The 2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 87th season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on September 25, 1926. The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to a lockout. The Blackhawks captured the Western Conference championship and went on to defeat the Eastern Conference playoff champion Boston Bruins in six games to capture their fifth Stanley Cup in team history.

The Blackhawks became just the eighth team to win both the Cup and the Presidents' Trophy (as the team with the best regular season record) in the same season. As of , they are the most recent Presidents' Trophy winner to even reach the Finals, let alone win the Stanley Cup. Chicago also became the first team to win multiple championships during the NHL's salary cap era. Chicago's Patrick Kane was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.

Off-season Sheldon Brookbank, and Michal Rozsival re-signed with the Chicago Blackhawks during the off-season. Sean O'Donnell, and Andrew Brunette retired. Rostislav Olesz, and Steve Montador both had a Compliance buyout. Blackhawks made a trade with the San Jose Sharks, as the Blackhawks got a 4th round 2012 draft pick, and a 7th round 2013 draft pick; in exchange the Sharks got a 4th round 2012 pick.

Pre-season Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, the NHL pre-season was cancelled.

Regular season The 48-game, shortened season was limited to conference and divisional games only. The Blackhawks did not play any teams from the Eastern Conference until they advanced to the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins. The Blackhawks played three games each against non-divisional teams. Against their own division, the Blackhawks played four games against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings and five games against the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues.

On January 26 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Blackhawks tied a franchise record by starting the season 5–0–0 for the first time since the 1971–72 season. On the very next night, against the Detroit Red Wings, the Blackhawks set a new franchise record by starting the season 6–0–0. On February 19, against the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks tied the NHL record set by the Anaheim Ducks in 2006–07 with a 16-game unbeaten streak to start the season, and beat the Ducks' record (28 points) by one point. On February 22 against the San Jose Sharks, the Blackhawks set a new NHL record with a 17-game unbeaten streak to start a season. On March 5 against the Minnesota Wild, the Blackhawks set a franchise record with a 10th consecutive win. The Blackhawks went on to extend both records for first consecutive games without a regulation loss (win or tie) to start a season and franchise record for most consecutive wins to 24 games (21–0–3) and 11 wins, respectively. On March 8 against the Colorado Avalanche, the Blackhawks' streak was snapped by a 6–2 loss.

On February 10 against the Nashville Predators, the Blackhawks recorded their first shutout since March 23, 2011, ending its shutout drought after 690 days. The Blackhawks proceeded to record seven shutouts during the season, tied for first in the league with the St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. On March 6 against the Colorado Avalanche, Ray Emery became the first goaltender in NHL history to start a season with 10 straight wins. Emery was also the first goaltender in franchise history to record 10 consecutive wins at any point in a season, overriding Glenn Hall's streak of nine straight from 1966–67. Emery extended both the NHL- and franchise-record to 12 wins (12–0–0) to start the season. The goaltending duo of Corey Crawford and Emery went on to capture the William M. Jennings Trophy for allowing an NHL-low 102 goals during the season. This was the franchise's fourth Jennings Trophy, with the previous three all captured by goaltending tandems featuring Ed Belfour.

As a result of the streak, the Blackhawks hold the second longest NHL record for most consecutive games earning a point at 30 games (24–0–6), a streak spanning two seasons, starting from March 27, 2012, of the 2011–12 season. The record stands behind the 1979–80 Philadelphia Flyers, which recorded a 35 consecutive game point streak of 25–0–10, all in a single season. The Blackhawks' streak also ranks third for most consecutive games point in a single season at 24 games (21–0–3), behind the 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens at 28 games (23–0–5).FlyersHistory.net, Some Facts & Figures About the Streak.

On March 26 against the Calgary Flames, Head Coach Joel Quenneville received his 649th regular season coaching win, surpassing the previous record held by Ron Wilson. Quenneville finished the season with 660 regular season coaching wins, and is ranked sixth among coaches with the most regular season coaching wins, first among active coaches.

On April 7, with a 5–3 win against the Nashville Predators, the Blackhawks became the first team to clinch a playoff berth in the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, guaranteeing a seventh seed finish in the Western Conference. On April 12, with a 3–2 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings, the Blackhawks won the Central Division and reserved a third seed finish in the Western Conference. On April 17, the Blackhawks clinched the number one seed of the Western Conference after the Anaheim Ducks lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets in overtime. On April 24, the Blackhawks clinched the franchise's second Presidents' Trophy in a 4–1 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The win guaranteed the Blackhawks home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

The United Center also recorded its 200th consecutive combined regular season and playoff Blackhawks sell-out streak on March 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which began during the 2007–08 season with the game on March 30, 2008, also against the Blue Jackets.

Legend:

2012–13 Season January: 6–0–1 (Home: 2–0–0; Road: 4–0–1) Pts. 13 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 January 19 @ Los Angeles Kings 5–2 Crawford Staples Center 18,545 1–0–0 2 W1 2 January 20 @ Phoenix Coyotes 6–4 Emery Jobing.com Arena 17,363 2–0–0 4 W2 3 January 22 St. Louis Blues 3–2 Crawford United Center 21,455 3–0–0 6 W3 4 January 24 @ Dallas Stars 3–2 OT Crawford American Airlines Center 17,868 4–0–0 8 W4 5 January 26 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 3–2 Crawford Nationwide Arena 18,381 5–0–0 10 W5 6 January 27 Detroit Red Wings 2–1 OT Crawford United Center 21,607 6–0–0 12 W6 7 January 30 @ Minnesota Wild 2–3 SO Crawford Xcel Energy Center 18,550 6–0–1 13 SOL1 February: 11–0–2 (Home: 6–0–1; Road: 5–0–1) Pts. 24 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 8 February 1 @ Vancouver Canucks 1–2 SO Crawford Rogers Arena 18,910 6–0–2 14 SOL2 9 February 2 @ Calgary Flames 3–2 SO Emery Scotiabank Saddledome 19,289 7–0–2 16 W1 10 February 5 @ San Jose Sharks 5–3 Crawford HP Pavilion at San Jose 17,562 8–0–2 18 W2 11 February 7 @ Phoenix Coyotes 6–2 Emery Jobing.com Arena 15,096 9–0–2 20 W3 12 February 10 @ Nashville Predators 3–0 Crawford Bridgestone Arena 17,113 10–0–2 22 W4 13 February 12 Anaheim Ducks 2–3 SO Crawford United Center 21,188 10–0–3 23 SOL1 14 February 15 San Jose Sharks 4–1 Emery United Center 21,824 11–0–3 25 W1 15 February 17 Los Angeles Kings 3–2 Emery United Center 21,843 12–0–3 27 W2 16 February 19 Vancouver Canucks 4–3 SO Emery United Center 21,423 13–0–3 29 W3 17 February 22 San Jose Sharks 2–1 Emery United Center 21,670 14–0–3 31 W4 18 February 24 Columbus Blue Jackets 1–0 Crawford United Center 21,580 15–0–3 33 W5 19 February 25 Edmonton Oilers 3–2 OT Emery United Center 21,127 16–0–3 35 W6 20 February 28 @ St. Louis Blues 3–0 Crawford Scottrade Center 19,533 17–0–3 37 W7 March: 9–5–0 (Home: 4–3–0; Road: 5–2–0) Pts. 18 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 21 March 1 Columbus Blue Jackets 4–3 OT Emery United Center 21,828 18–0–3 39 W8 22 March 3 @ Detroit Red Wings 2–1 SO Crawford Joe Louis Arena 20,066 19–0–3 41 W9 23 March 5 Minnesota Wild 5–3 Crawford United Center 21,836 20–0–3 43 W10 24 March 6 Colorado Avalanche 3–2 Emery United Center 21,531 21–0–3 45 W11 25 March 8 @ Colorado Avalanche 2–6 Crawford Pepsi Center 18,007 21–1–3 45 L1 26 March 10 Edmonton Oilers 5–6 Crawford United Center 22,020 21–2–3 45 L2 27 March 14 @ Columbus Blue Jackets 2–1 SO Crawford Nationwide Arena 15,009 22–2–3 47 W1 28 March 16 @ Dallas Stars 8–1 Crawford American Airlines Center 18,584 23–2–3 49 W2 29 March 18 @ Colorado Avalanche 5–2 Emery Pepsi Center 16,952 24–2–3 51 W3 30 March 20 @ Anaheim Ducks 2–4 Crawford Honda Center 17,610 24–3–3 51 L1 31 March 25 Los Angeles Kings 4–5 Crawford United Center 21,850 24–4–3 51 L2 32 March 26 Calgary Flames 2–0 Emery United Center 21,790 25–4–3 53 W1 33 March 29 Anaheim Ducks 1–2 Emery United Center 22,105 25–5–3 53 L1 34 March 31 @ Detroit Red Wings 7–1 Crawford Joe Louis Arena 20,066 26–5–3 55 W1 April: 10–2–2 (Home: 6–0–2; Road: 4–2–0) Pts. 22 # Date Opponent Score OT Decision Arena Attendance Record Pts Recap 35 April 1 Nashville Predators 3–2 SO Crawford United Center 21,306 27–5–3 57 W2 36 April 4 St. Louis Blues 3–4 SO Crawford United Center 22,081 27–5–4 58 SOL1 37 April 6 @ Nashville Predators 1–0 Emery Bridgestone Arena 17,256 28–5–4 60 W1 38 April 7 Nashville Predators 5–3 Emery United Center 22,044 29–5–4 62 W2 39 April 9 @ Minnesota Wild 1–0 Emery Xcel Energy Center 19,158 30–5–4 64 W3 40 April 12 Detroit Red Wings 3–2 SO Crawford United Center 22,191 31–5–4 66 W4 41 April 14 @ St. Louis Blues 2–0 Crawford Scottrade Center 19,385 32–5–4 68 W5 42 April 15 Dallas Stars 5–2 Emery United Center 21,986 33–5–4 70 W6 43 April 19 Nashville Predators 5–4 OT Crawford United Center 22,014 34–5–4 72 W7 44 April 20 Phoenix Coyotes 2–3 SO Crawford United Center 22,272 34–5–5 73 SOL1 45 April 22 @ Vancouver Canucks 1–3 Crawford Rogers Arena 18,910 34–6–5 73 L1 46 April 24 @ Edmonton Oilers 4–1 Emery Rexall Place 16,839 35–6–5 75 W1 47 April 26 Calgary Flames 3–1 Crawford United Center 22,048 36–6–5 77 W2 48 April 27 @ St. Louis Blues 1–3 Hutton Scottrade Center 19,841 36–7–5 77 L1

Standings

Detailed records

Western Conference Opponent Home Away Total Pts. Goals scored Goals allowed Central Division Chicago Blackhawks – – – – – – Columbus Blue Jackets 2–0–0 2–0–0 4–0–0 8 10 6 Detroit Red Wings 2–0–0 2–0–0 4–0–0 8 14 5 Nashville Predators 3–0–0 2–0–0 5–0–0 10 16 9 St. Louis Blues 1–0–1 2–1–0 3–1–1 7 12 9 8–0–1 8–1–0 16–1–1 33 53 29 Northwest Division Calgary Flames 2–0–0 1–0–0 3–0–0 6 8 3 Colorado Avalanche 1–0–0 1–1–0 2–1–0 4 10 10 Edmonton Oilers 1–1–0 1–0–0 2–1–0 4 12 9 Minnesota Wild 1–0–0 1–0–1 2–0–1 5 8 6 Vancouver Canucks 1–0–0 0–1–1 1–1–1 3 6 8 6–1–0 4–2–2 10–3–2 22 44 36 Pacific Division Anaheim Ducks 0–1–1 0–1–0 0–2–1 1 5 9 Dallas Stars 1–0–0 2–0–0 3–0–0 6 16 5 Los Angeles Kings 1–1–0 1–0–0 2–1–0 4 12 9 Phoenix Coyotes 0–0–1 2–0–0 2–0–1 5 14 9 San Jose Sharks 2–0–0 1–0–0 3–0–0 6 11 5 4–2–2 6–1–0 10–3–2 22 58 37

Playoffs

The Blackhawks qualified for the playoff for the fifth consecutive season. As the Presidents' Trophy winner, the Blackhawks had home-ice advantage. They faced the eighth-seeded Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, beating the Wild 4–1 in the best-of-seven series matchup.