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Over the course of an NHL season, even the best teams in history will lose a game like the Blackhawks did last night. They were at the end of a 4 games in 8 nights road trip. And they were missing two top six wingers.
Now, setting all that aside, what the hell was that?
Courtesy of Head Coach Bruce Boudreau and the Anaheim Ducks, the Blackhawks and their fans got a reminder of one of the most basic tenets of pro hockey. Physicality and skill will always trump pure skill.
The Hawks were hit out of the building in the first period. Yes, they found their legs and controlled about 15-20 minutes of the game. But they were overwhelmed late in the third, withering under a tough forecheck, waving at pucks, standing around waiting for some other player to do their jobs.
Unacceptable.
The Apologists were out in force on message boards after the game and this morning, reminding everyone that this was the Hawks' third loss in regulation this season and they are still first in the West.
Sure, but they are 0-1-1 versus their chief Western rivals, Anaheim.
And Anaheim, dare I say it, looks like the better team. Now that's not a guarantee that the Hawks lose a 7-game series to the Ducks. But it is a warning—they sure don't look like a lead pipe lock to do so either.
And to those of you who revel in "finesse" hockey and throw around the term "meathead" at anyone who can't appreciate the finer, more 'delicate' points of hockey the way you think you do: wake up.
This team is, as I've said all year, better composed for regular season hockey than it is playoff hockey. Anaheim? Just the opposite. They ain't too bad in the regular season either, are they? And don't look now, the Kings, another big, physical team with skill, have rediscovered their mojo.
After getting pushed and forechecked out of the first round of the playoffs last year, Hawk GM Stan Bowman got up and proclaimed that his team had "underperformed " in the playoffs and reminded everyone they had 101 points in the regular season.
Thanks for making my point, Stan.
Finesse teams do better in the regular season, and fold under the physical pressure of the playoffs against more physical teams. Happens year after year. Series after series.
We saw it again last night in arguably the biggest game of the year against a physical, yet skilled team.
So, as rumors fly that the Hawks are involved in talks with numerous teams to add more physical veterans and faceoff help, we can only hope Bowman is able to pull the trigger.
If Dan Carcillo isn't good enough to play on this team, thereby forcing Joel Quenneville to double shift other wingers all night, and THAT was the problem, then Carcillo needs to go—pronto—and be replaced with a competent NHL player who can actually finish a check or not pull up when an opponent is within ten feet.
And a pre-emptive apology to the "Play The Kids" Wing of the One Goal Party—but the kids didn't look so great at big boy hockey last night. See Anaheim's third goal, for just one example.
It's time for Bowman—and Hawk fans—to get serious about what this team is and isn't. Is: fun to watch, breathtaking at times—against bad, slow, also-ran teams. Isn't: tough or physical enough for teams like Anaheim and maybe the Kings (come playoff time). Or the Bruins for that matter.
Yes, the Hawks are 24-3-3 and first in the West. Enjoy it. But take nothing for granted in May and June. The trade deadline is in 2 weeks.
I'll be back later today or tomorrow with a robust rumor blog.
Chicago Blackhawks Blogger • 
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