Can Blackhawks repeat? And more…
The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to do something that has not been done in the National Hockey League since the 1998 Detroit Red Wings; repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
Chicago was able to hoist Lord Stanley in 2015, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in a terrific six-game series. After coming back for 2016 almost untouched from a roster standpoint outside of the Patrick Sharp trade, the Blackhawks appeared the best bet in a long time to get back to the Final and take care of business.
However, should the Blackhawks do that, it won’t be easy. The Western Conference is littered with very good clubs, including the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators, which are all in the Central Division alongside Chicago. In the Pacific, the San Jose Sharks are lurking while the Anaheim Ducks and Lo Angeles Kings are clearly two of the top five teams in the sport.
In the quarterfinals, Chicago is going to face either St. Louis or Dallas and be on the road. The Blackhawks would then need to topple another quality foe before likely seeing Los Angeles or Anaheim in the conference finals. It won’t be an easy task, but the Blackhawks are built for the spring behind forwards Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane, defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, and goaltender Corey Crawford.
Chicago isn’t a great bet to win it all simply for the math stacked against it being able to repeat as champ, but the Blackhawks are going to be a very tough out come April, May and perhaps, June.
Rangers time?
The New York Rangers are on the edge of clinching a playoff berth. This could be the year for the Broadway Blueshirts, a team that has been so close in recent seasons, falling either in the conference finals or Stanley Cup Final four consecutive seasons.
For goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, these seasons are going to be the ones that define his career. Lundqvist has an Olympic gold medal to his name after winning with Team Sweden, but Lord Stanley has eluded him. Should Lundqvist never be able to win the Cup, he would go with the very-good-but-never-truly-great goalies, alongside Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfour.
Should Lundqvist finally get over the hump and raise the hardware, he would make a very strong case for the Hall of Fame upon retirement. As of now, the 34-year-old has 10 30-win seasons and 372 wins overall. He also has 59 shutouts and has posted a .921 save percentage to go with a .228 goals against average.
All Lundqvist needs is a Stanley Cup. His entire career would be looked upon with a new light, finally earning that elusive capstone. The Rangers are a team worthy of winning it all in 2016. Let’s see if they can get to the top of the mountain.
