Chicago Sports Exchange: Hawks Run it Up While Bulls Look to Rebound
Through momentum shifts, both teams keep in thick of playoff hunt
If the month ahead is anything like the one that just passed, the playoff hopes of Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks fans will rightfully spring eternal.
On the surface, winning eight of 14 games doesn’t seem cause for celebration. But considering the Bulls hadn’t finished a month with a winning record since 2017, February might as well come with a ball drop, Moet and champagne flutes.
To say nothing of the franchise securing its first all-star since Jimmy Butler and securing two more nationally televised games in the second half of the season.
Not to be outdone, the Blackhawks went 9-3-1 in February and currently sit third in the Central Division with just one point separating them from the front-running Tampa Bay Lightning.
BUY - Prolific Scoring Has Hawks Clawing Atop Central Division
Well, that escalated quickly.
After clinging to a 2-1 lead entering the third period, the Blackhawks (12-7-4) tagged Detroit with five (yes, five!) goals before the final horn mercifully ended their 7-2 rout of the Red Wings Sunday.
Though Ryan Carpenter scored twice and Alex DeBrincat added a goal and three assists, the stories of the night were Patrick Kane and Kevin Lankinen.
On a two-man rush with DeBrincat midway through the final period, Kane patiently waited for defenseman Filip Hronek to drift past him before slapping his 400th career goal past Thomas Greiss’ stick. Kane is the 100th player in NHL history to accomplish the feat and only the fourth Hawk—Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Steve Larmer are the others—to do so.
"I think the biggest thing is once you start reaching these type of milestones, 400 goals and 1,000 games coming up, it leaves you wanting more," said Kane to the media after Sunday night’s game. Kaner is second in the NHLs point race after recording his 10th multi-point game of season.
Pious Sutter and Dominik Kubalik also scored.
While the floodgates were surely open on one side of the rink, Lankinen kept his end virtually slammed shut. The rookie goaltender stopped a career-high 44 of the 46 shots he faced. Lankinen is now 9-3-3 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.
Now for the sobering news...
The Hawks return to the ice for a three-game set against defending Stanley Cup champion and Central Division leader Tampa Bay (14-4-1) Thursday. In their first two meetings with the Lightning this season, the Hawks lost by a combined score of 10-3.
Opinions have sweetened on the Hawks since then but taking a series from the Lightning would wholly validate their over-achievement this year.
BUY - For Bulls, Wins Finally Coming Consistent Again
It’s lingered longer then they’d planned on but tonight, the Bulls can finally wash away the stench of the last quarter of basketball they played.
It was in that fourth frame against Phoenix Friday that their once seven-point advantage—and three-game win streak—crumbled into a 106-97 loss under the weight of their 10 turnovers and 33% shooting from the field.
As foul of an ending as it was it still didn’t muck up the Bulls’ winningest month in four years. One more chance to tick off a “W” in February fell by the wayside Sunday as the scheduled game against the Toronto (Tampa) Raptors was postponed as the Raptors were unable to line up a complete roster due positive Covid-19 tests and contact tracing.
Tonight’s date with the underachieving but still dangerous Denver Nuggets (18-15) and their early season MVP candidate Nikola Jokic now serves as the first of two chances the Bulls (15-17) have to get right before the all-star break.
In a kooky Eastern Conference where the currently eighth-seeded Bulls are just one game behind the fourth-seeded Raptors and one loss away from slipping out of play-in tournament contention altogether, wins and losses carry more weight than usual.
Notching a victory against a team that has both a winning record and, for the moment, a spot in the playoffs wouldn’t only be the Bulls’ first time doing so this season. It’ll also be a shot in the arm for a Bulls team that’s fallen just short of besting some elite competition the last couple of months.
And what better way to kickoff a week that’ll end with Zach LaVine’s first NBA All-Star Game appearance.
Drew Stevens is a Senior Writer for WARR Media, he lives and works in Chicago