PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at AnaheimGAME 75-3 Win Recap

"Domination"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks headed to sunny SoCal for an intense game 7, Saturday evening. The Ducks held the home ice advantage, but the Blackhawks had the momentum, after an emotional win in Chicago, in game 6. This one had the entire Chicago area in knots for 3 days.

The Blackhawks could not have had a better first period. While they were out shot by the Ducks 8-6, the Blackhawks led the scoring 2-0. No better way to calm nerves and get comfortable on the road than taking a 2 goal lead. The Blackhawks also led in faceoff wins 11-5. The hardest part would be too keep this up and hold the lead for 40 more mins.

The Blackhawks started the second period the same way they did in the first. They were out shot 18-10 but, once again, out scored the Ducks. This time it was by a 2-1 margin. With this, the Blackhawks had to hold on to a 3 goal lead for 20 minutes and they were back in the Stanley Cup final for the 3rd time in 6 years.

The Blackhawks came out and did exactly what they needed to, in the third period. They were out shot 12-10 once again, and were out scores 2-1, but held on. The Blackhawks are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in 6 years. This looks pretty damn good.


The Good

• The Blackhawks started the game chasing the Ducks around their zone, and after only 2:19, a long Niklas Hjalmarsson rebound was slammed home by Jonathan Toews for a 1-0 lead. Great way to calm some nerves on the road. The Ducks Beauchemin gave Toews far too much room to scoop up the fat rebound and let him score.
• Just over halfway through the first period, Jonathan Toews stuck the knife in just a little further on the powerplay. He circled high in hte Ducks zone and let a long wrist shot go through an Andrew Shaw screen, beating Andersen, and giving the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead.
• Just over a minute into the second period, the Ducks got sloppy in their own zone and the Blackhawks were given a loose puck low in the Ducks zone. Patrick Kane reached the puck first and chipped it to a wide open Saad on the back door, who had the entire net to hit. 3-0
• Marian Hossa jumped into the mix on a late second period odd man rush. Brad Richards got a great shot on Andersen but the rebound was there for Hossa. Hossa was not able to control with his stick, but it hit his skate and went into hte net. The goal was reviewed and it was determined that there was no distinct kicking motion. 4-0
• A few minutes after the Perry goal, Marian Hossa drew a penalty on a beautiful defensive play. Brent Seabrook took the puck at the point and drove a long shot through Andersen, to take back the 3 goal lead. No problem. 5-2
• Crawford gave up one bad goal, but it wasn't awful. He saved 35 of 38 shots and kept the game from ever getting close.
• When the going got tough, the big boys stepped up. Toews had 2 goals, and Kane had 3 apples.
• I'm still perfectly fine with the Rundblad/Cumiskey duo. They only played 13 minutes, and did not kill the team.
• The time on ice for the d-men was spread around nicely. Keith led (27:51), but not by a wide margin.

The Bad

• The Ducks got away with yet another Too Many Men penalty. I didn't make much of an issue about the supposed missed Too Many Men call earlier in the series but the Hawks seem to get called for it ALL the time. It's getting silly.
• Patrick Maroon and Corey Perry got together to cut the Blackhawks lead to 4-3, with about 8 minutes remaining. The Hawks got a little lazy, letting Perry sneak in behind them. Getzlaf pushed the puck to Maroon and Maroon drove to the net, hitting Perry on the back door.
• Richards missing the open net with about a minute to go was pretty hilarious.
• With 41 seconds remaining, the Ducks were able to score a late PP goal, after Johnny Oduya took a delay of game penalty. Whatever.
• Bryan Bickell only played 4:22 and no shifts in the 3rd period. Marcus Kruger didn't play ate in the game either. I have to think the Kruger one was an injury, but not sure about Bickell.
• I said all along that I didn't trust Freddy Andersen, and in the end I was right. He's a spot filler.
• All those #HITZ sure did hurt the Blackhawks, eh?

The Ugly

• After Brandon Saad drew a penalty on a shorthanded partial breakaway, the Ducks and Hawks played 4 on 4. Ryan Kesler caught Crawford napping at a tight angle and beat him high from a tight angle. 4-1
• Pierre McGuire started yapping about pullling the goalie with over 5 minutes left. hat isn't going to accomplish anything but giving up an empty netter. God damn morons. Boudreau pulled him at 3:15, which is still excessive, but much more reasonable.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Hjalmarsson
Cumiskey-Seabrook
Oduya-Rundblad

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs DucksGame 65-2 Win Recap

"War Is All We Know"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks were back home, at the United Center, to face the Ducks for game 6, Wednesday night. The Ducks were coming off an overtime win which put them in position to close the series out Wednesday. The Blackhawks were starting to look like they were at the end of their life span, and desperate measures were in full effect. David Rundblad was in the lineup for Kimmo Timonen which was an ever so slight upgrade. On to the game...

The first was a lot like most Blackhawks periods in these playoffs. They started out fast and furious but petered out towards the end. The Duck led in shots 10-6, but no shots ended up in the net. The later the game went without the Hawks taking a lead, the more tense Hawks fans got.

The second period was quite the period for the Blackhawks. They led in shots 13-9 and out scored the Ducks 3-1. There was still plenty of time to go, but the Blackhawks finally looked like the team we knew they were. Funny what happens when you ice 18 players that can actually skate AND play.

The third period was surely tense. The Blackhawks were out shot by a large margin, 13-4, but they were able out score the Ducks 2-1. That was the game. This "bend but not break" defense seems to be working. Bring on game 7 in California.

Since I recapped all the series wins, thus far, I'll see you all Saturday night.

The Good

• Early on the Blackhawks powerplay looked better than it has, but still no success. There was a lot of quick passing, which is what I have been screaming for all year. Quick, short passes to open up lanes.
• The Hawks won the first 14 faceoffs of the game en route to a 15-4 advantage after 20 minutes and were 33-17 for the game. 66% is fine by me.
• Bryan Bickell actually looked like he gave a shit. Nice of you to join the playoffs, ya dopey Gorilla. He had 3 hits in one shift and 5 total. How does that even happen?
• Half way through the second period, Brandon Saad got a step on Hampus Lindholm and ended up on a partial breakaway. The future very wealthy man beat Andersen five hole, and the Blackhawks had a 1-0 lead.
• Two minutes and eighteen seconds after the Saad goal, the Blackhawks smelled blood. Duncan Keith held the puck and faked what seemed like 5 shots, drawing all the attention. Hossa slid out to an open spot on Andersen's back side, and Keith hit him with a pass and he had a wide open net. 2-0 Blackhawks
• A minute and seventeen seconds after the Hossa goal, Patrick Kane put a magical stick handling clinic on the Duck defense and ended up beating Andersen for a 3-0 Blackhawks lead.
• Duncan Keith was playing some next level hockey. He was actively involved in all of the first three second period goals.
• Late in the third period Andrew Shaw did some Andrew Shaw shit scoring the final 2 goals of the game. One was an empty netter, but the 4th goal was a hard nosed Andrew Shaw goal that held off some serious Ducks pressure.
• Cumiskey and Rundblad didn't kill the Hawks. Stick with it. They only played a total of 13 minutes, but at least they can both function.

The Bad

• Shortly after the Kane goal, Brad Richards took a lazy hooking penalty. I'm sure you know how this story ends. Right after the faceoff, that Kruger couldn't win, the long shot from Cam Fowler knuckled its way to the stick of Patrick Maroon and he directed into the net past Crawford. TERRIBLE time to take a penalty.
• Maroon, Getzlaf and Perry all minus 3. #Clutch

The Ugly

• Not even two minutes into the game, the Blackhawks had already taken a "Too Many Men" penalty. You have to be kidding me. Of all the bitching Quenneville must do, how does this not get resolved?
• Just a couple of minutes into the third period Clayton Stoner cut the lead to 1, when Silfverberg interfered with Corey Crawford's glove so he couldn't stop the shot. Of course, they called Desjardins for goalie interference just over a minute later.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Hjalmarsson
Cumiskey-Seabrook
Oduya-Rundblad

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at Ducks5-4 Game 5 OT Loss Recap

Tilt-A-Whirl
by Patrick Stankus

On Monday night, the Blackhawks and Ducks saw their series shift back to Anaheim for Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. Once again, both teams were faced with the task of a quick turnaround following a marathon multi overtime game. Everyone has been asking when the Blackhawks would break due to the long minutes their top 4 defensemen have been logging along with the punishing hits the Ducks have been laying on the Hawks. Would Game 5 start to show signs of the breakdown, or would the Hawks shrug it off again, and defy hockey 101?

The Blackhawks came out on their first shift with some jump to their step and lots of pressure, but couldn't generate a shot on goal. That would be a theme in the period for the Blackhawks. The Ducks would shake off that opening shift by the Hawks, and unload a flurry of goals just past the 5 minute mark of the first period. After failing to win a board battle, the puck found its way to the point, and Cam Fowler fired a slap shot that beat Crawford, who was battling traffic in front. Then just 32 seconds later, Kyle Cumiskey couldn't clear the puck, and a point shot was redirect by Kesler, past Crawford to give the Ducks a quick 2-0 lead. With just over 5 minutes remaining in the period, off a face off win a point shot by Vatanen beat Crawford after Desjardins made a weak attempt to block the shot. The Ducks scoring was one problem for the Hawks, but the other problem was the fact they didn't register their first shot on goal until 5 minutes were remaining in the period. As the horn sounded, the colossal shit show of a period ended with the Hawks facing a 3-0 deficit.

The start of the second period featured a complete 180 in the play. Unlike the first period, the Blackhawks came out with a spirited attack and it paid off early. Teuvo Teravainen was able to beat Andersen with a wrist shot just over a minute into the period to cut the Ducks lead to 3-1. Throughout much of the first half of the period, the Blackhawks dominated the play and held the Ducks shot less. The Hawks momentum started to wane a little bit as they took their dreaded too many men on the ice penalty to give the Ducks a power play. Luckily for the Hawks, they were able to kill the penalty off. Any momentum the Ducks had from their power play opportunity didn't last long. The Hawks simply dominated play in the 2nd period, and it was quite obvious that the Ducks were trying to survive with a 3-1 lead till the intermission. With the Ducks sitting back, Teuvo Teravainen decided to clown the Ducks defense, and fed Brent Seabrook with a nifty pass to cut the Ducks lead to 3-2 with 25 seconds remaining in the period. That late goal from Seabrook would end the scoring for the period, and as the horn sounded the score would be 3-2 in favor of the Ducks.

The third period picked up right where it left off for the Hawks. They simply dominated the play and to say the Ducks were on their heels would be an understatement. The Hawks were handed an opportunity early on to tie the game thanks to a holding penalty by Clayton Stoner. With just over 5 minutes remaining, Patrick Sharp failed to get a puck out along the boards, and it resulted in a tic tac toe type passing play that led to a Patrick Maroon to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead. With their backs against the wall, Jonathan Toews scored not once, but twice in the final two minutes of their period to tie the game at 4. With the game tied at 4, the final 38 seconds featured both teams with a chance to score, but neither could and we would head to overtime.

Unlike the previous overtime games, this one would not take long. It shouldn't come as a surprise either based on how the 3rd period ended. Bryan Bickell decided to do his best Duncan Keith impression and fired a dump in "attempt" right into a Ducks' defenseman's shin pads, which put Ryan Kesler in a two on one. Kesler shot the puck low on Crawford and the rebound was kicked out to a wide open Matt Beleskey and he ended the game just 45 seconds into overtime to give the Ducks a 5-4 win, and 3-2 lead in the series.

The Good
- The bounce back by the Blackhawks after that dumpster fire of a 1st period was another reason why you can't count out a team led by Jonathan Toews. They got one goal early in the 2nd period and it gave them some confidence. They kept building on it and building on it, and frankly the Ducks didn't have an answer for it.
- After the Ducks made it 4-2 it seemed like the game was over, but Jonathan Toews scored two goals in 1:12 in the final minutes of the third to tie the game. Remember when people were complaining about him? Well tonight he showed you why he is a leader.
- Teuvo Teravainen was excellent tonight. He had a sweet pass to Seabrook that led to the Hawks first goal, and also had the Hawks opening goal. In addition to the score sheet he was noticeable on the ice generating chances.
- The Hawks penalty kill came through when needed tonight. They killed off both of the Ducks chances at times when the Ducks looked like they could build some momentum.

The Bad
- None of the 1st period goals by the Ducks were the result of bad goaltending by Corey Crawford. The 1st one was the result of traffic (3 players) in front of Crawford, the 2nd Kyle Cumiskey couldn't clear the puck and a point shot ended up being redirected past Crawford, and the 3rd was a lazy, pansy ass attempt at a shot block by Desjardins.
- Speaking of goaltending, Frederik Andersen certainly looked average at best tonight. The Teravainen goal, and Toews 2nd goal were woof to say the least.
- The Hawks were dominated at the dot tonight, 41-23. One of those faceoff losses led to the Ducks third goal. The importance of a defensive zone draw can't be underestimated.

The Ugly
- Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, are so magnified at this time of the year. How many times do you recall the old ESPN days and hearing Gary Thorne say "giveaway, shot, SCORE!!!"? I remember those like it was yesterday. Tonight, two of the Ducks goals resulted in turnovers. On the second Ducks goal, Cumiskey couldn't clear the puck, and on the Ducks fourth goal, Sharp tried to get too cute after a pass from Timonen. Keep it simply. Fancy plays bite you in the ass this time of the season.
- Speaking of turnovers, this one deserves its own bullet mark. What the hell was Bryan Bickell thinking in overtime? Your team is trying to make a chance, and you decide to fire the puck in on a slap shot, let alone right into a defenders shin pads. Just a ridiculous play by someone who should know better.
- If Teravainen and Vermette haven't given Q the middle finger salute yet, they should.
- Not surprising either, but the power play went 0 for 2. Its either feast or famine with this bunch.
- That 1st period by the Hawks was embarrassing to say the least. They didn't register their first shot until the 15 minute mark of the period and ended the period with 3 shots.

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs DucksGame 4 Double OT5-4 Win Recap

"Loose Change"

by Gatekeeper

On a beautiful Chicago Memorial Day Saturday, the sun was out, the smells of grilled meat perforated the air and the Blackhawks were at the United Center to attempt to avenge their disappointing loss to the Ducks in game 3. Quenneville pulled his head out of his ass long enough to ice a reasonable lineup, and fans were eyeing up some revenge. The Blackhawks were either heading back to California down 3-1 or tied 2-2. They held their own fate in their hands.

The Blackhawks opened up the first period on fire, which is something we've seen plenty of times with mixed results. The led the shot total 14-6, and the score 1-0. This was a really good start, but one goal would never be enough to go the distance.

The second period did not go as well for the Blackhawks. The shots and score were almost the polar opposite of the first period. The Ducks led 13-6 in shots and 1-0 in score, to set up quite a third period. Nothing was coming easy in this series.

The third period lived up to the hype. The Blackhawks took an early 3-1 lead and promptly gave up 3 goals in 37 seconds to surrender the lead. Shots were 13-13. They fought back to tie the game back up, but were not able to win it in regulation.

The first OT wasn't how the Blackhawks would have liked, but they made it out without surrendering the game winning goal. Even though they had an OT powerplay they were only able to manage 5 shots to the Ducks 17.

Even though the Blackhawks didn't get much pressure in the second OT, they were able to eventually pull out the win. They're going back to Anaheim tied at 2 games.

The Good

• The Hawks were all over the Ducks the entire first 10 minutes of the game. They didn't get any goals but controlled the play.
• Late in the first period, while killing a terrible Brent Seabrook, Brandon Saad took advantage of a pick by the official, and found himself in alone on a shorthanded breakaway. He fought off a diving defender and bet Andersen stick side. Saad ended up with 3 points. Stan Bowman is going to pay dearly for this kid.
• Forklift at Hockeenight started #CoreyPerryFacts during the first period, and the entire Blackhawks twitterverse joined in. Good times.
• Johnny Oduya got beat by Andrew Cogliano and was able to make a successful last second diving attempt to knock the puck away. Excellent play.
• Jonathan Toews grabbed the lead back early in the third period on excellent plays by Duncan Keith, Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa. First of all, Keith was able to make a difficult play to keep the puck in the zone. Even though Keith made a bad pass to Saad, he was able to kick the puck to Hossa. Hossa was left wide open, but couldn't get his shot through. The rebound landed back on his stick and he passed across to a wide open Toews. Toews waited out Andersen and roofed the puck from a bad angle.
• About halfway though the third period, the Toews/Hossa/Saad line stepped up big once again. They controlled the puck down low and it was eventually worked around into the slot, where Seabrook stepped up and unloaded a cannon past Andersen.
• Not to be denied, after the Blackhawks gave up a 3-1 to go down 4-3, a Blackhawks powerplay resulted in Patrick Kane tying the game back up. Who would have thought that a powerplay lineup change would result in success?
• I've come to the realization that Cumiskey is definitely the best choice for a #5. Rundblad plain fucked himself, and Timonen is terrible in every way. I watched Timonen's gap increase every time he faced a rush. By the time OT hit, he was backing into Crawford.
• The game winner was nothing special. Sharp found Vermette in the slot and his shot was blocked. The puck hit him in the chest and dropped to his stick. Andersen committed to the initial shot and left the entire net for Vermette to hit.
• Contrary to what some may thinks, none of the goals were solely on Corey Crawford's shoulders. He ended up with 47 saves and has now been unscored upon in almost 5 overtime periods. Hate him all you want, but he's been pretty clutch.
• No shock that the Blackhawks were dominant at the faceoff dots. Toews and Vermette were both over 65%, and the team was at 55%.

The Bad

• Brad Richards had an uncontested change late in the first, on a nice saucer feed from Bickell, and could not figure out what he wanted to do with the puck. Eventually, he was too close to do anything, and really didn't get much of a shot off.
• Late in the second period, The Ducks were able to tie the game after they had about 3 minutes of solid pressure. It was only a matter of time before the puck ended up in the back of the net.
• Teravainen hit Patrick Sharp in the end of the first OT for a breakaway and was not able to beat Andersen.
• Vermette and Bickell ended up playing the least of all forwards. Chateau Bow Wow.

The Ugly

• Almost half way through the first period, Duncan Keith sent a suicide pass to Hjalmarsson who was way too blase and Corey Perry picked it off Hammer's stick. Crawford bailed Hjalmarsson out big time.
• Anaheim scored 3 goals in 37 seconds right after the Seabrook goal. All the plays were bad coverage or terrible turnovers. I'm not even going to break each one down, but they were all terrible. Vermette and Timonen fucked themselves on one, Keith let Corey Perry in behind him for two chances on another, and Ryan Kesler was left wide open to one time the puck through Crawford.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Timonen-Cumiskey

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs. Ducks 2-1Game 3 Loss Recap

Man In The Box
by Patrick Stankus


Just 42 hours or so after their marathon Game 2 ended, the Blackhawks and Ducks found themselves back on the ice for Game 3 of their series. With the series shifting to Chicago, a lot of emphasis was placed on the importance of the matchups and the advantage shifting towards the Hawks. And as luck would so have it, we were treated to a lineup surprise from Quenneville which we'll get to a little later on.

As the game got underway, it was pretty apparent that the Ducks were doing their best to hand this game to the Hawks on a silver platter. The sloppy, careless play by the Ducks gave the Hawks two power play opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the game. However, what is one of the worst kept secrets, the 1st power play was lifeless, while the second one was negated by a Marian Hossa holding penalty just after a minute of power play time. After pissing away the power play chances, the Ducks used theirs to their advantage and cashed in on a Patrick Maroon redirect past Crawford to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Just a couple minutes later, the Ducks would again find themselves in the penalty box as Jakob Silfverberg took a 4 minute high sticking penalty. Unable to capitalize on any of these opportunities, the Hawks handed some momentum to the Ducks. With just under a minute remaining in the period, Patrick Kane made an appearance and beat Andersen with a sick backhander to tie the game at one. After 20 minutes of play, that's where we'd stand on the scoreboard.

The second period appeared to get underway with the Blackhawks hitting the snooze button on the intermission horn. Anaheim dominated the play early on in the period, but were unable to get a puck past Crawford to increase their lead. As the period went on, the Hawks seemed to find their legs, and at least looked to be drawing even with the Ducks. One thing was clear, both teams looked like they were laboring from fatigue. Unlike the first period, the play in the second period wasn't as sloppy, and that showed up on the scoresheet as no penalties were called. Just when it looked like the game would head into the 2nd intermission tied, Simon Despres one-timed a shot from the left circle that beat Crawford to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead after two periods.

As was the case with the first period, the third period saw sloppy play dictate the play of the game early on. Just past the 5 minute mark, the Blackhawks were handed another power play chance, but as was the case with the first four, couldn't generate anything. For the most part of the third period, the Hawks had dominated the play and had the Ducks on their heels, but Andersen stood on his head down the stretch, not to mention, stopped Patrick Kane on a mini breakaway with 8 seconds left to preserve a 2-1 win for the Ducks, and give them a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Good
- Frederik Andersen was fantastic for the Ducks in net. In all he stopped 27 of 28 shots, flashing the leather several times.
- Patrick Kane had the lone Hawks goal, but despite that he had a fairly good game. He was generating chances, which for Patrick Kane is key, and had a bit of jump to his step. Hopefully Kane can build on this game for Game 4 on Saturday.
- Jonathan Toews was the only Hawks center interested in winning draws tonight. In the end he was 78% at the dot.

The Bad
- In their one opportunity to kill off a penalty, the penalty kill wasn't able to come through when needed. At least they weren't as bad as that other group of special teamers.
- Shaw (36%), Richards (25%), and Desjardins (31%) all struggled at the dot. You can figure out why I put Shaw first on this list.
- The Ducks blocked 27 shots tonight. Its nice to know the Hawks were finding the open shooting lanes.
- Patrick Kane was hit hard into the boards, and was slow to get up. It caused everyone to hold their breath for a moment or two.

The Ugly
- WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT LINEUP???!!! In what world does this appeal to you? Lets scratch Vermette and Teravainen in favor of Versteeg and Nordstrom. I think I have a concussion from banging my head off the wall.
- Andrew Shaw has been effective as a winger on the 4th line, so what the hell, lets move him to center, where everyone knows, he struggles. Bravo.
- Lets pull Corey Crawford with two minutes remaining, and use KRIS VERSTEEG as the extra attacker. I literally could not stop laughing when I saw this.
- No one on the "4th line" had more than 9:20 of ice time, and that was Desjardins.
- Oh what a night for the power play. Talk about a momentum killer. At the end of the night the power play was a stellar 0 for 5. To modify a line from Major League; And for the Blackhawks 5 power plays and one shot. That's all they got? One goddamn shot?!
- Pray to God it doesn't happen, but you know its coming.........The return of Gorilla Salad.

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast Episode 30

In this Western Conference Final "Alain Chevrier" episode of the Shoutcast, Pat, Harms and Gatekeeper close out the Minnesota Wild. We discuss the first two games vs the Anaheim Ducks. Pat joins us after returning from his gender reassignment surgery, and followup bout with the plague.

This get off the rails real fast when Pat is forced to deal with his veiny throbbing man crush for Marcus Kruger.

Oh, right...there was a triple OT Western Conference Final game to discuss, as well.

For all your custom jersey needs visit Black and Tan Sports at:
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http://www.gofundme.com/o5x7o4

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http://www.facebook.com/FigSIGArts
Portions of his profits go to the Ronald McDonald House Chicago.

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at DucksGame 2 Triple OT3-2 Win Recap

"Hero Of The Day"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks continued their sunny west coast vacation Tuesday night in Anaheim, facing the Ducks for game two of the Western Conference Final. The Hawks were coming off a disappointing 4-1 loss Sunday afternoon, even though they out played the Ducks in just about every way. The Blackhawks made a slight lineup adjustment, adding Kyle Cumiskey to the mix, but the rest was intact. All the Hawks had to do was split in Anaheim, and they would be back in prime position, or come home down 0-2 and listen to the entire league masturbate all over Ryan Kesler for another couple of days.

The Blackhawks looked like world beaters in the first half of the first period, taking a 2-0 lead on two powerplay goals. Shortly after, the Blackhawks lost momentum and spent the second half of the period chasing the Ducks around. The shots were in favor of the Hawks 12-7, but most of those were early. By the end of the period, Quenneville needed to actually use his timeout to slow the Ducks down.

Once again, the Blackhawks came out rested and sharp in the beginning of the second period, but quickly lost steam. By the end of the period, the Ducks had tied the game and the Blackhawks were again running around. The Ducks out shot the Blackhawks pretty handily 19-7. Let's blame it on the long change.

The third period was much more positive for the Blackhawks. The Hawks out shot the Ducks 9-8 and had several long stretches of pressure, with led to quality scoring chances. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, none of those led to the winning goal. On to OT in Anaheim.

The first OT was exactly what you would expect for a Western Conference Final. Big plays, some defense, and an intense atmosphere. Play was about as even as we would expect, as well. The Ducks held a small shot advantage 9-8. On to OT number 2.

If 2 overtimes weren't enough for you, the Blackhawks and Ducks felt the same way. Overtime number 2 was the same as the first, and the Blackhawks seemed to have won the game, but the goal was correctly overturned. Shots were 14-14 and either team could have legitly won. 12:30 on a school night? No problem. Lets play 3.

It became official in the 3rd overtime, that this game was the longest game in Chicago Blackhawks history. It felt like it. With about 4 minutes remaining, the Blackhawks finally won it on a dirty goal. They pulled out a huge win in the longest game in their history on Stan Mikita's birthday.

The Good

• Wasn't more than 40 seconds into the game, and the wonderful Ryan Kelser left Jonathan Toews wide open in front of the Ducks net to size up his goalie.
• Just over 2 minutes into the first period, while working on the powerplay, Andrew Shaw tipped a long Duncan Keith shot past Andersen.
• Shortly after the Shaw goal, dick bag Clayton Stoner took a stupid penalty and did his best to earn another. The Blackhawks wasted little time driving the puck to the net and Marian Hossa was able to get enough on a dribbling puck to get a 2-0 lead.
• I love what Andrew Shaw brings to the Hawks as a 4th line wing. That said, I hate the kid when he's playing anywhere else.
• The PK was amazing, especially in overtime.
• Shaw and Vermette had grade A chances in the overtimes but Andersen was better.
• It took until the end of the third overtime, but Marcus Kruger was the hero. Brent Seabrook, who was my pick to win it, let a long shot go that Andersen stopped, but a rebound dropped right in the crease for Kruger to sweep in for the winner.
• Overshadowed in all of this is Corey Crawford, who made a career best 60 save. SIX-TY
• Duncan Keith was ON THE ICE for nine seconds short of 50 minutes. That is insane.

The Bad

• This Kesler/Toews storyline is growing tired. It's not nearly as dominating as the media makes it out to be.
• Late in the second period, Duncan Keith left Corey Perry in front of Crawford to deflect a Getzlaf shot into the net. Nothing Crawford could really do. That's fine, Duncs, just stand there and watch your goalie struggle with that screen.
• Right after the Perry goal, Keith took bad crosschecking penalty. The Penalty Kill was able to bail him out, though.
• The Ducks hit THREE posts in overtime. Talk about heart attacks.
• To all the assholes that proclaimed the series over because of one fairly close loss Sunday:
  
• I was officially worried every time I saw either Cumiskey or Timonen on the ice in the overtimes. They scare the shit out of me.

The Ugly

• Around the halfway point of the first period, the Ducks caught the "slower than Rozsival with a broken ankle" Kimmo Timonen pinching in the Ducks zone. Once the Ducks got into the Hawks zone they just threw the puck at the net, which turned out to be a pretty good play. The puck deflected off not one; not two; but three players and into the net.
• I am officially off the Kimmo Timonen train. At this point the rotting corpse of Kim Johansson would be a better option.
• The Blackhawks were able to get a 5-on-3 advantage early in the third period but could not capitalize.
• Marcus Kruger's third period penalty was just plain stupid. Five minutes remaining in a 2-2 game and takes a dumb penalty like that. To make matters worse, Hjalmarsson took a lazy tripping penalty in the first OT, which didn't do much for blood pressure.
• Brian Engblom is a fucking idiot. Some of the things he says are completely asinine. He said that Bryan Bickell had made several great plays in the series. Bryan Bickell has been IN-VIS-I-BLE. Moron.
• The Blackhawks seemed to have won the game in the second OT when Andrew Shaw "head butted" the puck into the net, but the officials and the war room correctly called the goal illegal. I give Shaw credit, though. He gave it his all, and until yesterday, I didn't even realize that headers were illegal. Not specifically headers, but deliberately directing the puck into the net with any part of the body other than the stick.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Timonen-Cumiskey

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at Ducks4-1 Game 1 Loss Recap

LEGOLAND
by Patrick Stankus

After a 10 day layoff, the Blackhawks finally got back to work in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday afternoon. For the third straight year, the Hawks faced a team from southern California in the Western Conference Finals, however this time it is the Anaheim Ducks. Heading into the series, both teams were faced with extended layoffs from their previous series' as the Hawks wrapped up their last series with the Wild in 4 games, and the Ducks in 5 games over the Flames. Would rust be a factor, or would the added rest help both teams? Only time will tell.

Once the 2pm start finally got underway, more like 2:20pm, the Hawks came out using their speed to their advantage. It worked early on as noted dickbag Corey Perry took a lazy, dumb, slashing penalty on Patrick Kane just over a minute in. The Hawks had a chance to silence the Ducks crowd by scoring an early goal, but even with a 10 day break, the power play was the same old song and dance. Later in the period off a Ryan Getzlaf turnover, Patrick Kane had Frederik Andersen down and out, but Andersen made a desperation stick save to deny Kane. Just prior to the midway point of the period, Anaheim would strike first. Following a stumble at the blueline by David Rundblad, the Ducks would get in the zone, and as Rundblad was getting into position in front of the net, he was hit from behind, resulting in a screen of Corey Crawford as a shot from the point by Hampus Lindholm was coming in and beat Crawford. As the period wore on, the Hawks were dominating the Ducks, but still couldn't beat Andersen, and faced a 1-0 deficit after the 1st period.

Early in the second period, it appeared that the Ducks had found their legs, and had a bit more jump to their step. Just under 5 minutes into the period, David Rundblad had a weak clearing attempt that failed to clear the zone, and as is always the case, Kyle Palmieri of the Ducks found the back of the net, to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead early in the second. As bad as Rundblad was early in this game, he did make a nice play to deny a Ducks wraparound to keep the score at 2-0. Midway through the period, the Hawks were forced to kill off a Niklas Hjalmarsson tripping penalty, in which the PK did come through. In the final minute of the second, Brad Richards picked off a Francois Beauchemin clearing attempt, and beat Andersen to cut the Ducks lead in half. As the horn sounded, the score would be 2-1 in favor of the Ducks.

As the third period began, the Hawks were riding the momentum of the late second period goal by Brad Richards. Instead of weathering that storm, the Ducks tried to hand the Hawks the game by taking two penalties in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the period. To no one's surprise, the Hawks power play couldn't come through when the team needed it. Two failed power play changes later, and the Ducks had all the momentum and jump to their step the rest of the way. Just past the 12 minute mark, Nate Thompson hammered home a rebound from an Andrew Cogliano shot to put the Ducks up 3-1. The Hawks never really mounted any type of urgency down the stretch, and Anaheim was able to capitalize and add an empty netter to give them a Game 1 win by the score of 4-1.

The Annoying
- The chants of "Crawford, Crawford, Crawford" are just plain annoying. We heard it in Minnesota, so very original Ducks fans. Oh and if this is your way of showing Jets fans that you have a very, very, very small passionate fanbase, after their chants of "Katy Perry" towards Corey Perry, that's weak sauce.
- Apparently EVERY national hockey writer is not aware that the Hawks have been rolling with 4 1/2 defensemen all post season long. Good God, find something else to bring up.

The Good
- I really don't have any complaints about how the Hawks started this game. For a team with a 10 day layoff, they didn't look out of whack, until they were on the power play. Which that should surprise none of us. The failure though to score when they had the Ducks on their heels in the 1st period is what cost them the game.
- Old Man River, Brad Richards, had a nice pick off of a Beauchemin clearing attempt, which resulted in him scoring late in the 2nd period, and gave the Hawks a glimmer of hope.
- It pains me to say it, but Frederik Andersen was excellent for the Ducks.

The Bad
- David Rundblad certainly didn't have a game to remember. Early on he found himself on the ice for the Ducks first two goals. The first wasn't all on him, but he did have a fumble at the blueline that allowed the Ducks to enter the zone. However on that same goal, its a fair question to ask "what the hell was Duncan Keith doing?" The second goal was a result of an extremely weak clearing attempt that was intercepted and found its way into the back of the Hawks net. Not a good start for your first playoff game. He did though have a nice play that broke up a Ducks wraparound in the 2nd period.
- Speaking of Duncan Keith, if were such a stat happy generation, than his -3 today should be pointed out.
- Corey Crawford wasn't bad, but he certainly wasn't great. You can't really fault him on the goals, but the third one was a glorious rebound he kicked out.

The Ugly
- The power play was just awful. It was a complete momentum killer for the Hawks. All in all, the PP ended the day 0 for 3.
- Seriously, you can't tell me at this point, you don't think Kyle Cumiskey is a better option than Kimmo Timonen. What is the point of dressing someone to only play them 5:15? At least Cumiskey could eat up some minutes.
- The Hawks had 16 shots in the first period, but had nothing to show for it at the end of the period. Point to that when you want to start talking about how this game was lost.
- I am convinced that the sight of Corey Perry's face is what causes people to vomit on the rides at Disneyland.

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at Minnesota4-3 WinGame 4 Sweep Recap

"Goodbye"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks were back in St. Paul Thursday night, to face the Wild and try to close out their second round series with a sweep. The Hawks were on a roll, winning Tuesday night by the most slim of margins, 1-0. The Wild came in seeming like a beaten team and they still had an enormous feat to pull off to get back in this series.

The first period was just another example of bounces going the Blackhawks way. The shots were even at eight at the first twenty minutes, but the Wild had the majority of the quality chances. The Blackhawks still came out ahead though, and were 2 periods away from a trip to the Western Conference Final.

The Wild had a vast majority of the chances in the middle period while out shooting the Blackhawks 18-10. Both teams had a goal which helped the Blackhawks hold onto a one goal lead going into what we all hoped would be the final period of this series. An injury on the back end was going to make this a tight one.

The third period was shaping up to be just like the previous 5 periods, until the Blackhawks blew the game wide open with just over 6 minutes remaining. The Wild made a push at the end, but the Blackhawks were able to hold them off to complete the surprising sweep. On to what will probably end up being the Anaheim Ducks for the Western Conference Final...once again.

The Good

• Halfway through the first period Brent Seabrook took a fairly bad pass in the skates, in the neutral zone, but kicked it ahead to himself. Once he got in over the Wild blue line and cleared the defender, he took a long wrist shot that was deflected off the defenders leg and past Dubnyk for 1-0 Hawks lead.
• Right after the Blackhawks killed a Jonathan Toews hooking penalty early in the second period, Marcus Kruger immediately drew a penalty of his own on a nice feed from the then returning El Capitan, which the Blackhawks expanded their lead on. Jonathan Toews took the puck just to the side of the net tried to jam the puck into the slot area where Andrew Shaw whacked away at it. Somehow Shaw was able to whack it through Nate Prosser and past Dubnyk, who never saw it.
• Corey Crawford got a little chippy towards the end of the game, with Wild players crashing the net and whacking at covered pucks. Good for him, standing up for himself. He made 34 saves, and kept the Blackhawks in a position to sweep.
• In what ended up being the winner, with over 3 minutes remaining, Marian Hossa scored a long open net goal from almost the Blackhawks crease.
• With Rozsival getting hurt, Quenneville spread the ice time out more than usual, which is a very good thing. I expected Keith to have 33 minutes when Rozsival went down, and the final tally was UNDER 30. I rag on Q for making stupid moves, but this was the right call.
• Bickell quietly had 2 assists. Like Sharp, keep inflating that trade value, my friend.

The Bad

• The Wild were running around in the first period like the St. Louis Blues which put them out od position and opened up the ice for the Hawks. My only worry would be that a stupid would injure an important Hawks player for nothing.
• Early in the third period the Wild caught Johnny Oduya breaking his stick on a shot, and turned it into an odd man break the other way. It was one of the most ugly odd man breaks I have ever seen. Hjalmarsson took the break by himself, while Oduya went to the bench to get a new stick. The Wild never really got the quality chance off that it looked like they would.
• With just over 6 minutes left in the game, Patrick Kane gave the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead, on a 2-on-1 with Bryan Bickell. At that point in the game, passing to Bickell was the last option, and Kane took it himself. Dubnyk got a piece of the shot, but it dribbled through him and into the net. 3-1 Hawks.
• I'm not even going to dissect the final two Wild goals. The Blackhawks were killing a penalty and the Wild had pulled their goalie on the first one. The net was still empty for the second one, so basically the Blackhawks were killing penalties for the final 4 minutes of the game, against a team that had nothing else to lose with only 4 defensemen. These two were mulligans for the Hawks.

The Ugly

• The fans in Minnesota must be stuck on stupid. They kept chanting "Crawford" when he was simply owning them. That is not how it works. YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG, YOU BACKWOODS MORONS!
• Michal Rozsival got caught as the only man back almost halfway though the second period and tripped over his own feet. He went down hard and awkward. He wasn't able to get up, and was eventually carried off the ice. Not good at all. Especially, since they feel he is the 5th best defenseman on the team. Who do we see now? I would have much rather see Rozsival go out as a healthy scratch. After the game, Quenneville said it didn't look good.
• The faceoff after the Rozsival injury was a complete mess, Eric Haula whacked a rebound past Crawford to finally break the scoreless streak.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Rozsival
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Timonen-Seabrook

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast Episode 29

In this second round Playoff, marathon Bryan Bickell episode, of the Puckin Hostile Shoutcast, Gatekeeper is without our favorite, sometimes drunken, co-host, Pat Stankus, but he is joined by Derek Harms and Jim Kress Jr. Jim is a Blackhawks and Cubs writer for www.CityOnTheTake.com, and his Four Feathers videos are worth checking out.

The guys talk about everything from the end of the Nashville series to the opening three wins in the Minnesota series. The also discuss Joel Quenneville’s questionable history with some facets of the job, and the signing of 2 free agent european players, Artemi Panarin and Erik Gustafsson. They also share the new website www.GeneralFanager.com, and all hope for a quick close out to this Wild team before any shenanigans begin.

Oh right, and THIS:


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Portions of his profits go to the Ronald McDonald House Chicago.

You can find the episode on iTunes by following this link: iTunes

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 29 MP3 Download

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs. WildGame 31-0 Shutout Win Recap

Been Caught Stealing
by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks and Wild continued their best of seven series on Tuesday night with Game 3 taking place in the Twin Cities. Much of the hype that was built up leading up to the game was from Pierre McGuire's slobbering love affair with how loud the Minnesota crowd is. (Hey Pierre, I dare you to call a game from the 300 Level at The UC.) Anyway, enough about that cue ball head, the Blackhawks had the opportunity to put a stranglehold on the series with a win, and hopefully end the media driven talk of a goalie controversy.

Early on in the 1st period, the Hawks weathered the storm of the momentum the Wild had, as evident by the Hawks registering their first shot nearly 6 minutes in. The Wild had the chance to jump out to an early lead, while on the power play, courtesy of an Antoine Vermette penalty. This time the penalty kill came through and shifted the momentum in favor of the Hawks. The Hawks themselves had a chance on the power play later in the period, and this time the team with the man advantage made them pay. Patrick Kane scored off a pass from Andrew Shaw, and beat Dubnyk with a soft goal through the five hole. After 20 minutes, the Hawks would have a 1-0 lead.

As the second period began, it became fairly obvious that goals were going to be hard to come by. The Hawks were able to kill off a Bryan Bickell interference penalty just past the midway point of the period. Despite the great defense that was being played in front of him, it was very apparent that Corey Crawford was in the zone. He stopped Mikael Granlund on a breakaway after Hjalmarsson was caught chasing the puck. Also in the period he made a great left pad save on the goal line to keep the Wild off the scoreboard and the Hawks in the lead after two periods.

The third period mirror that of the latter half of the 2nd period. It was the Corey Crawford show. End of story. Once again, the Hawks were forced to kill off a Wild power play, and in the process killed the momentum of the Wild. The Hawks did get a great scoring opportunity early in the period, but Brad Richards rang a shot off the crossbar. As the period wound down, the Hawks withstood a flurry of action by the Wild, but it was too little too late. Despite getting a couple of looks at an empty net, the Hawks couldn't pot one, but in the end still held on for the 1-0 win and in the process take a commanding 3-0 series lead.

The Good
- 30 shots, 30 saves for Corey Crawford. He was flat out in the zone tonight, and stole this game for the Hawks. Yes, he apparently can do that.
- Even though it was an odorous goal on Dubnyk's part, Patrick Kane's glove are just a little warm right now. Its hard to believe this guy is coming off a significant shoulder injury with how great he has been of late.
- For how critical we are of Michal Rozsival's play, we need to give him some praise when he deserves it. Tonight he had a strong game. We'll leave it at this, no mistakes by #32 makes for a good day.
- The special teams also had a great night. The power play was 1 for 1, while the penalty kill, killed off all 3 Minnesota power plays.
- The Hawks dominated the Wild at the dot, 37-22.

The Bad
- The hit on Patrick Kane in the 1st period was borderline on being a boarding penalty, but the biggest part of the hit was watching Kane labor on the ice for a few moments afterward. All in all though it was disaster averted.
- Speaking of bad hits, Bickell is lucky he didn't shred his knee into thousands of pieces after being tripped up by Jared Spurgeon in the 1st period.
- Despite blocking 19 shots (good), the Hawks did allow 30 to the Wild. For some reason it just seems too high for my comfort.

The Ugly
- Kimmo Timonen and his 5:44 of ice time. This is becoming an embarrassment.
- Matt Cooke and his disgusting face.

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs. Wild 4-1Game 2 Win Recap

Smooth Criminal
by Patrick Stankus

On Sunday night in Chicago, the Blackhawks and Wild took to the ice for Game 2 of their best of 7 series in the Western Conference Semi Final playoff matchup. Despite their Game 1 win on Friday night, some in Chicago, wanted to poke around and make up a goalie controversy because Crawford yielded 3 goals in Game 1. Any questions of a controversy were put to rest on Sunday, as Corey Crawford rose up to the occasion, and proved his doubters wrong once again. (This guy backs away quietly.)

The opening frame got off to a sluggish start with sloppy play dictating early on. As the period went on, chances were at a premium, but the best belonged to the Wild. Corey Crawford made an excellent point blank chance on Thomas Vanek to keep the Wild off the score board. Just before the midway point of the period, the Hawks were awarded a gift goalie interference call against Vanek. As is the case with the power play, and momentum the Hawks had was killed by a lackluster 2 minute man advantage. As the horn sounded ending play, the game was scoreless after one.

The second period featured a little more open play, thus making for a bit more excitement. While shorthanded, due to an Andrew Shaw cross checking penalty, Marian Hossa stole the puck from Ryan Suter, and centered a pass to Jonathan Toews, who beat Devan Dubnyk to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Despite the lead, the Wild would fight back right after the Toews goal, but a sequence of point blank saves by Crawford kept the Wild off the scoreboard. As the period went on, turnovers would prove to be costly again for the Wild. In the final minute of the period, Duncan Keith stole the puck at the Hawks blueline, and fed Patrick Kane with a long stretch pass, which resulted in Kane firing a twisted wrister past Dubnyk to increase the Hawks lead to 2-0 following two periods of play.

As the third period got underway, the Hawks were forced to kill off a carry over penalty that Michal Rozsival took with two minutes remaining in the 2nd period. As is always the case with bad penalties, the Hawks PK couldn't come through and Matt Dumba cut the Hawks lead in half on a wrist shot that Crawford should have stopped. To the Hawks credit though, the weathered the push back from the Wild, and just under 8 minutes into the period, they'd answer back. Teravainen made a nice chip of the puck off the boards in the neutral zone to Patrick Sharp, who skated into the Wild zone, and fired a wrist shot past Dubnyk to increase the Hawks lead to 3-1. With just over 2 minutes remaining Patrick Kane sealed the deal with an empty netter, and gave the Hawks a 4-1 lead that would prove to be the final score of Game 2.

The Good
- As hard as I've been on Duncan Keith of late, tonight he deserves a lot of praise. He was excellent all night long in all three zones for the Hawks. He ended the night with 1 assist, +4, and 30:12 TOI.
- Aside from the Dumba goal, Corey Crawford was fantastic in net. He made several point blank saves on the Wild in the 1st and 2nd period. All in all, it was a solid night in net for #50.
- Teuvo Teravainen in limited ice time proved once again to be a difference maker on the ice. If there was anyone who thinks Versteeg should be in the lineup instead of Teuvo, you clearly aren't watching these guys play. Its not even close, Teravainen is the better player, and shouldn't be in the press box. Now if Quenneville would only give him some power play time.
- Its an old cliche', but sometimes your start players need to be your best players on the ice. Tonight was the case. The goal scorers for the Hawks were; Toews, Kane (2), and Sharp. Honorable mentions also go to Keith and Hossa.
- Credit to Gate for this one. After watching Vermette play of late, its hard to believe this guy was a scratch earlier in the playoffs.

The Bad
- While tonight he wasn't terrible, Kimmo Timonen is a liability for the Hawks. Going forward the Hawks cannot rely this heavily on their top 4 defensemen. Tonight Timonen played 6:57, while Keith, Seabrook, Oduya, and Hjalmarsson all played over 20 minutes. That's playing with fire.
- It wouldn't be a recap if Michal Rozsival didn't make it in here. Once again a bad penalty by him, and the puck ends up in the back of the net on the ensuing penalty kill. Eventhough it was a lazy interference penalty, the goal was still one that Crawford should have had. Nevertheless, the goal never happens if Rozsival doesn't take the penalty.
- In the 3rd period, Corey Crawford took a Marco Scandella slap shot, off the mask, and looked like he was on waffle street afterward. Following a couple of moments of looking out of it, Crawford was able to bounce back and finish the game. It definitely was a time to hold your breath though.

The Ugly
- Ryan Suter had a Michal Rozsival type of night. He had a turnover that resulted in a Hawks goal, and ended up the night a -3. Woof.
- Lets keep it positive tonight, and move along to Game 3 that comes our way on Tuesday night.

PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs WildGame One 4-3 Win Recap

"You're No Different"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks opened the second round, Friday night, against the Minnesota Wild, once again. Thanks to the dense idiots at the NHL and NBC, the game started at 8:45 local time, which is just stupid. Make the east coast game start earlier, you fucking morons. Whoever scheduled this mess should be jobless.

In better news, the Blackhawks came out on fire in the first period. Even though they were out shot 13-8, the Blackhawks scored 3 times. The Wild looked like a bad AHL team defending against the Blackhawks, and it cost them dearly. The worst thing that could have happened to the Blackhawks was that horn at the end of the period because they were just getting hotter and hotter.

As predicted the Blackhawks came out in the second without that same fire, giving up 3 goals in the first 10 minutes of the second period. The official scorer must have been as tired as we all were, because the recorded shot total was 12-12, which seemed highly unlikely in the Blackhawks case. Whatever the case, the Blackhawks scored a late goal to take a 4-3 lead into the second intermission, and they were damn lucky to have it.

The third period wasn't as locked down as we all would have liked. The Blackhawks played run and gun a little with the Wild, and while it made for entertaining hockey, it was about as stressful as you can imagine. The Blackhawks were credited with out shooting the Wild 15-8 in the period but, again, it sure didn't seem that way. When the dust settled, the Blackhawks had a 1-0 series lead.

The Good

• Just over a minute into the game, Brandon Saad walked right through Ryan Suter and ended up 1-on-1 with Devan Dubnyk. We have all seen this one before, and the puck saw the back of the net. 1-0 Hawks.
• Late in the first period, after Wild had controlled the majority of the play, Brad Richards started a scoring play after Antoine Vermette won a faceoff deep in the Hawks zone. Richards then raced up the ice on a perfect breakout spinning Marco Scandella like a top and found Kane just inside the Wild blue line, who snapped the puck past Dubnyk for a 2-0 lead.
• Two minutes after the Kane goal, the fourth line got into the action. Andrew Shaw did enough to force the Wild to turn the puck over deep in their own zone. The puck worked back down low to Kruger who was wide open in front of Dubnyk and beat him. Three goals on seven shots, at this point.
• With under a minute left in the second period, Teuvo Tervainen grabbed the lead back for the Blackhawks. Pretty much just a hard nosed goal. He picked up a loose puck on the half boards and threw a long shot on net that Dubnyk just missed. We'll take it.
• Crawford was not great, but he was good. Saving 30 of 33 is pretty good, especially when the team in front of him seems destined to take at least one period off per game.
• Some important faceoffs were won, which cost the Wild, and other important ones were lost, which cost the Blackhawks. In the end the Blackhawks won the battle, but by much.

The Bad

• Just a couple of minutes into the second period the fourth line that scored the third goal cost the Blackhawks. Marcus Kruger lost a faceoff deep in the Hawks zone. Seabrook was eventually late to get to Zucker wide open in the slot and he beat Crawford to cut the lead to 3-1.
• About five minutes into the second period Michal Rozsival took another lazy fucking penalty putting the best PP in the playoffs on the ice. Any guesses how that story ends? Crawford made a couple of saves, but failed to freeze the puck when he had a free pass. Zach Parise was then given way too much room in front of the net and poked it through Crawford to cut the lead down to 1 goal.
• The Blackhawks took too many late game lazy penalties. Oduya and Richards should both know better, especially Richards. Offensive zone penalties are just stupid.
• The third and fourth lines played really low minutes, which needs to be fixed. You cannot roll 2 lines and 4 defensemen. You just can't. The top 4 defenders were all over 21 minutes in a 60 minute game.
• For the Wild, Justin Fontaine played 6:55. Why bother?????

The Ugly

• Lets get this out of the way right off the bat. Making two central time zone teams start at 8:45PM is one of the most stupid thing I've ever heard of. Eat shit NHL, and NBCSN. Seriously,you're the WORST.
• the Wild tied the game when the duo of Keith and Rozsival, ONCE AGAIN, couldn't manage to get the fucking puck out of the zone. Mikael Granlund walked out of the corner completely unopposed, as Rozsival stood flat footed and watching, and beat Crawford to tie the game. You HAVE be aware, and you HAVE to slide over to provide support.
• Timonen and Rozsival were, once again, huge gaping liabilities. Timonen didn't crack 11 minutes, and Rozsival was a pylon. How Q just throws them out there without heavy medicating himself is beyond me.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Tervainan-Vermette-Sharp
Desjardins-Kruger-Shaw

Keith-Rozsival
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Timonen-Seabrook

Blackhawks Go Fishing in Europe

The Blackhawks signed two relatively unknown European players to entry level deals, this week, which couldn't have come at a better time, to keep all the whack-a-doos from proclaiming their irrational greatness. Let us take a closer look at these future Blackhawks footnotes.



It still has yet to be officially announced by the team, but several sources have confirmed that the Blackhawks signed 23 year old Russian Left Wing Artemi Panarin to a 2 year entry level deal. Panarin is an interesting player. He was the 5th leading scorer in the KHL this past season as well as the 5th leading scorer in the playoffs. Keep in mind, though, he played on a line with former NHLer Ilya Kovalchuk. Makes you wonder what he could do with a younger player of a similar skillset like, say, Patrick Kane. Even before signing with the Hawks, his style of play was compared to Kane, and looking at highlight I can see why. He looks confident, brash, and had some smooth hands. Let's be honest, though; there is one Patrick Kane in this world. There is also a reason Artemi Panarin is an undrafted 23 year old out of the KHL. Lets not fool ourselves just yet. He is a smallish player at 5'11" and somewhere between 159 lbs and 170 lbs, depending on what site you look at. Have a look at his stats for yourself:

Here is his most recent KHL highlight reel:

As you can see, he is a pretty dynamic and smooth player, but that is also in a league that is the equivalent of the AHL, on it's best day. We will see how he reacts to much bigger players that can, and will, hunt him down to take his head clean off. We also cannot discount the effect of the #2CUPZ penalty. If he doesn't quickly make it into the Quenneville "Band of Bros", which is a total crapshoot, he will end up as confused as Teuvo Teravainen.

The details of his particular deal are interesting, because it has been suggested that the contract has an "out clause" that allows him to terminate if he does not make the NHL team next fall. I'm not really sure who this protects more, the Blackhawks or Panarin. I would think that he has the choice of going to Rockford before heading back to Russia, instead of simply automatic termination.


The second player that was signed by the Blackhawks was 23 year old Swedish Defenseman Erik Gustafsson. Gustafsson was originally drafted in the 2012 draft by the Oilers, in the 4th round, but never panned out. He is 6'0" and listed at 176 lbs, which is average to small for an NHL defender. To give you a little bit of a comparison, current Hawks players that size are: Johnny Oduya, Kyle Cumiskey, Marcus Kruger, Teuvo Tervainen, Patrick Kane, Andrew Shaw, Kris Versteeg, Ville Pokka, Matt Carey, Garrett Ross, Kirill Gotovets, and Tanner Kero. It just depends on how he uses his size, or lack thereof. These are Gustafsson's stats over in Europe:

By all reports, he is an offensive defenseman that can play the QB on the powerplay. It is most likely that he will be do so in Rockford next year, which could mean that the Blackhawks are high on Ville Pokka. Just speculation.