Blackhawks' goal for final stretch? Chase down Wild
With their final significant break in the rearview mirror, the Blackhawks are ready for an all-out sprint to the finish.
When the upcoming 17-games-in-31-days stretch ends, we'll know what seed the Hawks have earned and which team they'll play to open the postseason.
And make no mistake - their No. 1 goal is chasing down Minnesota to claim the Central Division crown for the first time in four years.
"It's something to shoot for," said Patrick Kane after practice on Wednesday. "It keeps the mind occupied with what we want to accomplish."
These next two weeks are critical for the Hawks (89 points in 65 games) because Minnesota (90 points in 64 games) closes the season with games against four NHL bottom dwellers - Colorado, Carolina, Colorado again, and Arizona. Starting Thursday, though, Minnesota embarks on a five-game road trip at Tampa Bay, Florida, Chicago, Washington and Carolina, then hosts the Rangers and travels to Winnipeg before hosting San Jose.
Over that same stretch, the Hawks host Anaheim, go to Detroit, host Minnesota, take a three-game road trip to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, then host Colorado and Toronto.
If all goes well, the Hawks could be up 2, 3 or more points on the Wild by March 21.
"It's a tough division to win," Kane said. "We have a chance to do that, so we might as well try and do it. Could come in handy, especially … if you can keep that home ice throughout the Western Conference playoffs."
The Hawks, having won seven straight and 12 of 13, are certainly playing better hockey than the Wild, which is 7-4-1 in its past 12 games. The Hawks are also as healthy as they've been all season, with only Scott Darling (upper body) unable to play.
"We like the way we've approached our stretch," coach Joel Quenneville said. "We feel like we're fresh, we're healthier. As we're going into these games here, we want to make sure that we shoot for first place and we want to make sure that everybody's fresh and ready to go."
Quenneville was particularly impressed that every player practiced Wednesday. The coaching staff gave veterans the option to take off the entire four-day break, but none chose to do so, and many were on the ice 15-20 minutes before the coaches.
"It was nice of the coaching staff to give us a few days off, get away from the game a little bit, just enjoy some down time," Kane said. "We play a lot of games here coming up so it was nice to get a little rest."
Now they're hoping their next long stretch of R&R comes in mid-June, right after they lift the Stanley Cup again.
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Scouting report
Blackhawks vs. Anaheim Ducks at United Center, 7:30 p.m.
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WGN 720-AM
The skinny: Anaheim (78 points), Edmonton (78) and Calgary (76) are fighting for second place in the Pacific Division. Whichever team finishes fourth will likely earn a first-round matchup against San Jose, which went to the Stanley Cup Final last season. … The Ducks will be without Antoine Vermette (suspension). They are 4-3-0 without him. … Anaheim's offense is led by Ryan Getzlaf (40 assists) and Rickard Rackell (27 goals in 55 games). Rackell has 5 goals in the last five games. … Corey Crawford starts in net for the Hawks. … Patrick Kane has at least 1 goal in nine of the last 13 games. He has 14 goals in that stretch. … Kane had a goal and an assist in the teams' previous meeting, a 3-2 win by the Hawks on Nov. 25.
Next: Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena, 6:30 p.m. Friday
- John Dietz