Avalanche as first-round foe for Blackhawks?
For the Blackhawks, it's all right there sitting in front of them for the taking.
Win their final two games and the Hawks are top seed in the Western Conference.
Not only that, but 2 wins would go a long way in assuring a first-round playoff matchup with Colorado, which happens to be tonight's opponent in Denver.
While nobody on the Hawks would ever come out and say they prefer to face the young Avalanche in the first round, it's pretty much a no-brainer when your other choices are Detroit, Nashville or Los Angeles.
But first things first, and clinching the West is the goal for the final weekend of the season.
"It's a great opportunity for us to end up first in the conference," Hawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. "I don't when that happened last. It's going to be two big games to end the year here and two really fun games."
After playing in Colorado tonight, the Hawks close out the regular season at the United Center on Sunday against the Red Wings, who vaulted into fifth place in the West as of Thursday morning - safely away from a potential first-round hookup with the Hawks.
The Red Wings are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and certainly a team the Hawks would love to leave for either San Jose, Vancouver or Phoenix to worry about in the first round.
The Avs are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games and nearly ran out of gas down the stretch after a great season under first-year coach Joe Sacco.
While Detroit is a team loaded with playoff experience, the Avs have five rookies playing prominent roles in forwards Matt Duchene, T.J. Galiardi, Ryan O'Reilly and Brandon Yip and defenseman Ryan Wilson.
But Colorado has been a handful for the Hawks in the three previous meetings, each decided in a shootout - the first going nine rounds on Oct. 10 (won by the Hawks) and the second eight rounds on Nov. 6 (won by the Avs).
Sacco had a conference call with reporters on Thursday and said it would be a tough challenge for his team facing either the Hawks or San Jose in the first round.
"When I look at the Blackhawks, I look at depth and I look at, you know, how much speed they have, how much team speed they have," Sacco said. "Each team, obviously every team at this time of the year, presents different challenges, but at the end of the day really I think most of us try to worry about our own team.
"I think it's going to be a great challenge for us no matter who we face."
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville doesn't want his team getting too far ahead of itself, looking at different seeding scenarios and potential first-round matchups.
"We've got a little momentum going now and we'll see what happens," Quenneville said.
"We've got a tough two games coming up with Colorado and Detroit because they might want to use it as a measuring stick, but we're excited about the challenge ahead," winger Kris Versteeg said. "We're looking to really try to finish first."
The Hawks have won their last five games and look like a team ready for the playoffs.
"It's been a good little stretch and we're excited about getting it wound up for the playoffs," Versteeg said. "We know what we're capable of."
<p class="factboxheadblack">Blackhawks game day</p>
<p class="News">Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center, 8 p.m.</p>
<p class="News"><b>TV:</b> Comcast SportsNet Plus, Versus</p>
<p class="News"><b>Radio:</b> WIND 560-AM</p>
<p class="News"><b>What to watch:</b> No team has played the Hawks tougher than the Avs. All three previous games went to a shootout, with the Hawks winning twice. One shootout went nine rounds and another eight. Avs center Peter Mueller is out indefinitely with a concussion.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Season series:</b> Hawks lead 2-0-1.</p>
<p class="News"><b>Next:</b> Detroit Red Wings at the United Center, 2 p.m. Sunday.</p>
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