Reasons for Blackhawks to be optimistic with rough road ahead

Entering action on Friday night, it’s looking like it’s going to be a fight to the finish in the Western Conference.

It didn’t seem that way a few months ago. The Blackhawks were 12-15-6 entering play on Dec. 15, but they have been on a 13-6-2 run since. How have they done it? The usual Patrick Kane excellence (10 goals, 19 assists in 21 games) with a rejuvenated Jonathan Toews (7 goals, 16 assists in 21 games) and the emergence of Dominik Kubalik (13 goals, 6 assists in 21 games). Add in solid work by the goaltending tandem — Crawford: 2.57 GAA & .920 save percentage; Lehner 2.79 GAA & .919 save percentage — and you have a hockey team on a hot streak.

The problem is… nine of the Blackhawks' next 11 games are on the road. It would be a problem, that is, but the Blackhawks have been pretty decent on the road this season, thanks to a 8-1-1 mark over their last 10 games.

Best Road win percentage in Western Conference (by point percentage)

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Kane and Toews have carried the offensive load on the road. Kane’s 36 points as a visitor (13 goals, 23 assists in 26 games) are tied for third in the league, while Toews is almost averaging a point per contest away from the United Center (24 points in 26 games).

Kane has been particularly dominant against Canadian teams this season – 9 goals, 14 assists (23 points) in 12 games (though the numbers I present here combine home and away). And it just so happens that the next five games will be played in Canada.

Feb. 9 at Winnipeg

Feb. 11 at Edmonton

Feb. 12 at Vancouver

Feb. 15 at Calgary

Feb. 16 at Winnipeg

And that means the Blackhawks can enjoy all the poutine they could possibly desire, as well as hopefully fatten up their record. That is, if their performance in Canada so far this season is any indication of how they’ll do.

Best records in Canada among Western Conference teams (obviously the teams with way more games play home games in Canada)

Maybe it’s the charm of filling out declaration forms and going through customs. Maybe it’s the soothing sound of "O Canada." For whatever reason, the Blackhawks have done well in Canada this season. They won their last three games in Canada to finish last season. Of course this wasn’t always the case, as a 0-3-0 trip in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary early last season spelled the end of Joel Quenneville’s run behind the Blackhawks bench. They were 4-5-0 overall in Canada last season and;= 4-4-3 the year before that. 

The two lone remaining home games this month are against the Rangers (Feb. 19) and Predators (Feb. 21). Something to keep an eye on there is Patrick Kane against the Rangers. The New Yorkers are the only team the Blackhawks haven’t faced this season — and the only NHL opponent Kane has yet to record a point against. Points against all 30 opponents would be sweet. He has never done that in a regular season before (although he went 14-for-14 in 2012-13, when they played only Western Conference teams in the shortened 48-game season).

The final four road games to round out the month will be critical. Four road games against teams currently top three in their division (through Thursday).

-Feb 23 at Dallas (third in Central)
-Feb 25 at St. Louis (first in Central)
-Feb 27 at Tampa Bay (second in Atlantic)
-Feb 29 at Florida (third in Atlantic)

The remaining 11 games this month should be a good measuring stick for the Blackhawks if they hope to return to playoff action for the first time since 2017.