– The Chicago Blackhawks’ road to the Stanley Cup starts Wednesday night with the first game of the playoffs against the St. Louis Blues.
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Teammate Marian Hossa said he saw enough in that one game to alleviate any concerns with Crawford.
Noteworthy: Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad were the big-name losses for the Hawks this past summer, but it’s Johnny Oduya they miss the most – especially this time of year. I hope you all enjoyed a more non-traditional look at this series.
The status of Blackhawks forward Andrew Ladd for Game 1 was uncertain after he returned to Chicago to be with his with wife for the birth of their child.
“I said out there, that’s an ugly goal and I specialize in those”, the Blues’ captain said. “But I first did it when I couldn’t grow a beard”. Defensemen Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo assisted on the victor.
The Blackhawks may not have had the most encouraging past few months, but this team is built for the playoffs, and they know how to get it done when the games mean the most. 930 save percentage and keeping Chicago’s offense at bay.
Elliott shared a playoff shutout in 2012 after relieving the injured Jaroslav Halak in Game 2 of the first round against San Jose. “We know at the beginning of the year, [just] making the playoffs is a great accomplishment”. “I think that’s the area we’d like to shore up”. That puts the pressure on youngsters Trevor van Riemsdyk and Viktor Svedberg to play a heavy load of reliable minutes against a Blues team that will be pounding them into the glass at every opportunity. Jake Allen had six of the shutouts. Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook was suspended for three games for a hit that sidelined Backes for two games.
Quoteworthy: “We’re in a very unique situation, because we have two guys who both can carry the ball, and not many teams can say that”, Ken Hitchcock said. “The adversity has created a bond in the dressing room that’s pretty strong and we want to test it out”.
Next game: Game 2 is at 7 p.m. ET on Friday in St. Louis.
David Backes and the Blues host Corey Crawford and the Blackhawks in Game 1 of the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Blues have been eliminated in the first round three straight years, including 2014 when they were ahead 2-0 and then lost four straight to the Blackhawks. At any given time in the series, they can just wake up and it’s something we have to be careful of because they have a lot of weapons out there. The Blues have won four of the previous five home playoff games against the Blackhawks, including a memorable triple-overtime victory on Alexander Steen’s goal in Game 1 of the 2014 matchup. The 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy victor scored two goals and set up another in the finale versus Columbus, with his involvement in an otherwise meaningless game being necessitated as Chicago dealt with a bevy of injuries.
“He just pressured him to just not really be able to make a move”, Ellioitt said. “He gives us some speed, he gives us a lot of different looks and a lot of other options”.
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Photo at top: Blackhawks players practice at Johnny’s IceHouse West one last time before flying to St. Louis for their first 2016 playoff game.
