Since the start of this shortened season because of the tremendous success and depth of this Blackhawks team I have been confident that they would be back in the Stanley Cup Final. I was cautious though, not wanting to write or say anything in public about making it to the Stanley Cup Final, especially during the hot streak we were on. I was actually a little glad we lost the few games we did during the regular season because I wanted to make sure we got some losses out of our system before the playoffs, something I also would not say publically. While the team was having a fantastic season and others would chat about bringing the Cup back to Chicago, not only would I not talk about it I wouldn’t even post Cup pictures or tweet about it until Saturday’s win was in the books. But in the end, all of my caution paid off. I didn’t jinx anything and I didn’t look like a foolish fan.
At the beginning of the season the writers of SCH made predictions; I predicted the Blackhawks and the Bruins to be the conference winners. I admit, before the season started I made my predictions with my heart and not so much with facts or stats. I picked my beloved Hawks because I always bet on the home team and I picked the Bruins because they are an Original 6 team and I have family in Boston, so when they aren’t playing against Chicago I always root for Boston teams. I have to say my predictions were pretty good for a girl with little knowledge of other NHL teams and players. When I started following hockey I never really paid attention to other teams. I knew a few things about some of our rivals, like the Sedin Sisters, but I didn’t pay close attention to the strengths and weaknesses of other teams especially ones in the Eastern Conference, at least not until I started writing for the blog. So I was a little nervous about publishing my predictions; I didn’t want to look clueless. Here are my predictions from January 18;
Central Division – Chicago Blackhawks
Northwest Division – Vancover Canucks
Pacific Division – Anaheim Ducks
Atlantic Division – NY Rangers
Northeast Division – Boston Bruins
Southeast Division – Florida Panthers
Presidents Trophy – NY Rangers
Eastern Conference – Boston Bruins
Western Conference – Chicago Blackhawks
Stanley Cup – Chicago Blackhawks
Hart Trophy – Jonathan Toews
Calder Trophy – Brandon Saad
Not too shabby for a newbie, if I do say so myself. I want to clarify, although I wanted us to win the President’s Cup I didn’t want to predict that we would because I didn’t want to hear about the “curse” which I personally think is a bunch of hooey, as we will prove starting Wednesday.
It was a wonderful and fun ride during the regular season. The Hawks have been amazing to watch and have yet to let us down as far as excitement and entertainment. Whether watching at the United Center, a tavern or home they have not left me wanting for anything, except more. I can’t wait until Wednesday it’s going to be a long couple of days!
Like everyone else, I am super excited for the SCF and I look forward to being completely overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions for the next few weeks. I couldn’t be more proud of the team and happy for this city and the fans. To get us back to the Cup finals in three years is pretty remarkable and although I refrained from saying it for the last few months, now I can shout it from the roof tops I WANT THE CUP BACK IN CHICAGO!