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This was a game to forget.
After a thrilling come-from-behind, triple-overtime win in Game 1; plus, coming out firing on all cylinders in the first period of Game 2, the Hawks went cold. Dead cold, through Game 3. It was of course as much the Bruins playing their dominant, defensive-focused hockey, as it was the Hawks playing without intensity, speed or hustle. In either case, this beatdown had ESPN Steve Levy and Barry Melrose singing the deserved praises of the Bruins in their post-game analysis.
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Five minuses
Hossa Scratch
Marian Hossa is a crucial cog in the Hawks' well-oiled machine, and a last-minute scratch from the lineup surprised even Claude Julien. Unconfirmed reports that he was hit with a puck during warmups were denied by Joel Quenneville. There is a culture of secrecy and annoying caginess among NHL coaches concerning injuries. But while we were dying to know what happened, there was no time for any curiosity, as the puck dropped. Hockey waits for no one.
I quipped that perhaps all the lineup juggling could confuse the Bruins, as long as the Hawks could keep it all straight. Quenneville had already tweaked the lineup with Brandon Bollig out, after playing two games, in favor of Viktor Stalberg. But the only team that was confused and tweaked, then, were the Hawks.
Faceoff Fiasco
The Bruins outdueled the Hawks in the Battle of the Dot, winning 40 out of 56, for a whopping 71%. Patrice Bergeron, in particular, was absolutely beastly, winning 24 out of 28 faceoffs, and that's 86%. By contrast, our Michal Handzus was positively goose-egg, at 0 for 10. On the giveaways and takeaways, the combined tally was a +2 for the Hawks. But this was nowhere nearly enough to offset such embarrassing beatdown on the dot.
The Hawks cannot be the puck-possession team that they're supposed to be, if they don't possess the puck!
Powerless Play
Such a high-powered, talented team like the Hawks, and they're virtually futile with the man-advantage. In our community on Google+, I've argued that the strategy was wrong.
Using basketball terminology, some teams are fast and quick, and they thrive in the transition game with quick baskets. They can literally outrun their opponents, and-or get the defenders on their heels and backpedaling desperately to defend the rush. In game-planning for such teams, the coaching staff works out plays to slow down the pace, and make the fast-and-quick team play a half-court game. This way, the defense can set up. There are teams of course that excel in the half-court game, defensively and offensively, and in general the competitive strategy is to disrupt what might be their precise passing and high percentage shooting from set offenses.
The Hawks are definitely a transition team with their awesome speed, tight fore-checking, and takeaway ability. But the man-advantage opportunity makes them play a half-court game, and it simply isn't their strength. I'll analyze this more, as I'm sure the coaching staff will do as well, after the Stanley Cup Final. For now, let me suggest that there are strategies for avoiding that half-court malaise that renders our big scorers frankly impotent. On several power plays, the Hawks struggled to manufacture even one shot-on-goal.
Scoreless Drought
From Patrick Sharp's tally at the 11:22 mark of the first period of Game 2, through 13:48 of OT in that game (when the Bruins scored the game-winner), and through Game 3, Tuukka Rask and the vaunted Bruins defense shut down our mighty Hawks for a whopping 122:26 of hockey. That's over two games. The Hawks were not shut out once during the regular season or playoffs.
But without enough shots-on-goal (28 - 35) and minimal presence for loose rebounds, what else could the Hawks have expected?
Holstered Guns
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa were, through Game 3, a combined: one goal, two assists, and -3 on the +/- column. Of course there is quite a lot more to hockey. But numbers do not lie. Were it not for the supporting cast of Brandon Saad, Dave Bolland, Johnny Oduya and Andrew Shaw, all of whom scored in Game 1, the Hawks would be down 3 - 0 in the series. That's not surprising for the likes of Saad et al. to get in on the light-the-lamp action, as they're integral to the Hawks' enviable depth chart.
But our big guns need to play like the big guns that they are.
Bruins tallies
Five pluses
Mental Toughness
The psychology of the sport may get the short shrift to the often mind-boggling physical talent of hockey players, not to mention their macho-fight-through-injuries physicality. From Corey Crawford and Duncan Keith, to Bryan Bickell and Andrew Shaw, and all of the Hawks really, they know to re-tighten the laces on their skates, so to speak, immediately after a goal-against, a turnover, or a big hit. Certainly after a loss. The best of athletes can quickly learn from negative outcomes, and just as quickly dismiss them and move on.
The Hawks are such athletes. It was too late, but at least they showed flashes of their usual selves in the fury of final minute of the game.
Comeback Ability
The Hawks were down 3 - 1 in the Round 2 series with the Wings. In fact, they were down 2 - 1, going into the third period, in the elimination Game 6 at the Joe Louis Arena. Not only did they erupt for three goals in the first 10 minutes of the period, but also they completed the three-step comeback with a thrilling OT victory in Game 7.
More recently, the Hawks were down by two goals, twice, in Game 1 in this tough series with the Bruins: 2 - 0 in the second period, the 3 - 1 in the third period. They tied then game, then the two gladiators pushed everyone involved, including the media and the fans, to an exhausting triple overtime. We know the results of that one already.
Team Speed
It isn't just the flatout skating speed of the likes of Viktor Stalberg and Nick Leddy. It's also their quick sticks and stretch passes, coupled with well-timed forechecking, as a team.
Maybe that triple-overtime, followed by the very next period with a fury of an effort on Rask, wore down the Hawks. Maybe the feeling of taking the Bruins for granted also crept in, going into the second period of Game 2. The latter is such an awesome team, that they probably picked up on either fatigue or complacency in the Hawks, and capitalized on it.
But good thing for the Hawks going into Game 4: no traveling required. So they could rest, and reset their focus and speed.
Garden Opportunity
The Hawks are down just 2 - 1. They hit the road yesterday, Sunday, with the aim of grabbing at least one game at the TD Garden. They very much still have that chance in Game 4 on Wednesday night. Which is now, of course, a crucial must-win game.
Corey Crawford
What else to say about our goaltender? Crawford has virtually matched Rask on goals-against and save percentage, and kept us in the hunt in both Game 2 and Game 3. The Hawks can win when they give up two goals, but definitely not, if they don't score at all.
For your reference, here are extended game highlights from the NHL Network and the usual large set of photos also from the NHL Network and from ESPN.
Onward we go to Game 4, as the Hawks, despite it all, live to fight another game.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!
Ron Villejo, PhD
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