With victories in six of their past 10 games, the Chicago Blackhawks remain in the midst of a dogfight for one of the final playoff spots in the Western Conference.

The Blackhawks opened play Tuesday tied for sixth place in the West with Nashville. Both teams have 86 points, one point ahead of Anaheim, Dallas and Calgary.

If the season ended today, the Ducks, Stars and Flames would be tied for the eighth and final playoff spot, with the Blackhawks just one point ahead of the fray. Chicago has needed every point it’s gained this season, and a 6-2-2 stretch has helped the Blackhawks stay just ahead of the cut-off line in the West.

Chicago begins the final sprint to what it hopes will be a playoff berth Wednesday at home against Florida. The Blackhawks beat Phoenix 2-1 on Sunday, wrapping up a tough stretch of six road games in seven contests.

Should they make it to the postseason, the Blackhawks will get the chance to defend the Stanley Cup title they won last June.

—30—

The Chicago Blackhawks will have a strong showing at the NHL All-Star game.

The defending champs will send a league-high four players to represent the West at the NHL All-Star game, Jan. 30 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C. Forwards Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews, and defensemen Duncan Keith, will represent the Blackhawks in the game.

After lifting the Stanley Cup last summer, the Blackhawks have spent the season’s first half trying to lift itself back into contention in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks are tied for seventh in the Western Conference with Phoenix at 49 points.

Given that three teams are tied for fourth with 50 points – Nashville, Colorado and Anaheim – a hot second half could vault the Blackhawks into the top of the conference.

Chicago plays host to Colorado on Wednesday. This weekend, the Blackhawks will play a home-and-home with Nashville. Chicago travels to Nashville Saturday night, then plays host to the Predators Sunday night.

—30—

The champagne has dried. The championship T-shirts have been sold. The elation of winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years has started to fade just a touch, as the approach of a new season beckons.

For the Chicago Blackhawks, their long-awaited championship now has been replaced by the task of defending the Stanley Cup title won in 2009-10.

The Blackhawks beat Philadelphia in six games to win the Cup for the first time since 1961. Then came the offseason, when several key parts of the championship machine were dealt in a salary purge.

Head coach Joel Quenneville still has captain and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Toews and leading scorer Patrick Kane at his disposal. But meshing some new talent to replace the multiple players traded this offseason will be priority No. 1.

The new season and defense of the Stanley Cup starts Oct. 7 at Colorado. The home opener and the raising of the Stanley Cup banner is Oct. 9 vs. Detroit at United Center.

—30—

The Blackhawks became the first team to win on the road this series, but it didn’t come easy.

They saw their Cup hopes go up in flames after losing a one-goal lead with just minutes to play, forcing overtime.

In overtime, there were a number of near misses for the Flyers before the Blackhawks finished things off in a bizarre ending.

On the game-winning goal, the lamp never lit up, confusing many and causing a strange, half-hearted celebration.

The game-winning goal came less than six minutes into overtime off of the stick of Claude Giroux.

Giroux said one of his friends texted him earlier in the day and told him that he was going to score the game-winner.

The win cuts the series deficit to 2-1. A loss would have meant a 3-0 deficit and an almost impossible hill to climb.

With Game 4 also being played in Philadelphia, the Flyers stand a very good chance to even up the series.

After struggling in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the tune of five goals allowed, the Chicago Blackhawks goalie surrendered just one while making 32 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 to give his team a commanding 2-0 series lead. The Blackhawks are now just two wins away from ending the NHL’s longest championship drought.

In a defensive battle that was a stark contrast to the 6-5 shootout in the Finals opener, Niemi was the difference. He made 14 saves in the final period alone as Chicago thwarted a Philadelphia rally.

He was given the lead by teammates Martin Hossa and Ben Eager, who scored 28 seconds apart in the second period to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 advantage that they would never relinquish.

Simon Gagne cut the lead in half early in the third period with a power play goal, but the Flyers couldn’t get the equalizer. As a result, they now face the daunting task of doing something few teams ever have: Since the NHL went to best-of-seven in the finals in 1939, teams winning both Games 1 and 2 have won the Stanley Cup 41 of 45 times.

Chicago trailed 2-0 in the second period before storming back to tie it up. Then, on the power play with under six minutes remaining in regulation, Dustin Byfuglien put in a shot in front of the net to give the Blackhawks the game-winner. They later knocked in an empty-netter. Byfuglien’s goal was his third game-winner of the playoffs.

Chicago will now have a chance to end the longest Stanley Cup drought in NHL history. The franchise has gone 47 years since it last hoisted the cup. It will play the winner of the Philadelphia-Montreal series.

Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau scored in defeat for the Sharks.

But Patrick Kane ignored the odds, sending the hometown fans into delirium by scoring with 13.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime. And then, just seconds after exiting the box, Hossa netted the game-winner to give the Blackhawks a 5-4 win and a  3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

The dramatics were not without controversy, though. Hossa earned his major penalty late in the game after shoving Nashville’s Dan Hamhuis into the boards, who was injured and had to leave the game. Many analysts have voiced their displeasure about the officiating, saying that Hossa should have been ejected from the game. And there’s a consensus that the Chicago star should undoubtedly be suspended for Game 6.

Whether he plays or not, Hossa has given the heavy favorites control of the series. Who said crime doesn’t pay?

Kane and his cousin were accused of roughing up a cab driver over 20 cents. The driver’s glasses were broken and he had bruises on his body.

The punishment handed down by the court for both men is to write the taxi driver an apology letter. If they follow through on the letter and stay out of trouble for a year, Kane and his cousin will get off without any more punishment.

Kane and his cousin should consider themselves extremely lucky that the punishment is not much worse.