CHICAGO—On the outer, one might say Chicago, il Blackhawks scoring stalwarts Jonathan Toews in addition to Patrick Kane struggled during the opening round of the NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals.
While Kane and Toews xmas trees the team in scoring within the lockout-shortened regular season by using 23 goals apiece, neither player scored a mission in the five-game series about the Minnesota Wild, which Chicago clinched Thursday night by having a 5-1 win.
But a lack of goal scoring by a Hawks' most proficient scorers wasn't necessarily a negative thing, as Kane assisted in six goals with the series, while Toews, although he recorded just a couple assists (both in Thursday's game), played more associated with a defensive role than your partner's usual offensive specialty.
"I think this series we're able to probably talk about our defense more than anybody as far as getting the attention that could be deserved, how well they played, " Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said after Thursday's game.
"Different times, some guys score and many lines are more productive offensively, but at the finish of the day, that consistency was considered one of our strengths this season. "
That consistency in addition to balanced scoring vs. the Wild showcased many of the Blackhawks role players or simply less-regular scorers.
As a result, players like Patrick Clear (five goals, including the end one in Thursday's game), Bryan Bickell (three goals), Erina Frolik (two goals), Duncan Keith (one goal) and Johnny Oduya (one goal) have stepped up to lead the team within putting the puck inside the net.
"Different nights, some guys score and many lines are more fruitful offensively, but that afterwards of the day, that consistency was probably our strengths this season, " Quenneville said with his team's balanced score attack.
And on Thurs ., NHL star Marian Hossa was added to the mix. Even though Hossa is mostly a first-line stalwart alongside Toews, he tallied two goals with the series clincher to allow him three first-round objectives.
"Having him in your lineup all year long and what he brings for your team game and special teams, his quality of play and intelligence to the ice is something that's huge for us and reflects what we're looking for game in and sport out, " Quenneville stated.
Sharp has been the main surprise. Not only did he enter into the playoffs after experiencing a lengthy layoff because of shoulder injury late with the regular season, he scored just six goals with 28 games.
"I felt like early within the series I was looking to do things away with the puck to get involved and also to play Joel's system effective ways I can, " Pointed said. "When you make it happen, you're not thinking around handling the puck and also scoring, it seems to obtain you. If you float available out there thinking to your score goals, not substantially usually gets done.
"It's on the board, contributions offensively from everybody. We're going to build that, we've got a few skilled players here. We're going to get timely goals and then score. It's our team game faraway from the puck I think we can improve, but at the finish of the day, this series has concluded and we can feel good about moving forward to, but I'm sure Joel are going to have some things for us to get better at. "
Likewise for Bickell, who had just nine goals inside the regular season, and Frolik, who tallied just three times in the regular period.
"That's the kind of team you'll find, " Sharp said. "Any presented night, someone's scoring and helping us out diversely to win the online game, so we've never relied on one or two players to carry the load. It's a full team effort and those guys will say of which themselves. "
The success of Blackhawks role players in the Wild series even extended to goalie. Coming on the opening playoff round, Ray Emery was pegged to get started in the net. But a lesser body injury that occurred inside the final game of the off the shelf season left Emery sidelined through the entire first playoff round.
Corey Crawford walked up strong to pack Emery's shoes, winning four for the five games in that series, and proved being a formidable foe that the Wild just would not want to overcome.
Crawford gave up just seven goals inside five games, while the education represent Wild goalies Josh Harding (filling in for injured Niklas Backstrom) and Darcy Kuemper combined to be able to yield 13 goals for the Blackhawks.
"What can I actually say about Corey, inch Toews said. "He has been unbelievable. Even though there was a couple games there where it felt like we were visiting the (penalty) box another minute, and he ended up being our best penalty slayer, he was making significant stop after big cease. "
With such good scoring, the Blackhawks remain quite possibly the most dangerous team in the NHL as being the playoffs head to the 2nd round.
Chicago will probable face either San Jose and arch rival Detroit, which needs to rebound from a 3-2 set deficit vs. Anaheim if it's to handle the Blackhawks in what is a final conference playoff sequence between both teams, as the Red Wings move on the Eastern Conference next season.
"It doesn't matter who it will be, " Toews said. "It's going being a tough opponent, so we are able to expect that much and prepare ourselves the most beneficial we can for whatever might are available in the second round. inches
Via: - Liga
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