Blackhawks face tough second half

The All-Star Break couldn't have come at a better time for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Patrick Sharp has missed the last eight games, in which the Hawks have been able to run off a 5-2-1 record. But the last two games before the break, both losses to Nashville by a combined score of 8-3, saw only nine minutes of ice time from Jonathan Toews and dropped the 'Hawks into a third place tie in the Central Division.

While the team is anticipating Toews only missing the one game against Nashville, they haven't yet put a return date on the table for Sharp. Both will travel with the team to Vancouver when the 'Hawks begin a tough second half schedule.

Chicago comes out of the break on a nine-game road trip that includes games against the Canucks, Sharks, Predators and Rangers. In fact, the Hawks play only four games at the United Center between now and March 1st.

Add to the schedule difficulties the elephant in the room: the Blackhawks don't have a number three defenseman. Nick Leddy has been good on the offensive end of the ice, but Chicago hasn't won a game in 2012 when he's skated over 20 minutes. Niklas Hjalmarsson continues to be little more than a shot blocker and penalty kill specialist.

Chicago general manager Stan Bowman will try to address this before the trade deadline, but the growing list of teams needing a top-four defenseman will make any addition expensive. Teams appear to be lining up for Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason, which leads conventional wisdom to make one think Bowman will look to add from another organization.

With over $5 million in cap space and much-improved organizational depth over the last three seasons, Chicago finds itself well positioned to address it's problem areas before the deadline. But with 32 more games to play in a red-hot Central Division, Sharp cannot return soon enough.

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