The “Crawford” chants are still ringing throughout St. Louis after the Blues’ thrilling Game 7 victory on Tuesday night. While Crawford pieced together a solid performance after an incredibly inconsistent start, he simply could not overcome the onslaught from what definitively was the most intense atmosphere of the playoffs thus far. Not only did the performance on the ice inspire the hometown crowd, but it also garnered the highest television rating of the first round on NBC Sports Net. Similarly, the Blackhawks were on an astounding 19.1% of television sets within the Chicago viewing area, breaking a regional cable network record according to the Chicago Associated Press.
The deciding goal occurred on a laughable sequence. Erik Gustafsson failed to move the puck properly and set up Troy Brouwer for a wide open opportunity. Fortunately for the Blackhawks, Brouwer seemingly was channelling the spirits of Blues teams of yore by hitting a wide open shot off the post. He then managed to whiff on the rebound, prior to finally slamming home the puck and writing a new chapter in Blues lore. The team easily rode the wave to the victory, and avenged heartbreaking postseason exits in the first round of the previous few seasons.
Simply put the Hawks were let down by their poor defensive play. They were incapable of sustaining the forecheck at times, and therefore could not sustain the pressure put forth by stand out Artemi Panarin. Looking towards the offseason, the Hawks will have to take a hard look at new options to replace Johnny Oduya, who left after last season. Defense nearly always leads to offense, and the Hawks need to return to building their roster from the goalie out in order to help their devastating attack. Whatever happens next, their title defense is definitively over, and will be watching the rest of the playoffs from the golf course.
The Blues look forward to the Dallas Stars, who may be playing more games without superstar Tyler Sequin. He only played one game against the Wild due to an achilles injury, and aggravated the injury during Game 2. His status is officially uncertain for Game 1, but the official word from General Manager Jim Nill suggests that he will miss the first two games:
“He can’t skate yet, I can say that,” Nill said. “He’s day to day, and once he gets on the ice, it’s probably four to five days from there.”
While the Stars skated past the Wild without Sequin in the first round, they will need all hands on deck in order to hold off the Blues’ explosive offense. The shots will certainly come from all sides, but they need to tame their inconsistency. The story ends well, and it is all that will be remembered, but if St. Louis ever hopes to earn a cup they will need to play a complete and focused 60 minutes of ice time.
Photo Credit: USA Today Sports
