Game 3 had all the ingredients for a disaster. Following the Game 2 spectacle, the Blues were under duress almost immediately in Game 3 but miraculously pulled out a win. Is this a different team from the Blues of old?
Game 3 started off in ugly fashion. Right off the hop, the officials gave Kyle Brodziak an extra penalty after a brief scrum with Viktor Svedberg. The penalties probably should have just cancelled out, but Chicago picked up an early power play and scored just two minutes and 18 seconds into the first.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jay Bouwmeester was called moments later for hooking. It was a hook, but one that would fall into the “light” category rather than the “severe” category. The officials have been calling all of the playoff games this year extremely harshly, so it wasn’t a surprise to hear the whistle on the hook.
The Blues survived, but Bouwmeester was called for another penalty for playing the puck prior to having both skates out of the penalty box. Again, a fair call, but it was infuriating as the Blackhawks committed the same penalty – one that wasn’t called – in Game 1.
Again, the Blues survived.
As the rest of the game played out, the Blues not only pulled level midway through the first, but they also fought back after conceding early in the second period. The Blues definitely had some luck (Chicago’s post-to-post shot which didn’t go in and Berglund’s bouncer), but they fought back and emerged victorious thanks to a huge Jaden Schwartz goal following a four-minute penalty to Patrick Kane. There were several moments where Chicago could have jumped out and buried the Blues or moments in which the Blues could have sunk their own ship. Remarkably, that didn’t happen.
Traditionally, the Blues don’t win these types of games. A tough road playoff game on its own is normally a recipe for a loss for the Blues. Add in the factors from Game 2, the early penalties and the two deficits they had to overcome … a loss seemed pretty likely.
Oh, and then there’s this stat:
Before today, the #blackhawks were 70-0-4 when leading after two periods …dating back to a loss in Game 2 of Western Finals vs. LA in 2014
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) April 17, 2016
Are these Blues different from your traditional Blues?
Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford thinks so.
Crawford on the Blues: "Whatever happens in the season, whatever’s happened in years before, they’re not the same team." #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) April 17, 2016
Let’s hope that’s the case.
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