With just five games remaining in the 2021 NHL season, including tonight’s contest against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Chicago Blackhawks will most likely miss the playoffs with next-to-nothing to play for in the final handful of games.
Heading into tonight, they’ve already lost four in-a-row, and are just 5-8-1 since the beginning of April. What do they have to play for? Who should be playing? Here’s five things I have on my wishlist to see from the Blackhawks over their fain five games.
#1: More Brandon Hagel
Averaging 13:45 minutes per game this season, Hagel has been getting above his average ice-time in the last handful of starts and I would want to see that continue. One of the more effective forwards the Blackhawks have on the roster, Hagel has averaged 14:59 per game since April 8th and has eight points over his last eight games, with a three-game point streak heading into Monday night. I’d love to see him continue to get used on both the powerplay and penalty-kill in the final five games and be given more responsibilities as a rookie making his final impact of the season.