It’s almost time folks. The NHL Playoffs are right around the corner. Literally, they’re pretty much right there. Last year ended as I had hoped, with the Blackhawks coming out on top over my least favorite team in the NHL (possibly the world), the Philadelphia Flyers. I like the Hawks. Always have, probably always will. As an avid Penguins supporter, I usually pick a team in the West to support as well. For the past couple seasons it’s been the Hawks, because I’m a big Patrick Kane fan. But I don’t see a bright future for the Blackhawks. In a crucial state, they’re not playing like they might not make the playoffs. Which is a reality all too real.

The Western Conference is extremely temperamental right now. Teams shift places at the bat of an eyelash. And as I type this, the Blackhawks are in seventh place with 84 points. 365 days ago, they were near the top of the league. And with only 3 points seperating them and 10th place Anaheim, they’re barely hanging on that number 7. In fact, there’s only a total of 5 points seperating 5th and 10th. FIVE POINTS. This is the time of the year when teams will usually beginning making their clear cut drives to the playoffs. But not this year. Not for the West. I mean, there’s 7 points seperating 6th place Montreal and 7th place New York Rangers in the East. So, you can see how it usually is in the East, and how tight it is in the West. The Hawks aren’t making a very good case for themselves. Last year they had the benefit of having a pretty stacked roster, and many players who were sreaking into the post season. Not to mention a hot goaltender. But after last year, as we all know, they pretty much dumped almost 40% of their Stanley Cup winning team, including champion goaltender Anti Niemi. And this has been easily the most apparent struggle for Chi-town. They signed veteran net minder, Marty Turco, in an effort to fill the gap Niemi left. Thinking that maybe his experience and miles would be enough to fill that void. Unfortunately it wasn’t, and they eventually turned to Corey Crawford to stack the pads. Luckily he caught fire, but it didn’t last for long. If memory serves, the lowest they sunk was 13th place, and have been up and down from the top 8 ever since. I’m not one to blame one thing, as hockey is a team sport, so I don’t want to give you the idea that I’m pointing the finger at the goaltending alone. The big guns are stepping up for sure. Toews leads the team in points with 71 (30 G 41 A) and is certainly proving that he’s a Hell of a leader. Kane is creeping up on 30 G for the season, and Sharp has passed it with 34 G. But aside from that, the offense just isn’t getting it done. Honestly, I thought the stat column for Hossa would look a little more like Sharp’s and vice versa. With Hossa’s numbers not meeting expectations, the team has got to be feeling lucky that Sharp has done what he has. Hossa and Sharp were neck and neck with goals last year (neither of them exceeded 30) but let’s face it, Hossa should be scoring 30+ a season. He spent some time injured, sure, but there’s got to be more of an effort. I’m not saying I could do it any better, but Hossa’s skill warrants an expectation like that. And speaking of expectations, Duncan Keith was second in Points last year with an impressive 55 As contributing to his final total of 69 points. Where’s this guy been? He’s still putting up numbers this season but there’s got to be more. With the state of the conference and how often the placings change, these bigger players need to ramp it up. There are far too many droughts between the players, and not enough urgency in their play. The streaky teams are going to be the ones who make the playoffs from here on out. The Hawks need to find some fire. There’s no other way around it. They absolutely can not be dropping 5-0 games to a team like Dallas, who is fighting just as hard, if not harder, for their right to compete for Lord Stanley. These are precious points nobody can afford to give up. With Vancouver leading the pack, The Red Wings remaining a strong 2nd place, San Jose finding their game again, and an INSANELY hot Phoenix team, there is absolutely no room for error. Something has got to spark the defending champs. Or else they run the risk of being unseated before the playoffs even begin.