The Blackhawks have four three-time Stanley Cup champions on their roster and several more with multiple rings. Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews, all three of whom have won a Conn Smythe Trophy, are used to playing in big games. The brighter the stage, the better they usually perform.
But they're about to enter unchartered territory: a postseason with ... no fans? It's weird to even think about and will surely be an unusual experience for the players, but that doesn't mean the games won't mean something to them.
“All of us would say that it would be a really weird situation," Kane said. "Maybe looking back, you take it for granted. It’s amazing playing in front of 22,000 fans every night. Even on the road, the Blackhawks fans travel so well. It’s just amazing playing in front of that many people, and [to have] that many people cheering you on. It’d be totally different.
"It would take away from some of the playoff-type atmosphere, for sure, but I would like to think that once you get into the games and you realize you’re in the playoffs, and you realize you’re playing for something special, the intensity will be the same."
Alex DeBrincat is among the group of young Blackhawks that hasn't gotten a chance to sniff the playoffs yet. And while this may not be exactly what he envisioned, you could see and hear the excitement in his eyes and the tone of his voice during Thursday's video call when talking about the possibility of playing in do-or-die games.
“It’ll be weird, for sure, playing with no fans,” DeBrincat said. “It’ll definitely be a different experience, but I’ve never been to the playoffs, so I don’t really know the atmosphere of the rink. But just from normal regular-season games, it’s easy to get up for. Going into a short series like that, I think the intensity will be high. Everyone wants to win, but it’ll definitely be a way different experience than normal without the fans.
"I'm really excited to get that chance and hopefully win that play-in round and make the playoffs, so, for me, there's a lot of energy to get back and come ready to play. I think motivation for the playoffs, you don't really need to push too much on it. Everybody's motivated to come back and battle for the Stanley Cup, so for me being my first time, it's a pretty exciting time."
Connor Murphy has appeared in 444 games across seven NHL seasons and doesn't have a single postseason appearance on his resumé. He's as hungry as anybody to get a taste of what the Stanley Cup Playoffs are like.
"Yeah, it's amazing," Murphy said. "It's not something I would've pictured when you think about getting your first chance of playing in the playoffs having potential no fans and everything, but just the opportunity to do that at any stage and any setting I think is amazing.
"Just having a chance, obviously, it being kind of a different format than anything we've seen, but just having any sort of opportunity to play in a playoff series and a chance to gain rounds and win a Stanley Cup is amazing. I think it'll just be a lot of fun."
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