Blackhawks Start Playoffs In a Sluggish Fashion

CHICAGO, IL -- Jesus, guys.

That was honestly some of the sloppiest hockey I've seen from the Hawks this season. They lost their finesse, and if they want to win this series, they're going to have to find it again.

The first period offered the only goal of the entire game, the goal that gave the Nashville Predators the series-leading win. The Hawks had a lot of good, quality chances, but just couldn't seem to capitalize on anything.

But, don't give up hope.

As long as they take this loss in stride and realize that they need to stop being lazy and pick up the pace, the Hawks will notch a win here soon.

They just can't be complacent. Complacency leads to losing, and losing leads to an early and long, long summer.

All in all, this loss could've been a lot worse, however. I thought Corey Crawford played very well, and though he let in the lone goal of the game, it didn't help that the defense did basically nothing and both Nick Schmaltz and Richard Panik were sprawled out on the ice after tripping each other by accident.

If the Blackhawks want to win, they'll need to work on at least three things:

1. Rebounds
2. Passes
3. Power plays

With the amount of amazing chances the Hawks had, they squandered each one of them because they failed to get up to the crease to catch the rebound. They need to start playing someone in front to tip great shots in if they can't quite get past Pekka Rinne the first time. It doesn't matter how many shots you take--if there's no one to help tip it in or at least catch the rebound, you lose your chance.

Plus, their passing game definitely didn't help. I don't even know what they were doing tonight in terms of passing. I was so astounded at their lazy and at times whiffed passing. This needs to be addressed before Saturday, or else the Hawks are in for a rude awakening.

And finally, their power play needs so much help. Passing back and forth and almost causing turnovers (and in some case definitely causing them) does absolutely nothing. In order to use a power play effectively, they need to shoot. One or two shots on goal in a span of two minutes just isn't going to cut it.

If the Hawks can fix up those three things at least marginally, they'll do just fine. Hopefully this will be a bit of a wake-up call, and they'll snap out of whatever rut they're in. I wasn't too mad about the way they played in the second and third periods--they looked better than the first period by far, and they were able to at least get a handle on the puck a little better. They just need to find a way to get past Rinne.

In short: Don't freak out just yet. It's a best-of-seven series, and even if the Hawks had pulled out a win tonight, I would have told you to try not to get your hopes up. The playoffs are a weird animal--anything goes.

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