CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks have been ousted in the first round of the playoffs the past two years after winning the Stanley Cup.
The Blackhawks believe they can make a big run this season where there's little room for error with just 48 games to play. It starts with Saturday's opener at Los Angeles.
The Blackhawks still have the same cast of stars from their championship run, with captain Jonathan Toewes (tayvz) , Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa, but salary-cap issues forced management to part with key pieces of the supporting cast. And they haven't quite found that same sort of mix.