Chicago Hope

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Every Year in the NHL a team comes around that nobody expected to do as great as they did. Last year, there were two teams that did just that. The St. Louis Blues and the Los Angeles Kings surprised everybody with their outstanding seasons, and LA surprised everyone by ending it with a Stanley Cup Victory. This year however, with the season being shortened, it’s amazing that a team has so far overcame the odds and have been consistently the best team in the league so far. This team could very well win the Stanley Cup if they keep playing like they are now. This team is the Chicago Blackhawks. The Chicago Blackhawks have played thirteen games. In those thirteen games, they have got at least one point per game. This team, consisting of All Star players like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp and Duncan Keith has impressed just about every hockey fan out there. They have a record of 10-0-3, which means they have won 10 games, lost zero, and 3 games went into Overtime/Shoot Out. They have yet to lose a game in regulation, and they have earned a point in each game they played. Even the games they ended up losing in, they have gotten one point. 

The players on the team are surely part of this amazing regular season run. Patrick Kane, an American born player who was the 2007 Chicago Blackhawks first round pick, is coming off of a year that wasn’t too great. He had a bad year, as do many other players, but for Chicago fans it is good that he got that out of his system. Because of that bad year, he has more than made up for it this season. Kane leads the team with 20 points. Think about that for a second. There has only been 13 games played, yet he still has 20 points. He has 9 goals, and 11 assists with a +6. He has been huge this year, and thankfully for Chicago, it looks like the Old “Kaner” is back. There is also the Slovakian born right winner Marian Hossa. All hockey fans wondered what would become of Hossa in the 2012 playoffs after he received a very brutal hit to the head from Phoenix Coyotes player Raffi Torres, which resulted in Hossa getting concussed and Torres getting a suspension. Some worried Hossa’s career may be over. Some worried it may not be over but he wouldn’t be the same player. Thankfully for all of us who enjoy watching Hossa play, none of these scenarios turned out to be true. In fact, it turned out quite opposite.  Hossa proved to be 100% okay and didn’t let his concussion stop him from doing what he does best. He has put up 6 goals and 6 assists, giving him a total of 12 points. Torres may have hurt him badly last season, but Hossa is the one getting the last laugh.

        

Goalies have the toughest job in the NHL. No matter how weak of a team plays in front of them, they always end up getting blamed one way or another. When Chicago didn’t pick up or trade any Goalies in the off season, fans everywhere were very concerned and didn’t quite understand why Chicago decided to keep netminder Corey Crawford. Now, we understand why he was kept. Crawford had what is called a “sophomore slump”. After being the reason the Hawks pushed the Vancouver Canucks to a game 7 in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Crawford looked like the real deal. Last season however, he may not have been the great All Star goalie Blackhawk fans wanted him to be. He was no Ed Belfour, and it showed last season. Yet this year, it turns out the Blackhawks do not need an Eric Belfour. In the 1o games he has played in, Crawford has been outstanding in between the pipes. Winning 7 out of the 10 games he played in, and remaining solid to get at least one point in the games they ended up losing in. Crawford has turned out to be completely amazing. Great thing for Chicago fans, bad thing for the rest of the league.

        

Jonathan Toews, the young Canadian gold medalists’ winner, and captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, is another reason why the Hawks are just so good. He has 13 points, 6 goals and 7 assists in the 13 games played. Toews has leadership qualities that are reminiscent of Steve Yzerman, former Captain of the Detroit Red Wings. Toews is quiet, not flashy, yet everything he does makes him perfect. He has a great supporting cast around him, yet he alone has made his opponents on Ice look foolish trying to take the puck away from him. Toews is that player that no matter what his team does or how great his team is, as a hockey fan you just cannot hate him for anything. There’s not really any reason to dislike Jonathan Toews. He is without a doubt, the greatest NHL Captain in the league today. He’s a team player, and it certainly has been showing the past 13 games.

        

The Chicago Blackhawks have been great. They have given fans everywhere reasons to envy them, and also reasons to be jealous of them. They have team chemistry that just works right, and yet they don’t have flashy players with multi-million dollar sponsors. This team proves that in hockey, any team can be the strongest team in the league. Not just teams with big name players that happen to be on Media watch 24/7. Even when Chicago finally loses a game, they’re fans have nothing to worry about. Their team has been outstanding, and has given their fans no reason to panic. Plus, they may not lose one game. It would certainly be hard to do but in a shortened season anything is possible, including a perfect season. Now that may be getting a little carried away, but for now, let’s just sit back, relax, and enjoy watching the Chicago Blackhawks completely dominate the rest of the League. Even their enemy fan bases should give them some credit, because they certainly deserve it.