Rozner: Blackhawks must make case for the defense

The last time this happened, everyone was on the hook.

When the Blackhawks went out in the first round in 2011 and 2012, there was talk that nearly everyone was in trouble.

But the truth is the Hawks simply weren't good enough as they tried to rebuild a roster following the purge of 2010.

And then the Hawks came back and won two of the next three Stanley Cups, which would have been a three-peat if not for a Game 7 overtime bounce against the Kings in 2014.

So much for anyone being in trouble.

The old questions are being asked again about GM Stan Bowman and head coach Joel Quenneville after consecutive first-round exits, but the difference is the Hawks are five years older and the roster looked ancient and slow when they were swept by the Preds in the first round last month.

It's odd watching the postseason without the Hawks. It's unfamiliar and uncomfortable. It causes overreactions and strange conclusions.

And it's not that complicated.

Much as league execs want to change the game, it is still played from the goal out, meaning strong goaltending and four good defensemen can take you a long way.

The Hawks still believe in their two-time Cup winner in net, and they should. They chose Corey Crawford over Scott Darling, and that was hardly a surprise.

The Hawks would have saved $2 million had they traded Crawford, which is no small amount of money when you're constantly up against the cap, but the calculation was rather simple.

Do you trade the guy who was your best player in the last two Cup Finals to add one skater?

Probably not worth it, especially since Crawford was not the reason the Hawks lost to Nashville.

They lost because their defense was atrocious. They lost because the Hawks could not move their feet with the Preds. They lost because Nashville was younger, faster and bigger.

They lost the series below the circles at both ends of the ice.

On offense, the Hawks were kept to the outside, and when they tried to dump and chase or play below the dots, the Preds' defense was too quick and too physical.

They consistently beat the Hawks to the puck, outworked them and handled them easily in transition.

In the Hawks' end, well, you saw it. Nashville looked quick while the Hawks' defense looked at least a step slow most of the time.

And at the same time the Hawks' vaunted defensive core of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson had trouble keeping up with the fast Nashville offense, the Preds' top four on defense was spectacular and has continued that play in the second round against St. Louis.

Ryan Ellis leads the Preds with 9 points in 9 games and has been as good as any player in the postseason.

How far Nashville goes remains to be seen, but as you look around the postseason you generally see the usual trends, fast and physical teams with a strong defense are playing well and advancing.

The Hawks were none of those things against the Preds, maybe because they were the oldest team in the league heading into the playoffs.

And it's easy to forget now that the Hawks were favored to win it all.

So, yes, changes are necessary, but it won't be easy with an aging core and so many no-movement clauses. That's the price of doing business when you win three Cups.

They're not going to go big, so somehow they have to get faster, difficult when your defense is getting older by the day.

There are no easy answers. It kind of is what it is, unless players with big contracts are willing to ignore a no-trade in order to go home.

It's possible that could happen.

In the meantime, the Hawks have to hope some young players can become part of the core in order to keep up with a conference that's getting younger and quicker.

The answers must come on the ice and they must come on defense.

In a word, fast.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.