Whether trusting the eye test or advanced hockey stats (which I don't really grasp, but I do check out blogs where they are discussed), the Hawks were outplayed last night and for big chunks of the series. But, not unlike baseball, once you are in a playoff series, things happen that allow the team playing less-well to win -- at least one series. But it's not a good plan for long-term success over four series.
The Hawks do still have 4 truly elite forwards who are threats to score all the time, and the luxury of two solid defensive pairings. And obviously Crawford is good enough. That's not something the other teams can necessarily say. Nobody looks forward to playing the Blackhawks. But maybe they don't fear playing them as much this year. the Blackhawks chances of winning the cup seem lower for sure than what they were at this point in the other two championship runs.
I would love an Chicago-NYC final (so would NBC!).