Winger Ladd makes it back for Game 1; Blackhawks lose 1-0
ST. LOUIS - Andrew Ladd, who flew back to Chicago to be with his pregnant wife, made it back in time to play in Game 1 of the Blackhawks' opening-round playoff series against the Blues on Wednesday. The Hawks lost 1-0 in overtime.
Richard Panik skated in Ladd's spot on the top line with Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews during the team's morning skate, but Ladd was on the ice for pregame skate and took his customary spot at left wing.
Ladd had 8 goals in 19 games and was the Hawks' biggest acquisition at the trade deadline.
"He's a big factor (on our line)," Hossa said. "Obviously Laddy (has) lots of experience in the playoffs. Big body, he can go to the net, he can shoot the net, he can kill the penalties. So definitely a big part of this team."
Ladd's return obviously was a welcome sight to the Hawks, who already were without Duncan Keith. Keith served the sixth and final game of his NHL-mandated suspension for hitting Minnesota's Charlie Coyle with his stick on March 29.
Ladd had a golden opportunity to score early in the second period, but he fired wide right from about 20 feet out.
Ouch:
Niklas Hjalmarsson hurt his right foot blocking a Vladimir Tarasenko shot in the first period Wednesday while Blues were on the power play. He seemed limited the rest of the period but never left the bench.
Hjalmarsson also limped off late in the third period after blocking another shot from Tarasenko.
Hjalmarsson finished with 28:11 of ice time.
"He has a pretty hard wrist shot," Hjalmarsson said. "It never feels good when you get it, but it's one of those things that goes away after a while. You kind of get a breather and then you get back out there."
Rise above:
St. Louis had to deal with so many injuries this season - 31 in all - that you almost needed a second notebook to keep track of all the comings and goings.
The biggest losses were wingers Jaden Schwartz (broken ankle) and Alexander Steen (shoulder), defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (knee) and goalies Brian Elliott and Jake Allen. Schwartz played in just 33 games.
"Adversity makes or breaks you in this business," said Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, who had everybody at his disposal for Game 1 of his team's opening-round series vs. the Blackhawks on Wednesday.
"It could have broke us, and it didn't. … It brought us together and there's other teams that are watching and doing exit interviews, and they broke. We didn't. We went the other way, so there's a bond that you create in your locker room because of it.
"There's great chemistry and there's great camaraderie in there because of that. We might win, we might lose here. But I know one thing - and I think everybody feels that way - we're going to get our best because that's what we've already had to do for a lot of games just to get here.
"I think we're just going to keep playing that way."
Ready to roll:
Hawks winger Brandon Mashinter, called up from Rockford 15 games into the season, had an interesting year. The 27-year-old played in 41 games and was a healthy scratch 26 times.
But he did enough lately to earn coach Joel Quenneville's trust and was in the starting lineup for Game 1 against the Blues. Before the game, Mashinter admitted to being "a little nervous."
He got some much-needed advice from Brent Seabrook and Marian Hossa, who have played a combined 308 postseason games.
"They just said that the first period everyone's excited and kind of all over the place and in a rush," Mashinter said. "They said just take a deep breath and just play."
Mashinter scored 4 goals and also had one taken away against San Jose on Feb. 9 after a video review.