Hossa … Upset

And, suddenly, it all seems so worth it…

In game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins toppled the once mighty Detroit Red Wings.  Given that all Chicago Blackhawk fans became humongous Penguin fans two weeks ago, tonight’s “victory” is nearly as sweet as it gets.

My favorite part: the obligatory camera shot just after the final horn of Marian Hossa, who, of course, turned down almost $50 million from the Penguins to “win” with the Wings.  Oops.  Maybe he’ll switch teams again…

Enjoy your weekend, folks.  Here’s hoping it feels as good by you as it does here.

Game 5: Red Wings 2, Blackhawks 1 (OT)

Who knew getting the puck deep into Detroit’s zone could be so difficult?

The Hawks wasted plenty of chances tonight to get pucks deep into Detroit’s zone and tee off on their depleted defensive corps.  Instead, the Hawks made it too easy for the Wings to gain entry into the offensive zone with a full head of steam.  Too many times, they coughed up pucks in the neutral zone and let Detroit go to their bread and butter, their neutral zone transition.

For two periods, the much-maligned Cristobal Huet and the no longer worthy of any criticism Chris Osgood turned in a classic goaltenders’ dual.  Both goalies came up with a number of terrific saves to keep their teams in the game.  Unfortunately for the Hawks, it was always the wrong guy who had his puck on his stick.

Colin Fraser and Troy Brouwer had enough opportunities between them to light a village.  Fraser had two point blank shots from about ten feet out and each time Osgood was better.  Brouwer led the Hawks with 5 shots.  

In the third period, Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien each had an opportunity to clear the defensive zone but failed.  When the puck found Brett Lebda’s stick on the blue line, it was only a matter of time before it found twine.  It did when his knuckling puck was deflected by Phil EspositoDan Cleary past Huet’s short side. 

Six minutes later, Patrick Kane found the most room he’s had all series and made the Wings pay by putting together a highlight reel goal.  He picked up the puck at center ice, made a slick move around Jiri Hudler, then went right past Brett Lebda.  Osgood gave him about an inch of space over his shoulder and Kane found it with a wicked back-hander. 

The goal breathed some life into a Hawks team on life support.  They had a ton of shots to close out regulation.  Adam Burish and Dustin Byfuglien were both denied from in close. 

Cristobal Huet, though, came up with the save of the night in the waning seconds.  Marian Hossa blew right past Duncan Keith and came in with Johan Franzen.  Hossa pushed the puck towards Franzen who had to turn around to pick it up.  Huet, meanwhile, was flat on his belly.  Franzen picked the puck on his backhand and shoveled it towards the net.  In a last ditch effort, Huet lifted his leg to stone Franzen and send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Hawks looked extremely tentative and the Wings looked like a team determined to close out the series.  It didn’t take long, either. 

After the Hawks performed another fire drill in their own zone led by Matt Walker standing at the top of the circles, Darren Helm banged it home on a scramble in front of the net. 

Just like that, it was game over.  Series over.  Season over. 

Leftover Thoughts from Game 5

–If there is any saving grace to the Hawks season ending, it’s that we should never, ever, ever see Matt Walker in a Blackhawks uniform again.  Walker displayed again tonight why he is an eighth defenseman.  In overtime, with the Hawks scrambling in their own end, Walker found himself in no-man’s land standing at the top of the circles.  When the puck came down low, the Wings outnumbered the Hawks 3 to 2 and it didn’t take long to outscore them 2-1.

I really wouldn’t have a problem with Walker if he would just realize who he was: a defenseman with limited skills.  Maybe playing most of the year with Brian Campbell made Walker think he was someone else, but most of his mistakes are caused by his delusion that he can push the puck up.  He can’t.  So, goodbye sir, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. 

–Can’t blame Cristobal Huet for this one.  His performance tonight should get most of the fans off his back for a little while.  At least, until he gives up his first goal of the 2009-2010 campaign.  Most of the year, he was playing under the pressure of his contract and the scrutiny of a strict goaltender rotation.  Now after living through it, I fully expect him to bounce back and have a season better than the one he just put together. 

–Where was this Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook for most of this series?  Other than the last rush in regulation, they put together a game that makes you wonder what if they played like this the whole series.  This kind of performance is what we should’ve seen from Game 1.

–So all the people that wanted Kris Versteeg benched in Game 4, you got your wish in tonight’s game.  Versteeg only saw 12 minutes of ice time with Q deciding that offensive juggernauts Colin Fraser and Troy Brouwer were more important to the team’s success tonight.  Yes, Versteeg can be maddening with the puck in the neutral zone but he is dangerous.  That’s more than Fraser or Brouwer could say.

–I suppose we’ll find out soon enough, but Patrick Sharp only seeing 12 minutes is a tad bit curious.  There have been whispers that he’s been playing with a significant injury since getting his knee sliced against Nashville.  If Sharp isn’t hurt, Q needs to answer why in a must-win game, would he feel that Brouwer and Fraser were more deserving of ice-time over one of his offensive leaders.   

–Here is the most important thing the Hawks learned in the playoffs:  The Kids can Play.  When I say kids, I mean the franchise, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.  When the playoffs started, no one really knew what to expect from them.  Well, here’s what:  Kane finished second on the team in scoring with 9 goals and 5 assists.  Toews finished third with 7 goals and 6 assists.  That is by far, the most positive thing to come out of this long journey.

–Well, this is the end of the road.  But don’t fret friends of the Feather, Bob and I will be here with you through the summer.  Here’s what you can expect from us: A diary of the NHL Draft which I believe is in a month, a recap of each player’s season, any transactions, and plenty of other random thoughts.  The updates may not be every day like during the season, but at least 4 to 5 times a week.

Here’s something you won’t see:  We will not respond to every ridiculous rumor that pops up on the Internet.  It’s too time consuming and in the end, it’s mostly a waste of time.  The only time we’ll use something is when it’s just too preposterous not to post.  In the mean time, feel free to let us know if there’s anything else you want us to cover. 

I’m already making a promise to you now, we will spend more time next year giving some in-depth looks at guys in Rockford and juniors. 

This is the end, my only friend, the end….

Game 4: Red Wings 6, Blackhawks 1

Oh, nothing to see here.  Move on…

For the Wings, it was no Lidstrom, no Datsyuk; no problem.  And, the Wings’ transition game continues to be the difference in a series that certainly isn’t as close as it seemed 24 hours ago.

The game started poorly and wouldn’t get any better.  After Henrik Zetterberg took a holding call on Dustin Byfuglien, Cam Barker rattled a long range shot off the post on the power play.  A Wing found himself without a stick, and the Hawks sustained pressure on the man advantage; that is, until four Hawks got caught below the Wings’ goal line chasing a dump-in.  A loose puck squirted out to Marian Hossa along the half-boards, and he and Valtteri Filppula went in on a 2-on-1.  Hossa received a give-and-go pass back right in front of Cristobal Huet, and gave the Wings a lead they wouldn’t lose.

A little more than 10 minutes later, Johan Franzen scored a mirror image of the first goal of the series tallied by Daniel Cleary on Nikolai Khabibulin.  Franzen skated down the boards on Huet’s glove side and flipped a weak wrist shot that beat Huet to the far side. 

Then, it happened: a seemingly routine dust-up involving each of the players out on the ice following the first period.  But, when the Blackhawks emerged from the dressing room for the second period, Joel Quenneville was told Matt Walker received a penalty for roughing.  Quenneville turned redder than the Red Wings home sweater, screaming at the referees.  Filppula scored on the ensuing power play, and Quenneville called the roughing penalty “the worst call in the history of sports” in his post-game news conference.

After Detroit’s Brett Lebda put a puck into the stands, Jonathan Toews scored his seventh of the playoffs on the power play.  But, the story of the power play was what happened just after it.  Just 12 seconds following the Hawks’ lone tally, Marian Hossa found himself in behind Brian Campbell.  He fought off Kris Versteeg en route to the net, and put another puck past Huet.  The goal essentially erased the Hawks’ tally and signaled the end of any fight the Hawks had.

After that, the Hawks took 12 penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct and game misconduct for Eager and back-to-back penalties for Kris Versteeg.  The first was a blatant cross check, and the second was a roughing call received on his way out to the play from the penalty box.  Though the second was nearly as bad as the Matt Walker call, it highlighted the Hawks’ struggle to compete while maintaining composure in the late stages of the game.  Zetterberg would take advantage of the penalties, scoring the Wings’ fifth and sixth goals of the game.

Leftover Thoughts from Game Four:

- The Matt Walker play was indeed a phantom call.  While it may not have been the “worst call in the history of sports,” it allowed the Wings to take a three-goal lead just before the Hawks would score their own power play tally.  What could have been a one-goal game was a two-goal defecit.

The bad news?  It wouldn’t have mattered.  The Hawks weren’t even close on Sunday afternoon.  The referees could have given Hossa and Zetterberg Game Misconducts in the first period, and the Hawks still would have lost.

- Of course, Cristobal Huet was pulled (and later re-inserted) during Sunday’s game.  Huet was undoubtedly awful, but he’ll have to recover for Wendesday’s game in Detroit, which he’ll start.

While it certainly makes the Blackhawks’ offseason goaltending situation more interesting, I’ll make it less intriguing for you: the Hawks aren’t re-signing Khabibulin.  Unless the economy destroys his market, Khabby will go take decent money for decent years elsewhere.  The Hawks cannot offer him that.

- Martin Havlat was again knocked out of Sunday’s tilt.  He looked out of it during his heavy minutes in the first period, and I’d again be surprised if he played Wednesday.

- A lot of Chicagoans are angry with Eddie Olczyk’s non-homerism on the Versus and/or NBC telecast.  What’s much freakier, though, is Pierre McGuire’s intermission orgies with Mike Millbury. 

McGuire enjoys role playing with Millbury, asking the former Bruin to “be the coach” while McGuire tries his best to hold down a massive erection.  Then, McGuire gets his opportunity to play the coach, telling the world what Mike Babcock must be telling his team before that particular period.

Pierre, you’re freaking me out.  And, you’re getting me horny.

Game 3: Blackhawks 4, Red Wings 3 (OT)

You can’t stop Matt Walker; you can only hope to contain him. 

In the most unlikely of events, the much-maligned Matt Walker had a terrific shift in overtime.  He took a puck along the boards, skated behind the net, and started a cycle with Patrick Sharp.  When Niklas Lidstrom snapped his stick on Sharp, the puck came back to the point. 

Barker saw Walker alone on the far side.  Walker took the lane given to him and blasted a low hard one on net.  The rebound sat around in front, Sammy Pahlsson made a heads up play to feed Sharp on the weak side wing and that was all she wrote.

Winning the game was the biggest thing, but the Hawks certainly didn’t score any style points with this one.

After Gordie Howe Dan Cleary gave the Hawks a 4 minute power play with a high stick early in the first, Dave Bolland received a cross ice pass from Havlat, spotted a wide open Brent Seabrook, and he blasted it toward the net.  Sharp got a piece of it and the Hawks notched the first goal of the game for the third time this series. 

Just a minute later, Andrew Ladd picked up a loose puck and fired it low.  Chris Osgood made the first save, but he coughed up a juicy rebound and Ladd squeezed it through his legs to give the Hawks a dreaded two goal lead. 

Five minutes later, the Hawks had their opportunity to put Detroit away for good.  Niklas Kronwall received a five minute major for absolutely destroying Martin Havlat.  The Hawks couldn’t get anything going and they left the door open for a Detroit comeback. 

Then in the second period, Duncan Keith pinched to keep a loose puck in the Detroit end.  After his shot hit Pahlsson’s stick, it went through Osgood’s legs and the Hawks went up three with 39 minutes to go.

It looked like Detroit was more than willing to toss this game out and start over in Game Four.  

The Hawks, meanwhile, decided it was a good idea to take penalty after penalty and the Wings started to control the play.  They killed off the first two penalties but when Dave Bolland was called for a ticky-tack hook, it was only a matter of time.

A minute and a half into the power play, Marian Hossa found Lidstrom with a little room and he blasted a shot past Khabibulin.  On the way to the net, the puck glanced off Pahlsson’s skate and Khabibulin didn’t have much of a chance.

For the remainder of the period, the Hawks treated their defensive zone like a fire drill.  Guys were running around trying to cover other people’s assignments.  Detroit’s weak side point was wide open every time and what looked like a blowout, turned into a 3-3 game within five minutes. 

The mystery man, Cristobal Huet, came in for the third period after Khabibulin aggravated…something, most likely his groin after he spent the majority of the second period sprawling all over the crease.

Both teams were on the defensive for most of the period but with about four minutes left in the period, it seemed like the Hawks looked at the scoreboard and realized it wasn’t, in fact, the end of the world.  From there, Kane-Toews-Byfuglien put together the most sustained pressure of the period.  Every shift after that, the Hawks had a solid chance to end it in regulation. 

It never happened.

In overtime, the Hawks continued the pressure from the previous period.  The Wings were forced into a couple of icings and after Matt Walker decided it was a good time to be Bobby Orr, the Hawks made this a series again.

Leftover Thoughts from Game 3

–The majority of the next 36 hours will be dedicated to deciding if Kronwall’s hit on Havlat was dirty.  The Hawks obviously feel it was; Detroit disagrees.  Kronwall certainly didn’t let up on the hit and the puck was never on Havlat’s stick.  Kronwall also led with his forearm to Havlat’s jaw.  With that being said, Havlat got caught with his head down in no-man’s land. 

Was it a cheap shot?  With my rose-colored Hawks glasses on, yes.  As an objective observer, no.  But I thought the referees absolutely made the right call by giving him the game misconduct.  If they don’t give him the boot at that point, there’s a very good chance this game turns into World War III.  Ben Eager would have probably finished the game wearing Kronwall on his helmet.

–Nikolai Khabibulin has already been ruled out for Game 4, according to Comcast SportsNet’s Josh Mora, so the once forgotten Cristobal Huet is back.  Before everybody bemoans this turn of events, let’s look at the facts.

Khabibulin has had two “playoff game stealing” performances: Game 1 and 6 against Calgary.  In every other game, he has been perfectly average.  The guy with the 92% save percentage of the regular season is gone.  So far in the playoffs, his percentage is a mediocre 88%.

It speaks volumes for how far this team has gotten without the superb goaltending we all thought they’d need to advance. 

That all being said, this has been a wacky year for the Hawks and their goalies.  Every time it seemed the most desolate, that’s when their goalies came up with a game-changing performance.  So don’t bust out the razor blades just yet.

–I guess it would be silly of me not to acknowledge Matt Walker for his end of game theatrics.  I’ve been one of his harsher critics this year, but that was a great play he made in overtime to keep the play alive.  Not only that, but he led the team with 4 shots on net and made the recognition that the winger covering him had no stick, so he had a wide open lane to get his shot through.  Big ups to Big Country.  Now, please don’t think that means you’re Brian Campbell.

–Was the camera operator for Versus tonight a drunk freshman from Columbia College?  All night, viewers had no idea where the puck was thanks to the inability of cameraman to find the play.  It certainly didn’t help that the only proof we had Patrick Sharp’s game winner went in the net was because of Sharp’s reaction.

Game 2: Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 2 (OT)

This was a tough one. 

I don’t really have the stomach to re-live this game, so here are some brief after thoughts from this abortion:

–The angry mob has just finished lighting their torches and sharpening their pitchforks, so watch out Brian Campbell.  His blunder at the blue line in overtime will probably bring back the idiotic boo birds to the United Center for Game 3 but still, he probably should have just made the safe play and dumped it deep. 

–Nikolai Khabibulin allowed three goals where he had about a -34% chance to stop them.  Tomas Holmstrom screened him on the first.  Dan Cleary was the recipient of an incredibly fortuitous bounce on the second.  Brian Campbell gift wrapped the third goal for Mikael Samuelsson.  This is a huge reason why it was such a tough one especially Cleary’s goal.

–So now that everyone doesn’t have Kane or Toews to blame for all the Hawks’ woes, maybe it’s time we take a look at Dave Bolland, who has been invisible for the first two games.  Ladd has had a couple of big hits thus far; Havlat is creating opportunities, and Bolland is running around blowing his defensive assignment over and over.  He is a big reason why they’ve made it this far and unless he picks it up, he’ll be a big reason why they’re eliminated.

Someone should also probably tell him he’s not Gunner Stahl, the infamous Icelandic sniper from Mighty Ducks 2.  When he picked Zetterberg’s pocket in the second to give himself a breakaway, he should have driven hard to the net and at least drawn a penalty, instead of teeing it up from 65 feet out.

–Amazing, all year, the Hawks were ragged on for their inability to win face-offs.  This series, three of Detroit’s goals have come off the Hawks winning a face-off in the Wings’ zone.  I’d love to know if this has ever happened before.

Game 1: Red Wings 5, Blackhawks 2

After having a few hours to digest this game, it’s amazing to think back and realize it was a tie game with just under 12 minutes left to play.  Nikolai Khabibulin was strong enough to keep the Hawks in the game after a couple of tragic defensive blunders. 

The game looked like it was going to go down to the wire, and then the Red Wings turned on their jets; the Hawks treated their defensive zone coverage like a fire drill, and at the end, the Red Wings turned a once tight game into a breeze.

The Hawks drew first blood early when Adam Burish snuck around the Wing net, picked up a turnover and deposited it right between Chris Osgood’s legs.  This was after several extended chances for the Hawks in the early going.  The majority of the first few minutes were played in the Detroit end. 

Then after a clean offensive zone face-off win by Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook whiffed on the puck.  Dan Cleary was busting hard right off the draw and picked it up.  In a clear 2-0n-1, Cleary pulled up from about 40 feet and shot a wrist shot off his back foot.  The shot beat Khabibulin high to the glove side and the Wings were back in business.

From there, Detroit picked up their play and started to pepper Khabibulin.  He stood tall each time and Osgood did the same thing at the other end as the Hawks had plenty of opportunities of their own.

In the second period, Khabibulin single-handedly killed off a key Detroit power play with a couple of highlight reel saves.  He robbed Johan Franzen on the door step twice and denied Zetterberg on a decent chance.  It started to look as though the Bulin Wall would win Game 1 on his own. 

Of course, late in the second period, Duncan Keith won a board battle deep in his own end.  Instead of just skating the puck out himself, he tried to make a two foot ‘buddy’ pass to Seabrook behind the net.  He whiffed on the attempt, Franzen picked up the puck and wrapped it around to give the Wings a 2-1 lead. 

After Jonathan Ericsson was called for an interference penalty a minute and a half into the third, (that the refs could have called all game, on both sides if they wanted to), the Hawks power play was at again.  Kris Versteeg won a board battle and fed it back to Seabrook who did a terrific job of holding it in the zone.  

When Franzen took the wrong assignment, Seabrook blasted it towards the net where it was re-directed about 13 times.  Versteeg was cutting hard to the net and potted it into the empty net to square it away at 2-2.

From there, the Red Wings really picked up the pace and after an extended shift in the Hawks zone, Mikael Samuelsson shot another 40 foot wrister off his back foot and beat Khabibulin over his glove. 

Just a minute later, Franzen put a shot towards the net that Cleary tipped over Khabibulin’s shoulder and the Wings went up by two goals with just 11 minutes left.

The Hawks tried to scratch and claw their way back as they have done so many times before, but Osgood was better on each attempt.  He denied Toews on two shots down low.  Dustin Byfuglien had an excellent shot that was turned away and that was all the Wings needed to hold on for the important Game 1 victory.

Leftover Thoughts from Game 1

–It goes without saying that Khabibulin probably should’ve stopped Cleary’s first goal, but let’s not forget, that shot should have never happened after Toews won the draw back to Seabrook.  As we’ve all laid witness to in these playoffs, turnovers at the blue line are suicide and against the Wings, it is no different.  So before everyone starts to tie Khabibulin to the wooden post and light a match, we should remember the mistakes that were made before the shot even got there.

–Apparently Mike Milbury didn’t watch many Blackhawks games on his Centre Ice package because if he did, he wouldn’t have been so shocked about Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane’s collective ice times.  In between the 2nd and 3rd period, Milbury sounded like a pissed off Pee Wee mom.  Anyone who was watched the Hawks this year knows this is nothing out of the ordinary.  This is the one nice thing about having Edzo on the broadcast.  He can tell Milbury and Pierre Macguire they’re idiots.  Which he basically did today on multiple occasions.

–It’s hard to feel optimistic after this game.  The Wings dictated the tempo when they wanted.  The Hawks gave up way too many odd-man rushes, even before their defense became pinching mad men late in the game.  The Hawks only got two shots past Osgood with 32 shots on net, which reminds me…

This goes out to all our new hyper-sensitive Wings fans: Yes, Chris Osgood played a good game.  I hope you can all sleep better knowing you were right.  Now if we can only get him to lose that ugly ass mask, then maybe we’ll start to call him a Hall-of-Fame goalie.

Game 6: Blackhawks 7, Canucks 5

Going into the third period, the Hawks and Canucks skated to a 3-3 tie.  Neither team played stifling defense with each taking turns coughing up the puck deep in their own zone.  Even with all the shaky play going on, no one could have predicted what was in store for the final frame.

Just four minutes into the period, Mats Sundin found a loose puck and beat Nikolai Khabibulin from the top of the circle after the Hawks just killed off a too many men penalty. 

Almost exactly two minutes later, Patrick Sharp picked up the puck behind the Canucks’ net and cut it hard to the front.  He drew three Canucks around him, the puck found Adam Burish, and he beat Roberto Luongo to the far side to knot up the score at 4. 

After the Hawks killed off a dumb Dustin Byfuglien penalty and were unable to capitalize on Ryan Kesler’s interference, Troy Brouwer was called on a soft interference call.  Brouwer went hard to the net; Alex Burrows was completely out of position and lost his balance as he made contact with Brouwer.  Burrows fell back into Luongo and Brouwer was sent off to the box.

In the most predictable of sequences, Daniel Sedin waited a whole 8 seconds before he roofed his second goal of the game to put Vancouver back up on top.

Then just forty-five seconds later, a loose puck hopped over Willie Mitchell’s stick behind his own net.  Patrick Kane was right there to pick it up and wrapped it right into the net to tie the score at 5.  

The Hawks didn’t wait long to recapture their first lead since the ten minute mark of the second period.  Shane O’ Brien certainly obliged when he hooked Dustin Byfuglien off the ensuing face-off.  The Hawks won the draw in Vancouver’s zone, Jonathan Toews found the puck on the goal line, drove hard to the net, banked it off Alex Edler’s skate, and in between Luongo’s legs.

Less than three minutes later, Patrick Kane scored a goal that will be replayed for years and years on the United Center jumbotron.  He picked up a puck at his own blue line, completely undressed Shane O’ Brien, and scored on a backhand shot that maybe three other people in the league could have made.  The goal gave Kane his first career hat trick and the Hawks first playoff hat trick since the immortal Gary Suter lit up the Maple Leafs for three in the ‘94 playoffs, a game that is more remembered for Roenick’s OT winner than Suter’s three.

With three and a half minutes left, the Canucks refused to go away and had a couple of golden opportunities to cut the lead in half.  This time, the puck bounced Khabibulin’s and the Hawks way.  The final three minutes ran off the clock and with that, the Hawks had finally put away a Vancouver squad that was the media’s Western Conference pick du jour at the end of the year. 

Leftover Thoughts from Game 6 and the Series

– I hate to do this because it only feeds to the lowest common denominator of Hawk fans(a.k.a. none of the Feather’s readership) but I think Patrick Kane finally proved that anyone who has said, “he needs to beef up” or ”he’s soft” or “he’s going to be invisible in the playoffs” is officially hockey retarded.  Give him any space and he’ll make you pay.  Vancouver decided in this series they were going to let him beat them instead of Martin Havlat and mercy, did they pay dearly.  Kane finished the series with 6 goals and 2 assists.

Yes, his defensive play leaves something to be desired and eventually he will learn.  In the meantime, we should enjoy the fact that we have an offensive mastermind who is only 20 years old and looks to be a force for years to come. 

–Let’s all take a deep breath and really ask ourselves if we want the offensive juggernaut known as the Detroit Red Wings squaring off against the Hawks.  If the Hawks put forth a defensive effort they did tonight, the Wings will finish the Hawks off in 3 games.  I would prefer the Ducks for a million reasons but just to name a few: home ice, they’d be coming off a 7 game series, Jonas Hiller is due to cool off any time now, they’re another team that will think they can beat up the Hawks….ok that’s enough for now. 

–Lost in Patrick Kane’s hat trick was Jonathan Toews’ 2 goals and an assist.  After Toews was questioned for disappearing in this series, he showed up in a big way tonight.  I was discussing this with Bobby as we took turns recessitating each other during the game, but it’s humorous how the media picks out one guy from every team and keeps asking them, “Why aren’t you scoring?”  

If you pick out a struggling player from each team in the playoffs, you could put together quite a squad.  Apparently no one with media credentials has heard of sample size. 

–Nikolai Khabibulin probably played one of the best games in NHL history where the goalie gave up five goals.  He made a few huge saves that very easily could have extended Vancouver’s lead.  None were bigger than the save he made on Mason Raymond’s redirection from a point shot with less than a minute left in the second period.  A goal there and Vancouver would’ve gone into the third with a lead.  Their record this year when leading after the second: 30-1-3.  Yeah, that was kind of a big save. 

–The highlight of Dale Tallon celebrating in his skybox was seeing Stan Bowman pretending to be excited about the win.  This series win just about cinches up any small chance Bowman had of taking over for Tallon at the end of the year.  I’ll venture a guess that an extension for Tallon will be announced relatively shortly.  

–At the home opener this year, I picked up the final edition of ”The Blue Line”.  In it was a column from former Afternoon Salooner Dan McNeil where he basically said this year was Conference Finals or bust for the Hawks.  When I read it, I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it.  In October, the only realistic goal Hawk fans should have set for themselves was making the playoffs. 

Now they find themselves four wins from the Campbell Conference Trophy.  We’ll have a couple days to recap just how those goals changed throughout the year and why setting a goal like that in October is only setting yourself up for disappointment.

–You know I have to toot my own horn on this one, but I’ve expressed ad nauseum throughout this season that the ‘08-09 Hawks have reminded of the ‘94-95 squad.  Well, that team also knocked out the Canucks in the second round(albeit in a sweep, but nonetheless) only to lose to the Wings in the Conference Finals.  So there’s another reason why we should be rooting for the Ducks to come up with 2 more wins: to shut me up.

Game 5: Blackhawks 4, Canucks 2

And, just like that, the lower seeded team has given itself a chance to close out the series at home.  Can’t ask for much more than that.

Though the Blackhawks finally scored first on Saturday night in Vancouver, the Canucks rallied to take a 2-1 lead mid-way through the game, and the Hawks, once again, found themselves trailing in a close playoff game.

More than 15 minutes into the first, Mr. Dustin Byfuglien went to the net, found a juicy Brian Campbell rebound and slammed it home.  Campbell’s one-timer came off a nice cross-ice set-up from Kris Versteeg.

But, never straying too far from script, the ‘Nucks scored two to put themselves in the driver’s seat again.  Late in the first, Kyle Wellwood floated one to the slot from the hash marks on the side boards.  On its way to the net, the slowly moving puck hit a couple impediments, including Ryan Kesler’s stick, and squeaked through Nikoalai Khabibulin’s legs.  Then, mid-way through the second, on a 3-2 break, Mats Sundin rifled a bullet past Khabibulin to take the Canucks’ only lead of the night. 

 The Sundin goal came after about a minute of sustained Blackhawk pressure and a missed centering pass from the stick of Troy Brouwer, ticketed for Samuel Pahlsson’s tape.  Pahlsson moved to his left just before the puck left Brouwer, and the loose puck gave Vancouver a break the other way.

The Hawks weren’t done.

In the final two minutes of the second period and on the power play, Brian Campbell, moving across the point with the puck, found Dustin Byfuglien streaking down the middle from top to bottom.  The puck found Buff in the slot, and a quick snap shot evened the game at two.  The second goal told the same story as the first: a good decision by Campbell and a finish by Byfuglien.

Then, late in the third after an exciting final frame controlled by the Blackhawks, the Hawks finally got the chance they were waiting for.  After a zone-hold by Patrick Kane, the puck found its way back to Kane along the half-wall.  Kane had room, walked towards the net and found Dave Bolland on the far side buck naked.  Bolland took his time, waited for Luongo to dive across the crease and threw a bullet past the goaltender for the Hawks’ first lead since the first period. 

What Kane didn’t realize was the defenseman on his side, Willie Mitchell, was without a stick, though judging from Mitchell’s penchant for giving up big goals, it’s unlikely he could have done anything to stop Kane with room.

To round out the game and the scoring, Havlat took advantage of a Ryan Kesler offensive zone blowout and went in alone on an empty net, sealing the deal and giving the Hawks their first lead in the series at 3-2.

Other Notes from Game Five:

– Imagine the spring time backlash if Dale Tallon would have swapped Dustin Byfuglien for Michael Nylander, as many Hawk fans proposed early in the season.

As we’ve guessed in this space before, the offseason reality may be Byfuglien or Martin Havlat, and it’s not clear at this point Tallon will choose Havlat.  In fact, with each Byfuglien hit and goal, it becomes more likely Buff will stay.  The question becomes: is there enough wealth left to keep Havlat?

With a handful of teams reportedly ready to pursue Havlat, it’s unlikely money won’t lead him elsewhere.

– After getting 11 on net in the first, the Hawks held Vancouver to five shots in each of the final periods.  Though Brent Seabrook got caught flat-footed a couple times, the Keith-Seabrook pairing played very well, leaving the Sedin sisters with just one assist on the night combined.

– The Toews/Kane line played very well Saturday night.  Brouwer played on the wing for most of the night with Patrick Sharp getting some late opportunities to play with the young gentlemen.  Brouwer played well again.

– Shane O’Brien and Kevin Bieksa should learn to concentrate on hockey, eh?  Each seemingly chirps all game long, and both took stupid penalties in a close playoff game that led to Blackhawk power play goals.  In a scrum following a whistle late in the second, O’Brien attempted to goat Byfuglien into a fight.  Instead he got a knuckle sandwich from Matt Walker, who didn’t approve of the Hawks’ best player being taunted.  O’Brien got a five minute major and a roughing call.  A minute later, Byfuglien tied the game, scooting down the middle of the slot off a pass from Campbell.

Bieksa raked Sharp over the face with his stick while tripping him with his leg from behind in the third.  Moments later, Kane found a wide open Bolland for the winning goal.

Game 4: Blackhawks 2, Canucks 1 (OT)

If Andrew Ladd was a baseball player, middle-aged white sports columnists would wax poetically about the fact that he is a ‘baseball player’. 

Well, Andrew Ladd is a hockey player.  He may not be the smoothest skater, the biggest hitter, or have the hardest shot, but he always seems to be in the right place at the right time.  Tonight was no different.  Ladd made two enormous plays that stand out above the rest.

The first was obviously the game winning goal.  The second play was when he absolutely tattooed one of the Sedin’s along the boards early in the first period.  Then the Sedins went away.

The Hawks came out in the first period and played in the Vancouver end for the majority of the time.  Vancouver didn’t get its first shot on goal until the 12 minute mark of the first period.  Roberto Luongo kept the Canucks in it and the period ended in a 0-0 deadlock.

In the second period, Kane, Toews, and Brouwer put the screws to the Canucks fourth line.  Brouwer had a couple of golden opportunities that Luongo was better on.  As the shift extended, Jonathan Toews had a shot blocked in the slot.  Cam Barker was caught a little too low; Matt Walker was out of position on the blue line (he should’ve positioned himself closer towards the middle instead of being near the boards), and Rick Rypien was off to the races.  

As Rypien picked up the puck at center ice, Walker tried to catch him.  Rypien made a spin-o-rama that would have made Savard puke and dropped it to the ever dangerous Darcy Hordichuck.  Hordichuck beat Khabibulin between the legs and just like that, the Canucks delivered a huge body blow to the Hawks.

After the goal, Vancouver dropped all five guys into the neutral zone putting 22,000 people to sleep and frustrating the Hawks beyond belief.  The Hawks did a decent job of dumping and chasing but each chance they had, Luongo was better on.

He made a huge save on Patrick Sharp shortly after the goal.  Sharp busted in alone on Luongo and if he lifted the puck, he probably would have scored, but Luongo did a tremondous job of taking away down low. 

Going into the third, the Canucks made entering their zone as difficult as using a United Center bathroom during an intermission.  The Hawks couldn’t get anything going and even when they could get a shot on goal, Luongo only had to make the one save, never coughing up a rebound.

It wasn’t until there were two minutes left that Lord and Savior Martin Havlat picked a puck out of a board battle.  Two of the Canuck forwards were too busy trying to put Andrew Ladd into the 100 level concession stand.  Willie Mitchell got tangled up in it and Havlat was given more room than he’s had in a couple weeks.  He stepped across the slot and snuck a wrist shot underneath Luongo’s glove. 

The goal lifted the 9,000 pound gorilla off the Hawks back and they started to pick apart the Canucks muddled neutral zone.  After Brent Seabrook blocked a Canuck shot with 20 seconds left, Dave Bolland was off to the races.  Instead of getting a shot off, he tried to draw contact from the chasing Vancouver defenseman and didn’t end up getting a shot.

Off the intial replay on the UC jumbotron, it looked like a clean play and a good no call by the official. 

In overtime, the Hawks defensemen continued their shaky play.  Matt Walker completely misplayed Mats Sundin who was able to hit a wide open Mason Raymond.  Raymond, luckily, missed the net.  Then after Khabibulin’s wrap around eluded Brent Seabrook, he had to make a terrific save on an Alex Burrows one-timer. 

From there, the Hawks took the puck into Vancouver’s zone.  A scramble in front of Luongo turned into a nice cycle by HavBolLadd.  After a Havlat pass bounced off Duncan Keith, Bolland picked it up at the blue line and fired it towards the net.  Ladd was there for the re-direction and the United Center was up for grabs.  The series is now a best-of-3.

Leftover Thoughts from Game 4 

–I’ve already heard on the two post-game shows about how solid the Blackhawks defense was because they only let up 15 shots.  Let’s say that is probably not the most accurate statement.  Walker, Barker, and Duncan Keith were all a heart attack waiting to happen in their zone.  Keith and Walker were the worst.  Keith probably missed on at least six breakout passes in his end that led to continued pressure by the Canucks.  Walker doesn’t really need an explanation.

The best defense the Hawks had tonight was Vancouver settling for one goal.  The decision to stick 5 guys in the neutral zone and muddle up all the space is great, but if you don’t win, you open yourself up to a lot of criticism.  Vancouver could have very easily extended the lead against the Hawks with the way their defense was coughing up the puck deep in their end.   

–Vancouver has done a terrific job of eliminating any room for Marty Havlat in this series.  They made their first mistake against him tonight and he made them pay.  It was, without question, the biggest goal of the season for the Hawks. 

–The save Khabibulin made on Burrows in overtime should not go unnoticed.  That was the game right there after another lousy play in the defensive zone by the Blackhawks.  I’m not sure when Khabibulin turned into Patrick Roy with all these turnovers, but it has got to stop.  He made another one in the third period when Cam Barker very easily could have gotten to the loose puck.  Instead, Khabibulin played it right to Taylor Pyatt and he had to make a save he never should of had to make.

Game 3: Canucks 3, Blackhawks 1

There goes the momentum again.

After the Hawks stormed back with a road win in Game 2, the Canucks came out in a racous United Center, weathered the early storm, and then put on a clinic in winning a playoff game on the road.  They got an early lead; they extended their lead; they had a couple bounces go their way; they hung on to their lead. 

Just like that, the Canucks recaptured home ice advantage.

The Hawks had every chance to jump on the Canucks early.  Ossi Vaananen, filling in for the injured Sami Salo, took a bad penalty a minute into the game.  With the Hawks buzzing around Roberto Luongo, they had more than their share of chances to draw first blood.

It never happened.   

Their best chance came after Taylor Pyatt took a boarding penalty.  Cam Barker snuck down low on the ensuing power play, Jonathan Toews hit him with a pass, and the puck slid right through Luongo’s legs and across the crease.

Minutes later, Nikolai Khabibulin made a poor pass around the boards; Ben Eager let Kevin Bieksa beat him to the loose puck; Matt Walker misplayed 2-on-1 down low and Mason Raymond deposited the puck into the empty net to give the Canucks the lead. 

With less than a minute left in the period, Patrick Kane got called for hooking after having a shot blocked (that would be a trend).  The Canucks capitalized on that power play the following period when Steve Bernier banged home an Alex Edler point shot. 

For good measure, Henrik Sedin scored eight minutes later and the Canucks found themselves in a similar position, up big. 

Three minutes later, the Hawks finally got on the board when Brian Campbell ripped a power play point shot past Luongo.  The goal breathed life into the team who looked like they were sleep-walking through a game in March instead of fighting for their playoff lives. 

From there, Luongo and the Canucks were too strong in the defensive end to allow another comeback from the Hawks. 

The best chance to cut into Vancouver’s lead came in the third period after Alex Edler launched a puck into the stands for a delay of game penalty 28 seconds into the third period.  Brian Campbell came barrelling down the left wing,  he threw the puck towards the net; it got deflected by a Canuck and glanced off the cross bar.  The puck slid across the crease and Dustin Byfuglien got a few whacks at it before Luongo froze it. 

After that, any chance the Hawks had was turned away by Luongo or a Canuck.  As a team, they finished with an astronomical 20 blocks.

Advantage Vancouver.

Leftover Thoughts from Game 3

–When Eddie O mentioned halfway through the third that he had Vancouver marked down for 13 blocks, I figured he was sniffing glue again.  Then I counted them on the play-by-play report after the game and found that Vancouver notched 20 blocks total.  That is ridiculously high.  For all the time and pressure the Hawks had (they had a decent amount), most of it was negated by Vancouver’s ability to prevent shots from getting to Luongo.  That’s probably the biggest reason why the Hawks were hesitant to shoot in the waning minutes of the third more than anything else.

–This will fall upon deaf ears I’m sure because the people that were guilty of this probably don’t read blogs like this but that was absolutely embarassing for the majority of the 100 section to clear out with a minute left.  This is the playoffs, you stay until the end if it’s close enough that the goalie has to be pulled. 

The Hawks have rallied from deficits of 2 and 3 just in the past week and for good measure, the NCAA champion Boston Terriers scored 2 goals in the final 40 seconds to force overtime in the National Championship.  Congratulations, you’ve just admitted to everyone you know nothing about hockey and are a newbie douche nozzle.    

–I’m not sure the reason (and maybe I’m better off not knowing) for the boo birds with 7 minutes to go.  This loss wasn’t due to a lack of effort, it was due to the fact that Vancouver was the better team.  It happens.

–Bobby and I are doing a piece for Thursday’s ‘Committed Indian’ about the aforementioned newbie doosh nozzles.  Be sure to pick one up.