Chicago Blackhawks: Slowly Slipping Away?

Some of us thought the Chicago Blackhawks were going to be contenders this year with all the new additions.

Chicago didnt let anybody down 14-9-2 within the first two months of the season. The Blackhawks looked like they could possibly be a playoff team this season, but after November, the Hawks fell apart.

Since December 1st, Chicago has played a total of 19 games of which they have only won 5. The Blackhawks are still winless in 2008, 0-6-1, as they lost to Minnesota Friday night 5-2 in front of yet another 21,000 sellout crowd.

The lack of scoring by Chicago is a concern. In the last 8 games, the Hawks have not scored more than 2 goals in any game, except in a 4-3 OT loss to Montreal. With injurines constantly nagging the Blackhawks, they can't seem to get back in their game. 

 Injuries are the main cause for the struggles lately. It seems as if the Blackhawks best player, Martin Havlat, is starting a downward spiral as he has not been healthy for a full season since 2003-2004, in which he still missed 14 games. Jason Williams, aquired from Detroit last season, got a great start to his year racking up 19 points in 20 games. Williams has been on the IR for 23 games. Rookie Jonathan Toews cant seem to stay healthy either as he missed the first couple games with a broken thumb and now he is out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained left knee.

Goaltending can't be blamed as starting goalie Nikolai Khababulin has a record of 15-15-3, a save percentage of .901 and a GAA of 2.78. Backup tender Patrick Lalime has a season record of 4-5-1.

The Hawks look to their three point leaders, Kane, Sharp, and Lang, to get the job done. Let's just say in the past three games, they might as well of not showed up combining for 2 points and a -7 rating between the three of them.

Chicago fans must continue to support the Hawks because they arent out quite yet. Halfway through the season, the Blackhawks have a record of 19-21-4. As soon as they get healthy again, look for them to be in the fight again.