It's a long six days between Game 5 against the Wild, and Game 1 against the Red Wings, for Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Blackhawks. But Joel Quenneville knows very well what it takes to win another Cup for Chicago, and exhorts his team to raise their intensity and improve their play. He drills them with tough practices, demotes Viktor Stalberg and Brandon Saad, and returns Dave Bolland and Ray Emery to the line up. The Wings push the Ducks to a Game 7, so the Hawks did not know who their next opponent would be, until after this game was finished.
We wonder what kind of rust will the Hawks have to scrape off, after their long intermission. The two storied franchises, members of the Original Six, battle to a draw in the 1st period at 1 - 1. Even though neither team scored in the 2nd period, the Hawks wrestle control of the game. By the 3rd period, questions about rust were long-answered, and they erupt for three goals, including an empty-netter, and the first win was in the books. In the Cup Countdown, that's 5 wins down, 11 wins to go.
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| Corey Crawford takes to ice for the pregame, then closes the door on the Red Wings (image credit) |
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| Marian Hossa carries his stellar play to Round 2, and draws "first blood" for the Hawks (image credit) |
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| Johnny Oduya reads the play, skates into the open slot, and fires the puck past Jimmy Howard (image credit) |
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| Marcus Kruger scores an insurance goal, and shows why the Hawks' depth chart is amazing (image credit) |
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| Jonathan Toews hasn't scored a goal in the playoffs, but so far the team is scoring plenty (image credit) |
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| Patrick Kane hasn't scored a goal, either, but he's Magic Man with his passing (image credit) |
Even the best of athletes are human. It's reasonable for the Hawks players to expect that with as strong of a run they've had so far in the playoffs, they can beat the Wings with less than their best effort. Wrong. Game 2 is virtually a mirror of Game 1. After a tight 1 - 1 battle, the Wings wrest control of the game in the 2nd period and put the icing on the cake in the 3rd period. Both teams head for Joe Louis Arena for another ice show on Monday, with Round 2 now a best-of-5 series and the Wings with the home-ice advantage.
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| Patrick Kane is bathed in colors and shadows for the pregame introductions (image credit) |
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| Michal Handzus assisted on the Patrick Kane score and the only tally for the Hawks (image credit) |
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| It has been a struggle for Jonathan Toews to score, but being around the net is always good (image credit) |
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| Michael Rozsival was one of only two Hawks with a plus in the plus/minus column (image credit) |
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| Johan Franzen scored the insurance goal for the Red Wings in the 3rd period (image credit) |
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| Jimmy Howard and Niklas Kronwall congratulate each other on a well-deserved victory (image credit) |
Off to the Joe Louis Arena we go, and the Hawks look to regain control of the series. The Red-and-Black and the Red-and-White skate to a draw in the 1st period, but those two quick goals by the latter in the 2nd period were stunning. I needed to do an errand, and it was still 0 - 0 when I slipped out of the car. It had been a stressful stretch with my projects, so as I was getting back in the car, I said to myself, "Come on, Hawks, I need a feel-good win!" I was speechless, when the radio guys announced otherwise.
The way I see it, the Hawks really had a 5 - 3 victory in their hands. With the goal pipes working in Jimmy Howard's favor, plus that referee blowing a call, it was clear the Wings had four defensemen on the ice. By hitting the post three times, the Hawks proved that they could shoot the puck past Howard and were
just an inch or two away from a 2 - 1 series lead. That no-goal interference call took the wind out of their sails, though. The Wings must've sensed it, and for the great team that they are, they pounced on it. They didn't just regain their two-goal insurance margin, after Patrick Kane lit the lamp; but they also finished off the Hawks mentally. The latter were docked with four penalties in-a-row the rest of the way.
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| Patrick Sharp had four shots-on-goal, but otherwise the Wings kept his big stick silent (image credit) |
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| Gustav Nyquist made an amazing deke, and waited patiently for a shot, to break the 0 - 0 deadlock (image credit) |
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| Just 31 seconds later, Drew Miller completed the stunning 1-2 punch on the Hawks (image credit) |
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| Joel Quenneville called a timeout to exhort his players, after two quick goals by the Wings (image credit) |
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| Patrick Kane lit the lamp in the 3rd period, and at 2 - 1 suddenly it was a game again (image credit) |
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| The Wings victory showed how well Mike Babcock outcoached his counterpart (image credit) |
In a matter of days, the fortunes for the Hawks and their fans turned for the worst. Through Game 1 against the Wings, the Stanley Cup was clearly in sight and coming steps closer. Now, the clouds that gathered in Game 2 were storm clouds indeed, full of the havoc that rained on the Hawks and soaked into their psyche. The Wings were as masterful in their clamp-down, as the Hawks were as futile and rattled in response. One more loss, and the Hawks join the infamous ranks of top-seeded teams across sports that fell by the wayside in recent years: Greenbay Packers (NFL), Chicago Bulls (NBA), and Vancouver Canucks (NHL).
It isn't over, of course. Our very Hawks were down 3 - 0 in the Round 1 series against he Canucks just two years ago. They fought back, and forced a Game 7. In fact they brought the Canucks to a sudden-death (OT) goal away from a colossal collapse. They'd have to force a Game 7 again, in order to win it this series, as they stand on the precipice of summer vacation.
It's honestly hard for me to imagine that same comeback now, because of how completely the Wings have owned the Hawks. They not only reduced one of the high-powered offenses in the league to two goals in three games, but also checked and smothered and provoked one of the least-penalized teams into one dumb penalty after another. Case in point: Jonathan Toews, three successive trips to the box in the 2nd period, and one of those hurt the team, as the Wings scored a seeing-eye, power-play goal.
Quite a lot of things in life are not possible, but a Hawks victory on Saturday night, in front of the raucous home crowd at the United Center, is most definitely a possibility.
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| Jonathan Toews, often posting the serious look, won 61% of his faceoff matchups (image credit) |
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| Brendan Smith seemed to give Jonathan Toews some love, but it was of the clamp-down sort (image credit) |
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| Jonathan Toews was one of a few Hawks with golden opportunities in the 1st period (image credit) |
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| Jimmy Howard was radar on the puck the whole game, setting up an impenetrable defense (image credit) |
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| Besides the brick wall that Jimmy Howard was, the iron pipes worked in his favor at least twice (image credit) |
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| A fine salute from Jimmy Howard, the crowd gave the hot goalie a well-deserved standing ovation (image credit) |
At the heels of that beatdown at Joe Louis Arena, the Hawks returned home to the raucous home crowd at the United Center. No more six-day layoffs, no more three-day holidays. At this point on, playoff games for these two Original Six teams come every other day in metronomic fashion. The mood among fans must've ranged from bummed-out, pissed-off, and as dark-blue as the Chicago Bears uniforms; to hopeful, grit-faced, and perhaps as proud as the Picasso at the Daley Center. Regardless, what mattered most was what mood, what confidence, what determination our guys in the locker room had before ice time.
We're just a couple of minutes away, Hawks fans. Great athletes and great fans relish moments like this: backs to the wall (er ... glass), at the precipice of elimination, "tee-time" as background noise.
But the open thread is open, and Eddie, the Eagle is looking on. So make sure the pizza is coming, the beer is cold, and bags of chips are open (real fans don't need no-stinkin' dip), and we're all set for a Game 5 victory!
My man in the spotlight is Ho-ho-hosSah: Mr. Clutch!
The Hawks drew first blood in that crucial first period, as
Bryan Bickell led a mad scramble in front of Jimmy Howard and punched a loose rebound into an open net. While the Wings tied the game midway through the second period, the Hawks were firmly in control of this game. They realized that they actually had dormant firepower in their skates and sticks, as
Andrew Shaw and
Jonathan Toews scored on successive man advantages. Their power play was a thing of beauty: great puck movement, zone containment, and net pressure. They put the icing on the cake in the third period with another
Shaw tally, and Step 1 in a three-step comeback - force Game 6 - could be checked off the list.
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| Bryan Bickell has raised his stock with timely scores and hits in the playoffs (image credit) |
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| Andrew Shaw positioned himself perfectly for a tip-in of a Duncan Keith shot (image credit) |
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| Jonathan Toews lept onto the glass after notching his long-awaited first goal of the playoffs (image credit) |
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| Corey Crawford was stellar on net again, giving up just two goals in two games (image credit) |
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| Who said ladies could not grow their own playoff beards for charity? (image credit) |
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| The faithful at the United Center went bananas as Andrew Shaw scored yet again (image credit) |
In just 48 hours, traveling less than 300 miles between two proud cities, the Hawks wrestled a dire 3 - 1 series deficit into a best-of-one series and recaptured home-ice advantage, by virtue of their Game 6 win at the Joe Louis Arena. What was difficult to imagine after Game 4 is very much a possibility now: winning this tough matchup against the Wings, and advancing to the next brutal round.
Still on the brink of elimination, the Hawks relieved some tension and gave us breathing room with an early-game goal. But a late 1st period goal by the Wings, then a go-ahead goal in the 2nd period, and it was once again a nervous atmosphere in Hawkdom. The guys from Motown were 20 minutes from advancing to the Conference Finals. But our Hawks clearly had other designs on the series, as they erupted for three unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes of the 3rd period. They needed all of those goals, as the Wings scored again in the last minute and made it a one-goal deficit. But that's as close as they got.
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| Marian Hossa scored seconds into a man-advantage, keeping the reawakened power play awake (image credit) |
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| Corey Crawford gave up a "knuckler" goal in the 2nd period, but was otherwise large and quick on net (image credit) |
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| Michal Handzus scored a game-tying, momentum-shifting goal early in the 3rd period (image credit) |
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| Bryan Bickell once again came up big by scoring the go-ahead goal in that pivotal 3rd period (image credit) |
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| Michael Frolik scored an easy-does-it, thing-of-beauty on a penalty shot against Jimmy Howard (image credit) |
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| Michael Frolik's goal turned out to be the game winner, as he jumped onto his teammates (image credit) |
Here we are at Game 7, a defining moment for both players and fans. How the Icemen Cometh under great pressure, and in the face of high expectations, must be the stuff of sports dreams or the agony of athletic nightmares. How we support, and show up, and root must be a measure of ourselves as fans, too. No one can predict the outcome ahead of time, as the series is all evened-up, and an errant puck here or there can be the difference-maker for either team.
I'm just making drama, of course, as we all know the outcome at this point. The Hawks finished a three-step comeback in awesome fashion over five days: (1) force Game 6, (2) force Game 7, and (3) win Game 7.
This game was a tight scoreless 1st period, but when Patrick Sharp scored on some nifty passing in the 2nd period - after a botched line change by the Wings - we could all take a breath. The Wings tied the game early in the 3rd period, however, after a defensive botch of our own. Wouldn't you know it, the game goes into overtime, before anything is decided in this amazingly up-and-down series?
Niklas Hjalmarsson scored a go-ahead goal late in that 3rd period, which would've probably held-up for a Hawks victory in regulation. But, alas, a quick whistle by the down-ice referee nullified it. I was going bananas in the family room, watching the game on TV, even more so because Hjalmarsson's goal was an emphatic slapshot that missiled by Jimmy Howard. But early in overtime, Dave Bolland delivered a big hit that popped the puck out of the boards, and Brent Seabrook picked it up, found lots of space going into the offensive zone, and shot the game-winner, series-winner by Howard.
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| Two days after Memorial Day, the fans still felt patriotic (image credit) |
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| In the end, Joel Quenneville out-masterminded Mike Babcock from behind the bench (image credit) |
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| Patrick Sharp opened the scoring in a tight game, after a blown line change by the Wings (image credit) |
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| What else can we say about Corey Crawford about how large and quick he was on net? (image credit) |
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| The Wings scored a second goal, but teams are not allowed to shoot their own players into the net (image credit) |
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| Brent Seabrook was radar on net, and shot the wicked game winner from off the "wrong" leg (image credit) |
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| Brent Seabrook said he did not see the puck go into the net, but just heard the horn sound (image credit) |
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| It was an absolute lovefest after that dramatic game-winning goal by Brent Seabrook (image credit) |
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| One of the best moments in hockey is the after-series handshake between the combatants (image credit) |
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| The grateful Hawks saluted that faithful at the Madhouse on Madison Street (image credit) |
What a series the Detroit Red Wings gave us (whew)! "It ain't over til it's over" was my mantra, after the Chicago Blackhawks dug themselves a 3 - 1 series hole. After a fairly easy round against the Minnesota Wild, our team learned some hard lessons about playing playoff hockey. The real measure of our team wasn't its President's Trophy winning regular season, or its record-setting 24-game point streak, but rather its remarkable comeback under great adversity.
See everyone in the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Kings!
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think.
Ron Villejo, PhD
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