Rozner: Chicago Blackhawks need Crawford to get hot fast
It's been almost two decades since a champ repeated in the NHL.
And in the salary-cap era, only the 2008 Red Wings made it back to the Stanley Cup Final the following year.
Get used to reading and hearing these facts as the Chicago Blackhawks try to defy the odds and win their fourth Stanley Cup in the last seven seasons.
There are so many reasons it hasn't happened, the most obvious being the physical and mental fatigue plaguing teams that go deep into the postseason year after year, and the constant defections off the best rosters because of salary-cap reasons.
The good news is the best teams have great players who help them go deep and have to pay those players a big percentage of the cap. The bad news is there's just not much leftover and it's impossible to keep everyone after you win a Cup.
It's also worth remembering that the 2014 Hawks came within a bounce of winning Game 7 against Los Angeles in the conference finals, and that would have meant an eventual three-peat in Chicago.
And while it's easy to complicate matters, the simplest path for a Hawks return to last series of the postseason is no different than it's ever been.
It's about goaltending and defense.
Corey Crawford was having the best season of his career before an injury took him out of the lineup for a month, and if he can return to form in the next week or two, the two-time champ could carry the Hawks a long way.
As for the defense, the Hawks have struggled all season with combinations on the back end, looking for a fourth defenseman to go with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson.
It's been the biggest need all season, and since they were unable to pry loose Dan Hamhuis at the trade deadline, the Hawks can only hope now that someone steps up and fills the hole left by Johnny Oduya's departure.
It will remain a concern until the moment the Hawks dance with Lord Stanley's bowl - or head home for an early tee time.
Offensively, the second line has carried the team, and that's just not enough to go far in the playoffs.
The Hawks need Marian Hossa healthy and productive, and if he is, the first line has chance to get it going and make a contribution. If that line isn't a threat, the opposition can focus on denying Patrick Kane the puck, and that can stop the Hawks' offense cold.
The Hawks' special teams have been inconsistent all season, sometimes due to injuries, but both have the talent to be very good over the next month or two.
And they will need to be in order for the Hawks to go anywhere.
The reality is the Hawks haven't been special in any area of the game this year except for when Crawford was at his very best, and Kane and Artemi Panarin were playing catch and making life miserable for opposing goaltenders.
But there are reasons you can never count the Hawks out of a game or a series.
They still have Jonathan Toews, whose need to win is unmatched in sports.
They still have Keith, who will be rested and excited about playing again, and when motivated is the best defenseman in the game. His ability to take over a game is unequaled on the back end.
They still have Crawford, who can get as hot as anyone and has been the Hawks' best player in the Cup Final the last two times the Hawks have captured the big prize.
And they still have Joel Quenneville, a Hall of Fame coach who has the ability to find the right combinations and push the right buttons at just the right moment.
Those four will have to be great for the Hawks to defeat St. Louis, and they will have to be even better for the Hawks to get out of the conference.
The odds are obviously against them doing it.
But to bet against them is to do so at your own risk.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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