Blackhawks On Brink Of Playoff Elimination
By Chuck Sudo in News on May 24, 2013 1:40PM
Don't blame the Blackhawks' 3-1 hole they're stuck in on the President's Trophy curse. The Red Wings are playing unexpectedly physical hockey that has knocked the Hawks off their game and gotten in their heads. No one is more frustrated by the deficit than Jonathan Toews. The Hawks captain was stopped three times at point blank range by Jimmy Howard and lost his composure on the ice. Toews was called for three penalties in a five-minute stretch of the second period—not the kind of play one expects from a captain. the lack of composure has led to a growing chorus of detractors who have pointed out Toews has not scored at all in the postseason.
The Hawks' frustrating play in the series has overshadowed a heroic effort in goal by Corey Crawford. He allowed a second period goal to Jakub Kindl. (Daniel Cleary scored an empty netter in the final minutes of play.) Crawford and Howard have been the best players on the ice in the series, but Howard did benefit from Chicago shots on goal that clanged off the pipes. It's a bad time to have the Hawks' scorers go cold; a worse time to play undisciplined hockey. Chicago exhibited chippy play during stretches of their record-setting regular season and that lack of composure is coming to full bloom at the worst possible moment.
Game 5 is Saturday at the United Center and Toews would only tell reporters after the game, "we need to find a way to force a Game 6."
In baseball news, the Cubs waited out a rain delay to lose their fourth straight game, 4-2 to Pittsburgh. Edwin Jackson was tagged for all the Pirates runs.