Why Chicago Blackhawks will win the Stanley Cup Championship –NHL Special
With some late playoff positioning, Chicago Blackhawks managed to stay in the postseason race and in what seemed like a smart move, avoided going up first against the Presidents’ Trophy winners, Vancouver Canucks.
Chicago was knocked out by Vancouver last year in the Western Conference playoff quarterfinals and meeting them again with captain Jonathan Toews potentially out of the scene would be devastating to their hopes of regaining the Stanley Cup championship.
Blackhawks will now be going up against Phoenix Coyotes, a team which cannot be deemed as weak, but one which Chicago should not have any problems overseeing into the next round.
The series will definitely be interesting to see since Chicago is a team laced with talent, money and enough fan support to keep Phoenix up at night when the two go head-to-head. Blackhawks might be below the Coyotes in terms of Western Conference rankings,
but Phoenix has fewer points (97-101) and stand third just because of leading their Pacific Division over San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings.
One aspect that should be noted before talking about anything else is that if Jonathan Toews is ready to go for game-one and stays healthy throughout, Chicago might just be whitewashing Phoenix due to a sudden boost in morale.
Corey Crawford has been playing extremely well for Chicago and has kept the goals at a minimum with 2.72 goals against average and .903 save percentage. He will be starting over his veteran counterpart, Ray Emery, due to some spectacular performances during
the final few games of the 2011-2012 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season.
With Crawford hot at the moment, Chicago had decided to go ahead and test the player to see how he does before eventually bringing in Ray Emery to get the job done.
Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp are always the two players that Blackhawks can depend on due to their consistent playing the forward positions and keeping the goals coming. Duncan Keith will also be returning and seeing how physical the player really is,
he will definitely be giving the competition a tough time to get past the centre line.
Another aspect of Chicago is that their experience of going deep into the playoffs will really help against a team like Phoenix and others that cross their path. They won the Stanley Cup in 2010 and are attempting to make another run for it only two seasons
forward.
Blackhawks’ veteran line-up consisting of Dave Bolland, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook and a number of others, really knows how to get the job done and all can emerge with a game-winner especially when there is a tie or the game heads into an overtime or
shootout decider.
Toews not coming back is another thing, but seeing if he will be able to adjust immediately to the playoff pressure after missing the last 22 regular season games is another, but his teammates believe that it should not be an issue.
"I've been out for long stretches and then came back," said Sharp, who also missed a couple of games due to a wrist injury. "I anticipate him to come back and pick up right where he left off. ... He's a great player. He's played well in the playoffs in the
past and he's a big part of our team so we welcome him back with open arms if he's able to play."
With Toews back in the line-up and Crawford playing at his best, Chicago should not have a problem making a run for the Stanley Cup for the second time in three seasons.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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