Keith, Toews, Kane must step up for Hawks
GLENDALE, Ariz. — If you're the Blackhawks, all you have to do is look at the following stat to realize what's staring you in the face heading into Game 5 tonight: In NHL history, teams trailing 3-1 in best-of-seven playoff series have only advanced 9.4 percent of the time.
Kind of daunting, huh?
“It's not where we want to be,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville admitted. “It's a brutal spot. We've had two brutal endings in a row (back-to-back OT losses at home).”
So, to recap: four games against the Phoenix Coyotes, four overtimes ... three losses.
“It's what we expected from Phoenix, so we can't let it frustrate us and let it get us off our game,” Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. “We just need to keep adapting and keep improving on those little things that we know are going to help us win.”
If they don't want the season to end Saturday night in the desert, the Hawks somehow, some way have to figure out how to erase their short-term memories and focus everything on Game 5.
“We're going to learn from the three losses we've had in this series and take the positives out of it,” Patrick Sharp said. “We need to play our best; it's win or go home.
“It's a situation I don't think too many teams like to be in. But I believe in our group. We're a resilient bunch and we believe we can win and we're going to do our best in Game 5.”
Helping the cause a bit is the memory of last year's playoffs when the Hawks battled back from a 3-0 deficit to Vancouver and took it to all the way to Game 7.
“It gives us confidence that it is possible,” Toews said of the near miraculous comeback against the Canucks. “I think there is a lot of hope in this group.
“The way we see it, we want to push this thing to seven games, but really it starts with tomorrow's game.”
The way Quenneville sees it, the Hawks need their big guns — Toews, Sharp and Patrick Kane — to come up big the rest of the way if there's any hope at all.
“Our top guys have to be better for us to be successful going forward,” Quenneville said. “We need them to be our best players for sure.”
Challenge heard. Challenge accepted.
“Absolutely I always (think that way), even if the point production, goals and assists and all those are where I want them to be, there is always a little thing or two you feel like you can do more,” Toews said. “I don't think it's unfair, no. I've said it many times before. I think as a captain you get a lot of credit when things are going well for your team. But you are going to be the guy right in the middle of it when things are going south.
“We're in a tough position as a team in the series, and that's the way it is. We just have to go out there and deal with it tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the Coyotes are a win away from winning their first playoff series since the team moved to Phoenix.
“It's the hardest one to win in the series,” Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. “We talked about it after the game last night that Game 4 is the hardest one to win, so we got to make sure we play a lot better then what we did (Thursday).”
That's because they know what's coming.
“I think especially because they're down by a few games now, they're going to throw everything at us,” Coyotes defenseman Adrian Aucoin said. “Realistically, it's going to be as hard as any other game, but it's such a stigma that comes with it because it's always hard to close a series out.”