Chicago Blackhawks: Next Stretch of Games Must Differ from Last Season

The Chicago Blackhawks have gotten off to a solid 5-1-2 start in the 2011-12 season, prompting many to believe that the early-season struggles of a year ago are in the rear view mirror.

Not so fast. It's not the opening of the season that derailed last year's Blackhawks. That stretch is coming up right now.

Chicago was 5-2-1 after eight games, just a point behind this season's pace. Like this year, the Blackhawks topped the Central Division.

What proved to be the team's undoing was games nine through 19, when the 'Hawks went 3-7-1 with several lackluster efforts against weak sister teams. That included a pair of home losses to Edmonton and a terrible effort against the injury-depleted New Jersey Devils.

For those of us who feel like we're out of the woods in regards to this year's start, let me throw out the notion that the Blackhawks are just entering those woods. This is where Chicago dug the hole they spent the remainder of the season escaping from a season ago.

A quick look at the next 10 games show a lot of beatable opponents. Two struggling teams over the weekend in Carolina and Columbus get things underway. Of course, that's how the schedule looked at this point last season.

So far, there is a lot of cause to be optimistic that Chicago can be at or near the top of both the division and conference standings by the time they depart on the circus trip following a home date with the Oilers on November 13th. At this point, we can be confident in the following:

• Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford are earning the money from their newly-signed contracts.
• The defense, while far from perfect, is a few notches better than a year ago.
• Patrick Kane is more than working out at center and is playing like a player with something to prove. That attitude seems to be apparent in several players this season.
• Jamal Mayers and Daniel Carcillo have provided the grit Stan Bowman thought they would.
• The third line has been formidable.
• More depth has allowed for better efforts in the final period.

There are still some issues to sort out. The power play, in contrast to the penalty kill unit, has come up barren. The defense could be better at all positions. Andrew Brunette still needs to find a way to keep up with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp, lest he be replaced on the first line.

Through the first eight games, there's a lot to get excited about. Let's see the 'Hawks take care of business on consecutive nights, then keep collecting points this next two weeks.