The Chicago Blackhawks have been playing without their dynamic duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews since March 19th when Kane left a 4-0 win vs. St. Louis with the dreaded “lower body injury”.
The other half of the one-two punch, Toews would join his pal on the shelf less than two weeks later. A crunching, but legal, check from Brooks Orpik sent the Chicago captain down the team tunnel and out of action with an equally sinister “upper body injury”.
Geographically located injuries aside, we are left to wonder about the extent of the injuries suffered by Chicago’s top tandem. Kane seems to be suffering from some type of knee injury after an awkward check against the Blues, while Toews is nursing a shoulder/collarbone/rib injury that will remain shrouded in mystery.
Of course the gamesmanship that we can all thank the NFL’s Bill “The Hoodie” Belichek for now extends to the NHL, where every coach will refrain from the specifics of injury to gain a competitive advantage. With news that Toews will hit the ice this week, we’ll have to assume that Chicago’s number one center will be ready to go when the playoffs start next week.
There has been much less news about Kane and his knee, ahem, lower body, which is actually cause for more concern. With Chicago set to begin their Stanley Cup defense against Colorado, we have to wonder how Kane and Toews will affect Chicago’s chances either way.
Before their respective injuries Chicago was speeding along in a drag race to the postseason with St. Louis, swapping pole positions with the Blues for the top spot in the Central Division. With the two stars on ice for the rest of the regular season, the Hawks have stumbled while St. Louis and Colorado are now dueling for the top spot in the division, and possibly the Western Conference.
Even if the one or both of the Chicago all stars return to the lineup in the playoffs, all eyes will be watching for any ill effects of the injury. With someone like Patrick Roy behind the opponent’s bench for Colorado, you can bet that his Avalanche will be testing the upper, lower and every body region in between.
The big question is can the Blackhawks beat Colorado without Kane and Toews? The answer is no. With both players in the lineup, more specifically, healthy and in the lineup, Chicago is a top two or three team in the NHL. They return almost everyone from the team that won it all a year ago. They are young, talented and deep, with the only discernable weakness in goal. No, not just Corey Crawford’s glove hand. Crawford is mediocre at best, but playing behind the top defense in the NHL can make any goaltender look elite. He has his moments, but the Hawks won’t succeed because their goaltender throws the team on his back.
The Blackhawks pickle is eerily similar to the situation in Detroit where the top two players on the Red Wings could return to the lineup well below 100 percent. Only the Blackhawks know for sure, but with only home ice to play for while the postseason spot is locked down, no one can blame Chicago for wrapping their top two stars in bubble wrap until they have some meaningful games to play.
The series with Colorado was going to be a dogfight with or without Kane and Toews at full health. The odds are tipped slightly towards the Avs even with their own star center Matt Duchene nursing his own injury. Chicago has won four straight games, but Colorado has been hot as well, taking points on nine of ten games.
With the two Blackhawks in question responsible for just under 22% of Chicago’s goals, the chances of a Stanley Cup encore are virtually nil. Unless the injuries to Toews and Kane are minor, and there is no reason to believe that they are, Chicago could get bounced in the first round by the Avalanche.