Corey Crawford played well enough to win a road playoff game last night in St. Louis. However, his counterpart in net for the St. Louis Blues, Brian Elliott, played a bit better.
Midway through the first overtime, a centering pass caromed off the skates of Hawk defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and through Crawford’s pads.
Thus, Game 1 to the Blues.
There are no moral victories in the playoffs. However, if the Hawks play as well the rest of the series as they did last night, without their top defenseman, the Blues have their work cut out for them—despite a one-game series lead.
Good news, bad news: the Kane line was (obviously) kept off the scoresheet. The Blues put their best defenders out against them and got the result they wanted. But the Toews line generated a ton of shots and scoring chances. Again, if that continues, unless Elliott delivers a tour de force over the entire series, the Hawks are going to get some goals. This is why getting some production and offensive zone pressure from the Teravainen line is critical to the Hawks’ chances. If they can, it magnifies a serious matchup problem for Ken Hitchcock. If they can’t. Then the Toews line must convert some chances. Maybe a lot of them.
The Hawks outshot the Blues 35-18, including a handful of high-quality chances and held them scoreless on the power play. However, the Blues held the Hawks scoreless period, in spite of all of the above—and you have to give them and Elliott especially, full marks for that.
As I said about Elliott in my series preview, he can get ultra hot and carry his team for a game or stretch of games. That said, it wouldn’t be the first time the Hawks have faced an “impregnable… goalie in the playoffs and ultimately solved him.
My only other comments on the game:
You’d hope Brandon Mashinter’s performance last night was enough for Joel Quenneville to replace him in Game 2. He wasn’t terrible but took a dumb retaliation penalty that almost cost the Hawks dearly. The Teravainen line had the least number of shots on goal of the four the Hawks rolled. See above. That line has to be better. Maybe it’s a personnel change on the left flank. Maybe something else.
Viktor Svedberg. Mmmm . . . ahhhh . . . he didn’t kill the Hawks, but I would assume he will sit when Duncan Keith returns for Game 2.
Overall, the message from the coaching staff has to be: “more of the same…—and maybe in game 2, the Hawks get the bounce and a tied series going back to the United Center.
I’ll have a preview tomorrow.
FOB (good peeps, good reads)
Chris Block Al Cimaglia http://www.thethirdmanin.com
Frank Nova http://www.hockeenight.com
Greg Boysen http://www.letsgohawks.net
Puckin’ Hostile Crew http://www.puckinhostile.com