Hawks have to score first if they want to win tomorrow, Canucks just play too well with the lead.
I believe the Canucks are 41-2 this season when scoring first. Chicago better not let Vancouver score first.
Not to mention the Canucks scored 100 3rd period goals this season - the only team to score in triple digits in any period...
The Hawks were a poor 3rd period team this season and the Canucks were the best. Will this issue for the Hawks only be compounded by the fact they're riding their stars with huge minutes while the Canucks roll 4 lines?
Bolland may very well be tough as nails but he also was emotionally very distraught over what he just went through with the concussion. Head injuries are a different animal altogether and if he steps back into this series at some point I guarantee it'll be in the back of his head. If game 2 resembles game 1 physically I don't see Bolland rushing back early...
So did it look like the Hawks were in Luongo's head last night? It's funny how 'mental' deficiencies crop up when teams are up against superior opponents. Now that the Canucks have a much improved backend and team for that matter look for an end to this 'the Hawks are in Luongo's head' nonsense that has been spewed over the last 2 years.
The Hawks 2 biggest, most important games of the year have been losses. There's just no reason to believe they will win at least 4 of their next 6 against the best team in the NHL.
Umm, did you forget what has happen in the past two series? Luongo had a .970% in game one and only allowed one goal last year, in a game that was more dominating by vancouver. They scored 5 goals IN Chicago. This was no where close to the "biggest" game of the year for the Hawks.
I think that one of the overlooked stats from yesterday's game was that the Blackhawk's top line played 5-7 minutes more than the Sedins. Spread out over a 7 game series, that's a significant load to be carrying and doubtful the Toewes/Kane/Sharp will be able to keep it
I'd link you to the beat writers but on the whole they overreact like they should be message board posters.
There's a bunch of good Hawks blogs, a couple being Second City Hockey and Fifth Feather. For news purposes, @ESPNChiHawks (Jesse Rogers), @ChrisKuc and @adamjahns are the three best guys to follow on Twitter imo.
That's true, but this was a statement to all those who said Luongo was our weak link. He isn't. When he's on his game, and he has been for most of the season, he's virtually unbeatable. This isn't the same goalie who was roughed up for 7 goals a couple years ago. And this isn't the same fragile team we've had the past two seasons. Henrik Sedin's post-game comments were very telling. We won the game 2-0, but no one's celebrating.
IMO, Chicago gave it all they had. When they're double shifting their top line, and only giving their bottom 6 maybe a combined shift every 4 shifts, that's very telling. They threw everything they had at us, we weathered that late storm, and still blanked them.
Win game 2, go into the Madhouse and get a split, and it's over in 5.
yeah I saw it the same way. Add to that the fact the Canucks can definitely play better, and it is going to be a very fun ride. Canucks could win in 5 only because Coach Q just does not have the depth to go to for key goals.
As for Hawks fans, Man the depth lost is just so hard to overcome. I totally admire the passion, and knowledge you have. I like the Hawks. I hope the Canucks beat them, but I like the team.
Kane, Toews, Sharp, and Hossa look like differen't players to me (even though they had a great 2nd period). They know they're in tough with virtually no support coming up behind them this time around.
I think that one of the overlooked stats from yesterday's game was that the Blackhawk's top line played 5-7 minutes more than the Sedins. Spread out over a 7 game series, that's a significant load to be carrying and doubtful the Toewes/Kane/Sharp will be able to keep it
I mentioned it in my post, but the disparity IMO had more to do with who had the lead and who needed to score. I'd assume that it would've been more even or perhaps even reversed had the Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held it the rest of the game.
This was no where close to the "biggest" game of the year for the Hawks.
If this game, along with the regular season finale against the Red Wings weren't the 2 biggest games of the year for the Hawks they're not a very bright group...
If this game, along with the regular season finale against the Red Wings weren't the 2 biggest games of the year for the Hawks they're not a very bright group...
The biggest game will be if/when they're facing elimination.
I think that one of the overlooked stats from yesterday's game was that the Blackhawk's top line played 5-7 minutes more than the Sedins. Spread out over a 7 game series, that's a significant load to be carrying and doubtful the Toewes/Kane/Sharp will be able to keep it
That's what happens when you spend two periods chasing a two goal lead.
I mentioned it in my post, but the disparity IMO had more to do with who had the lead and who needed to score. I'd assume that it would've been more even or perhaps even reversed had the Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held it the rest of the game.
I agree. Just like the Hawks likely wouldn't have carried the majority of the play in the 2nd period had they got out to a 2 goal lead.
A lot is being made of Chicago coming on once they were behind by a pair but that's to be expected from a team playing an aggressive, nothing to lose style. As a Canuck fan I'll be concerned if the Hawks can do that in a tie game or with the lead...
I think that one of the overlooked stats from yesterday's game was that the Blackhawk's top line played 5-7 minutes more than the Sedins. Spread out over a 7 game series, that's a significant load to be carrying and doubtful the Toewes/Kane/Sharp will be able to keep it
Not really, it's been brought up quite a bit. I'm not really surprised, that's what most teams do when they're down by a few goals. Even Vigneault did that a few times this year when trailing.
It's a risk/reward strategy. You might get fatigued over time, but you also have a better chance to even it up or get ahead. I know it sounds simplistic, but the best plan is not to go down early.
I love how some Hawks fans seem to think that by losing game 1 the Hawks have the Canucks just where they want them. The Hawks already have two players with injuries serious enough to talk about after game 1, and if you think guys like Edler and Oreskovich are going to let up you can think again.
The only thing Oreskovich excels at is chasing down defenders and hammering them. He's built for this. And Edler has got playoff mode on. Then there's guys like Lapierre, Hansen, Glass, Kesler, Ballard, Hamhuis that were talking the body all night long. Even Salo and Raymond were laying out guys!
For the compliments, I'd say that Crawford looked pretty good after a shaky start. Kane was pretty effective, but he never really worried me other than the Campbell pass. I thought Seabrook was your best player. Seemed unruffled by all the hitting, probably because he's big enough to absorb it.
Was I alone in thinking that Toews didn't really do very much? Not a bad game, but was pretty vanilla.
I love how some Hawks fans seem to think that by losing game 1 the Hawks have the Canucks just where they want them. The Hawks already have two players with injuries serious enough to talk about after game 1, and if you think guys like Edler and Oreskovich are going to let up you can think again.
The only thing Oreskovich excels at is chasing down defenders and hammering them. He's built for this. And Edler has got playoff mode on. Then there's guys like Lapierre, Hansen, Glass, Kesler, Ballard, Hamhuis that were talking the body all night long. Even Salo and Raymond were laying out guys!
For the compliments, I'd say that Crawford looked pretty good after a shaky start. Kane was pretty effective, but he never really worried me other than the Campbell pass. I thought Seabrook was your best player. Seemed unruffled by all the hitting, probably because he's big enough to absorb it.
Was I alone in thinking that Toews didn't really do very much? Not a bad game, but was pretty vanilla.
In reality the teams are differen't and they will need a miracle to win 4 out of 6. But in their heads we wont he first game the past 2 series' as well.
..Ignoring that they have lost Byfuglien/Ladd/Versteeg/Burish/Eager/Madden/Bolland and this is a 1 VS 8 for a reason.
I love how some Hawks fans seem to think that by losing game 1 the Hawks have the Canucks just where they want them. The Hawks already have two players with injuries serious enough to talk about after game 1, and if you think guys like Edler and Oreskovich are going to let up you can think again.
The only thing Oreskovich excels at is chasing down defenders and hammering them. He's built for this. And Edler has got playoff mode on. Then there's guys like Lapierre, Hansen, Glass, Kesler, Ballard, Hamhuis that were talking the body all night long. Even Salo and Raymond were laying out guys!
For the compliments, I'd say that Crawford looked pretty good after a shaky start. Kane was pretty effective, but he never really worried me other than the Campbell pass. I thought Seabrook was your best player. Seemed unruffled by all the hitting, probably because he's big enough to absorb it.
Was I alone in thinking that Toews didn't really do very much? Not a bad game, but was pretty vanilla.
Toews has been pretty quiet since that Oh My God stretch after the All Star Game.
I don't think any Hawks fans are happy about losing game one or that it was advantageous at all. Most just seem to think this series is still up for grabs because recent history tells us that losing game 1 doesn't mean you should jump off the nearest tall building.
I love how some Hawks fans seem to think that by losing game 1 the Hawks have the Canucks just where they want them. The Hawks already have two players with injuries serious enough to talk about after game 1, and if you think guys like Edler and Oreskovich are going to let up you can think again.
The only thing Oreskovich excels at is chasing down defenders and hammering them. He's built for this. And Edler has got playoff mode on. Then there's guys like Lapierre, Hansen, Glass, Kesler, Ballard, Hamhuis that were talking the body all night long. Even Salo and Raymond were laying out guys!
For the compliments, I'd say that Crawford looked pretty good after a shaky start. Kane was pretty effective, but he never really worried me other than the Campbell pass. I thought Seabrook was your best player. Seemed unruffled by all the hitting, probably because he's big enough to absorb it.
Was I alone in thinking that Toews didn't really do very much? Not a bad game, but was pretty vanilla.
Of course, because it's what happened last 2 years as well. Why wouldn't they still be confident?
