I always said this is how I want to go. Forget going in your sleep, I want to go out in a fiery plane crash… about 60 years from now. We just witnessed the crash landing of the 2016-2017 Chicago Blackhawks. I’m still processing it.
I left the game on, until the bitter end. I even watched the handshake line; still think that’s one of the coolest things in sports, regardless of which side your on. Then I flipped it off. Soon after, I went to sleep. This one hurt. I think it hurt because what we expected to happened, and what actually happened. I think how it happened didn’t help either. Don’t think any of us saw this coming.
The last time the Hawks got beat this soundly was back in 2009. This was before these Hawks had the 3 Cups in their possession. They were young boys playing against men from Detroit. Don’t think we expected to win that one; we were kind of just happy to be there. Kind of like the Mets NLCS Cubs loss; we kind of knew the Hawks would be right back there… and they were… they were back and provided some of us the 1st Stanley Cup in our lifetimes.
In between the 3 Cups, (Yes, 3 Cups is still a pretty damn good run… and No, I’m not saying the run is over) there were losses. In 2011, the year after that glorious 1st Cup, we found ourselves down 3-0 to a Canucks team that would eventually go the Stanley Cup final (and lose by the way). We always found our way back in the series, winning 3 straight, before finally bowing out. The following year was a bit disappointing. Losing to the Coyotes sucked, but remember that was 5 straight OT games; it was a dog fight, not an ass kicking. Between the 2nd and 3rd cup, there was the loss to the Kings; yeah, I guess that sucked too, but again 7 games… just like the loss last year to the Blues. I thought we were the better team against the Kings; the Blues was a toss up. But in each case, it was an epic 7 game series; not too horrible to bow out that way.
That brings us to what just happened these last 4 games against Nashville. This is the first time the Blackhawks were beat this soundly, handled with ease, since that 2009 series, and that was a whole different scenario. I find myself asking how this happened… One thing is sure; I’m not buying into the whole “end of an era” type thing, as you see and hear from some of the media. What am I buying into?
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I think this may be a multiple type blog reflection. I’m thinking a bit clearer than last night right after the loss, but like I said, I’m still trying to figure this out; where we go from here will be another piece of that reflection. But how the heck did the best team in the West, the team with the 2nd best regular season in franchise history, get bounced in four games? How did this 109 point team score only 3 goals in 4 games? How did this proud championship experience filled bunch let THIS happen?
At this point, I have more questions than I do answers, but I will say this. I don’t think anything drastic is necessary to fix this; that’s just my first gut reaction. Maybe it’s a case of the old with the new not gelling yet… maybe it’s a case of Nashville being a pretty damn good team; let’s see how far they go. Maybe it’s a perfect storm of things that happened from the end of the regular season to the end of the postseason.
It wasn’t fun. It is the worst I’ve felt as a Blackhawks fan, probably ever. The pain will go away, and as it does, I think I can better try to piece this puzzle together. There has to be a good explanation here. I know this crash landing isn’t the end of the Blackhawks as we know them. I don’t want to just say that; that’s a lazy cop out. I just don’t think that’s true. Yes, this loss was brutal, but let’s not bury our guys yet. The most important reason why we need to figure out what happened here is so that it doesn’t happen again. There are some learning, some growing opportunities in here somewhere… we just need to find them hiding here somewhere in the ashes.
MK
Pretty damn shocking! I watched until the bitter end as well, including the hand shakes (awesome way to end each series). Kept waiting for the Bhawks to snap out of it, but they never did. Thought after they finally scored a goal in game 3, yes I said that right, maybe that would open the flood gates. Nope. Up 2-0 heading to the 3rd in game 3 and blow it? Didnt see that coming. Getting swept after being the best in th west? Shocking. Where to go from here. What needs to be done? In no way do I think blow up or rebuild. Too much talent on this team. Just bad timing as far as no offense. Kudos to the preds for shutting the Bhawks down…see how far they go now. In my opinion, the Bhawks lost this series at the dot and in their zone. Failures to win draws and clear pucks killed them. A completely disappointing way to end this promising season. I find myself still watching playoff hockey because it is way too soon to be done. One good thing, no playoff beard looking like a homeless man…hahaha. Bhawks took one on the chin. Enjoy the offseason, retool, and come back ready to conquer again next year!