As the show progressed, the "Grobber" went on to say that he thought that the Blackhawks could make it as high as the fourth or fifth seed in the western conference for the Stanley Cup playoffs. At that, I literally started laughing. I enjoy listening to Grobstein, but on this one I'm not sure what kind of Kool-Aid he's drinking or what he's trying to pass out to the listeners of the show. The Chicago Blackhawks will not make it up to a four or five seed. I'm saying that as a hockey fan, not as a Red Wings fan.
To prove my point, let's take a look at the remaining schedule for the Blackhawks:
*Through games played on February 28
March 2: vs. Flames (2nd Northwest Division, 7th Western Conference)
March 4: vs. Hurricanes (3rd Southeast, 8th East)
March 5: at Maple Leafs (4th Northeast, 10th East)
March 8: at Panthers (5th Southeast, 12th East)
March 9: at Lightning (1st Southeast, 2nd East)
March 13: at Capitals (2nd Southeast, 5th East)
March 14: vs. Sharks (1st Pacific, 3rd West)
March 17: at Stars (4th Pacific, 8th West)
March 20: at Coyotes (2nd Pacific, 4th West)
March 23: vs. Panthers (5th Southeast, 12th East)
March 26: vs. Ducks (5th Pacific, 11th West)
March 28: at Red Wings (1st Central, 2nd West)
March 29: at Bruins (1st Northeast, 3rd East)
April 1: at Blue Jackets (4th Central, 12th West)
April 3: vs. Lightning (1st Southeast, 2nd East)
April 5: at Canadiens (2nd Northeast, 6th East)
April 6: vs. Blues (5th Central, 13th West)
April 8: at Red Wings (1st Central, 2nd West)
April 10: vs. Red Wings (1st Central, 2nd West)
Looking at that, the Hawks have seven games remaining with teams currently leading their division. They have another four with teams in second place. Lastly, 13 of 19 games are against teams that are currently in the playoffs. Of the other six games, most of them are against teams that could find themselves in the playoffs with a strong finish. The numbers don't lie, that's a tough schedule, especially when you are fighting for a playoff spot.
Honestly, I think they are more likely to miss the playoffs than get in as a four or five seed. If they do get in, it'll be somewhere in the 6-8 range. They have a tough remaining schedule, as I already pointed out, plus they still have a huge question mark between the pipes. I don't mean that as a knock on Corey Crawford by any means. The kid has come out of nowhere and had an amazing year. Earlier in the season, I made the comment that "I wouldn't trust Crawford to be the person guarding the base in a game of capture the flag, let alone trust him to guard the net in an NHL game." I'll go ahead and take my crow on that one.
With that said, everything up to this point goes out the window. He's never been "the guy" in a late playoff race or the playoffs themselves. In crunch time, some guys thrive and other guys fade. What will Crawford do? I have no idea, but neither does anybody else. That's a question mark.
To be fair, I'll give Jimmy Howard in Detroit a question mark as well. His won't be as strong of a question mark as the one given to Crawford, but it's still a question mark none the less. Down the stretch last season, Howard put the Red Wings on his back and carried them to the postseason. That's encouraging. Yet he really hasn't done much in the postseason either. He won a first round series last season (against the Coyotes), but didn't do much after that in the second round (against the Sharks). To be fair, the Wings themselves didn't do much against the Sharks last year either to help Howard out. Like Crawford, Howard hasn't done it much late in the playoffs which creates a question mark.
If the Blackhawks do get into the postseason though, I promise you, they'll be tough. They're the defending Stanley Cup champions and will come in with something to prove this year. They will also come into the postseason, if they get in, battle tested. Every single game from here on out for the Hawks will have a "playoff-like" mentality. Due to the tight race in the Western Conference, the Hawks will also have a "win or go home" attitude. At this point, they have to in order just to get in. The Green Bay Packers had to finish off the previous NFL season that way and carried their momentum all the way to a Super Bowl title. If they do get in, I don't think they'll be the contenders they were last season, but they aren't going to roll over and die either. I wouldn't want to play them early.
To make a long story short, I'm going to attempt to back up my earlier prediction and put my money where my mouth is. If the Blackhawks get into the postseason with a four or five seed, I will change my Facebook profile picture to one of me wearing a Blackhawks t-shirt. I will also keep that picture there for the duration of the Stanley Cup playoffs. That means it will be there at the time of the first playoff games and will remain there until the Stanley Cup is handed out. Being a Red Wings fan, that's the last thing that I want to do, especially during the playoffs.
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