The Chicago Blackhawks have had their hands full through three games against the Boston Bruins. While the series is not over, it is safe to say that game four is a must-win for Chicago. In 25 series that have been tied after two games, the team that won game three has gone on to win 21 of them. That is a pretty telling stat, but not a forgone conclusion.
What/who has been to blame for Chicagoโs woes? Give credit to Boston for playing their bruising game, but the Blackhawks have dug their own ditch, as well.
Power Play
I have continued to use #declinethepowerplay on Twitter. Coach Jamie Kompon was fired by the Los Angeles Kings because he was so bad at running the man advantage. Of course Chicago thought he was perfect for the job. The first two power plays in game three yielded more shots for the penalty kill than the power play. If Chicago runs the power play from behind the net, the precision passers could better dictate the play. As good as Duncan Keith is with the puck, he is no Patrick Kane or (healthy) Marian Hossa.
Defenseman
Pierre McGuire made not late in game three that he could hear players on the Bruins bench saying, โfinish your checks on the defenseman.โ Chicagoโs D-corps has been susceptible to turnovers when pressured along the boards with the puck. As viewers can attest, many a turnover has occurred from a hesitancy to move the puck forward as opposed to along the back boards when pressured.
The penalties in game three were due to bad angles taken against Bostonโs push to the net. Put that on the defense for allowing the Bruins players to dictate the play from the offensive blueline in.
Can someone tell Brent Seabrook to watch out for the blueline? He keeps tripping on itโฆ
Anyone taking a faceoff
16-40 in the faceoff circle. Let it soak in. Any hockey novice knows losing that many faceoffs is pathetic. Patrice Bergeron of Boston was 24-4 on the dot in game three! Not all battles are clean and meant to be that way. There are plenty of times where a player taking the faceoff is aiming to tie the opponentโs stick with the expectation of help from his teammates in retrieving the puck. Jonathon Toews has been neutralized by the best faceoff team in hockey, especially going against Bergeron more often than not. ANY center for Chicago has to step up for the rest of the series.
Patrick Kane
The uninterested one continues to look for the pass instead of using his sniping abilities. Stick handling can only take an offensive player so far. When an open lane is there for a shot, it has to be taken. A re-pairing with Toews has to be on the horizon.
Joel Quenneville
High praise has been given to coach Q for numerous reasons, and rightfully so. Pairing Kane with Toews against L.A. produced electric results. Why split that up against Boston? Sure, big defenseman Zdeno Chara is trailing any line Toews is on, but who cares? Put the best together, reap the benefits. Benching Stalberg for the first two games was a mistake, even with Brandon Bollig playing well for majority of his two game stint. Boston coach Claude Julien is making Quenneville look pedestrian as a coach so far.
Fans
The series is not over, people. Ray Emery has a better chance of being caught napping on the bench than playing in a game. The overreaction to all things Blackhawks has been beyond sickening. Boston is a very good team with a goaltender playing above any level he has played on in his young career. Chicago has faced adversity and thrives when the lights are brightest. The players know this is it, so stop acting like the Blackhawks have one foot in the grave.
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