Written by Steve Rosenbloom at Chicago Tribune.com
Five things off game 3 of Blackhawks-Predators:
1. Some hard truths coming at you.
The Predators are faster and quicker to the puck than the Blackhawks.
The Predators are smarter positionally and move better in five-man units than the Hawks.
The Predators win more puck battles and create more offense than the Hawks.
The Predators are putting on a clinic with quick zone exits and controlled zone entries, almost mocking a Hawks franchise that used to strafe opponents that way.
The Predators play a better puck-possession game than the Hawks, a team that won three Stanley Cups in seven years based precisely on the best puck-possession game.
It’s a wonder the Hawks got Game 3 to overtime.
The Hawks showed early speed and quickness. They even scored a goal, their first of the series. Then they potted another. Signs of life here. Reasons to be a little optimistic.
The Hawks were 30-2-3 when they led after 40 minutes in the regular season. The Hawks needed to protect that lead after blowing Games 1 and 2 at home.
But no. Then the Hawks looked bad and slow. At the worst possible time, the Hawks looked bad and slow.
Bang, Predators goal by Filip Forsberg. Duncan Keith and Marcus Kruger lost a puck battle to allow the Predators to capitalize, and at the end, Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson virtually parted so Forsberg could put it in the net.
Ten minutes later, bang, another goal by Forsberg. This time it was Artem Anisimov along with Keith and Hjalmarsson who left the 31-goal scorer alone in the most dangerous area of the ice. Seriously, guys?
And then the Hawks spent overtime getting windburn.
A little more than 16 minutes into the extra period, Marian Hossa committed one of the most boneheaded plays of the season, turning over the puck inside the Predators blue line to send them on a four-on-two.
Making a slick play with some nifty touch, Neal fed Fiala at the goal line, and Fiala darted to the net, danced through a sliding and useless Johnny Oduya, then past orphaned Corey Crawford, backhanding in the winner.
Puts a fine point on the Oduya acquisition that larded a veteran defense with another aging suspect, doesn’t it?
Puts a fine point on a playoff series that has exposed many Hawks weaknesses, doesn’t it?
Crawford did not deserve to have Game 3 end that way. He might’ve been the only one. The rest of them devolved to playing like they were begging to get beat by a team with a more mobile and talented defense and quicker, more talented forwards who not only outscore the Hawks’ world-class players but also out-check them.
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