Blackhawks Drop Game 5 In Anaheim. Let's Circle The Wagons One Last Time

Chief5/26/2015 3:05 PM

And just like that, the Blackhawks are on the brink of elimination for the first time in these playoffs. It comes down to simple plays. Bickell doens’t get it deep on a dump and poof…it’s in the back of your net. The Blackhawks had an opportunity to bury Anaheim at home in Game 6 if they could have closed out one of the greatest comebacks we’ve seen. The Ducks made more plays. They came out hot in the first. They were buzzing everywhere, and got a few bounces. Teams that control the play typically get the bounces. Now the Blackhawks have no margin for error. It’s not a good position to be in, but just like I didn’t lose faith last night down 4-2 late, I’m not losing faith down 3-2 in the series. You know why…because of this guy.

It’s not too often that a loss adds to a player’s legacy, but last night’s performance will stick out when we look back on his career in 15 years. Toews is so special. I wouldn’t trade him for any player in the league. He competes so hard for every inch of ice and when his team needs him most he routinely comes up with monstrous plays. Toews makes everyone around him better. I’ll never lose faith in the Blackhawks as long as Toews is the captain and Q is the coach. Down 3-2, time to circle the wagons one more time.

–Kimmo Timonen is a disaster. I don’t want to sound too much like Belichick here but Kimmo…DO. YOUR. JOB. Your job is take up space on the ice for 25-30 seconds while someone in the top 4 gets a breather. Stop sliding backdoor, stop pinching, stop making passes in high traffic areas. Just chip it high and hard off the glass and live to fight another day. The team doesn’t need any offense or pressure from Kimmo. Less is more. Cumiskey has been ok. I think he’s a legit bottom pair dman in the NHL, but he needs to better/stronger on the puck than he was last night.

Side note: Everyone stop with the “oh it’d be nice to have Nick Leddy right now”. Yeah, no shit. That’s not reality though. It’d be nice to have Ladd, Buff, and Campbell too. It’s just not possible in the salary cap era. It’s hard to put a team together and have depth everywhere. The Blackhawks had to trade Leddy to get under the cap, because he’s the only D that had real value in the trade market, and because they would’ve lost him for nothing this summer. Injuries have depleted the Hawks blue line. TVR was looking a like a solid 3rd pair guy before breaking his knee cap, and then having an upper body injury. Same goes for Stephen Johns. Every time he seemed ready to make the jump he’d get hurt. The Rozsival injury put the Hawks in an awful position. It is what it is though. Keeping Leddy was never a real option.

–Teravainen is had himself a little bit of a coming out party last night with a goal and a BEAUTIFUL assist to Brent Seabrook. He’s so slick. I feel like I’ve been blogging about him for years now, and it’s finally coming true. I’ve never seen anyone quite like him. Great hands, great shot, quick feet, thinks the game at a high level. He’s a special player. He does everything in stride. The goal he had was a bit soft, but I think Turbo deserves at least a little credit because he’s so deceptive. You never know when the puck is coming off of his stick. He’s had great chemistry with Sharp and Vermette. Perfect vets to bring along a young player. Not your typical 3rd line. All three guys are responsible defensively, have had great jump, and have looked dangerous. They’ll need more production the rest of the series if the Hawks are going to win this thing. Hopefully they’re just hitting full stride.

side note 2: Before everyone starts getting all pissy about Coach Q benching him and Vermette in Game 3 let’s remember that the Blackhawks have now lost 2 games with those guys in the lineup too. I’m not saying I agree with Q benching them, but let’s not act like that would automatically change the series either.

–Every year when Bickell is a dog during the regular season we say “well he’s worth his contract because he’s an animal in the playoffs”. Well the production just hasn’t been there this year for Bickell. 0 goals and 5 assists in 15 games despite playing big minutes with Richards and Kane. He’s been very physical in the playoffs. He had another 5 hits last night, but the Hawks need him to get to the net, take a beating, and get dirty goals.

Tomorrow night is it. It’s the last chance for this group as a roster shake-up this summer is inevitable. The Blackhawks have enough in that room to get it done, but they need to put together 60 great minutes. Game 6, at the UC, and the Hawks will be in full desperation mode. I like our chances. Hawks in 7. Circle the Wagons