Rozner: Blackhawks get a reminder that losing hurts

There is no shame in losing to a team like the Vegas Golden Knights.

They are big, fast, deep and have as good a shot as any to win it all.

The disappointment for the Blackhawks in losing three 1-goal games is the knowledge that they made this series closer than Vegas expected and the result of a few split-second decisions cost them a real chance at a big upset.

That will not sit well with the Hawks while they watch the rest of the playoffs on TV.

As has been stressed here many times, it is the Knights' team game and their attention to detail that ultimately made the difference.

Pretty rarely works in the postseason and nothing about Vegas is pretty. They leave the flash to Las Vegas Boulevard and bring an ugly, heavy, responsible game to the rink.

“They have a lot of different elements to their team,” said Hawks coach Jeremy Colliton late Tuesday night after the Hawks were sent packing with a 4-3 defeat. “They have some offensive guys who are dangerous whenever they're on the ice, but for the most part a lot of them play a tremendous two-way game and that's hard to play against.

“And then they have the depth guys who are able to tilt the ice and hold you down in your defensive zone and out-change you. They're a physical team. They make you pay a price to make plays and they just come at you over and over again.”

You can hear the envy in his voice and see the frustration in his eyes when Colliton talks about a group that commits to playing for the hockey club at all times.

“They're disciplined within their team game, which is outstanding,” Colliton said. “They make you earn what you're gonna get, and that's what you need to do come playoff time.

“I think we showed we can do that for stretches, long stretches, whole periods and large parts of games, but ultimately in order to beat a team like that you gotta do it all the time and out-will them and do it longer than them.

“I thought the first series we did that and the second we didn't.”

Perhaps this is news to some Hawks players, but many of them were keenly aware.

“You have to give Vegas a lot of credit for the team that they have and the way they play,” said Duncan Keith. “The details and the habits and the predictability within their team game wasn't easy to play against.

“I thought our guys battled hard. There were times in each game that we had chances and momentum, but ultimately it wasn't enough.”

That “predictability” is a reference to forwards and defensive partners almost always being right where they're supposed to be, giving a defenseman under pressure comfort in knowing there's a place to go with the puck — often without having to peek first.

“It was good to see us take that next step in our team game, to play the way we need to play to win a playoff series and compete against an elite team in Vegas, a top seed,” Colliton said. “We were right with them in most of the games here.

“We have to use this experience to improve and understand the standard that we need to get to in order to beat a team like this.”

Vegas defines the team game — much like St. Louis a year ago — and it has to be frustrating for both Colliton and the Hawks players who made that same commitment to see some players continue to freelance.

“We had an opportunity to come here and win a playoff series (against Edmonton), but no one can be satisfied with being eliminated and that's where we are now,” Colliton said just minutes after the Hawks shook hands with the Knights. “I don't feel like I'm in a mood to summarize the season.

“We're here to win and we just lost a playoff series and that's the taste in everyone's mouth. We played hard but we want to still be playing and we're not. That's where I'm at right now.”

The Hawks haven't lost a playoff series in a few years and they are reminded now of how it feels. Losing should hurt and Colliton was clearly not ready to condense the season into a few sentences. There will be time for that in the days to come.

His aggravation was in knowing that Corey Crawford gave the Hawks a chance to advance and they couldn't quite take advantage.

The details are on film — and seeing the film will hurt all over again.