The Blackhawks are potentially 20 minutes away from needing help to get into the playoffs.
Detroit leads 2-1 after two periods on goals by Holmstrom and Datsyuk. Frolik got the goal for the Hawks, but Chicago could not answer the back-to-back goals by the Red Wings' veteran forwards.
Chicago got a break with 1:01 left in the period when it appeared that Duncan Keith got his stick up in Johan Franzen's face, causing the Swede to bleed from an area right above his nose. Had Keith been called for a high stick it would have been a double minor because of the blood, but the ref kept his whistle in his pocket.
The buzz in the building has turned into nerves. There is tension. It's pretty palpable now.
If the Blackhawks lose they will need Minnesota to at least take Dallas into a shootout tonight. That's not a scenario anybody here wants to discuss just yet.