Blues up 3 games to 0 agains the Wild.
I hope that isn't an omen for the Blackhawks tomorrow night.

Toronto's success during the regular season, their excellent power play, and now their victory in Washington to even the series is a good illustration of the skills gap between the league's best rookies and the simply good ones, such as Schmaltz, Hartman, and Kero.
- etchtech

sure but toronto has been drafting in the top 8 for a decade...at some point they have those drafttees have to become players

I should also mention the debate about if Crosby or Toews is the better player is clearly being answered.
- fattybeef

That discussion was confirmed already confirmed last year. It is kind of sad to see Toews skill diminish so much in the last two years.

Blues up 3 games to 0 agains the Wild.
I hope that isn't an omen for the Blackhawks tomorrow night.
- matt_ahrens

sadly i think it is...wild have played much better than the hawks...just close games going 1 way

That discussion was confirmed already confirmed last year. It is kind of sad to see Toews skill diminish so much in the last two years.
- spanky

that was never a good comparison...

toews was never the goal scorer crosby was and is...different players

i am perplexed with #2...Q gave him consectutive games off the final week...

i think his knee is still a huge problem...those cartiledge tears...can be very painful even after surgery and rehab...also mentally he just seems not to be into it...

these first 2 games have been awful for him worst than most of his meh season

>fumbling the puck
>poor ice awareness
>80% of his shots are missing the net or blocked
>passes are slow and off the mark

he had a chance to rip it from the left side in the 2nd period with guys crashing the net and he pulled up and circled to the half board...
- bogiedoc

There's definitely been a drop in quality of play for a lot of guys on this team: 2, 7, 4, 27, 51, 19, 16

As we saw with 81 this year, sometimes veterans are able to bounce back into form with a productive off-season (rest, conditioning, relaxation, focus, etc.) But you never really know what's going to happen. It seems like a lot of these guys are dealing with chronic injuries so some of them might not ever regain their previous form. Maybe they can reinvent themselves as another kind of player and still be effective but will they ever be worth their salaries again?

How many of those issues you mention could really be attributable to a lingering knee injury? (Have not had one, so asking those who have). Seem more like brain/vision/coordination issues.
- pdx2ord

obviously i can't say its both or either/or...could be another issue...

nothing apparent from watching him skate...

his demeanor has always been one of alloofness...

he just seems way off since that injury...i think its emotional or mental

he played through difficult personal problems during the 2015 run and won the CS....

are those issues still front and center

Panik, Hino, Kero, Hossa, tremendous straight line skaters and AA is quite fast though with his long strides doesnt make it look like it.

Kane and Panarin are two of the best skaters in the league.

And its not necessarily about speed its about playing quickly and transitioning from defense to offence with quickness and purpose.

The Penguins have little speed on their blue line but are able to flip the ice quickly and create problems while the jackets try to set up their trap. Ottawa in the third period let Karlsson off the leash and when they dictated the game by pushing the puck quickly up the ice with their feet or a deep pass to a cheating forward and they opened up the game so Boston couldnt get set up to pack it in.

The hawks need Keith disrupting plays before they develop and a forward cheating high and flying the zone to get behind the line of 4. Waiting for Nashville to get set up will not win games.

Simply trying harder will not win games and effort isnt the issue. They need to dictate the game or bust out the golf clubs.
- fattybeef

This all is spot on. No other way is Chicago going to win playoff hockey. Amazingly enough we ratched it up just enough with physicality in Cup years, but we were controlling.the puck more. Our best players were better, our role players did their job. I question if our rookies are the type best for playoffs - Hartman please show up. I wonder how much worse would Forsling and Kemony be. Oduya isn't playing like a top four, but neither is Hjalmarsson. Would Q go down loyal to his veterans? He might change a couple forwards but does he have the b*lls to change his defense.

How do you get Kane motivated to play like Hossa - which we have occasionally seen in playoffs. You and I - at least worthecup - would be out there yelling in the face and challenging our teamattes.

I question if Toews will play or lead worth a crap. Let us see who rises up and whom is the female dog. You either start leading by example or admit you are a failure. Which is it going to be. This is not a quit on the coach. It is the players collectively which Bowman assembled just do not have what it takes. Hoping a few will toughen up and others will follow. Play smart hockey - Q has to spell it out and players have to react to Nashville tactics.

We all know after many years that stubborn players are going to do as they please on the Pp. The coaches know what is wrong on Pp but we get the same horsecr*p each year. Amazingly won two Cups with this mindset.

Seabrook has to be a monster and Kane go all out like Hossa. I will not bet on them now after fat lazy veterans have won before; they di nit care enough and maybe there isn't enough toughness throughout lineup.

This all is spot on. No other way is Chicago going to win playoff hockey. Amazingly enough we ratched it up just enough with physicality in Cup years, but we were controlling.the puck more. Our best players were better, our role players did their job. I question if our rookies are the type best for playoffs - Hartman please show up. I wonder how much worse would Forsling and Kemony be. Oduya isn't playing like a top four, but neither is Hjalmarsson. Would Q go down loyal to his veterans? He might change a couple forwards but does he have the b*lls to change his defense.

How do you get Kane motivated to play like Hossa - which we have occasionally seen in playoffs. You and I - at least worthecup - would be out there yelling in the face and challenging our teamattes.

I question if Toews will play or lead worth a crap. Let us see who rises up and whom is the female dog. You either start leading by example or admit you are a failure. Which is it going to be. This is not a quit on the coach. It is the players collectively which Bowman assembled just do not have what it takes. Hoping a few will toughen up and others will follow. Play smart hockey - Q has to spell it out and players have to react to Nashville tactics.

We all know after many years that stubborn players are going to do as they please on the Pp. The coaches know what is wrong on Pp but we get the same horsecr*p each year. Amazingly won two Cups with this mindset.

Seabrook has to be a monster and Kane go all out like Hossa. I will not bet on them now after fat lazy veterans have won before; they di nit care enough and maybe there isn't enough toughness throughout lineup.
- jhawk59

Hartman, Schmaltz, and Kero all exceeded my expectations for the regular season but the playoffs are different. They aren't there yet. How long will they take to get there? Will they be there next year? What does that mean for the offseason?

There are three guys we know are definitely working on their skills every offseason - Kane, Panarin, and Darling. I don't know if the others do, but if not, it goes to possible overconfidence after so much winning, burnout, or need for relax/rehab. But, after seeing that 1) other teams have figured out how to stop them, and 2) the changes in playing style in the league, you'd think more guys (including the coaches) would see a need to change it up.

Regardless of what you think of Q as a coach, sometimes you do need a new leader to spark those who are going through the motions to want to impress/do better. To give them, like you said, something new to learn to reignite their passion for the game. Look what bringing in Sullivan did for the Pens and what Trotz did in Washington.

And, if it's arrogance that is the issue, if they didn't get shaken out of the, "we're the Hawks, we can always come back" confidence after the Blues series last year, I'm not sure they ever will.
- pdx2ord

I was going to post something like this but you said it best.

Today @ 1:05 PM ET
Q needs to tell them that the Pressure is now all on the Preds because it's now their series to lose and the Hockey World expects Chicago is done.

Caution to the Wind, On the Road and Us against the World. Canucks 2011. Win a Shift,Win a Period.

Give Darling the Start.

D:
Keith-Seabs
Hammer-Oduya
Forsling-Kempney

F:
Toews-Panik- Hayden
Schmaltz-Kane Panarin
AA-Hartman-Hossa
Kero-Rasmussen-Vinny

Sit:
Campbell
TVR
Kruger
Crawford

These four have been brutal.