Puck 'N Hockey

After posting solid home wins this week against the basement dwelling Edmonton Oilers and division rival Carolina Hurricanes, the Caps have one final task at hand before a big six game road trip. The Chicago Blackhawks roll into the Nation’s Capital fresh off a date at the White House to celebrate their Stanley Cup from last year. While key cogs from the Hawks’ machine were traded away this past off season, the vital parts are still in place for many years to come. Their Captain, Jonathan Toews, has emerged as one of the great young leaders in the game of hockey. He has control of the locker room and it shows as they have been on an all out tear recently. The Hawks have improved from a possible early start to the golf season, to competing for a Western Conference playoff bid. The West is tight currently, as only a mere five points separate the 11th place team, the Minnesota Wild (77pts), from the 4th place team, the Dallas Stars (82pts.)

Sunday at Verizon Center: Chicago Blackhawks GP 68 W 37 L 24 OTL 7 PTS 81 LAST 10 (8-1-1)

Braden Holtby's stellar play should continue against the Hawks. (via Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)

Match Up:This is the epitome of a team peaking almost at the right time. The Hawks have won eight of their last ten. Those two little blemishes came against Tampa and Florida on back to back nights on the tail end of five games in seven nights. The Hawks started out very slow this season only going 14-11-2 through the first two months of the season. The rust fell off and the Hawks have been rolling since. Led by three 60 point scorers, the lethal trio of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp, has scored 105 of Chicago’s 223 goals this season. The only problem now, is the team also has 11 other players with 20 or more points so, it’s not exactly an easy task of holding this team off the board. Goaltending during the first portion of the season was a big question mark for the Blackhawks as veteran, Marty Turco, was unable to fill the role. However, Corey Crawford has wrestled the starting job away. In his first season as an NHL regular, Crawford has gone 26-13-4, with a very respectable 2.26 goals against average, and a save percentage of .916 to back up his case for rookie of the year.

X Factor: While one rookie goaltender has sparkled for the entire season another is starting to shine at a very critical time.  Braden Holtby’s 10th start of the season will happen on Sunday in front of a home crowd at Verizon Center. In his previous 9 starts Holtby has a 7-2-1 record. His season totals include a brilliant 21 save effort, in relief of starter Michael Neuvirth, in Tampa for the division lead. The young goalie has come through at a very important time for the Caps. He has only allowed three goals in his last five appearances and has looked sharp at all times. Not bad for a kid who spent some parts of last season with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.