Halftime

It's the halfway point in the NHL season and it's time for me to critique my team, the Chicago Blackhawks. After a rough start in which management fired Denis Savard after four games, the Blackhawks have been rolling right along towards the top of the Western Conference. They aren't at the level of the Detroit Red Wings or San Jose Sharks, but they're right at the very next level.

I was upset when Denis Savard got canned. I thought getting rid of someone after four games was ludicrous, even though Joel Queeneville was fired as the replacement. It just didn't seem right. But, I can't complain about the results that Queeneville has provided. The Hawks power play is miles better than what it was when Savard was leading the team.

Even with the minor slump the offense is in right now, the team has been averaging more than 3 goals a game. Patrick Sharp has shown that last years scoring expolits weren't a fluke. Patrick Kane is on a point per game clip. Jonathan Toews started out slow, but he's picked up the pace a little bit. Kris Versteeg has been better than I thought he would be in his first season. Even Ben Eager is scoring goals. Again, even with the slump that the offense is currently in, the Hawks have been doing a good job putting the puck in the net.

The addition of Brian Campbell has helped the defense, even though he's an offensive defensemen. Campbell is good with the puck and he can carry the puck into the opponents end during the power play instead of playing dump and chase. Duncan Keith might be the most underrated defenseman in the league. Keith and Brent Seabrook have formed a very nice partnership as linemates. The defense of the most part has played well thus far.

And the goalie tandem of Nikolai Khabibulin and Critobal Huet has worked really well to this point. Khabibulin has shown that he's not a sieve when he has a good team in front of him. It's too bad that the Hawks are just now getting to see this side of him. Huet started out pretty awful, but he's played much better as the season has progressed. Queeneville has done a good job with the rotation and neither goalie has caused a stir with the way they are being played.

All in all, I'm very pleased with the way the Hawks have played this season. I predicted that they would make the playoffs this year and I'm still standing by it. I'm not going as far as predicting that the Hawks will be playing for the Stanley Cup, but I see the second round in the playoffs as a very viable possibility.