Chicago Blackhawks: Looking at the End of November: How Will the They Finish?

The month of November is here and the 2010-2011 NHL season is in full swing.  The Blackhawks have been hot and cold since the season started, suffering injuries to key players (Marian Hossa being the biggest injury they have suffered), but players are coming back into the lineup and are ready to play.  

With these guys coming back healthy, it would appear as if the Blackhawks are ready to go for the month of November, but can they come out of the month ahead and in good shape?  Let’s take a quick look at their schedule and see how they might do the rest of the month.

November 19th-Chicago at Calgary-The Blackhawks will travel north to take on the Flames, a team that is stuck in neutral so to speak and needs to be playing better. The Blackhawks, with some solid play, should be able to defeat Calgary and improve their record.

November 20th-Chicago at Vancouver-The Canucks have always been a tough team for the Blackhawks to face in games in seasons past and Vancouver is one of the top teams in the NHL right now. The way that the Hawks are playing right now, they may have a tough time getting past the Canucks and getting another much needed win.

November 24th-Chicago at San Jose-The Blackhawks will continue on their circus trip by traveling to San Jose to take on the Sharks. San Jose has been playing well but perhaps not as well as some may have predicted. Can the Blackhawks top the Sharks on the road?

November 26th-Chicago at Anaheim-The Blackhawks will continue to play games in California with a stop in Anaheim to take on the Ducks. The Ducks are playing about as well as the Blackhawks are right now, but depending on how hot the Blackhawks come into this game, they just might have an edge over Anaheim. It should be an interesting game.

November 27th-Chicago at Los Angeles-Chicago will end its circus trip against the Los Angeles Kings. As of this writing, the Kings are leading the Pacific Division and had been playing some decent hockey lately. They may be able to beat the Hawks, who will be weary at the end of their long road trip. It should be an interesting game and if the Hawks can win, this will help keep the momentum going when they get back home.

November 30th-St. Louis at Chicago-An old and familiar rival comes to the United Center for the Blackhawks' first game back home after their circus trip. St. Louis has been playing pretty well and a lot of what happens in this game will depend on just how well the Blackhawks played during their tail end of their extended road trip. Look for this to be a good close game.

So hopefully the rest of the month of November will be a positive and productive one for the Blackhawks. 

Prediction

Factoring in the way that the Hawks have been playing lately, they have a good shot at winning more games (games that are left in the month of November) than they lose.  With six games left, they can definitely go above .500 for the remainder of November and position themselves for a strong December.

The Blackhawks should go 4-2 in the next six games.