Blackhawks failing when pressure is off

I felt like I was on a deserted island, but yes, I picked Vancouver to beat the Blackhawks in Game 5 Sunday night.

It was surprising how alone I was in the Canucks' corner. Every hockey analyst from coast-to-coast had Vancouver written off. Most were already discussing the Sharks-Blackhawks series that would surely come. Thus, Sunday served as a wake up call to the media, fans and hopefully the Blackhawks.

My decision to pick Vancouver in Game 5 had little to do with how I thought the Canucks would respond. In fact, I was surprised that they played as well as they did, especially Roberto Luongo. The pick had more to do with a trend most seem to be ignoring: the Blackhawks are only playing well when their backs are against the wall.

It took a 2-1 deficit against the Predators to get the Hawks to play well. Then it took a shorthanded Patrick Kane goal in the final seconds and 5-minute penalty kill for them to finally hit the gas and blow by Nashville to win the series. Against the Canucks, an embarassing 5-1 loss in Game 1 provided the Blackhawks with plenty of motivation to win the next three games,  but that's exactly when I knew they would lose Game 5.

Once again, Joel Quenneville's team got comfortable, complacent and suddenly lazy. The Blackhawks couldn't complete a short pass, win a faceoff or finish a check in Game 5. Not surprisingly, the Canucks scored just a minute into the game and controlled it from there, winning 4-1.

So was Sunday's loss enough for the Blackhawks to take care of business in Vancouver? Or will they need another loss and a two-goal deficit in Game 7 to wake up?

The team packed for an entire week before leaving for British Columbia Monday. That means they are planning on winning Tuesday and heading straight for San Jose. That would certainly be the easy way of getting business done.

Unfortunately, the Blackhawks have made a habit of doing things the hard way this postseason. Here's to hoping that trend ends Tuesday night.

You can follow Adam Hoge on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AdamHoge670

For more on the Blackhawks, check out the podcast of play-by-play broadcaster Pat Foley's appearance Monday on The Danny Mac Show: