Will the Blackhawks Make the Playoffs?

The Chicago Blackhawks have had a tremendous run this decade. Three Stanley Cups in a span of six seasons is something to behold, especially with the leadership of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. However, it seems that their time is drawing near.

Currently, the Blackhawks sit two points behind the Minnesota Wild for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference. To make matters worse, they lost their star goaltender Corey Crawford (16-9-2, 2.27 GAA, .929 save percentage) to an upper body injury, placing him on injured reserve.

However, losing Crawford isn't the only problem the Blackhawks have; there seems to be a lack of "Chelsea Dagger" at the United Center. Chicago has been lackluster on the power play, ranking 29th in the league in that category (14.1%). Chicago hasn't been getting any production from the likes of Toews (nine goals, 13 assists) and Brandon Saad (11 goals, six assists), either.

But aside from the Crawford injury, those are the only major problem that the Blackhawks have right now. The team is third in the NHL in shots per game at 34.6. Don't forget about the Blackhawks being only two points out.

So will the Blackhawks be fine? The Central Division looks extremely tough this season, on par with the Metropolitan Division as the toughest in the NHL. However, if the Blackhawks can make it without Crawford and get more scoring, they should be back in the postseason. Hopefully, Blackhawk fans won't be deprived of the "Dagger" during the month of May.