BLOG: Veterans a Calming Presence to Rookies Following Playoff Loss

On the youngest roster in Phase 4, it's up to the veterans to lead the way into Game 3 against the Oilers.

For the young players on Chicago's roster -- including 10 who saw the ice in the opening two games -- the loss on Monday night is the first real test of adversity. It's easy to keep the confidence high when you're winning, but coming off the first loss of the postseason, those who have been through the ups and downs of the playoffs will be leaned on as a calming presence in the locker room.

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"In playoffs," former Chicago forward Adam Burish explained on the latest episode of Blackhawks Insider, "where it gets hard is all of the sudden Game 1 you win and you feel like, 'Oh my gosh, we're going to win the Stanley Cup. We just blew out the Edmonton Oilers. We're playing great.' You feel so good about yourself and about your game and how you're playing ... You get spanked in Game 2, all of the sudden your confidence -- just like the fans are, you're sitting at home like, 'We got killed. How are we going to get back in this thing?We've got no chance, that team is so good.'

It's a roller coaster of emotions in playoffs and you have to find a way to manage that and just kind of reset every game," Burish continued. "And that's where your veteran leadership and guys that have been through it, they're really good at that. Your older guys in (Patrick) Kane and (Jonathan) Toews, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford -- those old guys, they're the ones that are going to have to be in the locker room kind of passing that message along … Those guys are going to have to relay that message to your younger guys because I can guarantee those younger guys are going to be like, 'Holy man. Do we have a chance right now?' … Those guys are going to have to be the voices and the leadership and settle the young guys down knowing this is normal. These emotions are normal, what you're feeling is normal. Let's reset and let's get some energy going into Game 3."

By the time Keith and Alex DeBrincat spoke with the media on Tuesday afternoon, each referenced some of those conversations that have already taken place inside the Edmonton hub -- the playoff rookies getting sage advice from their multi-Cup-winning teammates.

"In playoffs, there's lots of talk, there's a little more media attention, obviously we're doing these press conferences and things like that," Keith said of his advice to younger players, in particular his blue line partner Adam Boqvist. "I think you can get a little bit wrapped up in it sometimes as a young guy, maybe if it's your first time, but at the end of the day it's still hockey, something you've done your whole life … There's always ups and downs in a playoff series. It's 1-1."

"We've got a lot of guys who have been there before and played in a lot of playoff games," said DeBrincat, who picked up his first multi-point playoff outing in Game 2. "So whether it's listening to them in the locker room or just in the team meal room, they know a lot about this league and playoffs. (We) try to soak up as much from them and their calm presence so far. Hopefully it keeps going and hopefully we can get a few more wins."