Chicago Blackhawks Insider: Previewing the Month of April

The 2010-2011 NHL season has seemingly been a long one, but it’s about to come to an end, as the month of April is almost here. The Blackhawks have managed to keep themselves in the playoff hunt all season long, and it now comes down to these last few games in April to see if they can make the playoffs and receive the best spot possible in the standings.

The following is a look at the Blackhawks final few games in the month of April, as they hopefully propel themselves into the playoffs with a good month.

April 1st-Chicago at Columbus-April Fools' Day will see the Blackhawks travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets in a divisional game that will be the fifth game of the season between these two teams. Chicago holds the lead in this series, having won three out of those five games and really needs a win to help keep them from missing the playoffs (depending on what is happening at this point). 
Getting a divisional win will help and can help them solidify a playoff spot (if they don’t have one) or help them improve their position if they are already in the playoffs.

April 3rd-Tampa Bay at Chicago-The Lightning will come to the Windy City to take on the Blackhawks, as both teams wind down their regular season schedule.  Coming into this game, these two teams have met one time before, and Tampa Bay won that game.  Chicago needs to be ready and win this game especially if they are finding themselves on the outside looking in with the playoffs just around the corner.

April 5th-Chicago at Montreal-Chicago will play its last game of the regular season in Canada when they travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens. This will be the first time that these two teams meet this season, and if the Blackhawks are on the ropes (in terms of making the playoffs), they will need a win here to keep those hopes alive. Right now, Montreal is close to locking up a playoff spot, (at the time of this writing) so if they have already made the playoffs, they could be a much easier team to play than if they would have been fighting for a playoff spot.

If the Blackhawks need a win to get in, they need to play very well against a team that has been playing pretty good hockey all season.  A win or a loss here could be huge for Chicago.

April 6th-St. Louis at Chicago-The Blackhawks will face this well-known opponent for the fifth time this season, and heading into this game, the Hawks hold a one-game advantage (Chicago has won three of the five games).  This could be a very important game depending on where Chicago is sitting when it comes to making the playoffs and for the Blues, they could be fighting for a playoff spot as well, so if it comes down to the end, both of these teams could be fighting for their playoff lives, which will make this a very interesting game.

April 8th-Chicago at Detroit-The second to the last game of the year will send the Blackhawks to visit their hated rival Detroit in a game that could have serious playoff implications.  In fact, this will be the first of a two-game series between these two teams to close out the season.

This will be the fourth time that these two teams have met this season, and the Blackhawks lead the series, 3-1.  The Red Wings are (at the time of this writing) still vying for a playoff spot and have the lead in their division.  If they haven’t locked up a spot yet, you can bet both teams will play this game hard, and it could be one of the best games of the season.

April 10th-Detroit at Chicago-The Blackhawks will finish the season against the Red Wings (their second game in a row against them), and this game could be a pretty important one depending on what happens with both teams heading into the game.  Even if both of them have secured playoff spots, knowing the rivalry that comes between these two teams, it could be a hard-fought game, and hopefully, one that the Blackhawks can win.