Chicago Blackhawks On Other Side Of Puck Luck Against Predators

The Chicago Blackhawks finally came out in Game 3 with some urgency, but failed to play a full 60-minute game (plus overtime).  Now on the brink of being eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for the second straight year, the ’Hawks know they need to fight through the adversity.

Hockey is a beautiful sport because it combines speed, skill, strategy and most importantly luck.  Unlike a sphere-shaped baseball or basketball, a hockey puck can bounce in different ways, roll on its side and its direction can be highly unpredictable.  As five skaters work together against five opponents in a game nicknamed “the tilt,” the glory of being in the right place at the right time can be as lavish as it can be meager.

Monday night, the Chicago Blackhawks took the ice in Nashville with their fans on the edge of their seats.  Nobody had predicted that the ’Hawks would lose the first two games of the series at home and would be facing a “must win game” or the harsh reality that they could be swept out of the playoffs as the Stanley Cup favorite.

The ’Hawks went on to lose the game 3-2 in an overtime thriller, but they got to overtime because they gave up two fluke goals in the third period.

Next, we’ll examine what we were afraid of that has gone wrong and what this means to the Central Division.

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Effort and puck luck

After Game 2, every analyst in the Chicagoland area was either writing or podcasting about how shocked they were that the Blackhawks dug themselves into a 0-2 hole, but reassured the team has been here before and can come back from such adversity.  Even the players remained calm, and even after now being down 0-3 they continue to reiterate their best hockey is yet to come.

Of course you have to remain positive and calm because what else can you say?  The reality is that the ’Hawks are getting out-worked.  At what point does your resiliency start to make you sound cocky, and your play on the ice reflects the same thing?

On the other side, the Preds team and coach Peter Laviolette understand there is no way they can let the Blackhawks get up from this knockout punch.  Other teams in the past have let up, but the Predators don’t seem to be taking that route.

Dennis Rasmussen scored the first Blackhawks goal Monday on a line that seems to be the only line that knows the team is in the playoffs.  The third line was getting the puck deep and forcing turnovers in the Predators zone.  The other lines kept trying to carry the puck in and dance around a stacked blue line of Predators.

Midway through the first period, the ’Hawks could’ve scored on this penalty clearing dump, but Pekka Rinne made an unbelievable save.  This save and the breakaway save on Nick Schmaltz in the third period really swung the momentum in the Predators favor at different points in the game.

Rookies exposed

We all knew going into this season that the Blackhawks would be forced to play a lot of young forwards.  Much to our surprise, some of them broke out, like Ryan Hartman, who had 19 goals on the season.  Schmaltz made his way to the first line with Jonathan Toews, and John Hayden looked like he could be part of the bottom six with his size and grit.

Through the first three games of the playoffs, Hartman has taken some penalties, Schmaltz has been demoted to the third line and Hayden has been riding the pine since Game 1.  A combination of coach Joel Quenneville’s lack of trust in rookies and them getting knocked off the puck easily has made these rookies less that impactful.

A guy like Andrew Desjardins is a proven bottom-six role player who knows how to grind and play a playoff style, but he’s been hurt since before the postseason started.  The addition of Rasmussen after Game 1 gave the ’Hawks a little more of that, but not nearly enough.

In the playoffs, the game plan for the other team is to eliminate your star players, which is why it is imperative for your team to roll four lines.

Stars obsolete

Going into this series, Laviolette had been eliminated by the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final in 2010 with the Flyers and in the first round in 2015 with the Predators.  He knows Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are top-10 players in the league and had a plan to eliminate them from being contributors.

All series, the Predators have been physical with Kane and Toews.  Last night, Toews was locked up with P.K. Subban on multiple occasions, clearly frustrating the captain.  Every time he got the puck it seemed like he had little to no space to skate with it.  Kane was able to tally on a powerplay but he also has been absorbed by the Nashville defense.

Much like how the St Louis Blues and L.A. Kings play the Blackhawks, the Predators have clogged up the neutral zone, forcing the ’Hawks to give up possession of the puck.  In doing so, the mobile Nashville defensemen have been able to retrieve the puck and break out quickly into the Blackhawks zone to force them to defend.

A lot like the Blues did last year, the Predators have been able to hold the puck in the Blackhawks zone and tire out the defensemen who are unable to clear the puck.

Central Division future

An interesting question to ask is if the Blackhawks would’ve performed this way against the Wild or the Blues.  Now that the Blues have recently beaten the Blackhawks in the playoffs and the Predators have the opportunity to do the same, are the Blackhawks becoming a stepping stone?

At what point, do changes need to be made?  No, this isn’t me panicking and calling for Quenneville’s job, but what needs to happen for the Blackhawks to get motivated again?

Next: Blackhawks Blow Two Goal Lead, Fall To 0-3 Hole

The familiarity with the Blackhawks has given teams in the Central full awareness of what the Blackhawks want to do on the ice.  There seems to be a formula that can limit their game plan, but as every team in the Central Division gets better, the ’Hawks’ future looks like a slow fall from grace.