Not all Hawks pulling their weight in the postseason
Getting production out of all four lines has been big part of the Blackhawks' success over the last two seasons.
But it hasn't worked that way so far in the these playoffs.
Of the 18 goals scored by the Hawks in seven playoff games, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews have combined for 10 of them.
Marian Hossa, Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd have just 1 goal each, though Hossa did win Game 5 against Nashville in overtime.
Kris Versteeg and Troy Brouwer have yet to score in the postseason, and the Hawks have just 2 goals from defensemen.
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville hinted there could be some lineup changes Monday night for Game 2 against Vancouver at the United Center in a response to Saturday's 5-1 loss in the series opener.
And they might not just be replacing grinders with grinders.
"We always evaluate our personnel and reformulating our lines if we don't do well or like the way things are going," Quenneville said Sunday. "I think that's something we always address when we don't like the way things are going.
"We don't usually just sit tight watching things progress when we're not happy about them."
Brouwer played almost 13 minutes in Game 1 and not only didn't score but also didn't have a shot or a single hit.
Hossa is in no danger of coming out of the lineup, but he didn't have a shot on goal Saturday and was minus-2.
The Canucks have the kind of four-line balance the Hawks have not gotten in the playoffs. All four lines chipped in a goal in Saturday's win, and in seven playoff games Vancouver has had 14 different players score goals.
"We had all lines firing," Canucks winger Mason Raymond said of the Game 1 rout. "When everybody is chipping in we're a pretty tough team to beat."
Kane got the only goal in Game 1 and has 5 in seven playoff games. Sharp has 3.
"It's so hard in the playoffs to score goals and create chances that we'll take goals wherever they come from," Sharp said. "I don't think we're feeling pressure at all. We've got to score as a team and it doesn't matter who gets it as long as we're winning games."
The Hawks could find themselves in big trouble of they don't respond with a win Monday night and go down 0-2 heading to Vancouver.
For whatever reason, the Hawks played a mistake-filled, lethargic game in the series opener to let the home-ice advantage slip out of their grasp. How in the world the Hawks were credited with 37 hits to the Canucks' 27 is anyone's guess.
"There was a lot of things we didn't do, and one of them was we didn't bring our physical game," Toews said, stating the true facts. "I think the biggest thing was our energy. We didn't play with a lot of energy, and you could see it.
"We watched a lot of video (Sunday) morning and it was obvious that our work ethic wasn't there and when you don't have that there's a lot of other parts of your game that don't come along as well."
The Hawks have dropped their last four playoff series openers.
"We're going to do our best to throw those periods out and start over as quickly as possible," Toews said. "We need to play the way we can and take advantage of our crowd, which we didn't do.
"We're disappointed in ourselves, but we'll move on and try to take advantage of (Monday) night. We're not panicking by any means."
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<h1>More Coverage</h1>
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<h2>Stories</h2>
<ul class="links">
<li><a href="/story/?id=377764">Hawks done in by self-inflicted wounds <span class="date">[5/2/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=377760">Game 1 difference? 'Looie' better <span class="date">[5/2/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=377777">Toews: Hawks disappointed in themselves <span class="date">[5/2/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=377795">Murray: Game 1 simply slipped away from the Hawks<span class="date">[5/2/10]</span></a></li>
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