The 2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 85th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The team was nicknamed the "Hangover 'Hawks" for having to recover from paying the price of winning the franchise's first Stanley Cup in 49 years with adapting to the loss of several players from that team due to salary cap restrictions.

The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks narrowly made the playoffs as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference having clinched their playoff berth on the last day of the season. The Blackhawks lost their season finale 4–3 in regulation against the Detroit Red Wings on April 10, but still barely managed to clinch the last spot because of the Dallas Stars losing their finale later the same day 5–3 against the Minnesota Wild, and avoiding becoming the first Stanley Cup defending team since the 2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes to miss the playoffs after winning the championship. Had the Stars won their finale against the Wild in regulation or overtime, the Stars would’ve overtaken the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks to the last playoff spot, which would’ve resulted in the Blackhawks dropping to ninth place in the West and missing the playoffs entirely by one point in the standings. In the opening round of the 2011 playoffs against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks lost the first three games of the series before winning the next three and were eventually succumbed to the Canucks in seven games in the first round, losing the seventh game 2–1 in overtime.

Off-season Under pressure to fit the team's player salaries under the salary cap for the 2010–11 season, the team began making trades shortly after winning the Stanley Cup. On June 24, the club traded Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel and Akim Aliu to the Atlanta Thrashers for Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, Jeremy Morin, a first-round pick (#24 overall) in 2010 and a second-round pick (#54 overall) in 2010. Later that same day, restricted free agent Colin Fraser was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a sixth-round pick in 2010. On June 30, the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for right winger Kris Versteeg from Chicago in a five-player trade. The Maple Leafs gave up forwards Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis. Toronto also acquired the rights to 21-year-old left winger Bill Sweatt, who was a second-round pick in 2007. On July 1, the Blackhawks traded Andrew Ladd to the Atlanta Thrashers for Ivan Vishnevskiy and a second-round draft pick in 2011. On July 9, Niklas Hjalmarsson was signed to an offer sheet by the San Jose Sharks, though the Blackhawks matched the offer on July 12, thereby retaining his services and forgoing compensation from the Sharks for signing a restricted free agent. This signing again put Chicago against the salary cap wall, and as a result forced the club to forego resigning goaltender Antti Niemi, who had filed for arbitration.

Regular season Defenseman Nick Leddy made his NHL debut on October 7, and he scored his first NHL goal on October 11. Evan Brophey made his NHL debut on October 23. Patrick Sharp had a record of 13 shots on goal, the highest shot total in a single game in Blackhawks history. Marian Hossa was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for the week ending on October 18, and Duncan Keith was named Third Star of the Week for the week ending on November 1.

Division standings

Conference standings

Schedule and results

Legend:

Pre-season 2010 Pre-season : 3–4–0 (Home: 3–0–0; Road: 0–4–0) # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Recap 1 September 22* @ Tampa Bay Lightning 4–2 Toivonen MTS Centre 14,092 0–1–0 L1 2 September 24 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–2 Crawford Joe Louis Arena 15,900 0–2–0 L2 3 September 25 Detroit Red Wings 4–2 Turco United Center 20,553 1–2–0 W1 4 September 28 @ Pittsburgh Penguins 4–1 Richards Consol Energy Center 18,087 1–3–0 L1 5 September 30 @ St. Louis Blues 4–1 Turco Scottrade Center 11,624 1–4–0 L2 6 October 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 5–2 Crawford United Center 19,913 2–4–0 W1 7 October 3 St. Louis Blues 4–3 Turco United Center 19,692 3–4–0 W2 *Played in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Regular season 2010–11 Season October: 7–5–1 (Home: 4–4–0; Road: 3–1–1 ) Pts. 15 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 7 @ Colorado Avalanche 4–3 OT Turco Pepsi Center 18,007 0–0–1 1 OTL1 2 October 9 Detroit Red Wings 3–2 Turco United Center 22,161 0–1–1 1 L1 3 October 11 @ Buffalo Sabres 4–3 Crawford HSBC Arena 17,896 1–1–1 3 W1 4 October 13 Nashville Predators 3–2 Crawford United Center 20,680 1–2–1 3 L1 5 October 15 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 5–2 Turco Nationwide Arena 18,305 2–2–1 5 W1 6 October 16 Buffalo Sabres 4–3 Turco United Center 21,293 3–2–1 7 W2 7 October 18 St. Louis Blues 3–2 OT Turco United Center 20,641 4–2–1 9 W3 8 October 20 Vancouver Canucks 2–1 SO Turco United Center 20,859 5–2–1 11 W4 9 October 22 @ St. Louis Blues 4–2 Turco Scottrade Center 19,150 5–3–1 11 L1 10 October 23 Columbus Blue Jackets 3–2 Crawford United Center 21,265 5–4–1 11 L2 11 October 27 Los Angeles Kings 3–1 Turco United Center 20,667 6–4–1 13 W1 12 October 29 Edmonton Oilers 7–4 Crawford United Center 21,061 6–5–1 13 L1 13 October 30 @ Minnesota Wild 3–1 Turco Xcel Energy Center 18,376 7–5–1 15 W1 November: 7–6–1 (Home: 2–3–0; Road: 5–3–1) Pts. 15 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 14 November 1 @ New York Rangers 3–2 Turco Madison Square Garden 18,200 7–6–1 15 L1 15 November 3 New Jersey Devils 5–3 Turco United Center 21,044 7–7–1 15 L2 16 November 6 @ Atlanta Thrashers 5–4 SO Turco Philips Arena 16,022 8–7–1 17 W1 17 November 7 Edmonton Oilers 2–1 Crawford United Center 21,025 8–8–1 17 L1 18 November 10 Phoenix Coyotes 2–1 Turco United Center 21,181 8–9–1 17 L2 19 November 13 @ Nashville Predators 4–3 SO Turco Bridgestone Arena 17,113 8–9–2 18 OTL1 20 November 14 Anaheim Ducks 3–2 OT Crawford United Center 21,244 9–9–2 20 W1 21 November 17 @ Edmonton Oilers 5–0 Turco Rexall Place 16,839 10–9–2 22 W2 22 November 19 @ Calgary Flames 7–2 Turco Scotiabank Saddledome 19,289 10–10–2 22 L1 23 November 20 @ Vancouver Canucks 7–1 Crawford Rogers Arena 18,860 11–10–2 24 W1 24 November 24 @ San Jose Sharks 5–2 Turco HP Pavilion at San Jose 17,562 11–11–2 24 L1 25 November 26 @ Anaheim Ducks 4–1 Crawford Honda Center 16,146 12–11–2 26 W1 26 November 27 @ Los Angeles Kings 2–1 Crawford Staples Center 18,118 13–11–2 28 W2 27 November 30 St. Louis Blues 7–5 Crawford United Center 21,140 14–11–2 30 W3 December: 6–5–1 (Home: 6–3–0; Road: 0–2–1) Pts. 13 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 28 December 3 Vancouver Canucks 3–0 Turco United Center 21,737 14–12–2 30 L1 29 December 5 Calgary Flames 4–2 Crawford United Center 21,112 15–12–2 32 W1 30 December 8 Dallas Stars 5–3 Crawford United Center 21,184 16–12–2 34 W2 31 December 11 @ San Jose Sharks 2–1 OT Crawford HP Pavilion at San Jose 17,562 16–12–3 35 OTL1 32 December 13 @ Colorado Avalanche 7–5 Crawford Pepsi Center 15,924 16–13–3 35 L1 33 December 15 Colorado Avalanche 4–3 Crawford United Center 21,121 16–14–3 35 L2 34 December 17 Detroit Red Wings 4–1 Crawford United Center 21,904 17–14–3 37 W1 35 December 19 Los Angeles Kings 3–2 Crawford United Center 21,523 18–14–3 39 W2 36 December 22 Nashville Predators 4–1 Crawford United Center 21,526 19–14–3 41 W3 37 December 26 Columbus Blue Jackets 4–1 Turco United Center 21,492 20–14–3 43 W4 38 December 28 @ St. Louis Blues 3–1 Turco Scottrade Center 19,150 20–15–3 43 L1 39 December 30 San Jose Sharks 5–3 Turco United Center 22,112 20–16–3 43 L2 January: 6–4–1 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 2–1–1) Pts. 13 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 40 January 2 @ Anaheim Ducks 2–1 Crawford Honda Center 16,004 20–17–3 43 L3 41 January 3 @ Los Angeles Kings 4–3 Crawford Staples Center 17,916 21–17–3 45 W1 42 January 5 Dallas Stars 4–2 Crawford United Center 21,245 21–18–3 45 L1 43 January 7 Ottawa Senators 3–2 SO Crawford United Center 21,657 22–18–3 47 W1 44 January 9 New York Islanders 5–0 Crawford United Center 21,205 23–18–3 49 W2 45 January 12 Colorado Avalanche 4–0 Crawford United Center 21,356 24–18–3 51 W3 46 January 15 @ Nashville Predators 3–2 SO Crawford Bridgestone Arena 17,113 24–18–4 52 OTL1 47 January 16 Nashville Predators 6–3 Turco United Center 21,387 25–18–4 54 W1 48 January 22 @ Detroit Red Wings 4–1 Crawford Joe Louis Arena 20,066 26–18–4 56 W2 49 January 23 Philadelphia Flyers 4–1 Crawford United Center 21,660 26–19–4 56 L1 50 January 25 Minnesota Wild 4–2 Crawford United Center 21,247 26–20–4 56 L2 February: 8–3–2 (Home: 3–1–0; Road: 5–2–2) Pts. 18 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 1 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 7–4 Turco Nationwide Arena 12,568 27–20–4 58 W1 52 February 4 @ Vancouver Canucks 4–3 Turco Rogers Arena 18,860 27–21–4 58 L1 53 February 7 @ Calgary Flames 3–1 Crawford Scotiabank Saddledome 19,289 27–22–4 58 L2 54 February 9 @ Edmonton Oilers 4–1 Crawford Rexall Place 16,839 28–22–4 60 W1 55 February 11 @ Dallas Stars 4–3 SO Turco American Airlines Center 17,569 28–22–5 61 OTL1 56 February 12 @ Phoenix Coyotes 3–2 SO Crawford Jobing.com Arena 17,283 28–22–6 62 OTL2 57 February 16 Minnesota Wild 3–1 Crawford United Center 21,535 29–22–6 64 W1 58 February 18 Columbus Blue Jackets 4–3 Crawford United Center 21,708 29–23–6 64 L1 59 February 20 Pittsburgh Penguins 3–2 SO Crawford United Center 22,195 30–23–6 66 W1 60 February 21 @ St. Louis Blues 5–3 Crawford Scottrade Center 19,150 31–23–6 68 W2 61 February 24 @ Nashville Predators 3–0 Crawford Bridgestone Arena 17,113 32–23–6 70 W3 62 February 27 Phoenix Coyotes 4–3 SO Crawford United Center 21,473 33–23–6 72 W4 63 February 28 @ Minnesota Wild 4–2 Crawford Xcel Energy Center 19,155 34–23–6 74 W5 March: 7–4–2 (Home: 4–1–0; Road: 3–3–2) Pts. 16 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 64 March 2 Calgary Flames 6–4 Crawford United Center 20,896 35–23–6 76 W6 65 March 4 Carolina Hurricanes 5–2 Crawford United Center 21,830 36–23–6 78 W7 66 March 5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 5–3 Crawford Air Canada Centre 19,646 37–23–6 80 W8 67 March 8 @ Florida Panthers 3–2 Turco BankAtlantic Center 16,132 37–24–6 80 L1 68 March 9 @ Tampa Bay Lightning 4–3 SO Crawford St. Pete Times Forum 19,912 37–24–7 81 OTL1 69 March 13 @ Washington Capitals 4–3 OT Crawford Verizon Center 18,398 37–24–8 82 OTL2 70 March 14 San Jose Sharks 6–3 Crawford United Center 22,094 38–24–8 84 W1 71 March 17 @ Dallas Stars 5–0 Turco American Airlines Center 14,830 38–25–8 84 L1 72 March 20 @ Phoenix Coyotes 2–1 Crawford Jobing.com Arena 17,328 39–25–8 86 W1 73 March 23 Florida Panthers 4–0 Crawford United Center 21,713 40–25–8 88 W2 74 March 26 Anaheim Ducks 2–1 Crawford United Center 22,115 40–26–8 88 L1 75 March 28 @ Detroit Red Wings 3–2 OT Crawford Joe Louis Arena 20,066 41–26–8 90 W1 76 March 29 @ Boston Bruins 3–0 Crawford TD Garden 17,565 41–27–8 90 L1 April: 3–2–1 (Home: 1–2–0; Road: 2–0–1) Pts. 7 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 77 April 1 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 4–3 SO Crawford Nationwide Arena 16,217 42–27–8 92 W1 78 April 3 Tampa Bay Lightning 2–0 Crawford United Center 21,587 42–28–8 92 L1 79 April 5 @ Montreal Canadiens 2–1 OT Crawford Bell Centre 21,273 42–28–9 93 OTL1 80 April 6 St. Louis Blues 4–3 OT Crawford United Center 21,435 43–28–9 95 W1 81 April 8 @ Detroit Red Wings 4–2 Crawford Joe Louis Arena 20,066 44–28–9 97 W2 82 April 10 Detroit Red Wings 4–3 Crawford United Center 22,046 44–29–9 97 L1

Playoffs