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The Blackhawks lost tonight in a very important Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals, because they got too cute with the puck and played too timidly as the game went on.
No net front presence on their power play. Horrible entries. Inexcusably bad. Assistant coach Jamie Kompon is in danger of getting fired from two teams in two consecutive years. Although the Hawks' weakness in the faceoff dot and lacking a true power play quarterback falls on the shoulders of the "great" Stan Bowman, or the Hawk front office, such as it is, who have failed to address these issues for three years running.
While the Hawks outshot the Bruins, the Bruins outhit the Hawks, and did so enough to make too many Hawks panic with the puck or back off.
The Bruins goaltender, Tuukka Rask, was also better than Corey Crawford tonight. Crawford had his moments, but he was bailed out by some posts where he was cleanly beaten and could have stopped the game winner.
Brandon Saad, after a great game 1, played like a wide-eyed little boy much of the night, avoiding contact or getting after pucks on the boards, especially later in the game.
Dave Bolland was not good tonight.
The Hawks and Crawford will need to be better in Boston. Because the Bruins likely will be.
More tomorrow,
JJ