Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Blackhawks? budding superstars, haven?t had many bad games in their second NHL season, but they picked a terrible day to have one together.
Both were minus-3 on Sunday in the Hawks? 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, with Kane failing to get a shot on goal and Toews also going scoreless while losing eight of his 17 faceoffs.Was it the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings? playoff experience kicking in? Are they still that much better than the up-and-coming Hawks? Or did the magnitude of the moment overwhelm Kane, Toews and the rest of the Hawks?
We?ll find out tonight, when the Hawks try to even the series in Game 2 at Joe Louis Arena.
??Let?s not get carried away. We won one game,?? Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. ??They?re a determined group, or they wouldn?t be here.??
Both teams and their coaches were grilled about the surprise silencing of Kane and Toews after their workouts Monday. Kane was coming off his first career hat trick as the Hawks? offense was at its best in a 7-5 victory over the Vancouver Canucks that clinched the semifinal series.
The Hawks weren?t the same team against the Wings.
Babcock had the Toews-Kane-Troy Brouwer line playing against the Wings? top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Dan Cleary and Johan Franzen, and the Wings? 39-year-old captain, Niklas Lidstrom, was on the ice most of the time Kane was. Lidstrom might be the best defenseman in the game, and he had Kane?s number.
??It?s a little different against Detroit than it was against Vancouver and Calgary,?? Kane said. ??They played a real physical game, but I don?t think I got chirped at once. Maybe we?ll have to play defense first and get our chances out of transition.??
Zetterberg, Cleary and Franzen were all plus-3 and combined for seven points.
??The bottom line is we just didn?t play well enough against their best players,?? Toews said. ??We can do much better. Sometimes after you play a game like that, you come out much looser, knowing that you?ve got to play that much harder and have a lot of room to improve.??
Zetterberg and Lidstrom said they simply did their jobs.
??You have to be aware of where [Kane and Toews] are out there and be on the right side of them,?? Zetterberg said. ??We still gave them a few odd-man rushes when we were careless with the puck on both sides of the blue lines.??
Said Lidstrom: ??We just try to take their time and space away. They?ll have to come out with good speed and find a way to spend more time in our zone.??
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville defended his young stars, especially Kane.
??Kaner finds his way through [tough situations],?? Quenneville said. ??He progresses where he winds up on the scoresheet and is a threat. He?s a tough guy to contain over time. Top players eventually get their chances to break through, and we expect him to get better as we go along.??
Kane would expect the same. He knows he needs to put his name on the scoresheet.
??That?s why I was brought in here as a No. 1 draft pick,?? Kane said. ??I?m not out there to be blocking shots and fighting guys.??
Improvement needs to be dramatic, based on Game 1, but it won?t necessarily be immediate.
??Our challenge will be ongoing,?? Quenneville said. ??We?ve all got to be at our best. Kaner is a dangerous player, and he?ll be fine. He?s a great pro and getting better every day. He?s really improved his game in the playoffs.??
Both were minus-3 on Sunday in the Hawks? 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, with Kane failing to get a shot on goal and Toews also going scoreless while losing eight of his 17 faceoffs.Was it the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings? playoff experience kicking in? Are they still that much better than the up-and-coming Hawks? Or did the magnitude of the moment overwhelm Kane, Toews and the rest of the Hawks?
We?ll find out tonight, when the Hawks try to even the series in Game 2 at Joe Louis Arena.
??Let?s not get carried away. We won one game,?? Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. ??They?re a determined group, or they wouldn?t be here.??
Both teams and their coaches were grilled about the surprise silencing of Kane and Toews after their workouts Monday. Kane was coming off his first career hat trick as the Hawks? offense was at its best in a 7-5 victory over the Vancouver Canucks that clinched the semifinal series.
The Hawks weren?t the same team against the Wings.
Babcock had the Toews-Kane-Troy Brouwer line playing against the Wings? top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Dan Cleary and Johan Franzen, and the Wings? 39-year-old captain, Niklas Lidstrom, was on the ice most of the time Kane was. Lidstrom might be the best defenseman in the game, and he had Kane?s number.
??It?s a little different against Detroit than it was against Vancouver and Calgary,?? Kane said. ??They played a real physical game, but I don?t think I got chirped at once. Maybe we?ll have to play defense first and get our chances out of transition.??
Zetterberg, Cleary and Franzen were all plus-3 and combined for seven points.
??The bottom line is we just didn?t play well enough against their best players,?? Toews said. ??We can do much better. Sometimes after you play a game like that, you come out much looser, knowing that you?ve got to play that much harder and have a lot of room to improve.??
Zetterberg and Lidstrom said they simply did their jobs.
??You have to be aware of where [Kane and Toews] are out there and be on the right side of them,?? Zetterberg said. ??We still gave them a few odd-man rushes when we were careless with the puck on both sides of the blue lines.??
Said Lidstrom: ??We just try to take their time and space away. They?ll have to come out with good speed and find a way to spend more time in our zone.??
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville defended his young stars, especially Kane.
??Kaner finds his way through [tough situations],?? Quenneville said. ??He progresses where he winds up on the scoresheet and is a threat. He?s a tough guy to contain over time. Top players eventually get their chances to break through, and we expect him to get better as we go along.??
Kane would expect the same. He knows he needs to put his name on the scoresheet.
??That?s why I was brought in here as a No. 1 draft pick,?? Kane said. ??I?m not out there to be blocking shots and fighting guys.??
Improvement needs to be dramatic, based on Game 1, but it won?t necessarily be immediate.
??Our challenge will be ongoing,?? Quenneville said. ??We?ve all got to be at our best. Kaner is a dangerous player, and he?ll be fine. He?s a great pro and getting better every day. He?s really improved his game in the playoffs.??
