April 25, 2016: Outbattled

These are the worst, yet sometimes easiest blogs to write. The Blackhawks just got eliminated from the 2016 NHL playoffs by the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of their first round series; the final score was 3-2.

Where to begin?  First of all, it sucks.  I wasn’t ready for the season to be over.  My playoff beard was just shaping up.  The Hawks were just shaping up.  And like that, they’re gone.  This feels weird.  This was the one team that this wasn’t supposed to happen to.  They’ve carried Chicago over the past almost decade.  This was supposed to be the repeat that topped off the dynasty.  It wasn’t meant to be.

This digging of holes that the Hawks like to do came back to haunt them again in the long run.  The year after their first Stanley Cup in 2010, against Vancouver, the hole was 3-0; they forced a Game 7, but couldn’t complete it.  The Coyotes followed that up with a first round knockout of our boys the year after.  In 2014, it was the Kings that jumped up on the Hawks 3-1; we couldn’t complete that comeback either.  Now this year:  another 3-1 deficit that could not be overcome.  They even dug an early 2-0 hole in this deciding game.  I guess I should be giving credit where credit is due.

These other teams were pretty good too.  The Canucks did move on to the Stanley Cup finals back in 2011; they did lose to the Bruins.  The Coyotes moved on to the Western Conference Finals, only to lose to the Kings; the eventual Stanley Cup champs.  The Kings, yeah, they won the Cup again after beating us in 2014.  This has to bode well for the future of the Blues.  Place your bets now for them to at least beat Dallas.

Although that team is full of ex-Hawks; it’s like the Blues will have to beat the Blackhawks twice.  But have no fear, the Blues have an ex-Blackhawk of their own.  He’s another Stanley Cup champion.  He scored the game winning goal on Monday night.  Troy Brouwer saved the best time for his first goal of the series; the one that ripped our hearts out.

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It did come back a few minutes later; I had John and Troy get me through on the radio.  I wish it didn’t come back.  I had to see the 2nd post to post shot of this series by the Hawks.  It really is a game of inches.  The Ladd shot earlier in the series, and now Seabrook, in this most critical moment, hit both posts on his shot that barely avoided the back of the net.  That’s the breaks.  That’s what you have to live and die with when you put yourself in this situation.  When you put your backs against the walls, it could be any little thing that costs you.  It’s because you need every little thing to go your way when you’re battling back in a series against a quality opponent.  You can’t afford post to post shots, or any of the number of mistakes the Hawks made, really in this entire series.  Just like the series deficit that those mistakes caused, we couldn’t overcome them.

Sure, 3 Cups in 7 years is still good.  I’m definitely not complaining.  Only the Bulls have won at a more dynastic pace.  It’s funny, big picture wise… this was the earliest end to the United Center season since 2008, with both teams now done playing for the year.  These Bulls have not lived up to their potential, while the Hawks have.  They have cashed in multiple times, and have brought us much joy.  With all that winning, you get used to it… you expect it.  You’re surprised when it doesn’t happened.  We’ll look back and say we should have had at least one to two more Cups… and we still might… just not this year.

When we were down 3-1, I started preparing myself.  I said I’d be OK if they got knocked out.  Then after 2 consecutive wins, I thought this series is ours.  The Hawks did it again.  All that mental preparedness that I went through days ago was gone.  I was firmly believing again.  I wasn’t as prepared now.  I wasn’t as prepared to see the Blues skate around and celebrate with their home crowd.  After being geared up for another long playoff run, one that was snatched from the depths, I wasn’t prepared for this season to end.

In the end, we got outbattled.  In the end, the better team won.  It’s hard to say those words; I’m not sure I really believe them.  But it is what it is.  Those are the facts.  The Blues are moving on, and the Hawks are going home.  It’s time to shave.