Blackhawks Sit Atop Draft Lottery Standings With Interesting Games Ahead

The Blackhawks are heading into their 60th game of the season which believe it or not, leaves barely 20 games left in the year. For sure, it’s been a season full of losing but it brings a Spring and Summer full of intrigue and another crack at the top spot in the lottery.

A look at the Blackhawks lottery standings the season winds down and how they’re affected in the coming weeks.

Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, and Ducks in Familiar Spots

It’s a familiar group at the top of the draft lottery standings again. A look at Tankathon’s Top Seven:

San Jose has played three less games, which means three more opportunities for them to give Chicago some breathing room. But the real watch right now is on the Coyotes, who have lost 13 straight and have entered a real chance at top five odds again.

So how does the Blackhawks schedule look right now? Here’s where it gets interesting. The Hawks have a heavy dose of lottery teams in their future. Namely:

• Columbus (Saturday)
• Arizona (March 5th in AZ and March 10th at home)
• Anaheim (March 12th at home and March 21st in Anaheim)
• San Jose (March 17th at home and March 23rd in San Jose)
• Ottawa (March 28th in Ottawa)

So in their final 23 games, Chicago takes on lottery teams in eight of those games. Blackhawks fans thought that the Pittsburgh upset last season was cognitive dissonance of the highest order.

They’ll have to be rooting in confusing ways as soon as Saturday.

Fans Want to Be Celebrating for Celebrini

Let’s face it, the players and staff won’t be mailing it in, and that’s actually a good sign. Yes, fans are rooting for another lottery win and they can’t be blamed.

If indeed they do win, Chicago sits pretty for another decade lining up Connor Bedard and presumably Macklin Celebrini on the top two lines. Throw in Frank Nazar next season and this is likely the last lottery tracker CHN is doing for a long while.

Sunday’s game was high in nostalgia and entertainment. Fans can only hope the latter continues while the Blackhawks maintain a competitive, but well positioned spot to grab that top spot in the lottery standings once 82 games are in the book.

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