Chicago Blackhawks Insider: Finishing out the Month of December

The Chicago Blackhawks have been seeing some pretty decent success to start the last month of the year and hopes are high that they will continue seeing success for the remainder of the month.  They need a strong finish in December so that they get themselves in a better position to make the playoffs and defend their Stanley Cup title.

Let’s take a look at the Blackhawks' remaining games for the month of December and see what their record in those remaining games might end up being.

Dec. 13-15, Blackhawks at Avalanche, Avalanche at Blackhawks—This is the first of two games in a row that these teams will play against each other in the month of December.  Right now, Colorado is playing well, but not outstanding, so the Blackhawks do have a chance at beating them in both games. 

The Hawks are down a couple of important players heading into this matchup (Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa), so winning as many games as they can before those two guys get back will be important. Look for them to try their best to win these two games.

Dec. 17, Red Wings at Blackhawks—Games between these two teams are always fun and this game should be a good one. Detroit leads the Central right now, so Chicago will have some motivation to try to win this game and stay close to the Red Wings in hopes of eventually taking over the lead in the Central.

Look for this to be a hard fought game with the end result too close to call right now.

Dec. 19, Kings at Blackhawks—These two teams have met twice before this season, with the Hawks beating the Kings both times. Chicago should be able to win this game and continue towards having a strong last month of 2010.

Dec. 22, Predators at Blackhawks—Nashville comes to Chicago and these games are always very interesting between these two teams. This will be the second time that these two teams have met, with Nashville winning the first two.  Can the Blackhawks win this game against the Predators, a team that is just behind them in the standings?

You can bet that Nashville will want to win this game so they can catch up to the Blackhawks in the standings and keep positing themselves for the playoffs.  Look for this to be a tough game between two teams that will want the victory bad.

Dec. 26, Blue Jackets at Blackhawks—The Blackhawks will take on the Blue Jackets, a team that is struggling a little bit right now, but can win any game they play. Being that this is a division game, like most of the games during this stretch are, it will be a difficult and hard fought game.  

These teams have met two times so far this season with each team winning one game. This game will mean a lot to both teams so, like many of their games in December, expect a hard fight in this game as the Blackhawks prepare to close out the month of December.

Dec. 28, Blackhawks at Blues—There is a lot of animosity between these two clubs whenever they get together so this should be a great game. So far this season, the Blues and the Blackhawks have met three times this season. Chicago leads the series 2-1. 

The Blackhawks could have Kane and Hossa back for this game (or sometime around this game) so the Blackhawks could be at full strength and should be able to win it.

Dec. 30, Sharks vs. Blackhawks—The last game of the year for the Blackhawks.  The Sharks and the Blackhawks have played two games this season and the Sharks won both.  This third meeting will bring former Chicago goalie Antti Niemi back to Chicago for the first time since he helped the Hawks win the Stanley Cup Championship last season—his homecoming should be interesting.

The crowd will be fired up for this game and if the Blackhawks have had some success towards the end of the month, they could be coming into this final game of 2010 hot.  Could it be a win for the Blackhawks?

We will find out at the end of December.