The Blackhawks took to the ice at the United Center, before heading back to Detroit for Game 4 Thursday night. First and foremost, the now infamous white jerseys were being worn by Daniel Carcillo, Jamal Mayers, Brandon Bollig and Ben Smith. This means Andrew Shaw will not find a seat for his general douchebaggery in this series thus far. I like Shaw when he plays within himself and actually contributes to the team. Being a pest and getting under the opponents skin while scoring an occasional goal is ideal. I can do without him playing like an out of control jackass like he has the last three games.
So the same 12 forwards will dress tomorrow night but the lines might look a bit different. Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa took top line rushes today. Brandon Saad, Dave Bolland and Patrick Kane filled out the 2nd line. The 3rd line remained the with Shaw centering Bryan Bickell and Viktor Stalberg. Michal Handzus skated on left wing of the 4th line with Marcus Kruger at center and Michael Frolik on the right wing. The Hawks spent some time in practice working on exiting their own zone, which sounds like one hell of an idea!
Q made some changes to the power play as well. The first unit featured Bickell, Sharp and Saad up front with Duncan Keith and Hossa at the point. The 2nd line had Shaw, Toews and Kane with Michal Rozsival, Brent Seabrook and Nick Leddy all getting time at the point. I like the idea of BIckell on the power play if he can just plant his big ass right in front of Jimmy Howard, good things might happen.
When asked about the power play stuggles, Coach Q explained:
“It starts with faceoffs. You get the setup. We had one good power play there (in Game 3); offensive zone time was in place. But we still have to keep taking shots, off the rush or in zone. We have to be a threat to score, and traffic is what we’re looking for. We had better shots. Hopefully we get one.”
Marian Hossa added these thoughts about the Hawks power play:
“We need the power play to get some goals, that’s for sure, to help the series. It felt like the first power play we were moving the puck well, got some good shots. On another few, it was tough to get in. But when we got in, we had some good looks. We have to find a way to put the puck in the net.”