The Chicago Blackhawks have come up against some pretty sizable goaltenders during this latest postseason run.
First there was the 6-foot-5 Pekka Rinne. Then the 6-foot-6 Devan Dubnyk. And most recently, there was the 6-foot-3, 236-pound Frederik Andersen.
All bigger netminders, all taken to task by the Chicago Blackhawks and captain Jonathan Toews.
As Toews and Co. prepare to face yet another big goaltender, the 6-foot-7 Ben Bishop, en route to their third Stanley Cup in the past six seasons, the Blackhawks captain believes his squad has plenty of experience to draw on when it comes to finding a way to pot the puck behind their latest oversized opponent
"I don't think there's a whole lot of small goaltenders out there nowadays," Toews said recently, via Brian Hedger of NHL.com. "But Ben Bishop definitely covers a lot of net. We just kind of played against a really good goaltender (Andersen), who was playing really well (and) who did the same -- covered a lot of net and stopped everything that he saw. So, I think to a certain degree, we've got to continue to do the (same) old things we always talk about -- traffic and that sort of stuff -- and try and make things tough on him."
Making life tough on goaltenders has become something of a specialty for Toews, Patrick Kane and the rest of the Chicago forwards in recent seasons and especially during these playoffs.
Rinne and Dubnyk were both hot heading into their respective series against the Blackhawks - though Rinne had fallen off somewhat toward the end of the year for the Preds - only to eventually succumb to the relentless Chicago attack.
Bishop currently carries a 2.15 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage in 20 playoff games this postseason. No matter, per Toews.
"I've definitely watched quite a bit these playoffs, and we know [the Lightning are] fast and skilled, they play a good team game," Toews said. "[Their defensemen join] the play, great goaltending ... we know they don't have a whole lot of weaknesses. I think we'll have to be prepared for that and do as we normally do: talk about making things difficult on their goaltender, getting to him and making them play in their own end."
The Stanley Cup Finals between Toews' Blackhawks and Bishop and the Tampa Bay Lightning is set to kickoff Wednesday, June 3, at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
