from Craig Custance of ESPN,

I love Chicago and would have a hard time betting against them in a playoff series, but in terms of this regular-season race, we're getting a snapshot right now that catches Chicago at its best and Dallas sputtering a bit. If anything, I think this is a good thing for the Stars, because they jumped out to such a big lead that they might have been sapped of any motivation to play hard. Now there's a race, but I'm not ready to just concede the Central to the Blackhawks. In fact, I'm sticking with my preseason pick in the Stars.

Chicago knows how to pace itself over the course of a long season and that team will throttle down at some point. As great as the Blackhawks are, they've only won the division once since 2010-11. That group has an uncanny ability to manage the ebbs and flows of the regular season and come out of the grind in good shape for the playoffs. They're not going to have the pedal to the floor all season.

The team I'm more concerned about is in Nashville, which has an even-strength save percentage (.922) that puts them No. 23 in the league. It's going to be hard to stay in the race if that doesn't improve.

more on the Blackhawks from LeBrun and Burnside...