Patrick Kane has stepped up his game on the ice, one of the major factors in the Hawks strong start to the season. more ›

The Blackhawks held on to their tenuous grasp of reaching the playoffs last night with a 4-0 shutout of the Florida Panthers at the United Center. Corey Crawford earned his fourth shutout of the season with a 23-save performance as the Blackhawks stuck to a defensive-minded game plan against the Panthers. Brent Seabrook, Viktor Stalberg, Patrick Kane and Tomas Kopecky all scored to give Crawford a comfort zone to work with. The win allowed the Hawks to stay in contention for a Western Conference playoff spot. But with three points separating the teams in contention from those looking to leapfrog them, there is no margin for error. more ›

The Backhawks had to come back down to earth eventually. It happened last night in the Sunshine State in a 3-2 loss to the Florida Panthers. Goaltender Corey Crawford, who's been a stalwart between the pipes during the Hawks resurgence, simply had an off night. Crawford gave up three first-period goals and looked leakier than a sieve by the time the intermission horn sounded. Coach Joel Quenneville pulled Crawford for Marty Turco in the second period, when the Hawks lines got untracked. Goals by Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa tightened the contest, but the Panthers and goalie Tomas Vokoun cinched down on defense the rest of the way. more ›

Last year, the Blackhawks won just 26 games, ahead of only two teams in the NHL. Although it is just the preseason, Blackhawk fans have to feel good about the upcoming season. The Chicago Blackhawks have played five of their eight preseason games and are off to a perfect 5-0 start. The Blackhawks have not had troubles sounding the horn, scoring 19 goals for an average of 3.8 goals per game. In four of the... more ›