Chicago Blackhawks Drop Game 1 To Nashville: Quick Reaction

The Chicago Blackhawks dropped the first game of their opening-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series, losing 1-0 to the Nashville Predators

For a team that ended the regular season with one of the best records in the league, the Chicago Blackhawks sure didn’t play like it in the first period of Thursday’s first game against the Nashville Predators.

After starting the game with good pressure, the ‘Hawks sat on their heels the rest of the period. They were outshot 11-6 and outscored 1-0 with a goal by Predators MVP Viktor Arvidsson.

The Predators kept the offense of Chicago to a minimum in the first period. Coach Joel Quenneville must’ve given the team a pep talk (or something like that), because the Blackhawks came out flying in the second period. They dominated Nashville in every category except save percentage, because Pekka Rinne was practically a wall.

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The third period was all Blackhawks, too. They had an abundance of chances, but were unable to bury anything in the back of the net. The defense of the Predators did a great job stifling the offense of the ‘Hawks at times.

Quick thoughts for the game, series

Chicago just missed some grade-A chances. It felt as if Artem Anisimov had about 17 shots in the game. It’s always hard to add the finish to a scoring chance, and he was the perfect example of how the entire night went for the Blackhawks.

The missed call on Roman Josi for delay of game was huge. If that was a penalty, it would’ve given the home team almost two minutes with a 5-on-3 advantage.

The referees also missed a blatant high stick from Filip Forsberg on Brent Seabrook with about five minutes left in the game. I won’t blame it all on the officiating in this one. The Blackhawks simply couldn’t capitalize on the many chances they had to score a goal.

If the Blackhawks want to win this series, they have to get as many pucks toward the net as they can with a screen in front of Rinne. They need to come up with a better method of madness. The original plan clearly didn’t work out in this game.

That’s why there’s multiple games in a series. This team has to play a full 60 minutes. They can’t decide to finally wake up in the second or third period, like they did in the regular season.

Next: Staff Predictions For Blackhawks-Predators

Playing a full game full-on is a must. The Blackhawks have to adapt to the Predators’ style of play, or this will be an extremely stressful first round.