Blackhawks Game #44: The Draft Lottery Series Game 1

The Chicago Blackhawks (12-29-2) will have a matchup with the San Jose Sharks (10-31-3). Puck drop is 7:30pm at the United Center.

Previously on Blackhawks Hockey:

The Blackhawks played the Dallas Stars close on Saturday but fell 3-1 in what was one of the more subdued posts games this season. It was another well fought battle, but the Blackhawks just couldn’t get it done in the end.

How to Watch and Listen

TV: NBC Sports Chicago
Radio: WGN 720

Scouting the Opponent and Miscellaneous Musings

All jokes aside, tonight marks the first of three matchups between the teams and both are at the bottom of the league standings, jockeying for the top spot in the draft lottery. The Sharks currently have 23 points while the Blackhawks come in with 26. Tonight also marks the next to last game home game before Chicago heads to the road and then has a break with a week off prior to the All-Star Game weekend. They’ll resume at home on February 7 where nine of their ten games in February will be at the United Center.

As other Blackhawks get healthy and slated to have essentially a month’s worth of home games in just a few weeks, this may be the closest the Hawks are to the Sharks barring catastrophe taking hold. Re-signing Jason Dickinson and Nick Foligno keeps a couple veterans in the fold familiar with what the Blackhawks are trying to do.

Now it becomes a building process where those brought understand the culture being established while also starting the march towards respectability. There will be those who don’t like this approach as it may lengthen things but there really isn’t a way to fully measure how that timeline works.

There is a long list of prospects ready to make it to Chicago but until they get to the Blackhawks and are able to produce in the fashion expected, the success outside of the NHL level is great but doesn’t hold the same worth without it being at the NHL level. Davidson said as much, too.

So tonight is the first of several games where two rebuilding teams are finding their way in different ways. It will soon be 14 years that the two teams battled in the Western Conference Final. Now they’re fighting it out in a different way.

But however it shakes out tonight, the hope is that the Blackhawks trajectory continues to point up with many of the players already taking strides–along with those they hope will in the future.