lose a game in regulation as all
three of their losses came in shootouts. The Blackhawks rank 2nd in
the NHL in goals per game with 3.31 and are also 2nd in goals
allowed with 1.94 per game. The Blackhawks goaltending has been superb. Both
Corey Crawford and Ray Emery are having fantastic seasons in net so far as
Crawford is giving up only 1.65 goals per game while Emery is undefeated in his
six starts (Crawford has all three of the shootout losses.) Head Coach Joel
Quennville is fortunate because if Crawford gets injured, he has full
confidence in putting Emery in and if they expect to make a deep run in the
playoffs, Emery will have to play a couple of games to give Crawford some rest.
RW Patrick
Kane is having an MVP-caliber season as he is currently tied for third in the
league in points with 22. Besides Kane leading the team in goals, 12 players
have at least two goals with four having at least five. Six players also have
six or more assists.
The Blackhawks
hope to win their second title in four seasons and if they keep playing stellar
hockey, they should be the favorite to bring the Stanley Cup back to Chicago.
image was used from blackhawks.nhl.com
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