April 16, 2015: Message Received

Hawks go down 3-0 in the 1st period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Nashville.  A team that looked like they didn’t get the memo… a team that has waited since their bitter exit from last year’s playoffs… a team that wanted to get to the 2nd season more than any team.  They came out flat, and Nashville put the hurting on us.  What was said between periods?  Who said it?  Whatever it was, whoever it was, it was message received.

Here we go again was what I was thinking.  Another flat start for the Hawks in a playoff series.  Do we need reminders?  Although we recovered vs St Louis last year, the Wings the year before, and these same Preds in 2010, we weren’t so lucky vs the Kings last year, the Coyotes 2 years ago, and the Canucks 3 years ago.  The message should have been do NOT put yourselves in this position again!

You dig a hole, and you can’t always climb out of it… no matter how good you are.  You can’t go into a series thinking cake walk, and think it’s going to be OK.  From listening to the experts before the series began, everyone was predicting Hawks in a relatively easy series.  Not me.  No, no, no.  I learned my lesson last year, when I just knew the Hawks were going to roll through the Kings and whoever from the East for that 3rd Cup.  I’m not getting complacent.  I’m going to take every series… every game seriously.  So should these Hawks.

The biggest message coming out of the 1st period was the benching of Crow.  Now, it wasn’t all his fault, but he had some blame.  The first goal was definitely on Rozsival, who was skating to the center of the ice to guard no one in particular, yet… Crow had a clean look at it, and missed it.  The second goal was all Crow.  Skating behind the net, half drunk, he let Stalberg… of all the guys… grab the puck and stick it in.  The third goal was the least fault on Crow, with the nice deflection, yet that must have been enough.  Q needed to send a message… he needed to reinforce what was SAID between periods, and DO something about it.  By benching Crawford, he made it known that there is no F’ing around this year.  There is no playing half ass.  This is serious, and he showed us how serious.  He already had scratched Vermette before the game, and now benched Crawford.  Bravo Coach Q… it was the right move at the right time.

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The bottom line is, everybody should be on notice.  You don’t play well, you don’t play… period.  It’s all about winning, and we got 15 more to get.  There is no putting ourselves behind the 8 ball this year.  Yes, we’ll have tough series, but not because we played with our heads up our asses.  Keep the 110% focus the entire time.  This is what we waited for.  No more 82 games.  Only 4 playoff series.  The time is now.

So, the Hawks prevailed tonight.  Hell of a goal by Hammer… love the way he flung that broken stick out of the way after scoring… the same broken stick that prompted him to go to the front of the net.  Great 5 on 3 goal by Sharp from Kane… shouldn’t it always be that easy?  Then of course, it was none other than the Captain who tied the game in the 2nd, and was there screening for Keith’s game winner in double OT.  Were the Hawks out of the series had they lost this one?  By no means.  Yet, the way they turned around their play after 1 period, was what I liked to see.

Great start to the playoffs.  It’s only just begun.  Are you ready for more of these?  Did you turn your set off after the 1st?  How pissed were you?  Or do you think the Hawks have this series, and every other series in the bag?  I made that same mistake last year, and look what happened.  I won’t do it again.  I’m taking these Predators, this team who lead the West for most of the year, very seriously.  It’s great to get a step up on them, especially on their home ice.  Let’s not stop here.  See you Friday night Nashville.