Duncan Keith and Nikolai Khabibulin sit on the bench near the end of Game 1.
Too many turnovers. Too much time off. Those were a couple of explanations offered for the Blackhawks' 5-2 loss Sunday to Detroit in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals. The explanation that Hawks fans would rather not consider is this: The veteran Red Wings are simply a lot better than their young, inexperienced team.
Is this series over before it barely has even begun? It is if the Hawks don't play much better than they did Sunday. We're not in Vancouver or Calgary anymore: The Hawks cannot make mistakes in Motown and expect to get away with it. They at least said all the right things afterward, with coach Joel Quenneville telling reporters: "We got a lesson. We've got to be better."
Perhaps the layoff -- the Hawks hadn't played since eliminating Vancouver last Monday -- was a factor. Although conventional wisdom was that the Wings would be dragging after being pushed to seven games by Anaheim, they looked sharp and on top on their game while the Hawks seemed sluggish and out of step.
Defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook made bad turnovers that set up Wings goals. Detroit controlled play in the neutral zone and had far too many odd-man rushes. The Hawks were outshot (43-32) for only the third time in 13 postseason games, with Patrick Kane taking no shots and Jonathan Toews only three. Only Nikolai Khabibulin's inspired play kept the Hawks in the game. It was a frenzied, fast-paced affair that was entertaining to watch, but the Hawks' style played right into the Wings' hands.
''We were trying to make plays that weren't there, holding on to the puck too long, not shooting at the right time and making turnovers on our rush,'' Toews told reporters. ''When you make turnovers like that, Detroit's a puck possession team, and they aren't going to give the puck back.''
Despite the feel-good aura surrounding the Hawks after they ousted Vancouver, was there any reason to think they were ready to beat a team like the Red Wings? Perhaps watching Detroit get pushed to the brink by Anaheim created a false sense of optimism. True, the Ducks were the eighth seed, but they won the Stanley Cup two years ago and were one of the league's hottest teams down the stretch. It's quite possible that Anaheim was the largest hurdle Detroit had to clear on the road to a possible second straight Cup.
Can the Hawks get back into this series? Is Game 2 on Tuesday a must-win, or could they fall behind 2-0 in the series and still turn things around when the action shifts to the United Center for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday?
As Quenneville said, the Hawks have to get better. The question is, how much better can they get and will that be enough?
I will say this, the Detroit Red Wings are as perfect a hockey team as has ever been assembled, apart from having Chris Osgood in goal, especially the way he played during the regular season. Osgood is playing at least as well as Khabibulin in the playoffs which means that the near-perfection factor across the board is there for the Wings unfortunately.
I think the Chicago Blackhawks have to do two MAIN things in order to give the Wings a run for their money:
1. Nikolai Khabibulin must be great--not merely good. This is not asking for the "moon and the stars" as Khabby has shown that ability lately, especially Game 5 in Vancouver, and certainly had that for Tampa Bay in '04.
2. We need to be careful in the neutral zone. Sometimes, our young guys can be sloppy there and no team takes advantage of neutral zone turnovers more than Big Red (Is it me or do they remind you of the Soviet Red Army with their all-red home unis?)
These things, if done, along with a victory on Tuesday, provide us our most realistic chance. Khabby can do #1. These "quick study" Hawks can do #2. If not, I'm afraid there's no chance this year folks. I picked Detroit in 7 with a realistic shot at beating them. However, if Osgood is going to be excellent, Khabby must be great. I also knew we couldn't make mistakes in the neutral zone as we did in Game 1. Detroit's main game plan is to get a running start in the neutral zone after having capitalized on turnovers there, creating odd-man breaks. They actually are set up for the turnover there and are in high gear when it happens! The opposition suddenly looks flat-footed and has to retreat while Detroit has taken off--often too late.
Are these the absolute only things that we can do? No, they're just the most realistic. We could make sure that guys like Franzen and Holmstrom (and others) don't live in front of Khabby like it's their home and there's a "no trespassing" sign on their backs. Hello big defenseman? Our D-men are wonderful talents and skaters and there is some size (Seabrook, Barker), but we could use even more size there. Matt Walker has that size, but he's not talented enough. On that note, is Brent Sopel still alive? This is a main reason why big, bad Anaheim took Detroit to seven games.
Detroit also stays out of the penalty box more than most teams, hardly ever takes a retaliatory penalty, and almost never fights. There's not much we can do there, but certainly we need to stay out of the box ourselves.
I still think the Blackhawks have to play to their strength over Detroit and they did that to a degree in Game 1, but with sloppy neutral zone play. Detroit is fast, but we're faster. We're also younger which is a curse against them generally, but could turn things to our favor as the series wears on. Detroit hasn't been in a seven-game series as they were with Anaheim in many years. On that note, I hope we aren't saying something like "we got what we wished for" with a sour expression on our faces--we would have beaten Anaheim without a question in my mind. Moreover, we would have home ice in the finals against either Pittsburgh or Carolina.
Go Blackhawks!
Tough loss, but they hung in there for the first two periods, and Detroit was at home. Hopefully the Wings come out and play like the Celtics did at the beginning of their series with the Bulls, and we steal one before heading back to the U.C.
Go Hawks!
The Wings own the cup. They are the best in the NHL. But - they are beatable. Every team is. The Ducks came awfully close to knocking them out of the playoffs.
The Hawks beat themselves yesterday. Detroit waited for the Hawks to make mistakes, and then capitalized on them. Now we'll wait to see if the Hawks can make the right adjustments. If they can, then I think there's a very good chance the Hawks can prevail over Detroit this year.
Gig, Osgood is a hall of fame goalie. just look at his stats - three cups, two as primary goalie, in the top 10 in wins. Everybody pretty much agrees that broudeur is one of best goalies ever, if not the best, and his .914 save % isn't that much higher than Osgood's .906, and GAA is 2.21 to 2.47 Ozzie's key saves won game 1 for the wings.
he isn't flashy, he is just steady. the intangible -- teams play better in front of him, from the wings to the Islanders to the Blues
This is why I wanted the Ducks. But it is what it is. Hawks are going to have to Man up and give it their very best and let the chips fall where they may. From what I hear, if the Hawks do what they are capable of, we will be fine. I just want them to draw blood at least.
Just want to let the Hawks fans know how impressed the Wings fans really are with you guys. What your team and organization has done in the past two years is phenomenal. I get to watch Hawks games during the year (thanks to your mgmt.) and trust me the respect is there. Do I want us to win..of course. But we are expecting a long brutal series with an Original Six team and it doesn't get any better than that.
RW
I think Khabibulin is a very good goalie, but he needs to make clutch-style plays -- saves that you can hardly believe stay out of the net. This is what the playoffs demand. The Blackhawks played appallingly poorly yesterday -- I was shocked at the sloppiness of their passing game, many times in their own zone they just shoved the puck anywhere to get rid of it with no idea where they were directing it. The Wings skated the puck in -- often in 3 on 2 formations -- while the Hawks dumped the puck in and then had to scramble to try to dig it out and develop a play. This is OK once in a while, but won't score too many goals without eventually exhausting the defense. Faceoffs -- Toews is the only one to even come close to consistently winning faceoffs. The team that controls faceoffs controls the game. Big Buff continues to make me smile -- things have been happening with him on the ice, and he's spending so much time in the opposing goalie's crease I'm wondering if his secret wish is to be a goalie! Go Buff!
RWFAN - much respect. Now that is how you keep it real.
"Big Buff continues to make me smile -- things have been happening with him on the ice, and he's spending so much time in the opposing goalie's crease I'm wondering if his secret wish is to be a goalie!"
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Nah ... he just has the hots for Osgood.
He'll get over it.
The Wings were faster, sharper, passed with precise crispness and had an obvious talent egde out there. The kids were on their heals for much of the game yesterday and the puck control and passing was atrocious. We were rushing quite often, but Detroits speed and hounding was a big reason for that.
Once the nerves settle a bit I'm sure we'll look a little better controlling the puck, but I'm afraid Detroit is the class of the West. Kabi kept us in early, but the wear is only gonna get worse.
Osgood? I could tend the nets with that bunch in front of me!!!
We need to steal the next game or the road will become another 10 degrees uphill.
I don't see us affording that scenario.
Cold 'Steal One' on Ice!
THE BLACKHAWKS WILL WIN TONIGHT!
DON'T JUMP OFF THE SHIP, STANDFAST AND BELIEVE!
IT ISN'T GOING TO BE EASY, BUT IT WILL GET DONE!
BELIEVE AND YOU WILL ACHIEVE!
YOUR ATTITUDE WILL DETERMINE YOUR ALTITUDE!
I still believe in the Hawks. Skip STEALING. Man up and WIN, then WIN 3 MORE! I have been hearing how good the wings are adnauseum. Don't care anymore. Its not about them, never was. Its about CHICAGO. We have to stop looking at giants and believe. I have heard nothing but high praise for these kids - puctuated by the sky being the limit for them. I respect the opponent enough - time for the Chi to shine! In the words of Ray Charles "Make it do what it do baby".
Go HAWKS!
Of course, this is not the 1980 USA Hockey Team rag tag bunch of amateurs versus the experts' experts of the Soviet hammer and sickle--although the latter may be dressed like it. This is far, far, far from that! The Hawks can do it based on their talent and abilities! It won't be anything close to a Miracle on Ice. May the "force" be with the Chicago Blackhawks! A win tonight in Motor-badly-needs-an-overhaul City would be huge!
The Hawks were basically schooled in game 1, simple as that, yet they were in it for more than 2 periods. The Blackhawks are already past that "Miracle on Ice" underdog role. It won't be a monumental historical upset if they come back to win this series. They're a good enough team to get it done, but like Keith said, it's just a matter of believing and stepping up their game. The talent is there, the experience is not, but the team has already been battle tested for 2 good series. If not this season, then the experience will carry over to next season which should hopefully carry them over that hump. Whatever happens, there's nothing to be disappointed about, but there's still a small chance for them go all the way this season.
Tough, tough, tough loss. Hawks showed up though. They play that way from here on out and I can live with that.