![CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 01: Kevin Lankinen #32 of the Chicago Blackhawks minds the net against the Florida Panthers at the United Center on May 01, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. The Panthers defeated the Blackhawks 5-4. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/w_850,h_560,c_fill,g_auto,f_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdawindycity.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1316102218-850x560.jpeg)
The Nashville Predators clinched the final berth in the 2021 Central Division. They will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round of the playoffs. They also eliminated the Dallas Stars who are no longer defending Western Conference Champions. That means that the Chicago Blackhawks‘ two-game set against them will mean nothing at all. Each team will have a certain draft position based on the results but it isn’t that much of a difference this year.
The Chicago Blackhawks have two very interesting games against the Dallas Stars.
Closing out the season strong is a big deal. The Hawks had a great start to the season but fell off once March hit. It is a young team with a lot of flaws but they mostly bought into what their coach was doing for them. They also had studs like Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat lead the way offensively while Kevin Lankinen was great in net.