Hawks, Jackets face desperate times
After posting two of the top four records in the NHL in the regular season, the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets both need to find out a way to get a win on the road or their playoff runs will end almost as soon as they began.
The Blackhawks, the top seed in the Western Conference, were shut out twice at home by the Predators and then blew a 2-0 lead in Game 3 to fall behind 3-0 in the series. Game 4 is Thursday night.
“We’re in a tough spot and a place we don’t want to be in, but we got a game,” Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said. “We got to worry about one game and try to win one game.”
The Blue Jackets have gotten one win so far after dropping the first three games to the Penguins. The defending Stanley Cup champions don’t want to give them any life.
“You have the opportunity to close it out, you want to make sure you do,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said of Thursday’s Game 5. “You could see the desperation in their game and the importance of that to be in our game as well.”
The Blue Jackets know they need to be prepared from the start. But so do the Penguins. “We’ve got to be ready to dictate the terms from the very first puck drop,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.
The other two series Thursday night are much tighter with the OilersSharks and CanadiensRangers tied at two games apiece.
The Sharks evened their series with a 7-0 win Tuesday at home, but the Oilers are focused on the series score rather than the lopsided game.
“It’s 2-2. That’s the only score that matters,” Oilers forward Mark Letestu said. “We didn’t play the way we wanted to — 7-0, nothing really went our way.”
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl was fined $2,569.44 for spearing the Sharks’ Chris Tierney, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement.
Draisaitl received a major penalty and game misconduct when he hit Tierney in the groin with his stick in the second period Tuesday.
Draisaitl was eighth in the league in scoring with 77 points in the regular season but has none in the playoffs.