Blackhawk(s) Down

Get your brooms ready because there’s been a sweep.  The Nashville Predators swept the number one seed Chicago Blackhawks in a seemingly simple four game series.  Not only did the Predators defeat the dominant Blackhawks in just four games, they won in an unmatched fashion.  In all four of the games the Blackhawks only managed to put in three goals, and two of these came from power plays.  This lack of offense is unheard of for the playmaker heavy lines that the Blackhawks put together every year.  During the Blackhawks’ regular season a few of the big names, Kane, Toews, and Panarin, combined for an impressive 221 points, but during the postseason they combined for a sheer 5 points.  

A couple of factors came into play that resulted in this disappointing efficiency.  One factor was the difference in hustle and athleticism. The Predators seemed to be pushing themselves more on offense and defense.  From game one on the Predators controlled the puck and made smarter plays with it, which resulted in more puck possession and more chances to capitalize on.  Specifically the first line of the Predators took advantage of these extra chances as they combined for a total of fifteen points, five goals and ten assists.  Clearly the consistent pressure the Predators first line put on the Blackhawks was too much for their defense to make a stand and their persistence was too much for the Blackhawks offense to counter.  

On top of the missed chances by the Blackhawks, the goaltending by the Predators Goalie, Pekka Rinne, was a tremendous safety net.  Rinne not only limited the Blackhawks offense to three goals the whole series, he also shut them out two of the four games.  Being shut out twice early in a series is a demoralizing sign for any team, especially a top ranked one.  This confidence boost for the Predators helped crush the possibility of a comeback from the Blackhawks, and put their first seed finish to waste.  

The toppling of a first seed team is always big news, but this isn’t the first time this has happened to the Blackhawks.  After back to back first round exits in the postseason the Blackhawks organization has some serious re-evaluating to do on and off the ice.

Written by Brett Clark