Blackhawks: 5 Biggest Factors in 2012-13 Season

The Chicago Blackhawks will look to be contenders in the Western Conference next season. That is of course, if there is an upcoming season.

Many different factors have to fall into place in order for the Blackhawks to make a deep push into the playoffs.

Will Patrick Kane raise his game to the next level, or will Corey Crawford finally step up and play like a true No. 1 goaltender?

Questions need answers, and these are the top five biggest factors for the Blackhawks in the upcoming season.

Corey Crawford

The Blackhawks' No. 1 goalie has been under the spotlight ever since he gave up two significant overtime goals in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Corey Crawford will look to improve his game, but just how good can he be?

The Blackhawks have said many times before that Crawford shouldn't be left out to dry by spotty defense. But isn't that what a goalie is for, to save the team when the defense makes an error?

Regardless of what has happened, the Blackhawks organization looks like it will give Crawford one more season to shape up into a true starting goalie.

If he doesn't, you better believe that GM Stan Bowman will be working the phones come the trade deadline.

Power-Play Production

Last season the Blackhawks ranked in the bottom half of the league in power-play production.

A team as talented offensively as the Blackhawks could not find the back of the net on the power play. It was troublesome to see young stars like Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp struggle when they were on the man-advantage.

The Hawks have everything they need in order to be in the top five for power-play production.

The ability to get the puck in the zone is what caused the power play to struggle last season, and the Hawks know they must be better at defensive-zone play.

Health of Marian Hossa

Regardless of what Marian Hossa says, the Blackhawks will be very cautious with how they us the right winger in the upcoming season.

After taking a dangerous hit from Raffi Torres in the first round of the playoffs last season, Hossa looks to get back on the ice.

But just how long will it be until Hossa gets sidelined again and starts to develop more symptoms related to a concussion?

Something to consider is how will that hit affect Hossa's game?

Will he play it a safe and dump the puck into the zone more often? Or will the winger continue to be one of the best puck handlers in the league?

Only time will tell.

Ability to Rebound from Bad Games

The strength of any good team is demonstrated in their ability to bounce back after a loss the night before.

Last season, the Blackhawks were unable to consistently pull out a win after losing some bad games. The best example of this was their season-long nine-game losing streak that took the Hawks out of first place in the Western Conference.

With captain Jonathan Toews responsible for getting his team ready each and every night, it would only seem fair to pin some the blame on him.

If the Hawks want to have any chance at the coveted Stanley Cup, they will have to learn how to shake a bad game fast.

Ability of Patrick Kane

Just when will Patrick Kane reach his expected potential?

He can hit the 100-point mark, but has yet to do so in his young NHL career.

Is it a safe bet that Kane will only be as good as a point-per-game player and nothing more than a right winger?

The center experiment saw mixed results from Kane last season. The Blackhawks organization was hoping to make Kane more of a two-way player.

Can he adopt a better defensive mindset in the upcoming season?

For the sake of the Blackhawks, he better.