from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Should we be concerned about the reigning Stanley Cup champions?

I know we've been trained to ignore the March swoons the Blackhawks have given us over the years, because we know the real Blackhawks come out to play when mid-April arrives. Still, after yet another loss to the Minnesota Wild (a 4-1 defeat on Tuesday), with goalie Corey Crawford remaining out of the lineup, and defenseman Duncan Keith facing a possible suspension after a stick-swinging incident against the Wild, should we be worried at all about the Hawks' chances?

They're six points behind both the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues in the Central Division, so forget about finishing any higher than third, and the fourth-place Nashville Predators are only four points back. That doesn't matter as much to me, because where the Hawks finish in the regular season never has.

I would feel better, though, if we saw Crawford play a few games before the end of the regular season, which is likely the plan, but who knows until we actually see it. As for Keith and his slash to the face of Charlie Coyle on Tuesday night, I have to believe it will cost him a few games, which, practically speaking, maybe isn't the worst thing in the world for a guy who plays the most minutes on the team and could use a break just about now.

Thoughts?

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