Keys to Game 6 Win vs Red Wings

1. Game-tying, momentum-shifting goal by Handzus

The Context

The 3rd period just started, and the Hawks are down 2 - 1, in a tightly-fought contest. The Hawks are in the visitors' white, and the Wings are in their home red. The central players are Hawks Michael Handzus (#26) and Niklas Hjalmarsson ("Hjammers") (#4), and Wings Valtteri Filppula (#51) and Brendan Smith (#2). The video clip is linked to the heading above, and the images are screen shots from the clip.

My Analysis 

After a scrum in the far left corner, Handzus went behind the net, as the puck slid along the boards to the near right corner. Hjammers has had a rough series, but he made this goal happen by his quick read of the play (Screen Shot 1). He went deep into the zone (remember he's a defenseman) to retrieve that puck, and his burst of speed caught Filppula off-guard.

Screen Shot 1.  At the top of the left circle, Hjammers rushes to the loose puck and catches Filppula off-guard

In the meantime, Smith moseyed along toward the puck. Analyst Troy Murray said Smith overcommitted to the puck, and lost his position. Me, I say, he saw that his teammate was beat, and therefore felt compelled to retrieve that puck himself. The problem wasn't overcommitment, but rather tentativeness on his part. Regardless, Smith made a bad mistake. Filppula struggled to recover his position and fought Hjammers for the puck, but he was too late. Hjammers managed to slip a perfect pass to Handzus, who was, amazingly, all by his lonesome against Howard.

I'll come back to Handzus later.

I think that when Wings coach Mike Babcock referred to the Hawks' "stretch" game, this was one example: Our defensemen, pinching deep into the zone and being fast enough to come back to their designated positions. What Babcock didn't mention was how good the Hawks were with their "help" defense.

What is the help defense?

Let me reference the Chicago Bulls (basketball). Coach Tom Thibodeau is a defensive guru. He rarely double-teams star opponents, because his players are good at defending one-on-one. When the opponent manages to slip by anyway, his players are good at making quick reads, rotating properly, and helping out the first defender. Three years in a row now, the Bulls are among the top-defending teams in the NBA.

From what I can tell, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville has a similar help rotation in place. When a defenseman pinches deep, the forward, who's highest in the zone, slips to defend the blue line. In other words, he rotates to become a proxy defenseman. You'll notice in this highlight that once the puck went around the backboards, the other three Hawks - Johnny Oduya, Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell - retreated to the blue line. They literally went off-camera. Maybe they were preparing for a line change, but still their responsibilities were to keep an eye on the play deep in the zone and defend that blue line.

Two Wings' players - Kyle Quincey and Daniel Cleary - were slow to get back to position, after that scrum in the far left corner. In the meantime, Hjammers and Handzus were playing 2-on-4 with the Wings (Screen Shot 2). Hjammers took care of Filppula and Smith all by himself, while Quincey and Cleary were taking naps on the opposite side of the net: very poor help defense on their part. Most likely, the apparent retreat (i.e., rotation) by Oduya, Hossa and Bickell must've lulled them to relax and not defend!

Screen Shot 2.  Hjammers, near right corner, and Handzus, behind the net, play 2-on-4 against the Wings

Handzus finished off what was really a beautiful play for the Hawks and a colossal blown play by the Wings. He had so much time, he could've gotten his beard trimmed at the barber shop nearest to the Joe Louis, then come back to the arena to score. In fact, because he had so much time, he could patiently, patiently draw Howard out of position, and fire a wrister blocker-side past him (Screen Shot 3). The Hawks had five or six clanks in Games 3 and 4, but this one by Handzus bounced in from the far post.

Screen Shot 3.  Handzus waits and waits, then shoots a wrister too quickly for Howard to move his blocker.

It was a tightly-fought game through two periods, and this goal was huge. It clearly broke the Wings' backs, so the Hawks could unleash more of their firepower! Wings were done for the night by the time they opened their sleepy eyes.

2. Frolik's back-breaking, thing-of-beauty penalty shot

The Context

Hawks Michael Frolik (#67) finds himself on a breakaway, beating Wings Carlo Colaiacovo (#28) to the puck, who desperately tries to defend from behind.    

My Analysis   

Two critical things happened right before this penalty shot. For one thing, the Wings were suddenly down 3 - 2, in that pivotal 3rd period, and were in desperation mode. They thought they had containment in the Hawks zone, but Frolik bravely blocked a shot from the blue line (Screen Shot 4), and it was off to the races with the rebound. Colaiacovo - the shooter - must've been so surprised that it took him a fraction of a second to react. But that was all the speedy Frolik needed for a clean breakaway. 

Screen Shot 4.  Frolik extends his left hand and skate to block Colaiacovo's shot, and has a head of steam.

For another thing, as Colaiacovo desperately tried to catch Frolik, he slashed him on the right hand, and Frolik lost control of the puck (Screen Shot 5). Analyst Troy Murray said he wasn't sure a penalty shot was warranted. Maybe just a two-minute minor, instead. But ESPN analyst Barry Melrose explained that if a defender hits an opponent on a clean breakaway and illegally takes away his ability to take a shot, then it's a penalty shot. So, there you go, nice explanation, Barry!

Screen Shot 5.  Colaiacovo slashes Frolik on the right hand, with the referee watching the play closely

In any case, it was a controversial call that went the Hawks' way. You can see the development of this play in these extended highlights.  Screen Shots 4 and 5 are from this clip.

Now, to that penalty shot: Frolik made this tough shot on Howard look so easy-does-it. Going top-shelf, with the backhand, at high speed isn't easy at all, but he made it look like a thing of beauty. Nothing Howard could do, except get pissed off at the officials for that call!

Screen Shot 6.  On his penalty shot, Frolik fires a lightning-fast backhander past Howard

Frolik's had a penalty shot against Corey Schneider in that tough Canucks' series in the 2011 playoffs. I thought this particular shot was more subtle, but also more brutal, than the one against the Wings. Schneider looked like he pulled his groin severely, just trying to stop the shot. In basketball, they call it "breaking someone's ankles," when an opponent makes an amazing deke on a defender, and leaves him dangling like a half-broken branch in the wind. Here's a video of that penalty shot.

Frolik became the first player in NHL history to score twice on penalty shots in the playoffs. I mean, this dude is awesome. He's a 4th-liner who has contributed big in the playoffs, and his fateful goal ended up being our game-winner!

3. Andersson's knuckler shot past Crawford

 
The Context

Wings Joakim Andersson (#63) gets the pass back, and has a clean look at Hawks Corey Crawford (#50) on net.  It was the go-ahead goal in a tight hockey match.  

My Analysis

Whether or not it was deliberate, Andersson's stick-handling put the puck on edge, as he entered the Hawks' zone. So the puck was flat on his stick, when he shot from top of the left circle (Screen Shot 7). It completely fooled Crawford, and he couldn't guide his glove to it properly. 

Screen Shot 7.  Andersson manages to get the puck on-edge, and gauges Crawford and the net clearly

Some reporters and fans saw it as Crawford giving up another soft goal.  Apparently he thought so, too, and it shook his confidence. But I don't think it was a soft goal: It was an awesome shot by Andersson, by virtue of how he set the puck on his stick and what odd trajectory his shot took. It was a "knuckler."

I don't follow baseball very closely anymore, but years ago, when a knuckle-ball pitcher came to the mound, the catcher would wear an oversized glove. A knuckle-ball pitch did strange things in the air, and it was really hard to hit and really hard to catch. Usually such a pitch is a relatively slow one. But the knuckler that Andersson shot had velocity.

From the camera angle, behind the backboards, it looked like the shot had a mesmerizing trajectory toward Crawford  (Screen Shot 8). Yes, he should've stopped it, maybe by putting more of his body in front of it, instead of just the glove. But I say, it was a lot tougher than it looked. I'd credit Andersson with an awesome shot more than I'd criticize Crawford for a bad play. 

Screen Shot 8.  In slow-motion replay, Andersson's shot flutters at high velocity, and handcuffs Crawford

But why, you might ask, is this Wings' goal a key to winning Game 6?  Here's my take, Hawks fans!

Crawford and his teammates clearly recovered from that stunning goal, and shut down the Wings the rest of the 2nd period. In contrast, the Hawks gave up two quick goals in both Games 2 and 3, if I recall correctly.  One of the toughest things for an athlete must be to put a mistake quickly behind him, keep his confidence up, and refocus on the game at a moment's notice. Going into the 2nd intermission of this game, they hadn't scored since early on. Still, they kept the game tight at just a one-goal deficit.

What's more, that unfortunate goal pulled the Hawks closer together as a team. Quenneville said he didn't say much to his guys in that 2nd intermission, but apparently they resolved to win this game for Corey. Everyone is human, and even the best players make mistakes and get their confidence shaken.

So while Howard was yelling at the officials, and getting aggravated with his teammates, and while Babcock was getting surly with reporters in his post-game conference, and undoubtedly angry with his team, too, the Hawks were quietly but determinedly coming closer as a team, pulling for each other, and playing even more inspired hockey.

The season hung in the balance, after that knuckler-goal by Andersson, but it evidently served to galvanize the Hawks. They were on fire, come the 3rd period!

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD