I’ve heard a lot about the Chicago Blackhawks’ goaltending situation. A lot of that is from other writers talking about the goalies, but more recently, from the Vokoun trade rumors that floated around the NHL.

Personally, I think that the rumor was fueled by a bunch of Chicago bloggers that got excited from the speculation thrown around by ESPN radio. I don’t think that there was ever much truth behind it, and I’m actually a little surprised that it got as far as it did.

The important part about that lack of a trade is that the Blackhawks’ goalie situation is still the same. They are still unsure whether or not Cristobal Huet or Antti Niemi should see more starts. Recently, both have been seeing playing time, but neither one of them have been putting up impressive numbers.

Huet’s numbers have been the worst. He currently has a save percentage of 90.0%, which makes him 37th in the NHL, and Niemi is tied for 22nd in the NHL with a save percentage of 91%. Neither one of them are producing the exciting numbers that you would expect to see from a playoff favorite.

However, this is not a new issue for the Blackhawks. As you probably know, they have been struggling with this dilemma for the entire season.

Fortunately for Chicago, this lack of a solid starting goaltender has not stopped them from having one of the NHL’s best records. They are still an extremely talented club with a lot of strong individual players.

Many of these strong individual players are on the offense, which scores an average of 3.2 goals per game (2nd in the NHL). Marian Hossa, Jonathon Toews, Patrick Kane as well as many others have helped the Blackhawks in that department.

Obviously, this offense has been one of the biggest reasons that they’ve been able to win games, and that has to continue. Now, the question is whether or not that offense is going to out-weigh the goaltending. Normally, it wouldn’t, the Atlanta Thrashers are a prime example of that.

However, offense is not the only strength that Chicago has. Despite the fact that the Blackhawks are struggling in goal, they are not struggling defensively. In fact, they have allowed the least amount of goals per game of any team in the NHL (2.36). Most of that is from the players in front of the goalies, who have played very well.

Normally, I would say that having a strong goaltender is a huge factor in how far a team goes in a season. Take Team USA for example, they probably wouldn’t have made the Gold Medal game if Ryan Miller hadn’t been in goal. Usually, the same is true in the NHL. You need to have solid goaltending to win the Stanley Cup. So far, the only exception to this rule has been the Chicago Blackhawks.

That’s because they still have one of the most talented rosters in the NHL. More importantly, they have an offense that is very good at keeping the puck in the attacking zone (which has also helped them score more goals), and a defense that is very good at limiting opportunities in the defensive zone.

I’ve seen a ton of people disagree with my assessment, most notably Jeremy Roenick. He did say that the Blackhawks didn’t have the goaltending to win the Stanley Cup. However, that is Roenick talking, and I definitely wouldn’t trust everything he says.

He is right about one thing though, if you want to beat the Blackhawks, then you have to attack the goalies. However, before you can attack them, you’ll have to get the puck out of your own zone around some of the best forwards in the NHL, and then get it past some of the best defenders in the NHL. And then, you can think about taking a shot.

This is why teams have such a hard time scoring. It’s not because the goalies are awesome, it’s because the defenders in front of the goalies are awesome.

As long as they keep playing the same style of play that they have been, then they’ll go a long way. There’s a reason that they keep winning games, and there’s a reason that they’re still on top of the standings. That reason is because they’re a great team offensively and defensively.

This style of play could easily make them a Stanley Cup favorite in May or June, as long as they keep it up. However, that’s easier said then done, and we have yet to see whether or not their play in the playoffs will be as good as their play in the regular season.

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