Kane: Blackhawks looking to prove some people wrong

Imagine for a moment if the following predictions were made a year ago today:

• Colorado will amass 95 points and earn a playoff spot.

• New Jersey will go from 28 to 44 wins and also qualify.

• The expansion Vegas Golden Knights will reach the Stanley Cup Final.

There's no doubt the writer would have been branded a lunatic.

Yet, that's exactly what happened thanks to standout seasons by numerous under-the-radar players and a willingness to play smart, hard-nosed hockey.

Underdog triumphed.

Three times over.

A year later, it will be interesting to see if the Blackhawks - with three Stanley Cup titles this decade - can embrace the same role.

Patrick Kane seems willing.

"I don't want to say it's cool to be in that position, but it's kind of nice to be in an underdog role and hopefully prove some people wrong," Kane said. "Play with that chip on your shoulder and show everyone what we're made of in here."

They can start Thursday by posting a convincing victory at Ottawa against the league's most dysfunctional team. After that they'll face the much-improved Blues in St. Louis Saturday. The home opener is the next night against Auston Matthews, John Tavares and the scary-good Toronto Maple Leafs.

Then it's Minnesota (45-26-11), St. Louis (44-32-6) again, Arizona (17-9-3 last 29), Columbus (45-30-7), Tampa Bay (54-23-5), Anaheim (44-25-13), the Rangers (34-39-9) and St. Louis for a third time.

Need some oxygen yet? Because that's a tough 11-game opening stretch.

"It's easy to look and say we want to make the playoffs, we want to win the division, we want to do this and that," Kane said. "But we really need to get off to a good start this year and I thought we had a good training camp ... a good preseason.

"The paces in practices were awesome - as good as I've seen in years. There's good things that lie ahead, for sure."

The best news for the Hawks is that Corey Crawford is almost ready to return from a concussion that kept him out for more than half of last season. Coach Joel Quenneville is earmarking Oct. 18 as a possible return date.

No matter when he returns, though, Crawford absolutely must play like the Crawford of old because the defense in front of him may spring more leaks than a creaky, old boat.

Up front, the offense will still run through Kane, but he needs plenty of help.

And he might get it from a revitalized Jonathan Toews, an improved Nick Schmaltz, a committed and dangerous Alex DeBrincat, an annoying net-front presence in Artem Anisimov and an intriguing overseas signing in Dominik Kahun.

Hawks fans should also pay attention to Luke Johnson and David Kampf.

Johnson is a hard-nosed defensive forward who grew his game in Rockford the last two seasons. He'll kill penalties and could provide some offense on the bottom two lines. Kampf may have had the most impressive camp outside of Kane. He's slick, tenacious and shows impressive awareness with and without the puck.

One name is noticeably absent thus far, and that's Brandon Saad. His camp was ordinary and it's fair to wonder if he'll ever be the superstar we figured he'd become.

Veteran free-agent signings Chris Kunitz and Cam Ward also must prove their best days aren't behind them.

As for Toews, he enters his 12th NHL season eight goals short of 300 and 18 assists shy of 400. The more impressive number, however, is two. That's how many times the Hawks have missed the playoffs since he entered the league.

The captain is hoping that number doesn't go up in April.

"Last year things didn't go well," he said. "It was a long-term thing the entire year. But our expectations were still high. And I'd say they're even higher this year.

"We'll set lofty goals for ourselves and be realistic about how we're going to accomplish them. We know there are a lot of things we have to correct and … improve upon."

Do that and maybe these underdogs can shock the hockey world.

"Being absent from playing playoff games, there's a big void there and certainly creates an appetite," Quenneville said. "We all missed it.

"We've been fortunate along the way to participate in so many big games in great settings, and that excitement is what it's all about. … We want to recapture that."