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Havlat, Blackhawks face uphill battle to make playoffs

Feb 11, 2007 - 2:32 PM Chicago (21-27-2) at Columbus (22-28-5) 3:30 pm EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Ticker) -- If Martin Havlat stays on a hot streak, maybe there still is slight hope for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Havlat looks to continue his recent run of strong play when the Blackhawks visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.

The Blackhawks are 3-2-0 on their seven-game road trip. But, they have an uphill climb in trying to make the playoffs. Chicago has 49 points and is in 14th place in the Western Conference, 15 points behind eighth-place Minnesota for the final playoff berth.

Havlat has a five-game points streak going and scored Chicago's lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. The right wing has six goals and two assists during his streak, and leads Chicago with 21 goals and 41 points.

The Blue Jackets snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

Fredrik Modin and David Vyborny scored for Columbus while Fredrik Norrena made 24 saves. Vyborny, who leads Columbus with 33 assists and 45 points, has one goal and five assists in five games against Chicago this season.

The Blue Jackets have had trouble scoring goals lately. Since a 5-4 overtime win over Chicago on January 16, they have just 18 goals in their last nine games.