Chicago Blackhawks: Special Teams and Marian Hossa Just What The Doctor Ordered

Saturday was a rough night for Blackhawks fans, an up and down game against a team looking for payback for “The Hit,” while the Hawks searched for their first home win of the season. The Hawks, already facing league-wide criticism for their off-season fire sale after winning the cup, have been bi-polar this season with long stretches of fantastic play reminiscent of their post season play of last year, followed by short bursts of complete letdown.

These Blackhawks can play almost an entire whole period with great puck control and excellent capitalization on scoring chances, like in the 3^rd frame of Wednesday's home game against the Nashville Predators; and then make simple mistakes like drawing a delay of game penalty with almost two minutes left in a tie game. Then they turn around and put up a handful against a strong Columbus Blue Jackets team while only conceding two to the division rivals.

The main concern among fans is that the front office let too much talent go over the off-season, namely in the goaltending of Antti Niemi, the physical presence of Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Andrew Ladd, and the scoring flair of Kris Versteeg. However, with the combination of new faces including young guns Bryan  Bickell and Viktor Stalberg, and the veteran leadership of Marty Turco between the pipes, the Hawks are poised to make another strong run deep into the playoffs.

Granted, the Blackhawks goaltending has been shaky, the duties having been tossed between Turco and Crawford. The problem however is in the way the team as a whole is playing. A large majority of the goals scored against the Hawks this year have been short tip ins from either rebounds or quick feeds through the slot. The issue most plaguing the Blackhawks right now isn't who is in net, but what they are allowing to happen in front of it.

Part of the issue has been a combination of an oft depleted and inexperienced defense due to the injury to Brian Campbell and the suspension to Niklas Hjalmarsson. However, the Hawks' D-men are stepping up better in pressure situations, staying out of the box, and protecting the front of the net.

The most important thing that has transferred from last year's Stanley Cup winning team however has been the special teams play on both sides of the puck. Combining an 88% penalty kill and a 27.3% powerplay give the Blackhawks arguably the best special teams record so far this season. The powerplay unit is playing more impressively than they have in years, and the penalty kill picked up exactly where they left off last season.

The Hawks have also seen stellar performances from their offense from top to bottom, just like last season. Leading the charge, quite commandingly however, are Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, both of whom are fighting for tops in the league in all three scoring categories. However, the muscle are getting in on the action too. Checking line forwards are scoring regularly and constantly providing pressure on the opposing goaltender and working the opposing defense as well.

When Campbell gets healthy and the new guys on defense and in net get settled, the fans and the hockey world will see that the Blackhawks are not satisfied with a one and done, and they will be legitimate contenders again. This time however, with a more well managed salary, they will be poised to continue that onslaught on the Western Conference for seasons to come.

As for the 2010-2011 season, the Hawks will be fine. There will likely be other injuries and hardships along the way, but with a core of Cup winning veterans surrounded by young, fresh talent, they can weather the storm, possible to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup once more.