Before the Blackhawks faced the Wild on Feb. 8, winger Patrick Kane called it "the biggest game" of the Hawks’ season.
Now that they are meeting just 13 days later again in St. Paul. What does Kane have to say?
"You could probably say the same thing once again," Kane said. "These are huge games. Especially when, if you’re looking at the standings, they’re way out in front of us."
The Hawks had hoped that their recent 4-3 victory over the Wild could help them to gain ground in the Central Division standings.
The Hawks have been playing their best hockey of the season and have won six of their last seven. But what’s frustrating for the Hawks is they haven’t gained any ground on the Wild, who have won six of their last eight and are seven points ahead of the Hawks.
"We just have to keep playing well," winger Ryan Hartman said. "They’ve been playing really well since I don’t know when, a long time. . … Win your games when you can and the rest will sort itself out."
That’s the attitude the Hawks are likely to take over the rest of the season. As long as they continue to play like they have, where they finish in the standings won’t matter so much. The Hawks advanced to the Western Conference finals in 2014 and won a Stanley Cup in 2015 after finishing third in the Central.
"They’ve had an amazing run. Give them credit," coach Joel Quenneville said. "I know we played pretty well last time and we’re going to have to be even better going into this game. … Hopefully we can try to close the gap."
The schedules for both teams amp up in March, giving the Hawks a chance to make a move.
Over the last seven games, the Hawks have done a better job of possessing the puck, playing tighter defense and getting contributions from all four lines, like on Sunday, when each line had at least one goal in a 5-1 victory over the Sabres.
Instead of clawing their way to victories as they were earlier in the season, the Hawks are beginning to dominate games again.
"We’ve been a team in the past where we can get a lead, we can shut them down in the third, and we can kind of build off opportunities if they’re trying to create too much," Kane said. "It seems like we’re controlling the play, sustaining pressure, getting chances, so it’ll be a big game once again on Tuesday, a good test for us."
chine@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
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