After shaky start, Blackhawks' Schmaltz off Toews' line
The day after his rough playoff debut, rookie winger Nick Schmaltz found himself removed from Jonathan Toews' line and skating on the third line during Blackhawks practice Friday at the United Center.
Schmaltz admitted he wasn't thrilled with his performance during the Hawks' 1-0 loss to Nashville on Thursday.
"I thought I was OK," Schmaltz said. "I could have held onto the puck a little bit more.
"I don't know if I was nervous or what I was, but just felt like I was just getting rid of the puck when I had it. That's not what I'm accustomed to, so hopefully I can learn from that and bounce back in this game here."
Ryan Hartman skated with Toews and Richard Panik on Friday, but coach Joel Quenneville sounded like Schmaltz's demotion may not last very long.
"(We can) either flip-flop them for a segment or keep (Hartman) there," Quenneville said.
Hartman, Toews and Panik played together at times this season, but it wasn't a combination that was used very often.
As for Schmaltz, he definitely noticed the uptick in intensity from the regular season.
"Guys are flying around, a lot of energy out there," he said. "If you can try to block that out a little bit and try to play your game and not think about it too much, you'll have more success."
No reason to panic:
Even though more than 65 percent of teams lose a series when dropping Game 1, that hasn't been the case since Joel Quenneville took over the Blackhawks in 2008-09. Quenneville's Hawks squads have lost nine previous series openers, yet managed to advance five times. That includes in 2010 against the Predators after the Hawks fell 4-1 in Game 1 at the United Center.
The Hawks also lost Games 1 and 2 against the Blues in the first round in 2014, yet came back and won that series in six games.
"We've been in every spot," Quenneville said. "We've been in good spots, we've been in some tough spots, we've been in some awful spots. Losing the first game is not what we're looking for.
"Home ice is something that's special, but we find that we're consistent in how we play and we feel like we're better as series go on. … We all got a taste of playoff hockey last night, and now we've got to do something about it."
Smashmouth hockey:
The Hawks and Predators combined for 70 hits during Game 1, with a few coming well after a player had gotten rid of the puck. One of the more borderline hits came when James Neal popped Ryan Hartman midway through the second period.
"It's playoff hockey, there's going to be a lot more hits," Hartman said. "I think we can do that a little bit better. … When the guys makes a pass, don't be afraid to finish on him like he did. He did a good job."
Richard Panik (7), Tanner Kero (6), Hartman (3) and Artemi Panarin (3) registered the most hits for the Hawks.