Perspectives important. But so are wins. Remember how hard those were to come by just four days ago?
Sure, the Blackhawks beat up on the NHLs worst teamone theyve now gone 5-0 against this season. But the Blue Jackets also found a way to beat the Blues and the red-hot Ducks recently, and actually controlled the first half of the first period.
There were encouraging signs throughout, as Corey Crawford had his second straight strong outing, the Hawks stayed out of the penalty box and killed the only minor they drew, and the Toews-Sharp-Kane line performed as youd expect. But the real sign of whether this team has its mojo back is whats straight ahead. They cant do anything about the nine-game losing streak now, which could very well land them in fourth place in the Central when the regular season wraps up in seven weeks. But there are 23 games left, and nine of them are against those three teams ahead of them in the division, starting Sunday morning back at home against the Blues, then Tuesday versus the Wings. The opportunitys certainly there, but realistically, there may not be time to make up a 15-point gap with Detroit and 10- points with St. Louis. But if the Hawks keep progressing, get answers to the current questions, win their share against those three opponents down the stretch, and get healthy and add a key body or two, they can focus strictly on building momentum towards that second week of April, and building off the disappointments of the past month.