Hawks poised to win Central Division for first time since 1993
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville first brought it up last summer at the fan convention, how the primary goal for 2009-10 was to win the Central Division and that anything else would be a bonus.
The Hawks can accomplish that goal Sunday by collecting at least 1 point against the Calgary Flames at the United Center.
It would be their first division title in 17 years and earn the Hawks home ice at least through the first round of the playoffs.
The Hawks appear to have their game back on track for the final week of the season after a pair of impressive defensive-minded victories at New Jersey and Minnesota.
"We've just got to keep getting better," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "Win or lose in the next week here we've got to keep taking strides as a team and play better. That's what we've done in the last couple games and just like that you see the results."
The Hawks nearly wrapped up the Central Division crown Saturday, coming within a minute of doing so.
The Hawks needed Detroit to lose in regulation to claim the division, but the Red Wings lost 4-3 to Nashville in overtime at Joe Louis Arena.
Trailing 3-2 with under a minute to play, the Red Wings got a goal from Pavel Datsyuk with 36.4 seconds left.
Nashville's Ryan Suter scored 16 seconds into overtime for the win.
Only the Red Wings can still catch the Hawks, who have 103 points with five games remaining. Detroit has 96 points with four games to play and still can finish with 104.
The Hawks eliminated Nashville from the division chase with Friday's 2-1 win at New Jersey. The Predators have 98 points but only two games left on their schedule.
Quenneville believes his team turned a corner this week starting with a strong game in a loss at St. Louis on Tuesday. It carried over into the wins at Minnesota and New Jersey when the Hawks gave the Wild and Devils very little defensively.
"It kind of represents the way we played all year," Quenneville said. "We had a real tough stretch there where it was tough to watch maybe, the two Columbus games for sure.
"Coming on the trip the guys had a good approach and a good attitude. We went into St. Louis and despite losing you could tell we were trending in the right direction and played the way we had to play."
Toews thought Friday's win over the Devils was key for a team trying to find its way back on top.
"That was a big shutout by Antti (Niemi at Minnesota), and that's going to give your team confidence that you can win again," Toews said. "But it's more about how you follow up the next night, if you can play that way with consistency."
The game today is a huge one for Calgary. The Flames beat Colorado on Friday night to move into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 89 points.
Calgary has won three in a row and has wiped out a 9-point Colorado lead since March 17.
"Right now we're going in the right direction and (the Avs are) going in the other direction," Calgary's Eric Nystrom said following Friday's win in Denver.
The Hawks haven't won a division title since 1992-93, when they captured the old Norris Division with 106 points.
Detroit has won the last eight Central Division crowns.
• The Hawks signed free agent St. Lawrence University sophomore forward Brandon Bollig to a two-year entry-level contract on Saturday.
The 23-year-old Bollig had 7 goals, 18 assists and 83 penalty minutes in 42 games this season. Before going to college, Bollig had 73 points and 593 penalty minutes in 173 games for the Lincoln Stars in the U.S. Hockey League.