There's a bit of hockey karma in the fact that the Chicago Blackhawks must now look to the team they vanquished last postseason for inspiration.
But they're down 3-0, the Philadelphia Flyers proved that was a surmountable deficit last season against the Bruins and it's really all the Hawks have to cling to at this point.
"It goes to show you that it is possible," defenseman Chris Campoli told Sun Media.
"But you can't win all four games in one day."
Well, no, you can't, but the real issue is that the Blackhawks haven't shown they can win one game in one day during this series; a task that becomes tougher without Brent Seabrook on Tuesday night for Game 4. The scores have been close, but the performances haven't. As Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago summarized:
Ben Smith has outplayed Hossa. That might sum up the series in a nutshell.
Hossa isn't alone in mediocre play. It's been well-documented how far Keith has fallen since his Norris Trophy, and Brian Campbell continues to tease on both ends of the ice as well. Wide open looks and passing plays are just eluding him while he's still vulnerable in his own end. Campbell and Keith are a team-worst minus-4.
What has Vancouver done better than Chicago? A little bit of everything. Isn't that harder to fix than one specific weakness? Bad penalty-killing can be forgotten by taking fewer penalties but add a poor PK with an average power play, a less than physical performance, and mediocre play from your stars, and you see why the Hawks are down 3-0.
Hossa doesn't have a goal. Patrick Kane doesn't have a goal. Neither does Jonathan Toews, which brings us to Game 4 Tuesday night in Chicago.
Look what the Captain did last season in his first three playoff games: Zero goals, one assist, a minus-1.
He's currently at 0-2-2 and a minus-3.
What Toews did after his first three games in 2010? Seven goals, 21 assists and a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
This isn't to say that the Blackhawks can get on that kind of roll again, or that Toews is a miracle worker. But he's the captain saying the right things while the rest of his teammates are staring into the abyss.
"They're a beatable team," Chicago's earnest young captain said Monday of the team that has the Blackhawks down 3-0 in their best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final playoff series. "They have got weaknesses just like any other team," Toews said. "I think it is up to us to expose them and we haven't done a good enough job of that. It's pretty simple."
And what might those weaknesses be? Well, Toews suggested the Canucks are guilty at times of playing too cute and leaving themselves vulnerable in their own end.
"They're skilled, they like to make plays, and sometimes that leaves you in vulnerable defensive positions," he said. "So like I said, it's up to us to be better."
Do the Blackhawks, humbled after a 3-0 Vancouver Canucks series lead, really believe they're the stronger team when they play "better"? Is there really a sense that one win becomes two wins becomes three wins becomes another mind-blowing playoff rally?
Even if they don't believe it, Toews might. And he's got 60 minutes (at least) to start converting the non-believers Tuesday night.
Boston Bruins Chicago Fire Premier Richmond Kickers Future Pittsburgh Riverhounds Philidalphia Flyers
No comments:
Post a Comment