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Blackhawks face uphill battle against Blues in Game 4
Chicago, no stranger to playoff comebacks, looks to tie series 2-2
by Brian Hedger / NHL.com Correspondent
April 18th, 2016 Share
Game 4: BLUES at BLACKHAWKS
WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND
St. Louis leads best-of-7 series 2-1
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports, FS-MW, CSN-CH
CHICAGO -- The St. Louis Blues can take a two-game lead in the Western Conference First Round series, but will have to match the defending Stanley Cup champions' effort to do it.
The Chicago Blackhawks have made a habit out of coming back to win series under coach Joel Quenneville and plan to do it again. Since Quenneville took over in 2008-09, the Blackhawks are 7-3 in playoff series they've trailed after three games.
One of those triumphs was against the Blues in the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when Chicago climbed out of a 2-0 hole to win four straight. St. Louis has matured since then, adding veterans including Paul Stastny and former Blackhawks forward Troy Brouwer, and the Blues hope that's the key to winning this series.
"One of the things you learn from watching teams play that are championship teams, they move on very quickly," Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said at United Center on Monday. "We needed to move on and show the maturity that we're capable of doing that stuff. That's what guys like Stastny and Brouwer were brought in for, to move the dial forward as quickly as possible, and they've done a great job all year."
The Blackhawks plan to do what they usually do in these situations, which is raise their play another notch higher when it's needed. Hoping to avoid a 3-1 deficit going back to Scottrade Center for Game 5 on Thursday, they're intent on tying the series at 2-2.
"You always want to draw on that experience that we've had in the past, where we've been in situations before, when we've been trailing and we've been able to find a way," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said. "Anytime you can draw on that experience, I think it's a good thing and we're going to try to do that again in this series."
Chicago has outshot St. Louis 110-85 in the first three games, but only has one goal during 5-on-5 play. The Blackhawks' top line of Andrew Ladd, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa have generated a lot of scoring chances, but no goals. Patrick Kane hasn't scored a goal either.
"We're going to have to score to win, and those guys are getting the quality and quantity [chances]," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "Eventually, they'll get their turn."
Blues team scope: St. Louis opted not to practice and likely will stick with the same lineup as Game 3. Brian Elliott, who has a .963 save percentage in the first three games, likely will make his fourth straight start in net. Forward Steve Ott, who returned in Game 3 from a long injury absence stemming from hamstring surgery and colitis, is expected to remain in the lineup. He played 6:29 and had four hits playing on the fourth line. Ott also won 2-of-3 faceoffs. "I think where he's really good for us is on the wall," Hitchcock said. "He's very underrated as a player that makes composed plays with the puck. At the end of the day, he's playing more and more. He's going to be double-digit minutes coming up pretty quick, and that's going to help." The Blues recalled forward Ty Rattie from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League on Monday.
Blackhawks team scope: Chicago, which didn't practice, may have some lineup changes. The Blackhawks' bottom two lines could change, specifically the third line centered by Teuvo Teravainen, and it wouldn't be surprising for Quenneville to make a defensive switch. Teravainen doesn't have a point in the first three games and his ice time has been limited. Chicago wants him to have the puck on his stick more often, but Teravainen has struggled on faceoffs. It's possible he might switch to wing. "With Teuvo, that versatility is always handy in games and in a series, like a lot of guys are [versatile]," Quenneville said. "We could look at a lot of those options." Dale Weise played in Game 3, but could be scratched. Brandon Mashinter and Andrew Desjardins are also candidates to rejoin the lineup. Corey Crawford is expected to start in net.
GDT: Blues vs Blackhawks 8:30CST NBCSN FSMW
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Last edited by T.C. on Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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