Keith shoots Blackhawks into next round
Even before the opening faceoff of the Blackhawks' first-round playoff series with Nashville, one overriding question was pounded at both squads' players over and over again: How much would the experience factor come into play in determining the eventual winner?
In the end, the answer was simple: EVERYTHING.
• Game 1 saw the Blackhawks rally from a 3-0 first-period deficit en route to a 4-3 double-overtime victory.
• In Game 4, they battled deep into the night and won a 4-3 triple-OT marathon to grab a 3-1 series lead.
• Then came Game 6 on Saturday night at the United Center. Nashville roared leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in what Hawks coach Joel Quenneville called an "absolutely dreadful" start.
It hardly mattered.
Qunneville's squad quickly showed why they've won two Stanley Cups and advanced to three Western Conference finals in the last five years by tying the game at 3-3 before the first-period horn even sounded.
The two teams then battled for most of the next two periods before Duncan Keith fired his second game-winning goal of the series to give the Hawks a 4-3 victory in front of 22,171 roaring fans.
Quenneville said the shift that led to Keith's game-winner may have been his team's best of the season.
"It was a scramble play," said Keith, who also won Game 1 with his goal in double OT. "Kind of knew we had them on the run; we were in their zone for a while. Just wanted to be patient there and be patient with my shot knowing they may have been a little bit gassed."
Predators goalie Pekka Rinne never saw the puck and, 3:48 later, the two teams were shaking hands with Nashville's season over and the Hawks moving on.
"It's tough right now for our guys," Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said.
Patrick Kane talked afterward about how much the Hawks' massive amounts of experience allows them to overcome whatever's thrown at them.
"We get ourselves in those situations," he said, "(and) we can kind of reflect on what's happened in the past and go back to different things that have helped us win those games before. It seems like we're never really down and out."
Said Quenneville: "Certainly our guys, when the games are on the line, the stakes are higher and they love to meet that challenge."
The Hawks will face the winner of the St. Louis-Minnesota series in the second round. The Wild is up 3-2 with Game 6 on Sunday in Minnesota.
The Predators scored on 3 of the first 12 shots they fired at Scott Darling, and the rookie was removed just 11:16 into the game. Corey Crawford came in and turned away 13 shots, facing little pressure the rest of the game.
"We know we've got great goaltending," Keith said. "It's not that, it's how we play in front of them. I think we kind of pulled together and realized that's not acceptable. We played better as the game went on."
Less than a minute after Matt Cullen gave Nashville a 3-1 lead, Jonathan Toews scored on the power play when the puck went in off his skate on a shot by Patrick Sharp. It was the first time the Hawks scored with the man advantage since the series' first game.
Then, late in the first period, Brad Richards won a faceoff in the Nashville zone, Keith proceeded to feed Patrick Kane, and Kane ripped a 40-foot blast past Rinne to tie the game at 3-3 with just six seconds on the clock.
Crawford, who by the way has 59 games of playoff experience, will be in net when the next series begins.
"I just know we're going to enjoy this one for a little bit," Crawford said, "get some well-deserved rest and get ready for the next one."
• Follow John's Hawks reports on Twitter @johndietzdh.
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John Dietz