Skip to main content

A Lucky Shot In OT Caused a Loss in Game 1--But, the Hawks Aren't Done Yet



ST. LOUIS, MO -- That game had me biting my nails like crazy last night. And I don't often chew on my nails at all.

 It didn't help that the game was a 9:30pm EST start, and I feared from the start that the game would go into OT. If only I'd known.

 I thought the Blackhawks played some damn good hockey last night. The defense finally looked good and they managed to kill four penalties. The Hawks couldn't seem to capitalize on any of their power plays, but to be fair, Elliot is like a damn brick wall. Crawford was, too. Last night was a battle of the goalies, honestly.

 I thought the Blackhawks did have a lot of good opportunities to score, and yes, as usual, I would have loved for them to shoot the puck more. For some reason, they seemed to pass it a lot last night. The passes were often complete, but nothing came of them.

 As far as stellar players, I thought Toews played incredibly last night. Ladd did as well, despite his distraction earlier in the day (congrats to him and his wife!). The top line accounted for most of the SOG, which was incredibly impressive. 35 shots to St. Louis' 18 is pretty impressive as well. I think they're going to kick it into gear on Friday and maybe rip the Blues a new one.

 I was pleased with how little fighting there was. It was clear from the get-go that the Blues were going to play physically, but the Blackhawks luckily were able to keep their cool and just play hockey. I'm sorry, Blues, but you're not going to win the series with hits. Or, luck, for that matter.

 The goal in OT was a fluke. And, I'm not saying that because I'm biased--it literally went off of van Riemsdyk's skate. It wasn't anything incredible or jaw-dropping. Just frustrating.

 But, like I said about their hits, the Blues can't expect to win with just sheer luck. Not against a team that's seasoned in the playoffs. And, the Hawks did play exceptionally well last night. St. Louis had a lot of chances to make plays, but the Blackhawks took them back down the ice and forced them to defend.

 I think this series very well could go to Game 7. I think most of us would prefer for it not to, but these two teams are pretty evenly matched. Last night felt like a Stanley Cup Finals game.

 But, the Hawks have a lot on their side going into Friday's game. Duncan Keith is coming back from his six-game suspension, and won't mess around with the Blues' physicality. He won't take it. Crawford was great last night, and I have complete faith that he'll be just as good on Friday night. I think the Blackhawks are frustrated more than anything with the loss last night, so they might be a little angry, too.

 I think they've got a lot of things in their favor, so it'll be really interesting to see how the rest of the series plays out.

 The Blackhawks stay in St. Louis Friday night, and the puck drops at 8pm. The game will be aired on NBCSN.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Checking In - Breaking Down the Blackhawks' Play Over a Month

CHICAGO, IL — I’m going to be absolutely real with you—I had no idea what to write about for the blog this week. I’ve written about the Blackhawks being good, bad, and everything in between, I’ve written about Patrick Kane a couple times now (#Kane4Hart), and I’ve even written about the best goal celebrations from the Hawks this season. The idea tank is running dry, my friends. So, I thought we could throw it back to a post I made a while back about what the Hawks really needed to do to make the playoffs, and grade them on how well they're meeting all three of those items a couple of weeks later. Let's just get right on into it, shall we? 1) With 27 games left, you have to go 18-9 to get to the 88-90-point range that would potentially get them into the playoffs. So, the Hawks currently sit at 71 points through 70 games, and since the date of this article (February 8th), the Hawks have gone 9-6, which is not terrible, but also only gives them a b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Another Hat Trick for Patrick Kane Sends Hawks Into Fifth Straight Win

CHICAGO, IL -- The Hawks are certainly on a hot streak. In the past week and a half, they've beaten some of the top teams in the league--and have made it look way too easy. Tonight was no different. I was a bit worried about this game, only because the Pittsburgh Penguins are a team to reckon with. But, with guys like Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Conor Sheary out due to injury, and the fact that they're coming off a loss to the Dallas Stars last night... The Hawks did have the upper hand to begin with, I think. But, the Penguins came out strong and tough, as usual, and the Hawks certainly rose to the challenge. The first period was basically a bust. I thought the Hawks had some great shots on goal, but Marc-Andre Fleury played incredibly well that first period and prevented anything from going through--even back-to-back Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook wristers. I was a little frustrated with the refs blatantly ignoring calls on both sides. The Hawks did manage to draw...
Post a Comment
Read more

Break-Up Day - Blackhawks End of Season Locker Room Clean Out

CHICAGO, IL — After a nice finish on the season with wins over the St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars (and a loss to the Nashville Predators that we're going to ignore), the Blackhawks are officially in the off-season. The team held their annual locker room clean out, and I thought there were a lot of great takeaways from the clean out day. Obviously, the Hawks didn’t finish where they wanted to, but I think that was made up for when they moved from the 12th overall pick to the 3rd pick in the 2019 NHL Draft Lottery that took place on Tuesday. I’ll probably do a quick piece on who the Hawks should be looking at and what their options are for the draft in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for that. But, in the meantime, lets go over some of the topics that came up in the clean out presser. IIHF World Championship The past couple of years, a handful of Blackhawks players have participated in the IIHF World Championship, which takes place in early May. A coup...
Post a Comment
Read more