Some hockey statistics often fail to represent how a game really went. Shots on goal, for example, often are as misleading as time of possession can be in football.
But one stat was right on target in the Blackhawks’ 2-0 loss to Vancouver on Wednesday night in the first game of the best-of-seven series. Hits differential: Canucks 47, Hawks 21.
Add bruised egos to the Hawks’ ever-growing injury list.
Joel Quenneville’s defending Stanley Cup champs looked every bit an eighth seed. They were outhustled, outmuscled and often overmatched. The Hawks were beaten by much more than the final score indicated.
The good news is all is ancient history when the puck drops Friday night in Game 2. Momentum carries from shift to shift, sometimes from period to period, but not from game to game.
Finding optimism for an about-face isn’t hard if you look at history, particularly that of recent postseasons. The Hawks dropped the opener in both of their six-game Western Conference semifinal series wins against the Canucks in 2009 and last spring.
Here’s the bad news. This Vancouver team is different. It’s still the Sedin twins, Ryan Kesler and goaltender Roberto Luongo, but this group has more fire in its belly. It’s a tougher, smarter, more focused team than those the Hawks dismissed two years consecutively.
I still think the Hawks will bounce back and even the series. More than anybody, Corey Crawford’s play in net gives hope. As the unheralded 26-year-old has done most of the season, Crawford kept the opener from getting ugly.
The Hawks have to toughen up if they’re going to rally and upset the deservedly top-seeded Canucks. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say the Hawks looked intimidated. There are no cowards who wear NHL uniforms, are there?
The battle cries Thursday included a plea for the bruising John Scott to return to the lineup. Some — even Hawks play-by-play man Pat Foley — would favor anybody willing to take a penalty and “run” Luongo to get in his sometimes fragile mind. Some lamented the departed Dustin Byfuglien, whose presence in Luongo’s work space was effective in those two playoff series wins.
Disagree. The crew that blew the doors off of Joe Louis Arena with three quick goals one week ago is the same group that played sheepishly Wednesday.
More Top Picks Runners Outdoors
Ben Smith got one of those tallies in Detroit. He played with poise again in the second and third periods Wednesday, when the Hawks actually got some quality chances against Luongo.
The Hawks don’t need Scott’s muscle. They need the same guys who dressed in the opener to possess a willingness to engage. They are capable. We’ve seen it.
Taking penalties against Vancouver’s terrific power play is a bad idea. Take the body, not the box.
When the Hawks are having trouble carrying the puck into the attack zone and have to dump and chase, they need their forwards to plaster the guys in blue sweaters to the glass. In Game 1, they pulled up and jousted with sticks.
And enough with the Byfuglien stuff. It’s easy to remember big games he had against the Canucks and how his reputation as a tough guy mushroomed last spring. It’s easy to forget that it was Byfuglien — more than anybody — who wore the goat horns for being timid when Philadelphia evened the Cup finals series 2-2 in a bad loss in Game 4 at Wachovia Center.
Everything is magnified in the playoffs. The emotional pendulum swings wildly out of control from game to game. All is forgotten if the Blackhawks even the series.
Then we can ride the roller coaster all over again after Game 3 at the United Center.
Dan McNeil hosts “The Danny Mac Show” weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WSCR-AM 670.