“Hope is a dangerous thing.” – Red (Morgan Freeman) to Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) in The Shawshank Redemption

The hope alluded to in the above quote regarded Andy’s longing for freedom outside the walls of Shawshank prison where he had been incarcerated for 19 years. Such hope for the seemingly unattainable, “can drive a man insane,” Red continued to his friend. In the case of the Chicago Blackhawks, though, the team’s hope to make the playoffs, albeit unlikely, not only is a healthy breath of fresh air but also contagious.

Chicago’s hope rests on the talent and enthusiasm of a pair of 19-year-old rookies, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. These qualities clearly were on display in Sunday’s exciting 4-3 overtime victory over St. Louis at the United Center. In the middle of the third period, it was Toews and Kane down low in the corner, fighting for a loose puck with St. Louis rookie defenseman Erik Johnson. Kane eventually came away with the puck and delivered a perfect backhanded pass between two Blues to line-mate Dustin Byfuglien, who scored and gave the Blackhawks their first lead in the game.

Later in the game, after a poor pass by Toews and a major gaffe by Kane at the blue line that directly led to a St. Louis breakaway goal to take the lead, the Hawks were able to respond with the game-tying goal 23 seconds later. And then in overtime, it was Toews and Kane – once again creating the magic and excitement for a victory.

Toews cleanly won the offensive zone face-off back to his defenseman. Rookie Niklas Hjalmarsson put the puck on net, and then it was Kane – the smallest and youngest player on the ice – in front of the goal and able to score the game-winner on the rebound. Kane’s teammates mobbed him, the United Center fans went crazy, and in that mere instant, the diminutive winger went from goat to hero.

Kane’s two-point day also allowed him to regain the rookie scoring lead over Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom with 65 points. His assist on Byfuglien’s goal gave him 47 for the season, tying the Blackhawks’ all-time rookie record with Steve Larmer and Kane’s head coach, Denis Savard. If the points continue in the last two weeks of the season, Kane could find himself the first Blackhawks' Calder Trophy winner since Ed Belfour in 1990-91. Those facts alone are reason enough to break from hope into full-fledged optimism.

The Week Ahead

Chicago’s big win on Sunday left the team four points behind Colorado for the last playoff spot. Going into Tuesday’s games, the Blackhawks now finds themselves six points back with only six games remaining and two additional teams between them and Colorado. Chicago likely has to win out along with some help from friends if the playoffs are to happen.

The interesting twist is the team’s last six games are all intra-divisional and the Blackhawks have the most divisional wins of the five Central teams. They will face Columbus twice this week - a team the Chicago has outscored 13-5 in their last two meetings. And in the first half of weekend back-to-back games, the Blackhawks will have a rematch with the Blues in St. Louis. A perfect six points likely is the necessary result if the Blackhawks want to be playing meaningful games in the last week of the season.