Chicago Blackhawks Insider: Previewing the Schedule in January

It’s hard to believe that 2010 is over and the new year has begun.  It seems like just yesterday we were watching Patrick Kane score the cup-clinching goal in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  It’s hard to believe that time has flown by that quickly.

The Blackhawks will begin a pretty tough month on the Jan. 3 with games against some tough teams.  They have played a majority of the teams that they will be facing next month so there is some familiarity there and the Blackhawks could have some good success against most of these teams.

Let’s take a look at the Blackhawks' schedule coming up for the month of January and see who they have to play and what the outcome may end up being.

Jan. 2—Chicago at Anaheim; The Blackhawks ended up losing this game 2-1 and this wasn’t the way to start out the month or the new year.  

Jan. 3—Chicago at Los Angeles; The Blackhawks got Jonathan Toews back and he was the big difference in this game, as he had the game-winning goal and is back and ready to play.

Jan. 5—Dallas at Chicago; The Blackhawks will host the Dallas Stars in their first home game of the new year on the Jan. 5.  The Blackhawks and the Stars have played just once so far this season and Chicago won that game.  The Stars are currently in the lead in the Pacific Division and playing some pretty good hockey right now.  Can the Blackhawks beat them when they come to Chicago early in the month?  Consider this game a tossup right now.

Jan. 7—Ottawa at Chicago; The Senators will travel to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks for the first meeting between these two teams this season.  Ottawa is currently third in the Northeast and have been struggling at times this season.  The Blackhawks should be able to pick things up against the Senators and walk away with a win.

Jan. 9—New York Islanders at Chicago Blackhawks; East comes to the Midwest in this game, as these teams play their first game of the year against one another.  Heading into the month of January, New York is fourth in the NHL’s Eastern division and hasn’t been playing that well.  They should provide the Blackhawks with a winnable game that will help them keep marching through the month of January.

Jan. 12—Colorado at Chicago; The Avalanche will play the Hawks for the fourth time this season and perhaps Chicago will finally win a game against them this season.  In their previous three meetings, the Avalanche have beaten the Hawks each time, so hopefully there will be some kind of motivation to win this game.  Colorado is currently second in the Northwest and has been playing some pretty good hockey this season.  Will the Blackhawks be able to finally get a win against them?

Jan. 15—Chicago at Nashville/January 16 Nashville at Chicago; The Blackhawks will travel down south to take on division rival Nashville and then flip flop the next day, as the Predators will travel back up to Chicago to play the Hawks at home.  These two teams have met three times so far this year and the Predators have won two of those three games.  Being that these will be division games, and contests between these two teams are usually pretty tough, getting a win will be important for both teams in terms of playoff positioning.  These will be two tough games for both teams, but if the Blackhawks want to make the playoffs, they need to win these division games.

Jan. 22—Chicago at Detroit; These two teams will battle for the third time this season, as both teams have won the previous two games.  These games are very well contested and some of the most interesting to watch, so, right now, this would appear to be a toss up.  Right now, the Red Wings have a pretty commanding lead in the Central and the Blackhawks are going to try to have to win every game from this game into the future in order to overtake the Red Wings and win the division.

Jan. 23—Philadelphia at Chicago; This might end up being the most watched game of the season for the Blackhawks.  This will be their first and only meeting of the season and will be the first time that these two teams have met since they played one another in the Stanley Cup Finals this past spring.  Philadelphia is having a pretty nice season, as they lead the Atlantic Division at this time and may present a problem for the Blackhawks.

But if Chicago has all of its weapons available and are playing well at that time, they have an excellent chance at winning what will be a very well contested game.

Jan. 25—Minnesota at Chicago; The Blackhawks' final game of the month comes with a visit from the Minnesota Wild.  These teams have met once before this season and that game ended up as a win for the Blackhawks.  Minnesota is sitting third in the Northwestern Division right now and both teams will be fighting for position when they meet at the end of the month.  Can the Blackhawks win to finish the month of January strong?

Chicago Blackhawks Insider: Previewing the Schedule in January

Chicago has been up and down, as injuries have caused them some problems at the end of November and December.  It’s important that the Blackhawks have a strong January because they can gain a lot ground by wining a majority of their games this month and get themselves in position for the playoffs.