from Corey Masisak of NHL.com,
There are not many franchises in the NHL where a 10-7-1 start to the season would elicit varying degrees of panic amongst the fan base, but the Chicago Blackhawks live in that space in 2014.
The Blackhawks have been one of the best teams in the NHL for seven seasons now, winning the Stanley Cup twice and reaching the Western Conference Final twice in the past six campaigns. There is an expectation to be playing in June 2015, or this season will be considered a failure.
So 21 points in 18 games, which as of Thursday morning was only good enough for ninth place in the West, has set off warning alarms in some homes in the greater Chicagoland area. One person who is not concerned? That would be Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman.
"I think we've played very well, probably better than our record shows," Bowman said Tuesday in Toronto after the League's general managers meeting. "I've been very pleased with our performance. One thing we haven't done until recently is scored a lot of goals, and that has always been a strength for us. We have essentially the same cast of characters back, so that will work itself out. We've been very good defensively. I think we've been No. 1 or 2 in goals against all year, and I think that is going to bode well for us down the stretch."
continued plus the Super 16 Power Rankings with the Blues and Blackhawks in the top 2 spots...
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