Defending Stanley Cup champions Chicago Blackhawks kicked off their series rivalry Thursday night on the road against the St. Louis Blues.
Before the match up, many predicted it would go to a seven-game series. If game one is any indication, it looks like they might be right.
After 100 minutes and 26 seconds of play time, the Blues were able to outlast the Hawks, winning 4-3 in triple overtime. The Blues’ Alexander Steen scored the winning goal. On Saturday, there was another heartbreaking loss as the Blues tied the game with 6.7 seconds left and then came away with another 4-3 victory in overtime.
Despite trailing 2-0, the Hawks are in a great position to win the Stanley Cup for a second year in a row this season. This team is just simply better than every team in the Playoffs.
The core duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are not only the best 1-2 combination in the NHL, but are the best pair in Chicago since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Not to mention unlike the Hawks’ first Stanley Cup, this supporting class has remained in tact.
The Blackhawks led game one and it seemed like they were ready to take home a win. However, Blues forward Jaden Schwartz tied the game with 1:45 left in regulation.
A game one loss is definitely not the best way to set up the series, but the Hawks are far from finished. There were some strong points of the game where the Blackhawks dominated the ice. The way the Blackhawks dominated the second period in game two is also encouraging, outscoring the Blues by three goals.
In the last stretch of the regular season, both Chicago and St. Louis had some major players injured. Chicago, however, have Kane and Toews back to face Blues goaltender Ryan Miller, and they certainly look rested and ready to take on the post season. Toews finished with two assists, including one that set up Kane’s breakaway goal early in the third period.
While the Hawks bench was at full strength, the Blues’ wasn’t. They were without power forwards T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund, both with undisclosed upper body injuries.
Even without a top offense, the Blues dominated the puck possession, with almost 20 more shot attempts than the Hawks.
The best thing for the Blackhawks is to shake off the losses, and focus on Game 3. It’s crucial that they return to Chicago for Game 3 with momentum. It’s difficult that the Hawks are down 2-0, but it certainly isn’t impossible they comeback. The team has plenty of postseason experience where they’ve been faced with adversity. Fans have already seen this before. Flashback to Round 2 versus the Detroit Red Wings last season, when they were down 3-1 in the series and won three games in a row. They know the drill: regroup and refocus.
Opposing teams know it will be difficult to defeat the Blackhawks four times in a seven-game series this spring. The depth, going as far as Chicago’s fourth line, wears team’s down. Even as the Blackhawks let game one slip away, their depth helped draw out the process into three overtimes.
More importantly with the Stanley Cup playoffs, anything can happen. The Blackhawks aren’t going to let two losses get to them and all the players are hungry for a back-to-back championship.
If the Hawks can win a third Stanley Cup this season, it will mark them as a dynasty.
It’s as simple as that.
In 2010, the first Stanley Cup title broke nearly a half-century dry spell, but proved that the team was more than just a hiccup on the radar. Last year’s win confirmed they weren’t a one-hit wonder. This year, the team is ready to do it all again.
If they do, Kane and Toews will truly belong in the class of Jordan and Pippen. This was a franchise which was voted ESPN’s worst franchise in 2004. Kane and Toews are primarily responsible for bringing Chicago to life as a “hawkeytown.”
With a bull’s-eye on the chest of the entire organization, winning definitely won’t be easy. But like every dynasty, it takes hard work and a little bit of magic – a deathly combo for any team that stands in the way.