This was a nightmare for Hawks
The Blackhawks learned Sunday that there are a few things they better do if they meet the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Plus, there were a few that they better not do that they did in Sunday's 5-4 loss to Detroit in the United Center.
Like, the Hawks better play better defense in front of their needy goaltenders.
They better not let a controversial officiating call lead to a period-long mental and physical letdown.
The Hawks better not give the Wings or anybody else 2 goals in 28 seconds, two more in 42 seconds and five in a period.
They better not allow an opponent like Detroit seize momentum and keep it until it's too late for the Hawks to come back all the way.
The Hawks' best players better have better games against the Wings so the complementary Andrew Ladd doesn't have to be their best.
Patrick Kane better not commit a careless turnover that leads to the Wings' eventual game-winning fifth goal with 3 seconds left in the second period.
Oh, heck, maybe the Hawks just better not play the Wings in the playoffs.
"They're still the team to beat in the West," Ladd said. "They play playoff hockey all the time."
Detroit has been trying to overcome injuries nearly all season. Now they're healthy and are the 20-man, 40-skate elephant nobody wants to play in the postseason.
Hawks' head coach Joel Quenneville referred to the Wings' patience, skill and speed, among other qualities like talent, big-game experience and winning tradition.
Right now Detroit is in the conference's eighth and final playoff spot. If the Wings stay there they would play the No. 1 seed, almost surely the Hawks or San Jose.
"They're always a good team," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said of Detroit. "They play the same way, the right way. We have to be better than (Sunday)."
The loss to the Wings was the Hawks' worst nightmare for a couple reasons.
First, it allowed Detroit to gain confidence against the team head coach Mike Babcock calls the NHL's best.
Second, the Hawks' goaltending continued to be a puzzle that Quenneville still can't solve.
Cristobal Huet started in net and left after a 2-0 Hawks lead evaporated into a 4-2 deficit. Antti Niemi replaced him and yielded another goal.
The goaltending wasn't good but this was a team pileup. The Wings had too many good looks at the net, including Pavel Datsyuk's breakaway after Kane's turnover.
"We're not doing them any favors," Ladd said of Huet and Niemi. "It's easy to put the blame on them but we all have to look at how we're playing."
Ironically, a headline in Sunday morning's Detroit News blared, "Mike Babcock's biggest worry now has to be Wings' goalies."
Apparently misery really does love company. Detroit's Jimmy Howard wasn't great Sunday but he was one goal better than the Hawks' dubious duo.
That said, the Hawks' biggest "better do" before the playoffs has to be to eliminate all those breakdowns that cost them Sunday's game.
Otherwise the deficiency in net will turn out to be as fatal as feared.