The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks are fighting to get themselves back into the playoffs. With the season slowly starting to come to a close, every game takes on a greater importance.

“This week is gigantic,” former Blackhawk and current analyst Eddie Olczyk said on the Mully and Hanley Show. “You have three home games. You’ve just come off a six game road trip…four points out of a playoff spot. One thing that’s hurting the Blackhawks is the amount wins, because that’s the first tie breaker. So the four points, I think to me, it’s probably a little more inflated than just four points…They’re going to need to have some good things go on and not get one-point games and slowly get back in the points race.”

LISTEN: Eddie Olczyk On The Mully And Hanley Show

The Blackhawks are in desperate need of a win streak that extends past two or three games, and the sooner the better. Because the longer the season drags on, the tougher it will be to make a significant jump in the standings.

“This week is huge,” Olczyk said. “You have Minnesota [on Wednesday], Columbus on Friday, Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon; five points minimum in the next three games. Then I think you’ll be able to make a pretty good assumption on what’s going to happen in the last six and a half, seven weeks of the regular season.”