Blackhawks embrace challenge trying to earn playoff spot

CHICAGO -- Jonathan Toews talked of the Western Conference race, the one in which the Chicago Blackhawks were still within reach of a wild card spot for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Is it exciting? Is it stressful?
"I mean, it's a new challenge," said Toews, who scored his 30th goal of the season, on a penalty shot, when the Blackhawks beat the Arizona Coyotes 7-1 at United Center on Monday. "We've been in these playoff hunts before. Maybe not as dire of a position as we are right now, but you never know what can happen."
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It's a challenge, for sure. But the Blackhawks, who have won three straight games, are once again showing they're not done competing. With 69 points, the Blackhawks are five points behind the Minnesota Wild, who lost 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks, for the second wild card into the playoffs from the West. The Blackhawks play the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, SN, NHL.TV).
The winning streak, which started with a 5-4 win against the Buffalo Sabres and a 2-1 road victory against the Dallas Stars, has the Blackhawks believing once again they can get back to the postseason after losing four of their previous five games.
"It's exciting," said forward Brandon Saad, who scored his 22nd goal of the season at 8:09 of the first period against the Coyotes. "After the last game we felt good. I know coming home, we haven't been great at home as of late, so for us to be able to buckle down again and score some goals, I know everyone's feeling good about ourselves."
The Blackhawks have had their issues this season, but Monday's game was a reminder that scoring goals hasn't been one of them (they're seventh in the NHL with 232 goals in 69 games). It was the seventh time this season the Blackhawks have scored six or more goals in a game. Forward Brendan Perlini, who was acquired by the Blackhawks, along with forward Dylan Strome, from the Arizona Coyotes for Nick Schmaltz on Nov. 25, had the first three-goal game of his NHL career.

As much as Perlini loved having his best game of the season against his former team, he was more focused on the big, and ever-changing, playoff picture.
"This year, it's been really in and out as far as a couple of games go by, teams are in it, then some teams are out of it," Perlini said. "We know that we're still right there and as long as we keep putting good games together and wins together, we'll be around."
The biggest issue for the Blackhawks this season has been their defense; they've allowed 255 goals, the second most in the NHL behind the Ottawa Senators (260). However, they've tightened up in their past two games, allowing one goal each to the Coyotes and Stars.
Part of the reason for that is the play of goalie Corey Crawford. He stopped 50 of the 52 shots he faced the past two games and is 4-1-0 since returning Feb. 27 from a concussion that had sidelined him since Dec. 16.
Coach Jeremy Colliton was especially pleased with Monday's all-around effort. In pulling away from the Coyotes, the Blackhawks were able to alleviate the workload of some of their top players. Forward Patrick Kane scored his 41st goal and played 16 minutes, 43 seconds, his lowest time on ice of the season.
"To me, that's a very big step for our team, that we were mature enough to play to the end and play the right way," Colliton said. "We can use more of the bench. It's nice to have that opportunity to spread the ice around and try to stay as fresh as we can for big games coming up."
It's been a while since the Blackhawks have gone through a late-season fight to get into the playoffs. In 2011 they got the eighth seed in the West after the Wild beat the Stars 5-3 on the last day of the regular season. They'll likely need help from others to get in again this season. But the Blackhawks are playing better hockey, especially defensively, and they're giving themselves a chance.
"For us, we know we've got to just control what we can control here," Saad said. "That's all you can do is keep winning hockey games and hope for the best."