Can Chicago Blackhawks at least force another Game 7?
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Chicago Blackhawks have never come back from a 3-0 series deficit, but they came about as close as a team can when they forced a Game 7 against Vancouver in 2011.
"We came out and we had a good Game 4 and things started going in our direction," said defenseman Brent Seabrook, who missed the contest after taking a hard hit from Raffi Torres in Game 3. "We started working, we started playing our hockey, and once we started doing that we could feel the momentum switch and change and then we were just rolling."
Six years later, Seabrook and his teammates face the same daunting challenge as they trail Nashville 3-0 with Game 4 set for Thursday.
After his team's 3-2 overtime loss Monday to the Predators, coach Joel Quenneville cautioned about drawing comparisons to the similar circumstances.
"That was a long time ago," Quenneville said. "Different group here."
Against the Canucks, the Hawks were buoyed by the return of Dave Bolland, who missed Games 1-3 with a concussion. They used a 4-goal second period en route to a 7-2 victory, then won Games 5 and 6 before dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker at Vancouver in overtime.
"We weren't thinking about much. We were playing," Seabrook said. "And that's what we've got to try and come out with Thursday night."
If they do, perhaps they can make history repeat itself and then change the ending by prevailing in Game 7.
At least they know it's not a totally implausible scenario.
"We know it's possible," Jonathan Toews said. "Obviously every game you got to ratchet it up. You've got to find a way to find a new level. That's what we have to focus on for the next one."
Cruisin' for a bruisin':
Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson all sat out at least one of the last three regular-season games. The Hawks, who already had earned the top seed in the West at that point, went 0-1-2 and didn't look sharp against Colorado, Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Asked if the sloppy end to the season has anything to do with his team's lackluster play against Nashville, Joel Quenneville said: "I still thought in those games that we could have gotten points. We had a couple of loose games. But for the most part, we did what we've done in the past going into this situation."
Slap shots:
Patrick Kane's second-period goal in Game 3 was the 50th of his postseason career. Kane joins Bobby Hull, Denis Savard and Stan Mikita as the only Hawks to reach that milestone. Kane finished with 9 shots on goal, a career high for him in the playoffs. … Jonathan Toews registered his 70th career postseason assist on Kane's goal. … Toews' goal-scoring drought in the postseason is now at 12 games.
Nashville took 94 shots during Game 3 (49 on goal), while the Hawks took 65 (36 on goal). … Pekka Rinne has stopped 93 of 95 shots (.979) vs. the Hawks. …
Nashville D-man Mattias Ekholm had a game-high 34:15 of ice time Monday. Duncan Keith led the Hawks (32:27). Patrick Kane led all forwards at 28:25. … The Hawks on Tuesday called up forwards Tyler Motte and Kyle Baun and defenseman Erik Gustafsson from Rockford.
He said it:
"You just want to play again. You're angry and you're mad. You want to get the game back."
Dennis Rasmussen on how it felt after the Hawks' 3-2 OT loss in Game 3 on Monday
John Dietz's 3 stars of Game 3
1. Filip Forsberg, Predators: Scored both Nashville's goals in the third period to erase Blackhawks' 2-0 lead.
2. Corey Crawford, Blackhawks: Veteran netminder made 46 saves on a night in which he faced constant pressure.
3. Kevin Fiala, Predators: Scored game-winning goal after taking a pass from James Neal. The 20-year-old Fiala got the puck past a sprawling Crawford to give Nashville a 3-0 series lead. He also finished with a team-high 7 shots on goal.