Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks Thread!!!!!!

[kujay]

We're just better than Vancouver.

 

this is something i very rarely speculate on, but my gut feeling is that there are serious leadership problems in vancouver. they have way too much talent to just get slammed aside like this. they tend to whine more than other teams and resort to cheap play quickly. seems like there's a lack of accountability starting from the top. i don't have anything to base this on, which kind of makes it a dumb post, but that's just the feeling i get.

 

losing 2 straight games in a row like that at home is straight up embarrassing.

 

I don't have anything to base it on either, but it sure seems like you are dead on. Look at the guys who should be leaders on this team: the sisters, Luongo, Burrows. All of them have shown themselves to be mentally frail when things get tough. And it's not just losing their cool; they aren't producing like they should either. Until that late goal by Daniel (or was it Henrik -- who gives a [expletive]), Keith and Seabrook had the same number of points as the sisters in this series. That's ridiculous.

 

So it's either the supposed leaders, Vigneault, or both. I blame the players at this point, though it will be Al's head getting lopped off next week if things wrap up like we hope they do tomorrow. He can preach to them until he is blue in the face that they need to keep their composure and can't give the Hawks constant chances on the power play, and in his postgame comments Luongo admitted that they had talked about it and made it a priority. But once the game starts and they get out there, if O'Brien can't stop playing like a moron, that's not the coach's fault.

 

Lastly, I missed those comments Burish made yesterday about certain Canucks being "clowns." That's brilliant. Take a team rabid with anger, down in the series, swearing they are going to keep their composure, and poke them with a stick. That's what Burish did. Love it.

[kujay]

Ouch, Vancouver is not pleased with their boys:

 

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Vancouver+Canucks+much+talent+little+composure/3001461/story.html

 

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Roberto+Luongo+night+mediocrity+puts+Canucks+deep+trouble/3001476/story.html

[Hall7810]

Ouch, Vancouver is not pleased with their boys:

 

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Vancouver+Canucks+much+talent+little+composure/3001461/story.html

 

http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Roberto+Luongo+night+mediocrity+puts+Canucks+deep+trouble/3001476/story.html

 

AV just throwing 7uongo under the bus

[Soul]

Well it's good to see they are finally putting the blame where it belongs instead of more whining about the refs and such.

[NewUserName]

We're just better than Vancouver.

 

this is something i very rarely speculate on, but my gut feeling is that there are serious leadership problems in vancouver. they have way too much talent to just get slammed aside like this. they tend to whine more than other teams and resort to cheap play quickly. seems like there's a lack of accountability starting from the top. i don't have anything to base this on, which kind of makes it a dumb post, but that's just the feeling i get.

 

losing 2 straight games in a row like that at home is straight up embarrassing.

 

They remind me of the late 90s St Louis Blues. Extremely talented but had Pronger as the Captain. Whenever things started going bad for them they just started doing stupid stupid stuff. Actually the Red Wings really gave the Blues fits back then in a very similar way that the Hawks seem to give the Canucks fits now

[Magnetic Curses]

french-canadian guys with the very structured technique don't give us many problems. it's the guys who flop all over the ice willy-nilly that seem to shut us down.

[UMFan83]

Lu shaved his playoff beard apparently. I guess to change his fortunes.

 

Also here's a quote from O'Brien:

We are in a situation where probably nobody thinks we can come back; the odds are we probably can't. We are going to give it our best go.

[kujay]

Lu shaved his playoff beard apparently. I guess to change his fortunes.

 

Also here's a quote from O'Brien:

We are in a situation where probably nobody thinks we can come back; the odds are we probably can't. We are going to give it our best go.

 

Sounds like the acceptance stage.

[bcl412]

Lu shaved his playoff beard apparently. I guess to change his fortunes.

 

Also here's a quote from O'Brien:

We are in a situation where probably nobody thinks we can come back; the odds are we probably can't. We are going to give it our best go.

 

Sounds like the acceptance stage.

 

Seems like you'd want to wait until it actually is over to do that.

[kujay]

Lu shaved his playoff beard apparently. I guess to change his fortunes.

 

Also here's a quote from O'Brien:

We are in a situation where probably nobody thinks we can come back; the odds are we probably can't. We are going to give it our best go.

 

Sounds like the acceptance stage.

 

Seems like you'd want to wait until it actually is over to do that.

 

Yeah it's a little surprising to say something like that to the media at this point. I guess the downside of it is if they do end of laying an egg tomorrow, this is Exhibit A that may mailed it in. So maybe it was a motivation thing. Either way, I'm pretty confident this ends tomorrow night.

[inari]

Are there any good Blackhawks message boards out there?

[kujay]

Are there any good Blackhawks message boards out there?

 

We'll go ahead and not take that as an insult. :wink:

 

The Hawks' website has boards, but you have to register to even read them. Second City Hockey is the SN site for the Hawks. I'm sure there are others.

[RedFlash]

Are there any good Blackhawks message boards out there?

 

Not really. There's Chicagoblackhawks webpage, there's HFBoards, of course the JV boards. In other words, NSBB is prolly the best Blackhawks MB on the net, believe it or not. There's less whining, less the sky is falling attitude here (believe it or not) then on other boards.

[kujay]

I should have added that the boards on the Hawks' website are not your typical Cubs.com drivel. I'm not saying it's great -- I post very little there and don't read it much -- but it's not that bad. It's moderated pretty well.

[kujay]

Are there any good Blackhawks message boards out there?

 

Not really. There's Chicagoblackhawks webpage, there's HFBoards, of course the JV boards. In other words, NSBB is prolly the best Blackhawks MB on the net, believe it or not. There's less whining, less the sky is falling attitude here (believe it or not) then on other boards.

 

I tend to agree, of course, but there are so few of us. A typically game thread on the Hawks' boards will have 700-800 posts, I think, if not more.

[kujay]

By the way, I went over to SCH for a second and saw this awesome photo. Check it out:

 

http://www.secondcityhockey.com/photos/you-get-what-you-deserve-hawks/785359

[Banedon]

That's the second time that Luongo has just stayed down on the ice for a while after a goal.

[RedFlash]

Are there any good Blackhawks message boards out there?

 

Not really. There's Chicagoblackhawks webpage, there's HFBoards, of course the JV boards. In other words, NSBB is prolly the best Blackhawks MB on the net, believe it or not. There's less whining, less the sky is falling attitude here (believe it or not) then on other boards.

 

I tend to agree, of course, but there are so few of us. A typically game thread on the Hawks' boards will have 700-800 posts, I think, if not more.

 

Yeah but those threads would be similar to the Cubs threads on this site, tho.

[UMFan83]

300 level is the nsbb of hawks boards. They are super critical and negative about everything.

[Guest]

We could move the discussion to 312 where there's a dedicated forum to the Hawks. :)

 

I know there's no discussion there yet, but if we all went there to discuss the hawks...then there would be. And it would probably attract more additional hockey posters than NSBB. For instance, if we were talking there I'm sure Tab Bamford from CommittedIndians.com would participate since he also writes for 312.

[hawkeyecub]

300 level is the nsbb of hawks boards. They are super critical and negative about everything.

 

I tried going there last week and it seemed like a bunch of tough guys. There was a thread lamenting that Edzo was from Chicago and the broadcaster because he was talking about finishing checks but they claimed he was a wuss when he played. So what, I love him as a color man. Plus maybe it's just my browser but whenever I clicked on a thread it took me to the last post which was annoying.

 

I read Second City Hockey.

[Banedon]

Some Vancouver quotes:

 

His captain wasn't talking and Vancouver Canucks' coach Alain Vigneault wasn't exactly brimming with confidence when he spoke following the team's morning skate at the United Center.

 

"You know, I could stand up here and say that I really believe in this group, that I really think they are ready for this moment, we're more mature, we're more experienced, da de da de da, but at the end of the day we have to go out on the ice and prove that we can do it," Vigneault said. "Obviously in the last two games we did not do that. If we want to keep playing hockey we don't have a choice, so we'll see what happens tonight.

 

"Five-on-five we're fine," said Vancouver centre Henrik Sedin. "We're taking a few too many penalties, we need to kill them off and go from there. I think our game five-on-five is good and special teams have to win it tonight."

 

"I think we're probably a little looser than usual today," O'Brien said. "When you are in a do-or-die situation it kind of takes a little bit of pressure off maybe and you realize, hey, let's just go out and play. We just need to win a hockey game. If we win a hockey game here in a tough building on the road maybe we'll get a little bit of that swagger back.

 

"I think we have been concentrating so much on the Chicago Blackhawks that we kind of forgot about the fact that we are a pretty good team and we got here for a reason."

 

"Obviously, our penalty kill isn't where it needs to be and it doesn't help when you take eight or nine penalties in one game," added O'Brien, who was benched after he took a pair of first-period cross-checking minors on Friday night. "They get confidence on their power play and continue to get better. They get one, they get two and are feeling pretty good about themselves and that's where we are right now."

 

AV doesn't sound too happy.

[Magnetic Curses]

"When you are in a do-or-die situation it kind of takes a little bit of pressure off maybe and you realize, hey, let's just go out and play. We just need to win a hockey game."

 

that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

[Banedon]

"When you are in a do-or-die situation it kind of takes a little bit of pressure off maybe and you realize, hey, let's just go out and play. We just need to win a hockey game."

 

that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

 

I'm pretty new to being a hockey fan, so maybe there's nothing special to this...but it sure seems like Vancouver is freaking yappy....and the more they talk, the worse they play.

[RedFlash]

"When you are in a do-or-die situation it kind of takes a little bit of pressure off maybe and you realize, hey, let's just go out and play. We just need to win a hockey game."

 

that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

 

Agree. It reads as if O'Brien is trying to convince himself that they still have a shot at winning this series, albeit a slim chance.