Chicago Blackhawks: Game 1 Stats Show Better Effort From Preds

The Chicago Blackhawks trailed at the end of Thursday’s Game 1 against Nashville by the only stat that mattered — goals scored. But there were plenty of other stats to dive into as well.

The Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t get any offense going Thursday in opening the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Nashville Predators. They didn’t get one puck into the opposing net and dropped a 1-0 decision.

Here’s a closer look at some of the key stats from yesterday’s outing.

Shots on goal: Blackhawks 29, Predators 20

This stat isn’t much of a surprise since the ’Hawks did have last change being the home team and seemed to be throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Pekka Rinne.  But the shots were not of quality.  Every time the Blackhawks would get a shot off, Rinne would either soak it up or the Preds would quickly clear the zone.

Some of the smaller forwards like Nick Schmaltz and Tanner Kero had trouble staying on their skates with the puck on their stick because of the physical defense of the Preds.

In areas like the corners, where coach Joel Quenneville says the Hawks’ need to go, Predator defensemen were cross-checking and hacking away making it impossible for ’Hawks forwards to come away with the puck.

The Predators played a great road game, executing the dump-and-chase style well.  But this time around, their forwards are a lot faster.  They were putting the puck on net with forwards in position to put back rebounds, but luckily Corey Crawford was big in net.  The crowd would ooh and ah at close calls more often in the ’Hawks end than their opponent’s.

If the Blackhawks want to put the puck past Rinne, it will need to be dirty.  These easy one-timers across the slot to Panarin aren’t going to fly against the Preds, so the best option is to take away Rinne’s eyes and start jamming home some pucks in front.

Chicago Blackhawks

Penalty minutes: Blackhawks 2, Predators 4

Something happened in this game that I prayed wouldn’t happen: Ryan Hartman took a penalty.  It wasn’t a really bad one, but I guess they’re all bad in the playoffs.

Hartman is a guy the ’Hawks need on the ice badly considering he is one of a few “sandpaper” guys on the roster.  Luckily, the Preds weren’t able to capitalize, but let’s hope this isn’t a trend for Hartman.

The Blackhawks had two powerplays — when Ryan Johansen shot the puck out of play in the second and when Viktor Arvidsson tripped Artem Anisimov in the third.  A lot of Blackhawks fans have criticized this team for being “too cute” in the past on the powerplay, and their demeanor in Game 1 reflected just that.

Watching the Blackhawks squander away 4 minutes of powerplay time by pretty much putting together the “Flying V” just to get the puck dumped back into the Preds’ zone was painful.  Their sense of urgency, dare I say it, looks a little cocky.

The Blackhawks are capable of so much damage, but it takes them a while to get started.  I think the Preds also know this so they’re trying to jump ahead early hoping to have a better chance this year of closing them out later in the series.

Blocked shots & hits: Blackhawks 12 & 33, Predators 26 & 37

Games against the Blackhawks usually end with the visiting team heavily out-hitting the ’Hawks because they maintain possession of the puck so much.  This wasn’t the case Thursday as the Blackhawks had just 4 fewer hits than the Predators.  The ’Hawks did edge the Predators in faceoff percentage, but both teams seemed to have the puck equally as much.

The ’Hawks aren’t a team like the Kings have been in the past where their forecheck is relentless.  The Kings and Ducks knew the Blackhawks were thin at defense, so they would hammer away on them.  In an intense seven-game series, hits can wear a team down, but the ’Hawks don’t play that way.

Hitting can be beneficial to wear down opponents, but you also take that player out of the play momentarily.  It’s almost the equivalent of boxing out in basketball where if you let your guy free he could easily score right in front.  Kind of what Arvidsson did behind Keith in Game 1.

Blocked shots are pretty self explanatory.  The Predators know on paper the ’Hawks may be better than them, but they are determined to out-work them.  In playoff hockey, every shot and every bounce is meaningful.  The Blackhawks are lucky Crawford didn’t give the Predators too much confidence because more goals could’ve gone in.

Conclusion

Last year, losing to the Blues hurt.  A first-round exit is a failure for this franchise, but every ounce of experience is benefiting the team.  I predicted that this series would be the hardest the Blackhawks would endure on the way to the Cup, if they do end up advancing that far.  Nashville is no push-over and has a lot of talent on their team.

Next: 5 Thoughts From Game 1

Judging by the postgame interviews, the ’Hawks are embarrassed and ready to kick it up a few notches.  I hope they can do just that in Game 2, then go into Nashville and continue to turn up the music.