BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Hawks have been at their best deeper in series, a trend they must continue against Blues
Even with the series lead and home- ice advantage, Blues coach Ken Hitchcock understands there are no defining moments in the early stages of a series against the Blackhawks. No messages sent. No calling cards left.
“We just know right now that this series is so even, it’s really early. It’s three games,” Hitchcock said. “I know for some people it feels like five or six. But it’s three games.”
Even Hitchcock might not fully grasp how much more push- back his team will get as the first- round series enters the Hawks’ wheelhouse in Game 4 on Tuesday at the United Center.
All the pressure is on the defending Stanley Cup champion Hawks, who are coming off a home loss in Game 3 and want to avoid a 3- 1 deficit and an elimination game Thursday at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
But they can handle it, buoyed by their daunting record of picking up steam late in a series. The Hawks are 43- 14 (. 754) in Games 4- 7 of the playoffs in coach Joel Quenneville’s seven seasons — 26- 6 (. 813) in the last three seasons, including 15- 1 (. 938) at home.
No wonder Hitchcock isn’t willing to settle for the excellent hockey his team has played so far.
“We have to be better. We have to get better every game,” Hitchcock said. “Each game has gotten more and more intense, and the animosity and the anger’s gotten to a very high level now.
“I don’t know what they’re go- ing to do. I don’t know what they’re capable of. Their history says they can go to this level that nobody else can play at. We’re probably going to have to find that out.”
The Hawks are used to showing vulnerability early in a playoff series. They were down 2- 1 to the Ducks in the Western Conference final last season before rallying to win in seven games. They were down 2- 1 to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final before winning three consecutive games to clinch their third title in six seasons. In fact, the Hawks are under .500 ( 31- 32) in the first three games of a playoff series under Quenneville.
They know they will need to reach another level to pull off the same feat against the Blues, who look more ready to win than they did in 2014. They have outstanding goaltending, impressive balance on offense and defense and the same old gumption they once depended on, only now it complements their improved skill level.
“In order to beat a really good team, you’ve got to be great,” Quenneville said. “We still feel we have another level to get to that greatness, or be as good as we can be.
“We’ve got to feel we can catch that feeling, and knowing our guys, find different ways to be the best they can. Whether they bring it out of the other guys, new guys — but they always seem to find something. We’re fortunate.”
Bringing it out of the new guys could be the challenge that proves to be the Hawks’ undoing. Of the 22 players who have participated in this series, eight never have won the Cup and 12 have won once. The diminishing core of three- time winners ( Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson) and two- time winners ( Corey Crawford, Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger and Michal Rozsival) has a bigger leadership role. But it has worked before.
“It’s definitely something that you can sense in the room that they’ve been through it, that they have that confidence about them and they definitely lead by example,” said rookie defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, who played in four playoff games last year, all in the Final. “If you just watch them, they’ll definitely lead you in a very good direction.”