Chicago, Illinois. Yesterday we brought you the Wild preview, and what I expect to see out of the Wild, but today I will turn my attention to the NHL defending champions, the Blackhawks. There are a lot of questions that Jeremiahboyce.com has about the Hawks. Can Jonathan ignore all the excitement that surrounds the team going into tonight’s game? I also want to know how the Hawks will play without their sharp shooter, Marian Hossa. Hossa did not play a game in the preseason due to an injury, but is expected to play tonight when they raise the banner. On the other side, you have the Washington Capitols looking to make sure that they get off to the start that they want. Areas I think we should watch for are how well Jonathan plays when he goes through the ceremony. The first five minutes will be key for the Hawks to settle down after they raise the banner. Last year is over so from day one the Blackhawks will have a target on their backs. The Hawks were unable to defend their 2010 title, and they gave the title up to LA. Here they are two years later with Jonathan and back on top. Another interesting situation that I think will be is how are the Capitols are going to react just sitting on the bench while the Hawks are getting all of the attention? A big reason why the Hawks won the title last year was because of Corey Crawford, who took the team on his shoulders while Jonathan was non existent. The Hawks cannot go through another stretch where Jonathan is non existent. He needs to be there from the drop of the puck all season long! The Hawks can’t rely on just Corey Crawford game in and game out, they will have to get some production out of Jonathan. The match up to watch tonight will be Jonathan against Alex and how well Washington will come flying out of the gate, and see if they can weather the fans and the ceremony. It is always said that you don’t want to be the road team, because you have sit and watch the Hawks get their banner. Later today you can expect an Avalanche preview on this website.
