The Chicago Blackhawks returned home for Game 3 tonight down 2-0 to the Vancouver Canucks, having been defeated in nearly every facet of their Western Conference first-round series. They need to flip the script, and flip it quickly, to get back into this.
So the attention turns to two players: John Scott and Patrick Sharp.
Scott, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound winger who's considered one of the best heavyweight brawlers in the NHL, will replace the injured Bryan Bickell in the lineup for the Blackhawks. Whether that means anything on the ice remains to be seen; whether it shifted the pregame conversation away from a defending champion facing a 3-0 deficit on home ice is undeniable … especially when Scott does his part to play the heel.
Remember what Scott did to Alex Bolduc of the Canucks last season, when Scott was with the Wild?
Said Scott today, via The Province:
"Coach Q kind of hinted about it yesterday and I was jacked up and said let's do this," said Scott. "I couldn't sleep last night. I'm excited. Any chance I get, we're going to get it in deep and I'm going to go right to the front and park my body there and create a screen or some havoc and go from there.
"I've got to go and throw the weight around. I'm going to hit as much as I can but I'm not going to be crazy. We've got to throw everything we have at the net. We've given him [Luongo] too many easy saves. We kind of let him off the hook a bit."
The Canucks' reaction to Scott? Well … not impressed.
Kevin Bieksa of the Canucks had this to say about Scott in the lineup, via the Chicago Tribune:
"When a guy 6-8 challenges you that can't skate? Usually you say no and you go around him and score," Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said Sunday morning, when asked about John Scott's arrival in the Hawks' lineup. "That's what usually you do.
"There are a couple other 6-8 guys in the league. Why doesn't he challenge those guys to fight? I don't think a whole lot is going to change for us. We're going to come out and be physical regardless of who they have in the lineup. Our whole game plan has been to initiate and not retaliate, and we've done a good job of it so far. I don't see anything changing tonight."
Scott averaged 6:15 TOI on average in 40 regular-season games.
Meanwhile, Patrick Sharp is in the spotlight because he has as many points as John Scott in this series.
Sharp's yet to score and has skated to a minus-2, getting nine shots on Roberto Luongo. Is he still battling through his knee injury? The Tribune asked:
Sharp hardly has been ineffective since his return April 6, recording three points — all assists — in the final three regular-season games and throwing 13 shots on goal in those contests. He has played with a sniper's required aggression.
"I was surprised when he came back that home game against St. Louis, but he has played great hockey since," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "To me, it doesn't look like there's anything bothering him out there. He's playing hard. He's not making any excuses."
Will the Sharp/Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane trio see significant time tonight in Game 3? We'd wager yes. Bottom line, as Sam Fels wrote for NBC, is that the Blackhawks' stars need to come through tonight:
There aren't too many more x's and o's to be unearthed here. These teams know what the other one has and what they're going to try and do. It's pretty much up to if they can do it. And more importantly, will Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, and Patrick Kane make their presence felt tonight? Do they have the legs to do so? Even just one power play goal could make a huge difference. If the Hawks had cashed in on any of their limited opportunities in Games 1 and 2, how different might things look?
And how much different will Game 3 look if it happens?