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Friday, May 30, 2014

3rd Period Play by Play. Do The Hawks Have What It Takes?

As the 3rd period of Game 5 is ready to begin, I see the same habit the repeating. Crawford giving up 4 or more goals, and Sharp is nowhere to be found. The defense was mediocre, but if you can't have a goaltender stop shots in the playoffs, then you'll be on your heals the entire game.

The Hawks in 3 of the 4 games have shown up…for ONE period. Then, they have lost the game. I really have a difficult time seeing L.A. losing this game due to the Hawks ability to control the play. Saad and Kane have shown up to this game, but silly turnovers, inability to win the face-offs, this game looks bad. Well,……here starts the 3rd period. Let us see what goes on.

20:00  L.A. is again in control of the puck.
Finally, the Hawks get control at 19:11. But, gave it back  up at the 19:00 mark. Hawks re-collect it and move up the ice.

WOE………..Ben Smith, again showing he deserves a contract. 18:43 Saad puts it on net and Benny crashes the net picks up the rebound and scores. 4-4 boys…..YES!!!

17:43 Hawks couldn't do anything with a 3 on 2. Handzus was hand tied. Couldn't release the puck.
17:00 L.A. in control. Hawks dump it in.
Stolen by Saad at 16:40 rushed the net  shot on goal.  Shaw had a nice shot on goal. The real goaltender makes a nice save (Quick),...Still in the Offensive zone until 16:19.
Saad rushes again at 16:00 mark. Saad is playing like an animal.
15:35 Crawford makes a save, but gave up a juicy rebound.
Back in the offensive zone. 15:30 until 15:05….totally the Blackhawks. Sharp actually tried making something happen. Holy crap. Welcome to the playoffs Sharpie.

14:53 L.A. get us and shoots on net. but Hawks turn it into an offensive push. No goal, but a shot on goal.
13:55 due to a wonderful Saad push up the ice, gives it to Kane. Still in the zone.. 13:34 Kane and Saad control puck.
13:20 and at 13:09 two separate rushes L.A. gets a good shot on goal. Literally back and forth with major rushes. L.A. is NOT giving an inch. They are offensively pushing the pace as well.
Saad, Shaw and Kane are killing it out there.  It has been heavy action both sides. 12:15

11:38 L.A. penalty. Delay of game. Who is on the ice? Shaw, Saad and Kane.

11:10 Daughty with a shot short handed. Crawford actually made a stop. Holy crap.
The rush was due to Kane rushing up 1 on 3 and getting tossed off the puck.

10:35 Saad crashes the net and gets goalie interference. He was being aggressive, lost his balance. Bye bye power play. How sad.

So, there will be a 1:03 power play for L.A. afterward.

Hawks are controlling the puck with the 4 on 4 until 20 seconds. Now L.A. has the puck. Puck in net with :09 left on 4 on 4. Faceoff in Chicago's end. (we need to win a face off here…let's see if the Hawks can will themselves a face-off win).

Hawks win it. 51 seconds L.A. brings up the puck from their own end.
Hawks playing defensively …Keith clears the puck with 15 seconds left. L.A. comes back in with  only 1 second left.
8:20 Hawks get control. Line change.
7:55 2on2 L.A. rush. Toews gets control at 7:40.
Martinez control at 7:15
Hawks control from defensive zone at 7 minutes remaining.
Neutral zone

6:13 Keith in defensive zone. Pushes it out of the zone.
6:01 Tifoli gets over the blue line…stopped... and again at 5:51. Hawks playing shut down at the blue line.
This "that's 70's line" is so freakin' dangerous. Carter-Tifoli-Pearson.
L.A. still controlling the face-offs. Shots are very close. May still be even.

L.A. wants to end it here. Hawks looking to find some life somewhere.

Jake Muzzin review of his physical play on Toews, Kane and Kruger…yeah he's been a man amongst boys.

5:25 Blackhawks ….icing. (Shaw's line out)
4:49 Toews line out.

4:19 Mitchell sent one in front of Crawford. Missed.

4:01 still in the Hawks zone
3:52 Bickell shot one from the point…wide
3:33 in neutral zone. L.A. control
3:19 L.A. delayed penalty.  3:11 tripping J. Stoll trips Oduya
Blackhawks Power Play at 3:11 to go. LET'S GO HAWKS (goddammit!!!!)

3:03 Shawk on the ice against the boards. tweaked the leg it appears. Skates off. but he is definitely grimacing.

He doesn't want to go to the locker room. Good Job Shawzy…That shows heart to your team.

3:00 Hawks control in their own end.

2:38 Hawks can't hold the puck in.
2:28 Hawks bring it back in.
Kane with the Puck at 2:15
2:07 Bickell gets two shots on goal. First was a re-direct, second was a rebound. Quick stops both.

1:58 Sharp shoots…of course he gets nothing.
Hawks last rush with 1:35 left in the game.
1:20 out of play. Sharp shot a NICE shot, but it went out off of Quicks head. But, ref's didn't see. So, face-off outside the zone. PP didn't produce.

1:02 icing by Rozsival. Faceoff to the right of Crawford
Hawks control with 35 then like dumb asses ice the puck (Sharp). 31.8 seconds left.
Hjalmarsson dives with 7 seconds left to prevent a puck from going in.

OVERTIME.
Wow…..where to begin. It was constant action both sides. It was one of the most exciting games (and stressful to watch as a Hawks fan) that I've seen since the Detroit series last year. No one scored. However, Crawford actually showed up to play….that was nice to see.

DOUBLE OVERTIME.
With Shaw not centering the line, Handzus replaces Shaw. Only 2 minutes in. Saad to a center rushing Handzus who flips a backhand over Quick. SCORE. Hawks certainly didn't make it easy. That is for certain. But, what I wanted to see what heart…and that was certainly there. Next game is in L.A. Friday night.

One game at a time,…one period at a time,…one shift at a time. It literally has to be broken down to that in order for the Hawks to fight off this L.A. team.










Friday, May 9, 2014

Q SHAKES UP The Lines In A BIG WAY

After a lackadaisical effort from pretty much the whole team, Quenneville's line shake up is HUGE> 1st line…ready for this one? Bickell - Toews - Smith 2nd line (Kruger has played with a lot of energy, but I'm not crazy about this line. I wonder how long Q will stay with line configuration? ) Saad - Kruger - Kane 3rd line…this is normally the 2nd line (This is the line he should have shaken up. Sharp has simply NOT produced in the playoffs. He needs to get his head out of his backside). Sharp - Handzus - Hossa 4th line Bollig - Nordstrom - Morin(yay!) Shaw injured again. No Versteeg. I personally don't like seeing Steeger out of the line-up over a rookie who didn't play the entire season in the NHL (I'm referring to Nordstrom, here). However, Coach Q must have a reason why he prefers Nordy over Steeger. Energy level? Performance level? Nick Leddy was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. He was pissed off about it. Good. I expect him to bring a NEW level of energy to his game. Hawks only started to play hard after they were down 2-0. It was that sense of desperation, but it was too late.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Bickell Continues Strong Play. Saad Nets 2 in 4-1 Win Game 2 vs Wild

Just like game 1, the Hawks took a 2-0 lead into the 3rd period. Of course, being a fan of hockey and noticing SOOOO many last minute comebacks, you realize a 2-0 lead isn't safe. ESPECIALLY when the Wild score 2 minutes into the 3rd period. Bryan Bickell was again was a +3, 1 G , 2A and he nearly netted 2. Just about a minute prior to the game CLINCHING goal,(not the game winner…that honor was Saad's, he just missed a goal (which he actually thought he made) by rubbing a puck along the top post that slid along the post giving it the appearance it found the net…but, sadly it didn't. The next time down, he was on the left side of the Hossa feed and wrested it top left to seal the deal. Saad later would race down to prevent icing and out-sped his guy and found an empty netter to make the score look a bit more lopsided than it real was. Here is a shocker….preparing you so take a deep breath…..let it out……ready? okay…MORIN started over Bollig. OMG!!! Freakin' finally. I've been waiting for this all series long. He deserved it. He played well, although he was a -1 on the scoresheet, he showed good energy. He had 2 hits on his playoff debut. Good job J-Mo!!! The only person that looked out of place? Nick Leddy. And coach made sure that Leddy knew it. He benched him in the 3rd period. (total ice time 13:48). Don't be surprised if Coach Q puts in Brookbank,….then again, don't be surprised if he doesn't do a damned thing, either. THREE STARS OF THE GAME Bryan Bickell 1ST BRYAN BICKELL - LW G: 1 Shots: 2 A: 2 Hits: 2 PTS: 3 PIM: 0 +/-: 3 TOI: 16:30 Chicago Blackhawks Marian Hossa 2ND MARIAN HOSSA - RW G: 0 Shots: 1 A: 3 Hits: 1 PTS: 3 PIM: 0 +/-: 4 TOI: 18:39 Chicago Blackhawks Brandon Saad 3RD BRANDON SAAD - LW G: 2 Shots: 2 A: 0 Hits: 2 PTS: 2 PIM: 0 +/-: 2 TOI: 16:21 Chicago Blackhawks