Game 1: Canucks 5, Blackhawks 3

The 2008-2009 Chicago Blackhawks are doing all they can to prove that momentum doesn’t exist. 

A little more than a week after fighting back from a 3 goal deficit against Calgary, the Hawks entered the third period down 3-0 to the Vancouver Canucks.  They only needed 15 minutes to erase that lead.  It only took the Hawks four minutes to give it right back.

Ten seconds after the Hawks killed off a four minute Andrew Ladd penalty, Duncan Keith was called on a questionable tripping call.  On the ensuing power play, Pavol Demitra finished a cross-ice pass from Mats Sundin and the Canucks struck first blood.

If it weren’t for the Chicago Blackhawks, Demitra would probably be helping Dominik Hasek and HC Pardubice to the Czech Extraliga title.  Whenever Demitra sees the Indian head sweaters, he transforms into Phil Esposito and somehow tricks people into thinking he’s a relevant NHL player.  It was no different tonight as he got the Canucks on the board as the Hawks were trying to kill their fourth penalty of the first period.

Just five minutes into the second period, Keith watched as Henrik Sedin cut right across the crease.  Steve Bernier fed it to Daniel Sedin who found Henrik standing in front unmolested.  Henrik happily obliged and deposited it into the net to give the Canucks a two goal lead. 

Then ten minutes later, Ryan Kesler finished off a play in front after Brian Campbell went behind the net to chase Kyle Wellwood.  Wellwood saw Kesler all alone and it was 3-0 and it looked like the Canucks were playing at a different level than the Hawks.

On Monday night, the Hawks committed the cardinal sin of giving up a goal in the opening minute of the third period.  Tonight, the Canucks did the same thing.  Patrick Kane finished off a busted odd man rush and the Hawks proved to the hockey world that Roberto Luongo is, in fact, human. 

With new life and new lines, the Hawks felt like they were in the game for the first time since the opening minutes.  Of course, Vancouver had a couple chances to tack on to their lead but Khabibulin was better every time. 

Just under the half way point of the period, Darcy Hordichuk took a penalty 200 feet from his own net.  After some struggles to gain the Vancouver zone, the Hawks finally set up their power play when Kris Versteeg and Brent Seabrook each made nifty plays to keep the puck in the zone.  Versteeg then found Seabrook cross-ice; Seabrook fired a low hard one, and Kane put away the rebound. 

Four minutes later, Dave Bolland outworked a Vancouver defenseman and Luongo to put away a Duncan Keith rebound and just like that, the Hawks erased the Canucks’ seemingly insurmountable lead. 

From there, the Hawks had a decent amount of chances to jump up and steal one.  Vancouver appeared to be back on their heels and looked like they wanted to take their chances in overtime.  The Hawks probably got a bit too greedy.

With just over a minute left, Havlat picked up a loose puck at center ice.  He, Versteeg, and Kane were all at the end of a shift.  The smart, conservative play would have been to dump the puck deep and make the necessary change.  Instead, Havlat turned up ice and gave it to Versteeg.  Versteeg tried to make a pass back to Kane who was well covered.

While this was all happening, Cam Barker apparently thought his team was down one goal and broke hard to the net.  When Versteeg’s ill-advised drop pass missed Kane and Matt Walker couldn’t get the puck deep enough, Mason Raymond found the loose puck and was off to the races on a 3-on-1. 

Raymond fed it to Steve Bernier who one-timed it at Khabibulin.  He made the save, but after Barker decided Bernier standing on the side of the net was more dangerous than Sami Salo breaking down the slot, it was all over.  Salo fired it in the empty net and the Canucks let out a giant sigh of relief.

Leftover thoughts from Game 1

–Waaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too many defensive mistakes in this one.  Duncan Keith, Brian Campbell, and Cam Barker all made plays that were head-scratchingly strange.  I’ve read that some people think Keith might be hurt, but all the mistakes he’s been making are of the mental variety, not physical.  He continually takes poor angles in the neutral zone, lets his assignment get wide open in front of the net, and is starting to look like the weaker link between him and Seabrook.  Not the type of play you want to see from a guy who could win a Norris Trophy someday.

I still don’t know what Barker was thinking on that last goal.  Absolutely inexcusable for him to make that aggressive of an offensive move.  The last thing any defenseman should do in a tie game is get caught down low in the offensive zone.  Then to add insult to injury, if Barker made a better read off the rebound, he could’ve tied up Salo and prevented the goal.  Barker’s intial instinct was to go after Bernier even after he had already put his shot towards the net.  I don’t recommend watching that replay as much as I have.

Then again, everyone else on the ice made a mistake too so its hard to simply blame Barker.  Havlat should’ve dumped it; Versteeg shouldn’t have dropped it back to Kane; Walker should have gotten the puck deeper; coulda, woulda, shoulda.

–The Hawks sure let all the Canucks rust erode quickly by taking so many penalties early on.  Even though Toews’ and Keith’s penalties were relatively soft for playoff standards, they still put the Hawks back on their heels and never let them continue with their solid start.  Meanwhile, all the penalties allowed the Canucks to dictate the tempo and get off to the start they wanted after they had a nine day rest.

–So now, everyone sees that Roberto Luongo isn’t Patrick Roy and Tony Esposito rolled into one.  Just like any goalie, you can score on him with screens, rebounds, and getting him to move from side to side.  The Hawks did that and as long as they keep doing it, they’ll continue to score on him.  Now if they can just keep it out of their own net….

Round Two, Fight!

Ask and you shall receive here at the Feather. 

As we’re just hours from the first puck drop between the Blackhawks and the Canucks in round two of the NHL playoffs, it’s about damn time we actually say something about it.

First, it seems all sides of the late-season playoff opponent argument – Flames or Canucks – will get their fill during this season’s playoffs.  After the Hawks dispatched the Flames in six, on come the Canucks, the other late-season first round playoff possibility for the Hawks.  Though most folks fell on the Flames side of the ledger – me included – we’ll all get a chance to see the Hawks against the ‘Nucks. 

So, why were most Hawk fans pulling for the Canucks to win the Northwest Division late in the year, leaving the Hawks to play the Flames?

Well, first and foremost, playoff hockey – as all us Chicago playoff newbies have recently learned – is about goaltending, and it’s possible Canucks’ goalie Roberto Luongo is as good as it gets in the NHL.  Aside from playing very well down the stretch, Luongo’s save percentage and goals against average during round one of the playoffs were .962 and 1.15.  If Luongo saves over 96% of the shots he sees this series – fat chance, I’m sure - the Hawks will lose.

Another reason was the Sedin gentlemen.  Not only are the two very talented hockey players, if one has an erection, the other feels it.  The two apparently share a brain, and one always seemingly knows where the other is.  Aside from killing the Hawks during the regular season, the two combined for nine points in the first round win, and each led the team with +4 ratings in the first round.  Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and the checking line du jour will have their hands absolutely full with the twins.  If the Hawks can keep each Sedin to Jarome Iginla-like stats in this second round, the Hawks will win.

The other reason many Hawk fans pushed for the Canucks down the stretch was secondary scoring.  Though the team entered the year with a big, bold question mark in the “Secondary Scoring” column, it’s become a relative strength since the signing of Mats Sundin.  Sundin, Ryan Kesler, Burrows, Demitra and Wellwood have all taken turns producing as secondary scorers. 

Sundin, the most seasoned of the group, missed games three and four in round one, but managed to score a goal during his play.  He’s also 12 months removed from a 78 point season in Toronto; he can hurt you.  Defensemen not named Keith and Seabrook will have to work to keep Sundin and the other scorers off the board, though the Hawks would rather see scorers not named Sedin beat them.

So, at this point, I guess we can say the “Flames” folks won the Hawk fan playoff argument.  After all, the Hawks were able to take the first round series, while the Canucks steamrolled the Blues. The ‘Nucks are certainly a lot like the Flames, though, in that they’re more size than speed.  At the same time, they have no shortage of skill.  The Sedins are downright scary, and each scoring line can hurt the Hawks.

So, what do the Hawks have to do? 

Same as the first round: stop the team’s best scorers.  It’s been the Hawks’ hallmark all season, and they can’t stop now.  From there, the Toews/Kane/Sharp line must produce at the level the Sedins will.  Finally, Khabibulin has to come close to matching Luongo. 

To do so, the Hawks will have to do all the things good teams do to good goalies: crash the net, get traffic in front, and move the puck side-to-side.  If one of these three things fails, I don’t like our Hawks’ chances.

And, for God’s sakes, go find a television with Versus!  Go!

Local Feed

So I’m going to open this up because I didn’t want to put this in the comments and only have a few people see, but tonight’s match-up can only be seen on Versus. 

If you don’t have it, you might be S.O.L., but I have noticed during broadcasts on Versus that they have a running bar across the top that says all games are broadcast online at their website.  I’ve never done it nor do I know anyone who has.  If someone out there has watched a game on their site, feel free to leave a comment and let us if you can, indeed, do that.

Our Light Pre-Game Workout

Barry Rozner, the Blackhawk oracle, threw out a big, fat ‘I told ya so‘ concerning the Hawks’ 2008-’09 goaltending situation in yesterday’s Daily Herald. The only problem is that Rozner’s made so many contradicting statements and predications, it’s difficult to put any stock in anything Blackhawks-related he says.

For example, for months, Rozner told anyone who would listen about Cam Janssen, Kaiser Soze and the big, bad St. Louis Blues. The Blues, who are, of course, no longer alive in the race for the Stanley Cup, will take your first born and beat you down, Rozner told us.  They’ll get ya.

Then, yesterday, Rozner told us he’s been right all along about Blackhawk goaltending:

Funny that back in October when it said in [the Daily Herald] that Khabibulin was the Hawks’ best chance for a playoff run, based on his needing to audition for a new deal, many Hawks employees thought that conclusion laughable.

Ah, yes, the voice of reason and level-headedness shined a light for us months ago. Or, did he? Laying a Nostradamus-like net, Rozner firmly planted himself on both sides of all fences during the season with nuggets like the following:

But now that Cristobal Huet has found his stride, looking like the player who earned his huge Hawks contract with a solid playoff series a year ago in Washington, the Hawks need to move Khabibulin and get assets in return, as soon as Khabibulin is healthy.

Or, this one:

You look at the way the rest of the NHL season is shaping up and it’s pretty obvious that Detroit is going to go out and get a goaltender. So, again, if you’re the Blackhawks, you have to decide what you’re going to do about Nikolai Khabibulin. If you understand you’re not going to win the Stanley Cup, and you’re not going to re-sign him, why not trade with the Red Wings and steal a handful of good, young players?

And, those are just the Khabibulin-related comments. “Laughable,” indeed.

But, I guess we can file these under the “Beating a Dead Horse” category.

And, while you’re doing pre-game stretching this afternoon/evening for game one of the Western Conference Semi-Finals, check back with us.

Getting Defensive

You know what they say: “Defense wins championships.” Necessarily, then, defense wins first round series in the NHL playoffs.

With that said, let’s take a look back at the performances by each defenseman during the six-game first round series versus the Calgary Flames and, in so doing, rank the play of the d-men from best to, well, not best.

Brent Seabrook: Two seasons ago, watching Brent Seabrook play defense was like witnessing a circumcision; both scenarios gave me serious ghost pains in my private parts. But, Seabrook has been the best Hawks’ defenseman since March when he ratcheted up the physical play, and his decision-making ability is second to none among Hawk defensemen. Sure, playing with speedy and ever-present Duncan Keith makes his job easier, but Seabrook may be the prototypical playoff defenseman: he’s big and physical, and he makes great, quick decisions with the puck in his own zone which usually result in a good outlet pass. Yes, defense wins playoff series, but so, too, does simplicity.

Cam Barker: What I have developed for Cam Barker may go a touch beyond a “man crush.” Barker’s increasingly stable, physical play in his own zone is the last thing I reflect about before I go to bed at night, and his confidence with the puck and booming slap shot are the first things I think about in the morning. (When these playoffs are over, I want to get an apartment together.) As I’ve mentioned a few times during the last month, Barker’s development has been one of the season’s important stories – albeit one that’s not often talked about. In under a full season of play, Barker has gone from a young kid on the power play to a bona fide top-four defenseman developing into something more, and his progress allowed Dale Tallon to acquire a much-needed center (for James Wizniewski) at the trade deadline.

Adrian Aucoin,Dion Phaneuf: No, seriously.  Let’s hope Phaneuf’s celebrity girlfriend doesn’t have a television.

Brian Campbell: I can still hear the “boo birds.” During a five-game span in March, Campbell was a -38 with 0 points, including a putrid performance against the lowly New York Islanders. Fast-forward six weeks, and Brian Campbell is once again playing contributing hockey, a stark contrast from last year’s playoffs with the Sharks. (Now, though, we see that Campbell may not have been the problem in San Jose.) In game five, Campbell was a one-man zone-clearing machine, taking the puck coast-to-coast on a few different occasions and doing it with speed few others on the ice possessed. My (website) partner John’s favorite stat from round one: Campbell had a hand in five first round power play goals; the Hawks outscored the Flames by five goals (21-16) during the six games. The most important part about his game during the first series: name one Campbell defensive gaffe.

Duncan Keith: Keith was one of only two Hawks with a +3 rating (with Jonathan Toews) in the series, but he was the only defensemen to go scoreless throughout. Eh, I guess that’s life for a defenseman averaging nearly half a game in ice time during the playoffs against one of the league’s most lethal scorers. Keith’s knack for winning pucks along the wall is reaching mythical status, and his ability to recover after he’s caught out of position pays dividends on a nightly basis. Though Keith made a small handful of mistakes during the series, his six games can be best described with Jarome Iginla’s series stat line: 3, 1, 4.  Nonetheless, he’ll need to be significantly better round two.

Matt Walker: The beating Matt Walker has taken in this space could only be compared to the thrashing Walker himself gave Ed Jovanoski in Phoenix earlier this season – only Walker should have seen the onslaught coming. But, much like his best regular season moments, Walker played within himself during the first series, making quick, simple plays with the puck, and stepping in front of shots and steaming Flames when needed. Walker gets extra points for donating his finger to science during game five while blocking a shot.

Ham Sandwich: The least recognized Hawk defenseman was solid during the series, adding an assist with a -1 rating. He continues to be a nice compliment to Campbell, continually making the simple play with the puck. The Nicklas Kronwall impressionist will take a big stride forward early next season. Until then, he’ll just have to hang on, which doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Aaron Johnson: Sure, Johnson didn’t actually play during the first round series, but he drew contact from Andre Roy before game four in Calgary. The contact resulted in a one-game suspension for Roy, though I’m not sold that was a good thing.

Game 6: Blackhawks 4, Flames 1

Well, that’s one way to win on the road in the playoffs.

Superb goaltending: Check

Convert on every power play attempt: Check

Hang on for dear life: Check

See, it’s that easy.  Of course, that’s not the only way to do it, but the Blackhawks have rarely chosen the easy path this season. 

With the Calgary Flames facing a win-or-go home scenario, they came out in the first couple minutes trying to express their physical dominance. 

After runaway criminal Todd Bertuzzi got called for elbowing on Brent Seabrook, the Hawks ’second’ power play unit made them pay.  A nice cycle from Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, and Patrick Kane resulted in the Hawks first tally when Kane banged home a rebound to give the Hawks a quick 1-0 lead. 

What made this game different from the other two in Calgary came a few minutes later.  While Games 3 and 4 saw the Flames answer back quickly from a deficit, Olli Jokinen had his chance to get his team on the board.  Jarome Iginla made a sweet behind-the-back pass after Duncan Keith took a lousy angle on him and sent Jokinen off to the races.  With Brent Seabrook bearing down on him, Jokinen tried sneaking the puck under Khabibulin’s blocker.  This time, Khabibulin made the save.

Just minutes later, Dustin Byfuglien picked up a loose puck and came down 1-on-1 against Jordan Leopold.  With a full head of steam, Byfuglien used his patented move of going strong around the net.  At least three Flames became hypnotized by Byfuglien and left Adam Burish alone streaking down the slot.  Byfuglien put the puck right on his tape and Burish deposited it into the net. 

If Kris Versteeg’s back-hander from 8 feet out didn’t hit the post a minute later, the Hawks very easily could have walked out of the first period with a 3-0 lead.  Nevertheless, it was 2-0 after some timely goals and saves by Khabibulin. 

The second period was not one of the better periods the Hawks have played this season.  They looked tenative; they played passive; they took lazy penalties; they also had Khabibulin in net.  For the period, the offensive zone time was probably 75-25 in favor of the Flames, but each time, Khabibulin stood taller.  He made a couple of enormous saves after his defense left him completely naked. 

Jokinen was denied twice from 2 feet out with Khabibulin sprawling to his left on his best save of the game.  Daymond Langkow had a loose puck squirt to him only to put the puck right in Khabibulin’s glove. 

Late in the period, the Flames got caught with too many men on the ice.  After the Hawks ‘first’ power play unit did absolutely nothing, the ’second’ unit came on and the tables quickly turned.  Brent Seabrook made a nice pinch on Adrian Aucoin who couldn’t clear the puck.  Kane picked up the loose puck, fed it cross-ice to Brian Campbell who, in turn, roofed it right over Mikka Kiprusoff’s glove.   

In the third, the Hawks committed the cardinal sin of giving up a goal in the first minute of the period.  Todd Bertuzzi scored from the goal line and just like that, Calgary had new life.  For about the next five minutes, the Flames threw everything they could at Khabibulin, but he managed to turn them away every time.

From there, the Hawks took a deep breath and started to control the flow.  They turned the tables on Calgary and the Flames didn’t threaten until about 7 minutes left.

Then, Khabibulin made some more key saves and sucked out any life the Flames may have had.  When Dustin Byfuglien potted an empty netter with five seconds left, the Hawks and their fanbase let out a collective sigh of relief and with that, it’s on to the next round….

Leftover Thoughts from Game 6 (and the Series)

–It was lovely to see former embattled winger Dustin Byfuglien come through this whole series.  After leaving much to be desired throughout the regular season, Byfuglien came through when it counted against the Flames.  In Games 4 and 6, he was, head and shoulders, the best forward the Hawks had.  Now if he can keep this up, fans will actually be disappointed if the Hawks ship him out in the off-season.  Funny.

–Here’s something we never have to hear (or read) again and if you do, you’ll immediately know the person telling you this is hockey-retarded: The Hawks are too undersized to win in the playoffs.  Well, there is arguably no one bigger, badder, or meaner than the Calgary Flames.  The Hawks took their best punch, and then beat them in 4 out of the 6 games.  In this case, size didn’t matter, skill did. 

–Anyone calling for Nikolai Khabibulin to steal a game in this series had to wait until the end, but it finally came tonight.  That, my friends, is why goaltending is so important in the playoffs.  43 saves out of 44 shots and plenty of those were of the highest quality.  A performance like that is what Stanley Cup Championships are made out of.   

–In case the quotes weren’t enough to clue you in, the Hawks ’second’ unit has become their first.  What makes the biggest difference is having two actual defensemen on the points rather than the confused Dave Bolland.  Brian Campbell was a special teams force in this series, contributing on 5 of the Hawks power play goals in this series.  The Hawks ‘first’ unit often looks like its the first time any of them have played together.  Hopefully, in the next series, this gets addressed because it shouldn’t take this long for the coaching staff to notice Dave Bolland has no clue what he’s doing on the point. 

–With the San Jose Sharks getting eliminated tonight, the Hawks next opponent will be the Vancouver Canucks.  While there is plenty of time to break down the match-ups, let’s have a look at this knucklehead blogger who predicted a Cup Finals of San Jose-Montreal.  What an IDIOT.

Digging Deep

Other than Don Cherry’s obnoxious suits, the only thing unsexier in hockey is blocking shots.  No one remembers who blocked the puck from ever getting on net.  They only remember a shot if the goalie had to make a save on it. 

The reason I bring this up is because after watching Game 5 on Saturday night, I came away especially impressed with the Hawks ability to prevent the Flames from ever getting their shots towards the net.  During the first period, the Hawks snuffed out a decent number of opportunities by getting their body on the puck.  In total, they ended up with four in the period, the most impressive being Matt Walker’s (whose block turned his middle finger into Mike Ricci’s nose).  After the game, I went back and checked the play-by-play from this series to see if there was any correlation between blocked shots and Hawks’ defensive dominance.  Here’s what I found:

• The two highest totals of blocked shots came from Games 3 and 4 when the Hawks blocked 13 shots in each game (26 total for the mathematically challenged).  However, Hawks defensmen only accounted for 12 of those blocks.  That’s important because when the defensemen are blocking shots, more often than not, they’re blocking a prime scoring opportunity as the shot is likely coming off the forward they’re covering.  When a forward blocks a shot, its usually the result of a shot from the point.
• The Hawks only blocked 5 shots in Game 1 with Duncan Keith notching three of them.
• In Games 2 and 5, the Hawks blocked 11 shots each.  Of those 22 total, defensemen accounted for 18 of the blocks.  Those were, arguably, 18 quality saves that Nikolai Khabibulin never had to make.     
• Brent Seabrook led the Hawks in Game 2 with 4 blocks.  Matt Walker led with 3 blocked shots in Game 5, his most impressive being the one that put his finger in another area code.

So what can we take away from this?

First off, the Hawks defense is not only at it’s best when moving the puck and using their speed to their advantage, but also when they’re getting their body in front of the puck.  Games 2 and 5 were the Hawks’ most dominant wins of the series.  Is it strictly a coincidence that the defense also led the charge in shot blocking for both of those games? 

Probably not.  Other than the first period of Game 2, the Hawks have controlled the Flames in the defensive zone only giving up one goal in the other five periods.  A lot of that has to do with the defensemen being in the proper position to negate any chances the Flames are generating off their offensive zone time, which would include among other things, ta da, blocked shots.

So if the Hawks are to avoid a Game 7 with the hated Flames, look for their defensive corps to again take the brunt of the blocking.  Anyone can step in front of a Dion Phaneuf shot that will probably go wide anyways, but when Brent Seabrook knocks away an Olli Jokinen wrist shot from 25 feet out, that’s just as good as a Khabibulin sprawling save. 

______________________________________________________________

To hell with sample sizes, here’s something Hawk fans have never had the opportunity to do: Compare the playoff stats of the first three players drafted in the ‘04 Entry Draft.

1. In 6 playoff games thus far, number one pick Alex Ovechkin has three goals with four assists and is a +5.
2. Number two overall pick Evgeni Malkin has four goals and five assists in 6 games but has a +/- of 0.   
3. The third overall pick, Cam Barker, is right behind both with three goals and three assists in 5 games and a -1.

While its not at all fair to compare Barker to those two Russian monsters, it is quite nice to see him right on the tail of both players in the scoring department.  Something tells me he won’t be there for long, so we should enjoy this while we can. 

–Perhaps we have found a use for Matt Walker just yet.  His three shot blocks in Game 5 were rather large.  If his big frame can act like a puck magnet and prevent Khabibulin from having to make a save, then he may become a piece of the puzzle just yet.  Not a nice piece or a big piece or an important piece, just a piece.  

Of course, Walker nearly made a tragic ‘Matt Walker mistake’ in the first period when he stepped up at the blue line only to have the Flames player chip it over to the wide open Mike Cammalleri.  If it weren’t for the hand-eye coordination of Patrick Sharp who batted the puck out of the air, it could’ve been a 1-1 game rather quickly.

–Hockey sabermetrics leave a bit to be desired.  While baseball can brag about VORP and OPS, hockey is still looking for their defining statistic.  Corsi ratings are usually a pretty decent way to see how evenly (or unevenly) matched the game was, but there are still times when its not even close to being correct.

Game 5 is a perfect example.  If someone simply looked at the Corsi without watching the game, they would probably think the game was heavily in favor of the Flames.  Only 8 Flames registered a minus rating.  Meanwhile, only 4 Hawks had a positive rating.  Dion Phaneuf led all players with a +10 rating.

Well, as anyone who watched the game could tell you, it was hardly a close game.  The Hawks spent the majority of the first two periods in Calgary’s zone.  I would venture for the entire game, the offensive zone time was about 65-35 in favor of the Hawks.  The Flames only registered three shots on goal in the first period, notching 20 for the whole game. 

Corsi is what we have now, but if you’re good at math and enjoy hockey, there is a formula out there for you to discover.  Unfortunately, I barely passed my college Calculus course so I’m hardly the right man for the job.

Game 5: Blackhawks 5, Flames 1

Yesterday I wrote game five was a must-win for the Hawks.

And, did they ever, essentially winning the game in the first ten minutes of the first period and controlling the flow from that point forward.

In a two-minute period mid-way through the first period, aided by more silly after-the-whistle Calgary penalties, the Hawks scored three times to take a three-goal lead.  The first came on the power play from the stick of Brent Seabrook off a beautiful corner pass from Martin Havlat.  As the Hawks worked the puck down the far boards, Seabrook snuck down into the high slot, received the pass and one-timed a blast past Kiprusoff. 

Only 90 seconds later, Jonathan Toews won a face-off in the Calgary zone, and when Patrick Kane worked the puck under the goal line, Toews tapped it in front, where Patrick Sharp was waiting.  Sharp knocked the puck past Little Kipper, though it took the Hawks a few seconds to realize they had a two-goal lead.  Then, just 19 seconds later, Kris Versteeg found a Seabrook rebound and a gaping net, and capped off the two-minute series that won the game when he slipped the puck past Kiprusoff.

From there, the Hawks continued to dominate the game, limiting the Flames to only 20 shots on the evening, including a piddly three in the first frame.  The only chink the Hawks’ armor came nearly three minutes into the second period when Dustin Boyd knocked a rebound past Nikolai Khabibulin to make it a two-goal game.

Just five minutes later, though, the puck sprung out in front of the Flames’ net, and Andrew Ladd stuffed it home to seal the proverbial deal.  It took what little wind Calgary had in their sails, making it a three-goal game again.  Immediately following the goal, Calgary coach Mike Keenan pulled Kiprusoff, inserting little used back-up, Curtis McElhinney. 

At the time, Pat Foley seemed to believe Kiprusoff was angry with Keenan, saying Little Kipper slammed the bench door on his way to the dressing room.  During the post-game press conference, though, Keenan said he pulled Kiprusoff to give the referees extra time to review the goal, believing at the time the goal could have been kicked in. 

Finally, to round out the score sheet, Cam Barker found himself with room and momentum along the wall, and he blasted one past McElhinney.

Otherwise…

– The Hawks thoroughly outplayed the Flames in the series’ most lopsided game.  In what was likely a must-win game, the Hawks started like a house on fire, and the Flames had no answer.  It gives the Hawks an opportunity to take their first post-season series since 1996.  To finish the Flames in six, the Hawks must win in Calgary, something they haven’t done since the regular season.  One thing’s for sure: Calgary will play like there’s no tomorrow.  Indeed, there may not be.  Though it’s hard to say after Saturday evening’s game, I think the Hawks should do everything possible to avoid a game seven.

– The Hawks defensemen had an incredible evening.  Brent Seabrook was the game’s first star, playing very well physically and scoring a goal with two assists.  Brian Campbell moved the puck like he hasn’t since the season’s first few weeks, creating offensive opportunities on coast-to-coast rushes.  And, Cam Barker continued his very solid play.  Other than his game four gaffe – which was the fault of the Calgary ice – Barker has been one of the best Hawks this series, playing well in his own end and carrying the puck with the confidence of a veteran.  His development continues to be one of the season’s bigger stories – albeit one that’s not often talked about.

– Game five featured very little physical play compared to game three.  Calgary’s Corey Sarich took a stupid early penalty, and that calmed what little physical momentum Calgary had.  Kudos to the Hawks for avoiding the silly confrontations once again Saturday night.  Kudos also to Ben Eager for finishing a crunching hit during the third period on Mike Cammalleri, who learned his first lesson on karma, and for finishing off Adam Pardy, who responded to the hit.  Pardy’s been one of Calgary’s most physical players, but he met his match in Eager.

– Game six is tomorrow night at 8:30 in Calgary.

– Finally, I’d like to apologize for overlooking Dion Phaneuf in our Friday entry regarding Flames who need an incredible beating.  I’ll take the blame for that one.  Personally, Phaneuf is my least favorite NHL player, but like Adrian Aucoin, Phaneuf’s been one of the best Hawks’ players during the series.

Game 5 @ 8:00 pm in Chicago

Well, what else can we say about game five that (a) hasn’t been said in the last couple days in this space, or (b) wasn’t said about any of the previous four games?

While I pronounced the winner of game four as the likely series winner, the Hawks have the advantage of hosting two of the remaining three games.  As my partner in website crime, John, believes the home team may well win all seven games of the series, that obviously bodes well for the Blackhawks’ chances.  I, on the other hand, believe the Hawks must win this series in six, as I think Calgary would take a couple major advantages – playoff experience, size, etc. – into a game seven.  In my book, that makes tonight’s tilt a must-win for our beloved Hawk.

With that said, the Flames are western Canada’s walking wounded.  Andre Roy is suspended for tonight’s game, and Rene Bourque, Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow all have injuries.  Langkow will play tonight, but the other two are still questionable for the game, though all three practiced yesterday.  And, even though Bourque and Conroy are two of the better Flames, these aren’t game changing subtractions.  So long as Jarome Iginla and Mikka Kiprusoff play Calgary has shown an ability to cover for other losses.  They’ll be fine; I promise.

Other than that, the Hawks will certainly attempt to ratchet up the speed again tonight, while trying to keep the Flames from setting up offensive shop in their zone.  They’ll need the Toews and Bolland lines to play better, and Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook will have to out-duel Iginla and friends on the Calgary first line.  Finally, Nikolai Khabibulin will have to return to early-series form, though talk of calling on back-up Crisobal Huet to replace Nik is, at best, premature.

So, here goes nothing.  Again, I think tonight is a must-win; falling behind Calgary 3-2 would mean reimbursements to season ticket holders for playoff tickets.  

That way, if things go horribly wrong, at least I can buy myself some new shoes.

Talk at you later.

With Intent to Injure…

So, here we are four games into the Western Conference Quarterfinals. By now, we have all seen more than enough of the Calgary Flames. Whether it’s Olli Jokinen’s beady eyes, David Moss’s ugly face, Adrian Aucoin cutting himself on the nose to make himself look tough or Todd Bertuzzi being a criminal, there are plenty of reasons why we find ourselves imagining what it would be like to butt-end any of these douche nozzles in the face.

Really, that’s the beauty of the NHL postseason. The games are so tightly contested and teams become so familiar with each other that the collective fan bases have no choice but to fantasize about which opposing player they’d like to bludgeon over the head with a hammer. Blackhawk fans have been out of the loop for so long that we’ve gotten a little rusty. Well, no worries internet friends, here’s our top 5 list of Flames players we’d like to butt-end in the mouth (and then run away as fast as possible).

5. Adrian Aucoin - Actually, we would be careful not to hurt Aucoin because we don’t want to hurt the Hawks’ chances of winning. Seriously, Aucoin has been the most valuable member of the Hawks defensive corps this series. Every time he takes the ice, the Hawks are a threat to score. Don’t tell it to him though; he’s too busy trying to read the eyes of the Hawks players and sensing if they’re afraid.

4. Eric Nystrom - Watch any of the pre-game highlights at the United Center and you’ll be sure to see Nystrom getting his face pounded in by various Hawks. Apparently, he decided that now would be a good time to exact revenge. His biggest claim to fame was being the son of a Hall-of-Famer. Now, he wants to be one. In four games this series, he has two goals and two assists which nearly matches his 76 game output from this season of five goals and five assists. Please, for the love of all that is holy, just go back to being a 1st round bust.

3. Todd Bertuzzi - The last time this guy was a productive NHL player, Theo Fleury and Phil Housley were being escorted out of a Columbus strip club. Its not that Bertuzzi has been all that effective this series; it’s just that every time he’s out on the ice, he screaming at the refs about something inane. The majority of the Hawks roster reaches his navel and he’s worried about someone getting an extra punch on him. Oh yeah, he should also be in prison for what he did to Steve Moore, but since it happened within a sporting event, he skated free. (Thought we’d take the high road on that one, huh?)

2. David Moss - Aside from looking like Cam Barker’s half-retarded sister-turned-brother, there’s nothing wrong with Moss.  The game three hero looks like an alien sent to western Canada to gather intelligence on northern cowboys, and could play the son in a Coneheads sequel without needing a prosthetic cone.

1. Olli Jokinen - You’d think someone who’s never been to the playoffs in his 10+-year career would wipe that silly smile off his face.  Guess not.  You’d also think the player who put his team behind the proverbial eight ball in game three by barreling into the crease for no real reason would, ya know, not barrel into the crease for no real reason in game four.  Guess not.  Aside from appearing stupid and carrying around that heavy reputation for being a soft loser, the top part of Jokinen’s head is too big for the bottom part, and he has a mouth Big Foot would be jealous of.  But, I guess we’ll just have to wait to see which Jokinen shows up tomorrow night: the one who we can’t tell from Wayne Primeau, or the one who pretends to actually earn that $5 million-plus per year.