The Chicago Blackhawks don’t know where they’ll begin the 2016 postseason, but they do know that it won’t be in Chicago.
The Dallas Stars and St. Louis both won their games on Thursday, putting them out of reach for the Blackhawks. With that, Chicago is locked into the third spot in the Central Division, so they will begin the first round on the road.
It’s not the first time this team will begin the playoffs in this type of situation, but still ...
The @NHLBlackhawks are locked into 3rd place in the Central Division & will visit either St. Louis or Dallas in the First Round. #StanleyCup
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 8, 2016
So, the Blackhawks will face whichever team fails to win the division. At the moment, the Stars are technically in first place thanks to holding the tiebreaker edge, but both Dallas and St. Louis hold 107 standings points.
At 49-23-9 (107 PTS), the @DallasStars & @StLouisBlues remain tied (in terms of PTS) for 1st in the Central & West (ROW - DAL: 47, STL: 44).
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 8, 2016
The Stars close out their season on Saturday against the Nashville Predators while the Blues’ 82nd contest is against the Washington Capitals.
One opponent is far more familiar than the other, yet either way, the Blackhawks face a challenge. Of course, they also know that they’ve jumped over plenty of hurdles before, ones that both the Blues and Stars must clear if they want to take that next step.