Brandon Bollig

There is no better time to be thankful that all the armchair GMs aren't real GMs than directly after a tough loss right before the trade deadline.

Monday night on Twitter, as the Blackhawks walked out of a lackluster game with a 5-4 loss to the LA Kings, whom they had previously dominated earlier in the season, all the usual suggestions came out. So-and-so should go back to Rockford. So-and-so is dead weight this season and should be traded. (If he's such dead weight, who else is going to want him?) So-and-so isn't getting it done. In exchange, fans are looking for every high-profile player out there, future salary concerns be ignored.

In a season like ...

CHI v. COL- Game Preview

8:00pm CST

The teams will switch venues as the Chicago Blackhawks head to Colorado to face the Colorado Avalanche for the second time in three days. The Blackhawks are looking to improve on their record-setting points streak. The Blackhawks beat Colorado this past Wednesday 3-2 on an overtime goal from Daniel Carcillo.

Winger Patrick Sharp was injured in Wednesday’s game. The shoulder injury he suffered appears to be more severe than team officials originally thought. To replace Sharp in the lineup, the team recalled Brandon Bollig from Rockford.

The Avalanche are led by Matt Duchene and PA Parenteau. Both are tied for the team...

There are three games left and the Detroit Red Wings can do themselves a huge favour. They control their own destiny for fourth place if they finish 3-0. In the first round, they'd play a Central Division rival, Nashville or Chicago. Finishing anything other than 3-0 leaves far too much guess work as to who else they might play, especially if they finish sixth (one point separates fourth through sixth).

This is definitely unfamiliar territory for Red Wings fans, who might find this season unacceptable; even with all the injuries, and even considering the team has made the playoffs 21 years in a row. There is always talk about whether finishing in a higher seed&nbs...

Last year, the Ottawa Senators were one of the worst teams in the league, and with very few changes made to the team or staff over the summer, not much better was expected of them this year.

It just goes to show how quirky hockey can be and how you can never predict how seasons will go. This year, the Senators have remained solidly in playoff position for most if not all of the season.

Being in different conferences mean these two teams only see each other once a year on average; they last faced off on January 7, 2011, in Chicago; the Blackhawks won that one, 3-2.

The similarities between the Senators and the Blackhawks right now are many: both sit at 6th ...