The Chicago Blackhawks enter their matchup with the Colorado Avalanche on a four-game losing streak. The Avalanche, on the contrary, come in on a five-game winning streak.
With that said, the Avalanche know what it’s like to be on a four-game losing streak this season as they started the year 0-4-0 before this run.
Once the Avalanche won, the floodgates opened. Chicago is hoping to get that win to end the bad streak and start playing much better going forward.
Things are a little bit different for Colorado than Chicago though. They are three years removed from winning the Stanley Cup and still have many of those players in their prime. It is much easier to see them going on runs than the Blackhawks.
Nathan MacKinnon is the reigning Hart Trophy winner and he is one of the three best forwards in the NHL. He has been for a handful of years now. The fact that he has another top-20 forward in Mikko Rantanen to play with makes it even more lethal.
On defense, the Avalanche have Cale Makar who is the top defenseman in the NHL right now. Makar has been the best at his position for a few years now.
What makes him so good? He plays like Connor McDavid but on the back end. He skates so well, has incredible hands, a lethal shot, incredible hockey IQ, and the ability to shut down the opposition.
If the Blackhawks are going to win this game, they are going to contain these three stars, shut down their depth, and make life hard on their struggling goalies.
Justus Annunen has taken over as the starting goalie for Colorado but he hasn’t been this Vezina caliber goalie. He’s just been better than Alexander Georgiev who is likely who the Hawks will face.
If they get traffic in front and are smart with the puck, they can beat this guy. Taking advantage of power play chances and keeping the penalties to a minimum would certainly help.
In the most recent game, the Hawks were defeated by the Dallas Stars in Dallas. Connor Bedard stayed hot with a goal but the 3-0 comeback fell short.
Colorado is playing the Hawks in the second half of a back-to-back. They beat the Ottawa Senators 5-4 in a thriller.
Most would say that the Avalanche are a better hockey team than the Blackhawks. However, this is a trap game for Colorado.
The Avalanche are playing on consecutive nights, they have their backup in the net, and the Hawks are on a bad streak that they want to break. Now is Chicago’s chance to cool down the red-hot Avalanche.
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