After the dog days of the NHL schedule had the Hawks buried in the quagmire otherwise known as the Western Conference and struggling to even sniff a playoff spot, the recent surge begs a valid question - can the Hawks make a play for the Central crown?  While a 7-point lead at this point of the season may seem cozy for the Red Wings, it's far from a lock.  With outlets such as TSN, the NHL Network and Puck Daddy waxing poetic about Toronto and New Jersey's push towards a postseason berth, it seems a little odd that there has been hardly a mention that maybe, just maybe Detroit needs to keep an eye on the rear-view mirror instead of dreaming of the President's Trophy.

Let's get this out of the way now - the Hawks most certainly cannot keep up this pace the rest of the season.  There's no question that a 7-game winning streak puts a little wind in the sails, but it's inevitable that there will be a fall back towards earth.  Conventional wisdom would also say that the schedule is also not in their favor with 11 of their remaining 17 contests being played on the road, while Detroit has 10 of their 17 at home.  Of Chicago's remaining games on the schedule, 8 are against Eastern Conference foes including difficult matchups on the road against the likes of Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington and Montreal.  While he is also riding a 7-game winning streak, Corey Crawford seems to be showing signs of fatigue and Detroit has also gotten relatively healthy for the first time in months.

On the plus side, over the last two weeks the Hawks have looked more and more like the team everyone has been waiting for all season.  Jonathan Toews is playing at an MVP level.  Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp are all point per game or better since the All Star break.  Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook seem to have emerged from hibernation.  Role players such as Ryan Johnson, Michael Frolik and Viktor Stalberg are finding their niche and every expected key contributor, with the exception of Troy Brouwer, is on the positive side of plus/minus - yes, even Patrick Sharp - since the break.  Detroit has also lost 4 of their last 6 which has allowed the Hawks to close the gap to single digits.

While they do not control their own destiny, the Hawks have 3 games remaining against Detroit which should be giving our friends in Motown a little heartburn.  Aside from the home opener, the Hawks have owned Detroit this season in their head-to-head matchups with a pair of 4-1 victories and end the regular season with a home-and-home against the Red Wings.  In order to make that final weekend of the regular season one of the most anticipated and exciting in recent memory the Hawks only need to pick up 3 points on Detroit over the next 15 games - which includes a meeting with the Wings in Detroit.  Win that one and the task seems even less daunting by only needing to gain one point over 14 games.

Detroit certainly has the advantage by having the 7-point cushion and all things considered it would be quite a feat if the Hawks could pull it off, but it's definitely a scenario that should be acknowledged.  If I'm Mike Babcock, I'm listening for footsteps right now.  Don't put in the order for that banner just yet Detroit...

In the interest of full disclosure, I was among the many that declared the Blackhawks DOA right before the current winning streak began.  Funny how a few wins in a row can lift the spirits - the joy of being a fan.