Hawks try to put pressure aside as playoffs get going

As good as the Blackhawks were during the regular season, setting franchise records for points (112) and wins (52), that is not going to be how 2009-10 is remembered.

It's all about winning a championship.

For the first time since the early 1990s when Mike Keenan was behind the bench, the Hawks are one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, a trophy that hasn't been hoisted by a Chicago captain in 49 years.

These are the kind of expectations that can burden a team, but the young and brash Hawks are eager to accept the challenge that begins Friday against the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the first round at the United Center.

"Last year we were kind of the team that no one even really knew about and now we go into the playoffs with expectations and we have to live up to them," Hawks winger Kris Versteeg said.

"We had 112 points and a lot of wins so we're not going to sneak up on anybody, but that's the expectations you've got to face," winger Patrick Kane said. "We're happy that media and fans and everyone thinks we should win. You want people talking about you. We've got to play with those expectations and I don't think it's anything this team is worried about."

Why should they worry?

Last spring this group of young and talented players went into the playoffs mostly inexperienced and untested and beat Calgary and Vancouver in the first two rounds to advance to the Western Conference finals. If these Hawks are one thing, it's confident in what they can do.

"They've got a kind of a young, brash group of players that have enough swagger that they don't realize sometimes the enormity of the situations they're in," Hockey Night in Canada analyst Glenn Healy said. "They just play. They have a good time (and) they're a fun group to watch."

Hawks captain Jonathan Toews knows a thing or two about the challenge of dealing with high expectations as a member of Canada's Olympic team that would have been considered a failure had it not won the gold medal two months ago. That team embraced the challenge by focusing internally on the job at hand instead of letting it become a burden.

"What do you define embracing?" Toews asked. "For us, it's just focusing on what's said and what's done in this locker room.

"Last year we didn't care what anybody said about us. Every critic seemed to pick Calgary and Vancouver over us in those two series. Whatever is said about us is sort of water off a duck's back. We're confident as a team and that's all that matters to us."

Hawks coach Joel Quenneville believes it needs to be a short-term focus in the playoffs, a marathon that takes two months to decide a champion.

While other people might be talking Stanley Cup, Quenneville won't let his team get caught up in such hype.

"We like the challenge, but I don't think we want to get too carried away and look ahead," Quenneville said. "It's a long process talking about the Cup. There are steps and hurdles you've got to face. You've got to look at the short-term, the one-game situation or shift-to-shift situations to fine-tune your game and create the focus in the right direction.

"You never want to get ahead of yourself," Quenneville said. "You want to make sure your priorities are in the right order, and that's your next opponent and next game and next shift."

Defenseman Duncan Keith admits there is pressure, but he doesn't see it as being much different than last spring.

"Really, at the end of the day going into playoffs last year it's the same goal as it is this year and that's to win," Keith said. "There's pressure every year. We felt pressure last year, but we're looking at it in a positive way that it's going to be a good, fun challenge."

Veteran center John Madden won two Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils and sees the Hawks as a team that has what it takes to bring home a championship.

"Sure, absolutely," Madden said. "But only time can tell. Obviously, I feel we have a chance if we play well and play up to our capabilities."