You know the saying, if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck… No, I’m not talking about Anaheim, I’m speaking about the Blackhawks. There is no sugar coating this, the Chicago Blackhawks suck right now.
The Blackhawks have lost seven of their last 10 games, have been shut out twice in that stretch, and have scored two or fewer goals during this time. Additionally, the team has lost what could be their MVP in Corey Crawford (if not for Patrick Kane) to a mysterious “upper body injury.”
With eight games remaining in the regular season, this team needs to figure things out, and quick. The best way for that to happen is on the back of their captain, Jonathan Toews.
Yes, if there was ever a “Jonathan Toews time” this is it. In the midst of a slump, the best captain in all of sports needs to put this team on his shoulders. What is great about thr Blackhawks captain is, he can do that in any number of ways, and he might have already started.
“Obviously it’s not the show that fans expect,” Toews said. “You know, they want to come and see us win by four or five goals. It’s unfortunate that we get booed in situations like that, but it is what it is. We’ll focus on things we can do out on the ice.”
Toews is already setting the tone for the team. While he was answering a question about how the fans booed the team off the ice during a first period against the Dallas Stars which saw four unanswered goals against them, this was a message to the team. He is telling the guys in the locker room, both veteran Blackhawks and new-comers, this play is not acceptable in Chicago. The fans expect more, and the team should expect more.
This roster is capable of winning another Stanley Cup, but the recent play is not evidence of that capability. While fans and media alike are quick to say they will figure it out come playoff time, it sounds like coach Joel Quenneville isn’t certain of that.
“I don’t know if it’s confidence or whatever, but I think we have to find a way to rectify the way we play and the way we play with more urgency,” Quenneville said. “It’s hard to measure confidence to me. If you play hard, you find your way through it.”
Is it confidence? That’d be disappointing. This is a team filled with superstars, and if they lacked the confidence I don’t know if it could be turned around.
That is why Toews is more important than ever. While sure, eight games can be an eternity in sports, if the team does lack confidence it could be a Johnathan Toews shorty away from gaining it back.
He is one of the few players on the ice that can impact the game on both ends, as well as vocally. While the team is packed with two-way players, it just means more to the team when Tazer does it. Whether it’s a big hit, great pass, incredible goal, or just laying it out there vocally… NO ONE IS MORE RESPECTED IN A NHL LOCKER ROOM THAN TOEWS.
The team needs to take things one shift at a time, but Joel, the fans, and the team should be staring at number 19.
