The Chicago Blackhawks didn’t fold when the St. Louis Blues managed a 2-0 lead in Game 7, but they ultimately lost 3-2 anyway.
For a team with three recent Stanley Cup rings on their resume, moral victories probably don’t do a lot of good.
CSNChicago.com features full reactions from a downtrodden Blackhawks team on the same night that their season ended following an instant-classic series.
“It just doesn’t really feel right. Pretty quick right after to put everything right after into words. Obviously not the outcome we were looking for,” Kane said. " ... Obviously they got that goal there in the third and you’re trying to play catch-up again. Maybe one too many times in the hole.”
The Blues finally landed that last punch in a series that had a big-fight feel.
"That felt like a conference final." --Coach Q
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) April 26, 2016
You won’t hear many players pin that 3-2 loss on this chance not going in:
Maybe more soul-searching (and finger-pointing?) will come with some downtime, but right now, the Blackhawks are sticking up for each other.
Coach Q on Corey Crawford: "He battled like crazy. Made some unbelievable saves there in the second period." #Blackhawks
— Eric Lear (@BHTVeric) April 26, 2016
Chicago now must face something they haven’t seen very often in the past several years: a long summer.
So... what do I do now? I've never not covered a playoff round. This is going to be weird.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 26, 2016