Why Are The Blackhawks So Good

Right now the Blackhawks are the best team in the NHL, by far. Why is this? Chicago has the best of everything: good goaltending, great coaching, one of the best offenses in the league, and a defense that can score as well as defend. We will take a look at the strong points and even the weak points of one of the best teams of all time.

Joel Quennville and Patrick Kane after Stanley Cup win

First, we'll evaluate their goalies. Corey Crawford has been pretty solid this year. Unfortunately, he isn't as good as last year. The reigning Stanley Cup champion looks like an elite goaltender because he has the best team in the league playing in front of him. It would be very interesting to see how he would do if he had a team like the Buffalo Sabers in front of him. Despite what I said above, he led the league in wins before he got hurt and is the perfect starting goalie for this team. Chicago doesn't need a star goalie to be a great team. They just need a solid goaltender who gives his team a chance to win. This Summer, the Blackhawks signed Nikolai Khabibulin to a good contract. He hasn't been as good as they had hoped. Before getting injured he had a save percentage of .811. His GAA. is 5.00. These are some of the worst numbers in the league. Thankfully for the Blackhawks, Khabibulin got hurt and a new goalie replaced him, Antti Raanta. He has had exceptional numbers for a rookie goaltender. He could manage to stay on this team and continue to play well. Chicago has a major goalie number two problem, but with proper management and solid play from Antti Raanta it can be fixed.

Corey Crawford

So far, the Blackhawks are the best offensive team in the NHL. This team averages 3.5 goals a game. When you score three goals in a game you have a good chance of winning. They have a great mix of young forwards and veteran leaders. Patrick Kane is the leading scorer on this team; he has 59 points this season and twenty four goals. Both of those statistics come close to leading the National Hockey League. Kane has some of the best stick handling skills in the history of hockey. Earlier this season, Patrick was a minus nine. He quickly turned all of this around by strong defensive play. Kaner (as his teammates call him) is now a +11. This is the highest scoring team for several good reasons, good coaching, pure skill, and hard work.

Kane and Towes celebrating after a goal

This defense is very skilled on both sides of the puck. They have managed to keep pucks out of the net and make the goalies look pretty good too. In my opinion, Chicago has the best balanced defense in the league. They have the D-men that can score from the point, the players that make excellent passes up the ice, and even the type of defenseman that will protect his side of the ice at all costs. Among all of the talented hockey players on this team, Duncan Keith is the best defensemen. He leads his team in points for a defender. He even protects his end just as good as any of his teammates do. This defense has on of the easiest jobs in the league. The offense is so good they just need to keep Chicago in the game.

Overall Chicago may be the best team many of us will see in our lifetime. The Blackhawks have one of the best chemistries in the game. Every man trusts the other. This team is an example of what great front office decisions can do.

Preview Sharks Vs. Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche are going to face the San Jose Sharks at the Pepsi Center this afternoon. Both teams need to keep winning if they want to get a decent seed in the playoffs. These groups are pretty equal in strength. If these teams were to battle for the cup today, they would play each other in a best out of seven series. Now its time to take a look at the matchup tonight.

If you're the Sharks you want to get a win and climb up the standings so you can face a weaker team in April. Antti Niemi will start in net this afternoon for San Jose. He hasn't been as sharp in his last five games. Niemi has been up and down in terms of save percentage. Sometimes posting a .968 and other times a .853. He is going to need to play well in order to beat this Avalanche team. All four lines from the Sharks need to have a good game. Any line from this Colorado team can score or build momentum. If the Sharks manage to do what I said above they will have a good chance of winning.

The Colorado Avalanche are going to need a solid effort to beat this talented Sharks team. First, lets look at the starting goalie. Semyon Varlamov will be getting his fourth straight start tonight. The Russian goaltender has been nothing but superb this season. He has the eighth highest save percentage in the league (.928) and intends to keep it there. The Avalanche haven't lost in regulation when they score the first. That needs to happen tonight. If Colorado nets the first goal, they will probably win the game.

It should be a very interesting matchup tonight. One mistake could determine wether the Sharks or the Avalanche win. Both teams want points to solidify a playoff spot, and both of them are going to have to play hard to win the game.