It’s easy to note that Jonathan Toews scored the two Chicago Blackhawks goals that mattered* and wonder if he’s the only Chicago Blackhawks player who “showed up” in a 4-3 Game 3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, but “Captain Serious” sounded fairly optimistic after the defeat.
Maybe more precisely, Toews seems confident that the Blackhawks can respond to the challenge of falling behind 2-1 in the 2014 Western Conference finals.
Jonathan Toews: "There’s no time for getting discouraged or getting frustrated. We know we’re going to keep pushing for that next level."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 25, 2014
#Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews: "The motivation and the reason to go out there to give everything we’ve got is very clear. It’s now or never."
— Chris Kuc (@ChrisKuc) May 25, 2014
Toews didn’t bury his teammates, which is understandable since Chicago actually played pretty well until the Kings clearly pulled away late in the third period.
Even so, head coach Joel Quenneville and others acknowledged the need for the Blackhawks to follow their leader.
Duncan Keith: "(Toews)came out and led the way and it’s up to the rest of us to follow that." #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) May 25, 2014
Game 4 takes place in Los Angeles on Monday.
* - Patrick Sharp’s tally with seconds remaining really just shifted the game-winning goal credit to Drew Doughty.