Toews comeback not enough for Hawks

If you know anything at all about Jonathan Toews, you had no doubt he would play Thursday.

But not even Toews could have imagined he'd score on his first NHL shot in two months.

And not even Toews could have figured the Blackhawks would outshoot Phoenix 45-34 and lose 3-2 in overtime in Game 1 of their opening round series against the Coyotes.

Phoenix goaltender Mike Smith was good, but so was Hawks goalie Corey Crawford. The difference was pucks on the net.

It's such a simple idea. It's something all teams talk about, but it's not something every team does. And it's something that is consistently a problem for the Blackhawks.

It's what Phoenix did in overtime Thursday night when ex-Hawk Adrian Aucoin kept in a puck at the blue line, threw it at the net, and it was tipped in by Martin Hanzal for the game-winner 9:29 into the extra period.

Yes, the Hawks got shots on Smith, but there were too many times they looked for the perfect play, especially on the power play, and ultimately a simple play won the game for Phoenix.

“It's a tough way to lose, but we have some positives to take out of this game,” said Toews, who said he felt fine afterward. “At the end of the day, we didn't get the win. We're not happy and not satisfied, but we did a lot of good things tonight.

“The main thing is we created a lot of chances. We just have to tighten up on a few things, and I think we'll play a better game next time.”

The Hawks had a 1-0 lead early on the Toews goal and really controlled the play, but the Hawks got a little loose in the second period and gave up 2 goals, a deficit that remained until the final minute of regulation.

With only a few ticks left on the clock, and after Patrick Kane walked around from behind the net, drifted up the half boards and couldn't find an open man, he shot a puck off the post in the waning seconds.

As Smith tried to locate the puck, it caromed off the left skate of Brent Seabrook, who was staring at an empty net.

The puck could have rolled away from Seabrook, but instead it dropped right in front of Seabrook, who managed to get a blade on it and fired the puck home for a 2-2 tie with 15 seconds left in the game.

“That was huge for us,” said Jamal Mayers. “But it never should have come to that. We just made too many mistakes. We have some things to tighten up.”

Not surprisingly, the Hawks were outhit by a huge margin, 48-22, and that beating seemed to take a toll as the game went on, but Crawford was very good in net and allowed the Hawks an opportunity to tie it late.

So while the Hawks lost the game, the good news for the Hawks is Crawford played very well and Toews was able to withstand a couple of big hits and some cross-checks to the back of the head, and he appeared to be OK.

If the Blackhawks are going to make this a long series, they'll need both Crawford and Toews at their best, and Toews believes he's ready.

“He's a top player, and he's a great leader,” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. “We always feel like the bigger the game, the bigger the challenge for him. He rises to all occasions and emotionally I think it's good for our team to have him back.”

Well, the challenge now is for the Hawks to win four of the next six games, and to do that the Hawks are going to have to get involved physically.

It's fair to wonder if that's something they have the desire to do.

brozner@dailyherald.com

ŸListen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's “Hit and Run” show at WSCR 670-AM, and follow him @BarryRozner on Twitter.