Despite having the best home-ice record in the playoffs in the salary-cap era, the Blackhawks faced a daunting short-term trend in Game 6 against the Blues — road teams were 23-15 in this year’s playoffs heading to Saturday night.
It’s not the first time road teams have had the edge in the postseason. In 2012, road teams were 47-39 (.547) in the playoffs. But this year road teams seemed to be picking up steam as the playoffs progressed — road teams were 15-4 since Monday, including 7-1 on Thursday and Friday.
“It’s really changed [for the players],” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. “They play in so many big moments before they get [to the NHL], they’re not afraid of it anymore. It doesn’t worry them. Noise around the game doesn’t bother them.
“It’s the generation that we’re in — they get excited by being able to perform at a high level in a raucous atmosphere. You see all the best players in this series — they’re all young guys. Maybe it’s because they’re not thinking about things we think about, or older players think about. They just love the moment.”
Containing Tarasenko
In 2014, Blues star forward Vladimir Tarasenko scored four goals in the first four games of the first-round series against the Hawks but was shut out in Games 5 and 6 as the Hawks rallied to win the series. The challenge seemed greater this time after the Hawks contained Tarasenko and linemates Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz in Game 5 — though Schwartz scored a power play goal.
“Top players find a way to get open, get their shots and be producive,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We’re trying to minimize that as best we can. That’s all part of stopping the other team. But you expect something to happen eventually because that’s why they’re top players.”
The Hossa challenge
After playing nearly 25 minutes (24:47) in Game 5, Hawks 37-year-old forward Marian Hossa faced a daunting challenge on one-day’s rest in Game 6. Hossa has shown wear-and-tear in recent playoffs. After playing 20:00 or more in the last three postseasons, Hossa has one goal and three points, with a minus-8 rating in nine games; in the other 34 games in that span, Hossa has six goals and 30 points, with a plus-14 rating.
Just win, baby
Though Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said he would enjoy clinching the series at the United Center after the Hawks won Game 5. But after losing in the first round the previous three series, Hitchcock — and probably all of his players — were just looking forward to winning the series rather than sticking it to Hawks fans by clinching at the UC.
“I don’t really care when we win. I just want to win,” Hitchcock said. “This is a hell of a series, two teams just going at it. I’m sure we’ve surprised them by how composed and competitive we are. They’ve not surprised us. But we just want to win the series. It doesn’t matter when and where — we’ll play them on the street if they want.”
Line changes
Joel Quenneville put newly eligible Andrew Shaw on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane for Game 6 — dropping Richard Panik to the fourth line with Andrew Desjardins and Dale Weise.
Teuvo Teravainen stayed on the second line with Artemi Panarin and Artem Anisimov. That left a potentially potent third line of Andrew Ladd, Marcus Kruger and Marian Hossa intact. Ladd and Hossa were on the top line to begin the series.
“I like the look of it,” Quenneville said of the third line. “When we put it down on paper we felt there’s opportunity, speed, quickness, defensive responsibility and I think there’s [scoring] production there. We’ll see. It’s a short-term evaluation, but so far, so good.
The Blackhawk way
Newcomer Dale Weise has struggled to make an impact in the playoffs — he was a healthy scratch for Games 1, 3 and 4. But he has seen first-hand the resolve that has helped the Hawks to three Stanley Cups.
“There’s just an unwavering confidence about the team, no matter what the score is,” Weise said. “There’s just no panic. They’ve got some great leaders in this locker room that kind of step up and say things when they need to and I think that kind of radiates throughout the whole locker room and everybody becomes a part of it.”
