Despite a bit of a stumble last week, Chicago Blackhawks fans appear to have some hope for the future as the Hawks are starting to show signs of the playoff-caliber team they can be. Tonight at the United Center, the Blackhawks will host the Dallas Stars, who are coming off a 2-1 shootout victory over the Hawks on Sunday night. Friday night they will host the Colorado Avalanche on the front end of a home-and-home, back-to-back set of games.
Heading into last weekend, the Blackhawks had only faced three divisional teams in their first 22 games, with two against the same team (Nashville Predators). Saturday’s contest with the Stars began a stretch of five consecutive Central Division opponents, with Dallas taking the ice as one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
Friday/Saturday Nov. 29, 30: Home-and-Home vs. Avalanche
The Avalanche enter the week coming off a 5-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. They will host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night before heading to Chicago for a Friday matchup with the Blackhawks.
Against the Maple Leafs, the Avalanche scored almost as soon as the game started, but a four-goal first period for Toronto proved to be too much for them to overcome, losing their second straight game dropping their season record to 13-8-2.
Posing a challenge to the Blackhawks’ surging offense, the Avalanche defense held Toronto to just three shots on goal during the second period, matching their fewest shots against in a period this season. They also succeeded in the faceoff circle, holding possession on 60.3 percent from the faceoff circle — their highest faceoff-win percentage of the season thus far.
SATURDAY PREDICTION: Blackhawks 1, Avalanche 3
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