This was “Blackhawks Hockey”. We have waited 4 games for a dominant performance like this. The UC was loud and the Blackhawks came out with purpose. They attacked and played a complete 60 minutes. The Blackhawks jumped out to an early 3-goal lead and never looked back. All lines contribute as the Hawks had 11 of their 18 skaters pick up at least one point.

The Flyers only put together a couple of offensive surges. I do have to give it go Philly, they capitalize on the opportunities they get. The Hawks were playing with puck possession for the entire first period, yet the Flyers come out and quiet the crowd with a quick goal, just 32 seconds into the 2nd. Tonight, the Hawks responded well in every aspect of the game. Philly never scored 2 consecutive goals. For every Flyer goal, the Hawks responded with a goal of their own. The Hawks were hitting and dictating play. Chicago was a determined team, focused on leaving with a win.

Team observations:
Philadelphia
Pronger was brutal out there tonight, being victimized for a pointless, -5 performance. The veteran, Michael Leighton, was chased after 20 minutes. Boucher was no better. Watching this series, it is hard to believe that their top line is Carter, Gagne and Richards. Except for Game 4, Richards has not stood out. Carter and Gagne have done very little in this series (except Carter’s EN Goal). As for their depth on D, Philly is riding 4 deep. Tough to match the Hawk’s depth when relying heavily on 2 lines. This a big reason that Pronger is on the ice for 30 minutes.

Chicago
Total team effort in this win. Niemi wasn’t great, but he was as good as he had to be. He did make some big saves. He did have some rebound control problems and lost the puck on the first goal. Buff had his best game of this series. He was physical, he scored 2 and had 2 helpers. With Q juggling the lines before the game, it seemed to give all Hawks a little more room to skate out there.

The Match Up Game
There was a lot of talk prior to the game regarding Coach Q and the Hawks scrambling to solve Philly. This is just Q, and is a credit to the Hawk’s depth. He has a handful of combination he could throw out there, on both ends. With Q getting the last change, match ups were in the Hawk’s favor. It should be interesting to see what match ups Philly will be looking for when they have the last call in Game 6, Wednesday. Who does Pronger match up with now? And who does Richards match up with? As for Philly, their best line has easily been Briere-Leino-Hartnell. What matchups will Q be looking to get?

There were high sticks missed on both sides (Campbell and “Paul McCartney” Briere). Of course, the usual Pronger cross checks were let go. I was happy see they caught the Hartnell elbow to the back of Kopecky’s head. Still, I am not sure the officials have decided on what they will and will not let go. Consistency has been a bit of a joke in this final series. Maybe it’s me, but what ever happened to the interference call. Goaltenders seem to be piled on or run into with no call, yet Ladd was called for it in Game 4 when he made no contact with the goalie. He made contact with the defenseman, who made minimal contact with Leighton. The more obvious interference is the open ice or dump in interference. I don’t know how many times I have seen that in this series go uncalled. Maybe it’s just one of those expendable, regular season calls. The rule states:

A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who interferes with or impedes the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck. In addition, a minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who restrains an opponent who is attempting to “forecheck”.

Special teams was a key factor tonight. The Hawks, who had only nine power-play chances through the first four games, scored on two of four in Game 5. The Flyers were helpless on their three power plays, a distinct difference from the first four games when they were 5-for-16.

Back to Philly for Game 6 and their “A” game will be needed to weather a must win Flyers club. The Hawks, who now lead the series, 3-2, will have to wait until Wednesday for their first crack at winning the Cup. Game 6 is at Wachovia Center, where the Flyers won twice in this series and are 8-1 this postseason, but not before two full off days. Expect Philly to come out of the gates looking to take an early lead.

Is it better for the Hawks to go into Game 6 sitting back and playing a patient shutdown style of road hockey, or come out on the attack and try to counter Philly’s push with one of their own?

Another entertaining game, and in essence the 4th one-goal game in this series. The Hawks were far too generous in the first period, digging a hole that they couldn’t recover from.

The first 2 goals were off defensive turnovers and the third Philly goal was a complete defensive breakdown leaving Giroux alone with an open net. Sloppy, lackadaisical play in their defensive zone cost them the game.

A good deal of attention has been given to the emergence of Leino, and though he has played well, he would have went pointless and even (+/-), if he didn’t score on a ridiculous fluke that has gotten way too much praise. A fluttering wrist shot that was going high and a good 5 feet wide hits Versteeg in the shoulder, across the goal mouth, hits the post and finds the back of the net. This shot turned out to be the game winner.

I had mentioned this after game 3, and this is not blaming the loss on officiating, as the Hawks PK has had big problems against the Philly power play. The officiating continues to be atrocious. The Ladd goaltender interference was questionable. Then the terrible Kopecky high-stick call should have set the tone for the game. As the announcers mentioned, they are going to call a tight game. Then the consistency is nowhere to be seen. Calls are let go everywhere. Other calls for much less are made. There was a slashing call on Sharp midway through the game that the Versus crew is still looking for. On the replay, I did see Richards slash Sharp, but no infraction by Sharp.

Through 4 games of this series, we have not seen much “Blackhawk Hockey”. We have gotten brief glimpses, but not a full 60. Not much in puck possession or traffic in front. Leighton has had a pretty easy time seeing the puck. The Blackhawks also have to tighten things up in their own end. There have been far too many turnovers and bad passes. Campbell played his best game of the series and Keith, well he played like Keith. Toews played a solid game, though still struggling to find the score sheet. Coach Q broke up Toews and Kane to mix things up, and it seemed to work. There was limited ice time for Brouwer (6:48), Eager (4:58) and Madden (10:10) while Duncan skated over 30 minutes. Nick Boynton also had limited time in his first game of the playoffs. Hossa only had 18 minutes of ice time, but it seemed like he was always out there and always around the puck.

The Flyers have gotten back into this series by playing desperation hockey, something the Hawks haven’t done yet. This is something we need to see from the Hawks, some desperation Game 7 play.

So we are down to a best of 3 series with home ice. How will the Hawks respond on home ice, like Game 1 in the 1st and 2nd rounds or like their last 4 game homestand, winning 4 in a row. Who has the momentum and which team is the pressure on?