The Chicago Blackhawks are in a quick 2-1 hole in their Western conference second round series against the Detroit Red Wings, as the team lost 3-1 in Game 3 on Monday and now must rally to win the series against the seventh seed in the West.
The team had evened up the series on Saturday, but the Red Wings stormed back and took the momentum to hang onto their stolen home ice advantage and now they are ahead 2-1 in the series with Game 4 coming on Thursday in Detroit in Hockeytown. The Blackhawks were one of the best teams in the NHL this past season and had a record start, but after easing through the first round they now are in a tough position as they try to move on into the next series.
Jimmy Howard was excellent for the Red Wings while making 39 saves, while Corey Crawford had 27 saves on the day with Patrick Kane scoring the lone goal in the third period for Chicago. The Red Wings were able to go up 2-0 quickly and never trailed after goals from Gustav Nyquist and Drew Miller and Kane's goal was as close as the Blackhawks would get before Andrew Shaw had a goal that would have tied it but was eventually waived off. Pavel Datsyuk finished things off for the Red Wings and now they have the chance to go up 3-1 in the series.
The Rangers are playing on Thursday down 2-0 in their series to the Bruins as the series shifts to MSG, while the Sharks and Kings will also play on Thursday in Game 3.
