Blackhawks lose to the Vancouver Canucks 3-2.
Vancouver leads the series 3-0.
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Just.
Sigh.
This game was an encapsulation of just about everything that was wrong with the Blackhawks the entire year, and I’m not just talking about the players themselves. Let’s go over the list:
- The Blackhawks have looked gassed for long stretches of the year, and it’s no different here. Why do they look gassed? Well…
- The Blackhawks can’t roll four lines any more. Most of the stars are pulling double shifts, and it shows. When Duncan Keith — who, up until this year, was the model of stamina — looks ready to pass out, the team has problems.
- The power play was clown shoes. Even though their two goals came from the power play, it came from seven tries. This started late in the regular season, and it’s been that way ever since.
- Coach Q’s suspect coaching decisions come back to haunt the team. Really, who puts John Scott into a playoff game? I love John Scott as a human being — but the man has hands and feet of cement. Plus, he took a dumb penalty that led to Vancouver’s first goal, which changed the momentum of the game completely. Moreover, who sits Ryan Johnson, who’s been a stabilizing force at center when we desperately needed it?
- But, of course, Coach Q’s coaching decisions might just exist because the front office has not given him as much to work with as he used to have. I understand that they had to ship people away because of the salary cap. I get that. But the pieces they brought in haven’t contributed much. Ryan Johnson and Chris Campoli are good additions to the team — but they didn’t come in until it started looking as if the Blackhawks were not going to make the playoffs. Sometimes, I wonder what goes through Stan Bowman’s brain — but, if I knew that, I’d be in the front office making mad dollars and not writing this.
(I’m not even going to go into the hit on Brent Seabrook by Raffi Torres. It was determined that he would not receive any supplementary discipline for the hit from the NHL. I’m obviously biased in my love of Seabrook, so me writing about it will not go so well.)
I’m not ready to say goodbye to this team for the summer, so I hope they can get it together for what could be the last game of the season. But even if they can’t win tomorrow, I hope that they at least try. That’s all I’ve wanted this entire season — please attempt to look like you care, Blackhawks, for God’s sake.
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Box Score:
1st Period
06:54: CHI PPG – Duncan Keith (1) Slap Shot – Assists: J. Toews (1)
2nd Period
10:03: VAN PPG – Christian Ehrhoff (1) Slap Shot – Assists: H. Sedin (3) & D. Sedin (2)
10:57: VAN Daniel Sedin (3) Wrist Shot – Assists: A. Edler (1) & K. Bieksa (2)
12:40: CHI PPG – Patrick Sharp (1) Slap Shot – Assists: J. Toews (2) & P. Kane (2)
3rd Period
06:48: VAN Mikael Samuelsson (1) Backhand – Assists: H. Sedin (4) & C. Ehrhoff (2)
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Captain Force of Nature watch: Two assists, but still a -1. He also won 16-26 (62%) of his faceoffs.
Duncan Keith plus/minus rating watch: -1. At least you scored a goal? But you’re still a long-haired nitwit.
Coach Q face color watch: Brick red. Again. This was partially his own fault, however, so I can’t feel too much sympathy for him.
Post-game quotes from @TramyersCSN:
Q on Torres hit: “Brutal. Major. Absolutely. They missed it. we could’ve gotten four goals on that one.”
Q: “We’re lucky (Seabrook) is a big Canadian kid. Someone else would’ve been on a stretcher.”
Q if Torres should be suspended: “Not my call. The guy didn’t even get through his first game back off one.”
Q: “I thought it was a major (penalty) live and after seeing the replay, clearly.”
Sharp: “I’m not looking at who’s scoring, who’s playing well, who r the good players/bad players. I just know we lost the game.”
Kane: ” I should have buried a couple (shots). I have to step up and make those shots and make the game a little bit different.”
Post-game videos: Joel Quenneville, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews
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