Weekes: Pluses, minuses for Blackhawks, Flyers

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game in his Weekes on the Web blog. Weekes will also be assisting fans with three must-watch elements of the game.

When you really sit down and analyze it, it's quite amazing the direction the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers have gone in since they played in the Stanley Cup Final five years ago.

Salary cap constraints for the Blackhawks under general manager Stan Bowman forced them to rebuild their team around a championship core; the result was another Stanley Cup championship in 2013 after back-to-back first-round exits. They are still a premier team in the NHL and arguably the favorite to win the Cup again this season.

The Flyers didn't make the playoffs in 2013, barely got in last season after changing coaches, and won't make it this season, which potentially could prompt even greater changes this offseason.

Philadelphia has actually somewhat solidified its goaltending with Steve Mason, but the bottom has dropped off of its blue line, and Claude Giroux and Ray Emery are the only players left from the Flyers team that lost in the Cup Final in 2010. Emery doesn't really count because he had stops in Anaheim and Chicago before going back to Philadelphia last season.

So when the Blackhawks and Flyers play Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVA Sports), what you'll see will be nothing like what you saw five years ago. But the Flyers still have it in them to play the role of spoiler, and at the very least they will try to do that.

Here is my breakdown:

BLACKHAWKS

Pluses: Corey Crawford's game is tight right now and you know the Blackhawks have depth in net because they have Scott Darling, who played so well against the New York Rangers, and Antti Raanta can win games. That's big time to have that depth in net.

You can also argue that they have arguably the greatest leader in our game right now in Jonathan Toews with what he brings and how he sets the tone for that team. That much is obvious.

They have multiple weapons and their stars are stars, and they want to be stars every day and every night, no matter when the games are played. That goes a long way, a really long way.

And, for as talented as their group is they still want to defend and are still committed to defending. Coach Joel Quenneville stays on them to make plays offensively, and when your coach stays on you to make plays and encourages you to handle the puck, and on top of that you're still defending, that says a lot about you as a team.

Also, without Patrick Kane the machine has rolled on. Chicago is 8-1-2 without Kane, who we all know is one of the most dynamic players in the game today.

The simple fact that the Blackhawks have so many weapons is how they can survive without Kane. Marian Hossa heated up after that. Brad Richards got his 900th point. Brandon Saad has played well. They have so many options.

The big takeaway is the interchangeable parts they have. Multiple guys can play in multiple situations, play in any role. In a cap league that's huge because you're getting more return on your investment. You might be paying a guy to be a three or a four on defense, but if Brent Seabrook or Duncan Keith is out, they can slide Johnny Oduya or Niklas Hjalmarsson up. There are times Quenneville breaks them up and they can play with each other. Interchangeable.

Same up front with Teuvo Teravainen, Richards, Kris Versteeg and Saad. It's a huge advantage to have players that can be interchangeable. It's harder for the opposing team to game plan against you when you have multiple combinations you can go to. You keep the opposing coach and players off balance.

Minuses: The only negative is 88 (Kane) isn't playing, but they've turned the negative into a positive as well as they can.

I talked to Stan Bowman about Kane. He said Kane is on target and he's itching to get back. That's good news. That's great news.

FLYERS

Pluses: The plus is that their goalie has been outstanding all year.

Mason has had a good year, a really good year. Unfortunately he's been besieged by injuries and hasn't gotten a lot of support because they're getting outshot quite often (36 times), but I think it's a great story that he's gone into Philly, battled, improved and answered.

Mason in the pressure cooker that is Philly and the way he's played it says a lot about him. He gives the Flyers a chance to win every game he plays. He has a .925 save percentage. That's a crazy save percentage, particularly on a team that is that far out of the playoffs right now.

Also pluses are Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and Michael Raffl.

The Flyers needed Keith Yandle more than the Rangers did, and I say that because when you look at the season that Giroux, Voracek, Simmonds and Raffl are having, it's even more impressive considering they don't have a high-end defenseman getting them the puck.

Voracek has 73 points. Giroux has 67 points. Simmonds has 27 goals. Raffl has 18 goals. The fact that they're still running those numbers, that's really impressive.

I know they have a couple young 'D' projected to be good players, but they're not there yet. It's hard to match up in the East against teams like Pittsburgh, the Rangers, Ottawa, Montreal, Tampa Bay, Detroit, the Islanders and Washington when you don't have a high-end defenseman. But they still get that elite production from those forwards.

Minuses: A minus is the inconsistency. They could beat a top-end team on any given night, and the next night look like a team that belongs in the lottery with a good percentage of getting the No. 1 pick.

I know that is frustrating for their fans, who truly are passionate. I'm sure it's frustrating for Mr. Snider, who gives them the resources to be good. I'm sure it's frustrating for Ron Hextall. He learned a lot on the management side in L.A., but what a different situation the Flyers are in now.

It's too good of a city and they have too good of an ownership group to be in the situation they're in.

Bottom line is their defense isn't good enough, particularly when compared to the other teams in the East. It just hasn't been addressed. They just haven't improved it. They need to improve it. It's hard to chase the puck in your own end and not be able to activate in the other end.

There are high expectations in Philadelphia, and that's one part of their franchise that absolutely has to improve.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Chicago's defined style vs. the Flyers' undefined style

The Blackhawks have been consistent because they play the same way almost all the time. The Flyers have been inconsistent because they have no real style that they stick to. Can the Flyers be good enough to get the Blackhawks away from what they do best? That leads us to No. 2…

2. Blackhawks' playmaking vs. Philadelphia's physicality

Regardless of not having a true style that they stick to, the Flyers will always try to be physical. They may not do it in the most disciplined way all the time, but they will try to pound you. The Blackhawks don't want to play that way. They want to make plays all the time. Will they be able to?

3. Fired-up Flyers

The Flyers have won two games in March. They're coming off a four-game road trip in which they didn't win a game. Are they embarrassed enough to put forth one of their best efforts of the season?