ON THIS DAY: 2013 Presidents' Trophy Season

By the time the final day of the 2013 NHL regular season rolled around - seven years ago Monday - the Blackhawks had all but put a bow on one of the most remarkable performances in league history.

After a work stoppage threatened to scrap the entire season, an agreement on Jan. 6 led to a truncated 48-game schedule that resulted in an all-out sprint from Opening Night to the finish. That sprint was led wire-to-wire - thanks to a record-breaking 21-0-3 start - by a Blackhawks team that was talented, hungry and experienced.

The home portion of the regular-season race culminated with a 3-1 victory over the Flames on April 26, 2013 at the United Center and all that remained was a meaningless finale the next night against the Blues in St. Louis. With nearly every regular sitting out - save for veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook - to get a rest for what they hoped was a lengthy postseason run, the Blackhawks fell to their rivals 3-1.

When the dust had settled on the campaign, the Blackhawks had a 36-7-5 record for 77 points - the most-ever for a 48-game schedule - and a winning percentage of .802, fifth-best in NHL history. At one point, the Blackhawks reeled off a franchise-record 11 wins in a row and in the end had won the Presidents' Trophy as the team with the most points in the league.

It was a familiar cast of characters leading the way for coach Joel Quenneville, including captain Jonathan Toews and fellow forwards Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Dave Bolland, Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and Bryan Bickell, among others, defensemen Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya and goaltenders Corey Crawford and Ray Emery.

The accolades were plentiful following the season, including Toews receiving the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the forward displaying the best defensive skill and Crawford and Emery combining forces to be awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals against.

The only way to cap off such a sensational run was to capture the Stanley Cup, a feat the Blackhawks pulled off when they rolled past the Wild in the first round, survived an epic seven-game series against the Red Wings in the Western Conference Semifinals and eliminated the Kings in the Conference Finals to advance to their second Cup Finals in four seasons.

In an Original Six showdown, the Blackhawks defeated the Bruins in six games to again hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.

"Everyone was behind each other," Crawford told reporters at the time. "We worked hard for each other all year."

Added Toews: "It's a special group. Those guys worked like dogs. We had great players sitting out every day that didn't get to play - those guys sacrificed. Everyone paid the price. It feels pretty special when you give so much to something."

In hindsight, the 2013 NHL season may have been short, but it couldn't have been sweeter for the Blackhawks.

"All the hard work pays off in the end," Kane said after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the postseason. "These are the feelings you live for. This year we had a great team and we really followed through."