Rozner: Blackhawks' problems not just in net

If you thought the Blackhawks answered any questions in Game 1, think again.

They completely disintegrated in the third period of Game 2, and instead of forcing overtime they forced coach Joel Quenneville to starting asking hard questions about the lineup.

Now, it's up to him to find some answers.

The Hawks were pressing Nashville down a goal going into the third Friday night, but the Preds scored three times in less than three minutes down the stretch to blow out the Hawks and tie the series at 1-1 with a 6-2 victory at Bridgestone Arena.

Corey Crawford had another tough night, and that's going to lead to more questions about Scott Darling, who was brilliant in relief in Game 1.

"We'll see," said Quenneville, who was more ambiguous than he was after Game 1. "We'll talk about it as we go along here tonight and tomorrow. We'll do what gives us our best chance."

After giving up a bad early goal, Crawford settled down and played well until the third, and then he and his defense went to pieces as the Hawks pressed to tie the game.

"I started feeling good for a little bit there and then just kind of fell apart," said Crawford, who's allowed 9 goals on 47 shots in four periods. "Game's over, time to move on to the next game. I've had tough moments before. Just gotta forget about it."

The Hawks also need to consider some serious lineup changes. They have two aging and ineffective defensemen in Michal Rozsival and Kimmo Timonen and his top four will never survive the series - let alone a long playoff run - playing such heavy minutes.

Patrick Kane, meanwhile, is playing alone out there with invisible linemates Brad Richards and Kris Versteeg, and you would expect the head coach to give him a little help.

You have to think Antoine Vermette will get a chance, and the Hawks could use a boost of energy from Andrew Desjardins. Defensively, David Rundblad will almost certainly get a look, and there's no reason now not to give Kyle Cumiskey a chance.

It doesn't mean the Hawks have any reason to panic. They stole one game in Nashville and they have home-ice advantage, but that won't last long if the Hawks don't show for the start in the next two games.

"It's the playoffs. Things are gonna be tough," said captain Jonathan Toews. "To come in here and get two games on the road would have been pretty amazing.

"I'm not saying we're satisfied with getting a split, but considering how hard (the Preds) work and how well they play in their own building, they played a great game and you have to give them credit."

If there's good news for the Hawks as they prepare for Sunday afternoon's game at the UC, it's that Nashville played the final 30 minutes without perennial Norris Trophy candidate Shea Weber, after losing center Mike Fisher during Game 1.

Midway through the second, Weber took a seemingly innocuous hit from Brandon Saad in the corner and limped to the bench with an apparent knee or ankle injury.

But even without their best player for half of Friday's game, Nashville took a close contest and blew out the Hawks in the third period as the defense went to pieces and Crawford let in a couple of soft goals.

"We always have confidence in him," Toews said of Crawford. "We know what he's done for us before and we know how good he was when he was arguably our most valuable player when we won the Cup (in 2013).

"It's always easy to look at the goaltender, but we didn't do many good things in front of him and that's not on him."

The Hawks are the better team and they're more than capable of winning three of the next five, but their habit of slow starts caught up with them last year and it can happen again if they're not prepared to play when the puck drops.

This is much more than a goalie controversy. It's about too many passengers at a time of year when the teams that work the hardest for 60 minutes usually win the games, and it's a lesson the Hawks never seem to learn until they're forced to face the consequences.

"We have home ice now," Crawford said. "We're still in really good shape."

That's true today, but it may only last until Sunday if the Hawks don't get the wake-up call.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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