How Will The Hawks Respond To Adversity In Game #4 After 3-1 Loss? Wings lead Series 2-1.

The Blackhawks came out a totally different from how they played in Game #2. The defense was pinching and starting rushes and the Hawks feet were moving! The worst hit in the period was on Viktor Stalberg’s first shift when he went over the top of a Red Wing player and face planted himself on the boards.  Stalberg would return to the ice a few minutes later after going to the locker room.  The Hawks pace was quick and they were getting a lot of shots on goal but Jimmy Howard was up to the task and was able to see most of the shots cleanly.  The Toews complaining seemed to work as the refs called two interference penalties in the first period that would not have been called in Game #2.  The Hawks first powerplay was very productive without a goal, while the second powerplay was pathetic with the Hawks struggling to enter their own zone.  The Hawks only gave up 9 shots on goal in the first, but the one thing that was worrisome was the lethargic pace to getting the puck cleared especially by Michal Rozsival.  The Hawks and Wings played a very entertaining first period that ended with 0’s on the scoreboard at the end of one period.

The Hawks didn’t bring the first period momentum on the ice in the second period.  Michal Rozsival had a period he would like to forget.  He was terrible which started in the first period and carried over on the Red Wings goals that were scored  31 seconds apart. First Gustav Nyquist scored on a great one on one move followed by Drew Miller crashing the net and all of a sudden a game the Hawks were dominating they were now trailing 2-0.  The game was still called tight but the Hawks were unable to convert on any of their powerplays.  Jimmy Howard was solid throughout the two periods.  One thing the Hawks couldn’t do was win a faceoff against Pavel Datsyuk in their own end which hurt all of their powerplay chances.

The Hawks came out flying in the third period when Patrick Kane put one in for a 2-1 Wings lead off a nice pass from Duncan Keith. The Hawks looked to tie the game up when Stalberg threw one in front and it went in off Shaw but somehow Shaw was called for goalie interference even though there was no contact. This by far was the turning point of the game. Minutes later after the no goal Datsyuk put one high on the stick side past Crawford to put the score 3-1 Red Wings.  The problem with the game is that the refs made a difference in the game.  Howard wasn’t  interfered or obstructed but the ref was emphatic and called off the goal.  The Hawks were not able to get any more pucks past Howard and the final horn sounded 3-1 Red Wings.

-Andrew Shaw is playing out of control and it cost him on the goalie  interference no goal call (this is exactly how he played last year against Phoenix until he was suspended).

-Michal Handzus shouldn’t see the ice the rest of the series he is horrible and not what this team needs against Detroit especially when he’s losing faceoffs on top of everything else.

– The Hawks haven’t given up a goal on the penalty kill which is a nice stat except they keep going on the kill for stupid penalties.

-The extra day off will help settle the Hawks down and maybe give the coaching staff time to regroup.

-Puck drops Thursday night at 7pm.

-It’s only 2 losses and it takes 4 to lose a series, don’t get too close to the cliff just yet!

-Teams on the way to the Cup must face adversity and find a way to get past it.  This is just a pit stop not a stopping point

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