Schuster: Adversity Suddenly Haunts Blackhawks
By David Schuster-
DETROIT (CBS) -- Following a near-perfect regular season and a first round playoff win over Minnesota, the Blackhawks for the first time are facing adversity.
With Monday night's 3-1 loss, the Hawks now trail the Red Wings 2-1 in this series.
It was a better effort and a better performance by the Hawks compared to Game 2, but it was a loss nonetheess. The Hawks actually dominated the first half of the game and were peppering Wings goalie Jimmy Howard. It looked to be just a matter of time before they put a puck past him, but then the Wings broke out of their own zone and seconds later Gustav Nyquist beat Corey Crawford and the home crowd erupted. Then, even before the Detroit fans could sit down, Drew Miller again scored for the Wings (just 31 seconds later) and the crowd again exploded.
Patrick Kane's breakaway finally put the Hawks on the board in the third period and it looked like the Hawks tied it moments later but the apparent equalizer was waived off when the referee ruled that Andrew Shaw was in the goal crease. Hawks coach Joel Quenenville vehemently disagreed but the call stood, and now the Hawks are facing an uphill battle in this series.
Game 4 will be played again here in Detroit on Thursday, and Quenneville didn't want to answer the question whether he might change goaltenders that evening.
Regardless, the Hawks need to score more at the other end of the ice and that includes Jonathan Toews, who has now gone all eight post-season games without lighting the lamp.
Follow David Schuster on Twitter (@schumouse).
