Western Conference Finals

Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks – Game 3

4 – 3 Win OT

Game 3 comes back to the UC. This game is do or die for the Hawks. Losing this game forces the Hawks to win 4 in a row, including a game 7 in Detroit. Pivotal game and the Wings may be going without Datsyuk.

Before the game, Vs. missed out on showing the anthem – good decision, I am sure it wasn’t too loud or exciting. I know Jim doesn’t have the looks of a Karen Newman, but come on.

Shortly into the game, it was evident that Detroit wanted to take it to the Hawks physically. Red Wings were hitting everything, and finishing their checks. The Hawks countered with better puck possession through the first 20 minutes. A good reason for this was the amount of time Detroit spent in the box. More than 1/2 of the period, Detroit was on the kill, which was effective. As the Red Wings played 4 across the blue line with no forechecking pressure, the Hawks had problems getting into the zone and setting up the PP. At the 7 minute mark, Detroit got a 4 minute minor on a Cleary high-stick. With little time left in the 4 minute and not much going to this point, Seabs slapped a one-timer from the point that was tipped in by Sharp, who was camped in front of the net. Osgood was screened on the shot. Hawks up 1-0, but they were not done. Half way through the period, Ladd took an innocent wrist shot from the far circle that was saved by Osgood. Ladd followed up his shot and jammed the rebound home. Hawks up 2-0. Minutes later, the physical play continued. Kronwall lined up Havlat and knocked him the f@&! out along the boards. The hit sent Kronwall to the locker room with a game misconduct while Havlat was still seeing stars. The Hawks did absolutely nothing with the 5 minute, man-advantage.  First period, the Hawks were the better team, but Detroit played short handed for over half the period.

Early in the second period, Keith sent a shot toward the net from the point. From 15 feet out, Pahlsson redirected the shot past Osgood for a 3–0 Hawks lead. The middle of the second, the Hawks found themselves in penalty troubled and did a solid job on the kill. But they gave Detroit too many chances. On a soft hooking call on Bolland, Detroit was able to open up their scoring. Over the next 5 minute, the Hawks watched the Red Wings flip the scoring switch and score 3 unanswered goal to tie the game up at 3. The Hawks were scrambling in their own end, having troubles clearing the zone. All 3 goals were a result of Detroit getting shots to the net and having traffic in front of Khabi. The Hawks need to control the front of the net better. Only the first of these 3 goal was on the PK.

The third period opened with a new look in goal. Huet was in for Khabi, who was done for the night. Corey Crawford was minding the gate on the bench. Nik didn’t have a bad night overall, there wasn’t too much he could do with the traffic in front. It appeared to be an injury related hook. Shots on net were few and far between. Only 6 shots by either team in the 3rd. Not much work for “The Man From France” who hasn’t seen action since Easter. After a scoreless 3rd, OT it is.

The first and only OT was relatively quick as the Hawks score on a nice set up from Pahlsson. Walker sent a shot on goal from the top of the circle with Byf in good position for the screen. The puck came out to the left of Osgood to Pahlsson who slide a backhander across the slot to Sharp who was breaking toward the net. Sharp was alone on the back door and scored into an open net. Fantastic feed from Pahlsson. Hawks win in OT.

A much needed win in front of a home crowd. But it wasn’t all pretty. The Hawks were out to a 3-0 lead and left the door open for Detroit to battle back and force an OT. At the end of the 2nd, the Hawks lost control of this game. The second intermission was the only thing that stopped the bleeding and brought an end to Detroit’s press. In addition, the loss of Havlat and Khabibulin will play a huge factor in the remaining games of the series if they can’t return top the lineup quickly. Will we see Niemi or Crawford get the call as backup? With all the recalls after Rockford was knocked out of the playoffs, who will we see replace Havlat and on what line?

There was a good deal of controversy regarding the Kronwall hit on Havlat. I would tend to agree with the Eddie. It was an aggressive hit, but the puck was there. The penalty was excessive, as one may not have been warranted, unless Kronwall left his feet. If that was Eager laying out Zetterberg with a hit like that, I wouldn’t expect it to be a penalty either, and definitely not a game misconduct. What I was surprised at was the Hawks response to it. Not that I would want them to spend more time in the box, but the physical play from the Hawks should have been turned up to “11″.

There has been a lot of talk about this series being over, and the Hawks having no chance after going down 2-0 in the series. All the Hawks have to do is win their home games and steal a road win and the series is their’s. In game 1, the Hawks were skating with the Wings, until 7 minutes left in the game – then Detroit turns on that “scoring switch” they seem to have. In Game 2, the Hawks played possibly one of their best games of the playoffs and had much better puck possession that Detroit. They deserved better thanan OT loss, which was the direct result of a turnover. With the exception of a 7 minute stretch to close out game 1, the Hawks have not been dominated by Detroit in this series. Yet the media has already written off the Hawks. If Chicago can tighten things up, minimize their turnovers and weather Detroits “scoring switch”, the Hawks have just as good a chance as Detroit to take this series. This may call for a better than average performance in goal, whoever that will be.

Game 4 on Sunday couldn’t come soon enough.

Positives:

× Hawks played a strong game and got out to a solid lead.

× Huet saw the ice and the boys played well in front to limit quality scoring chances.

× The Hawks did a good job limiting their turnovers

Negatives:

× The Hawks allowed Detroit back in this game.

× Injuries to Havlat and Khabibulin.

Game Notes:

×Khabi and Havlat are both listed day-to-day.

MVB (Most Valuable Blackhawk):

×Patrick Sharp – scored the opening goal and the OT game winner.

Series:

Game 1:  DET 5, CHI 2
Game 2:  DET 3, CHI 2 OT
Game 3:  CHI 4, DET 3 OT
Game 4:  @ Chicago, Sun. 5/24, 3:00 p.m. ET
*Game 5:  @ Detroit, Wed. 5/27, 7:30 p.m. ET
*Game 6:  @ Chicago, Sat. 5/30, 8:00 p.m. ET
*Game 7:  @ Detroit, Mon. 6/1, 7:30 p.m. ET
* if necessary

Detroit Leads the Series 2-1

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008030323

Western Conference Finals

Chicago Blackhawks @ Detroit Red Wings – Game 2

3 – 2 Loss

Game 2 in Detroit. . .

The Hawks got out to a strong start. In the first, they were out skating and out hitting Detroit. Chicago got the scoring started on the PP, 13 minutes into the first. At the tail end of a pair of Detroit penalties, Toews sent the puck into the crease from the goalline, hitting Erikson’s skate and deflecting in past Osgood. Hawks up 1-0. The Hawks had another PP opportunity minutes later off a generous goaltender interference call on Holmstrom. This power play for the Hawks was ineffective. It was then Detroit’s turn with the man-advantage. Rafalski threw a weak wrist shot  on net from the point that beat Khabi. This play started with a defensive zone face off loss and ended with Khabi finding Holmstrom as a possible distraction in front. Period ends 1-1, with Chicago playing much better hockey that Detroit. The Hawks had 19 shots on goal in the first, but Osgood was not really tested.

In the second period, the Hawks took their foot off the gas a little. Detroit’s defensemen were noticeably jumping into the play. Off a face off win in the offensive zone, the Hawks turned the puck over at the Wings blueline. Dan “Where Was This When He Was A Blackhawk” Cleary outskated Duncan Keith and came in alone on Khabi. Nik  lost out, 5-hole. Wings up 2-1. That was is for the scoring in the 2nd.

The 3rd period was just good playoff hockey. Chicago continued to pressure the Wings. You could see the Wings starting to chase in their own end too much. With 7 minutes left in regulation, after a long shift in Detroit’s zone, Versteeg sent a shot on net that was deflected by Taser for his 2nd of the night. Hawks and Detroit tied @ 2. For the remainder of the period, the end to end action was what May hockey was all about. Neither team scored in the final minutes to force this into OT. The Hawks gave up several odd man breaks in the last 2 minutes of the game, but both teams looks a little gassed at the end of 60.

OT, and you could just feel it. What there was of OT was all Detroit. Five minutes into OT, Brian Campbell turned over the puck at the Red Wings blue line, which resulted in a 3-on-1 breakout and the Detroit game winner. Campbell was having such a good game but attempted a risky cross ice pass that didn’t work out.  The 3-on-1 was played nicely by Detroit and Samuelsson was left with half the net to shoot at from between the circles and didn’t miss. Final 3-2, Hawks go down 2-0 in the series.

Detroit played well enough to weather the Hawks pressure. They just seem to have the ability to turn things up and respond whenever they want/need to. Detroit were opportunistic tonight, sitting back as the Hawk’s dictated the play. Once the Hawks made mistakes, Detroit was able to capitalize on those mistakes. The Hawks played a solid 1st and 3rd, yet in the end it wasn’t enough. It was disappointing to see the Hawks compete for the majority of the game and still allow the Red Wings to score 2 of their 3 goals on turnovers at the Detroit blueline. The Hawks deserved a better outcome, but it proved that the young Hawks can skate with the defending champs.

Back to Chicago for Games 3 and 4, where the Hawks need to hold serve and go back to Detroit with a fresh 3 game series.

Positives:

× Hawks played a strong game and dominated a good portion of the game.

× The Hawks scored first and also battled back to force OT.

Negatives:

× The Hawks deserved more.

× In the 2nd period the Hawks let up on the pressure.

× Turnovers killed the Hawks in this game, 2 found the back of the net.

Game Notes:

×None.

MVB (Most Valuable Blackhawk):

×Jonathan Toews – 2 goal game for the Wolverine.

Series:

Game 1:  DET 5, CHI 2
Game 2:  DET 3, CHI 2 OT
Game 3:  @ Chicago, Fri. 5/22, 8:00 p.m. ET
Game 4:  @ Chicago, Sun. 5/24, 3:00 p.m. ET
*Game 5:  @ Detroit, Wed. 5/27, 7:30 p.m. ET
*Game 6:  @ Chicago, Sat. 5/30, 8:00 p.m. ET
*Game 7:  @ Detroit, Mon. 6/1, 7:30 p.m. ET
* if necessary

Detroit Leads the Series 2-0

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008030322