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

[Flames24Rulz]

I seriously want to put the disclaimer that I'm not getting ahead of myself. I know the series is still in doubt and all that. But I am wondering who the heck is in the lead for the Conn Smythe right now. Toews has done almost nothing statistically in the Finals, but was the clear favorite coming in. Niemi has been mediocre at best this series. Buff had a horrible series and was hurting the team until tonight. Kane has had a good last couple of games but was pretty far from the favorite before this series. Keith? A non-Hawk? I think it would still goto Toews but if he did win it, it would almost be by default based on the first 3 rounds.

 

btw, Puck Daddy's blog had Pronger in the lead after game 4, followed by Niemi and Toews.

 

Unless you have a Shawn Kemp 1996 Finals performance, you're not going to be in a discussion to win the series MVP if you're on the losing team. Pronger's minus five tonight definitely takes him out of the running anyway, if the Hawks win it all.

 

I still think Toews will win it but that's a question I posed after the game too. If I had to make a list, I'd say it's Toews followed by Buff, Niemi, and then Kane. It's pretty tough though.

 

Like I said before the game, I think this thing ends in six. The guys certainly sounded like they need to score first on Wednesday night to put all sorts of pressure on the Flyers. That's the right attitude to have. I'm optimistic.

[17 Seconds]

you guys never learn. stop talking about the conn smythe

[hawkeyecub]

I wish I wasn't so convinced that this thing was coming back to Chicago for game 7.

[hawkeyecub]

Regardless of his points, this game demonstrated why Buff is so frustrating. I understand it's tough to come with that energy every game but come with half that effort in this series and everyone has a different opinion of you. He was a monster even with Pronger on the ice. Winning battles with the puck, actually skating and puck handling to set up offense and finishing every check.

 

At any rate, the passing tonight was a thing of beauty. The definition of tape to tape for much of the game. And it may have just been to try to shift momentum but if I'm Leighton I'm pretty pissed about getting yanked. He was under attack for the entire 1st. He lost track of the puck on Bolland's goal but that was a tough play off the boards. He could've made a better play on Versteeg's goal but he also made some nice saves and virtually had no breaks in that period.

[Magnetic Curses]

how money is it to be able to say that michael jordan wears your jersey?

 

i mean, how is THAT for a dos equis commercial?

[UMFan83]

you guys never learn. stop talking about the conn smythe

 

Who the f cares? It doesn't change how the Blackhawks play at all. The Puck Daddy Blog has been tracking Conn Smythe candidates all postseason, so it's something I've been following and tracking. It's blatently obvious I don't think the Hawks are locks to win the Cup and I can easily see a scenario where the Flyers take Game 6, and shock the Hawks in Game 7. We talked about the Conn Smyth before and after the Sharks series, it didn't seem to affect the Hawks.

[17 Seconds]

how money is it to be able to say that michael jordan wears your jersey?

 

i mean, how is THAT for a dos equis commercial?

 

what jersey was he wearing?

[17 Seconds]

you guys never learn. stop talking about the conn smythe

 

Who the f cares? It doesn't change how the Blackhawks play at all. The Puck Daddy Blog has been tracking Conn Smythe candidates all postseason, so it's something I've been following and tracking. It's blatently obvious I don't think the Hawks are locks to win the Cup and I can easily see a scenario where the Flyers take Game 6, and shock the Hawks in Game 7. We talked about the Conn Smyth before and after the Sharks series, it didn't seem to affect the Hawks.

 

root, root root for the champs

[BCVM22]

what jersey was he wearing?

 

MJ was rocking a Toews jersey.

[17 Seconds]

i want to hear what kyle has to say (i'm not being sarcastic.... i'm interested in how he's feeling right about the series right now)

[Banedon]

Forget MJ! Carlos Bernard was in attendance!

 

http://home.comcast.net/~ivychat/tony-mug.jpg

[Soul]

I guess last night is a good example of how # of shots on goal isn't the end-all, be-all of how a team played.

 

The Flyers actually wound up with only one fewer shot than we did. But watching the game, to me we dominated play for the better part of the game. I felt like we played in their end of the ice more often than the first 4 games, we definitely punished them more, and frankly they really only had one thing to try against us: the pass to the backside. They lost most of the battles along the boards, Pronger was dominated, and we created a ton of breakaways down the ice when they moved the puck into our zone.

 

Play like this again, plz.

 

Oh, and choose whoever you want to play goal. Boucher didn't look much better to me than Leighton. Both are below average goalies for Final.

[Banedon]

The Hawks played great, but most of all they didn't beat themselves. I didn't post here after Fridays game, but I really thought the Hawks shot themselves in the foot with some terrible decision making and awful passing. Tonight they played smart, crisp, and were just flying to the puck.

 

I forget who said it, and I'm too lazy to try to look it up, but someone suggested early in the series that the Hawks should break up the top line...and I was kind of harsh in how I dismissed that idea. I fully admit I was wrong. Getting Kane, Toews and Buff seperated was a great move, and I think it really messed up what was working for the Flyers defensively. Pronger can't be on the ice against all 3 of them if they're on different lines...and Hossa has played really strong in this series, so getting him on that first line was a good move.

 

I hope that the Flyers waste a lot of time and energy in the next couple of off days trying to figure out ways to minimize Buff's impact. The more time they spend thinking about him, the more the rest of the guys can get space.

[UMFan83]

SOG is a bit misleading when one team consistently has a 2-3 goal lead for the last 2 periods IMO. They had a 13-7 lead in the first when the lead was being built. Not that they stopped attacking after the first but they tended to be less aggesive in general trying not to make dumb mistakes that lead to breakaways going the other way.

[UMFan83]

FWIW, Puck Daddy still has Pronger in the Conn Smythe lead after game 5. It isn't unprecidented to see the losing team win it. Remember the trophy is for most outstanding player of the playoffs, not just the finals. It just happened back when Giguere won it in like 04.

[Old Style]

Last night was the Hawks team I remember from the last two series. They were fun to watch. I wish Niemi would play a little better, but if we get that same kind of performance on Wednesday I don't think there is a Game 7.

[Old Style]

60 minutes from the Cup. I can hardly believe it.

The Cubs fan in me reads your post as "five outs away from the World Series".

[UMFan83]

From a Flyers blog:

 

But despite the fact that the Flyers played an atrocious first period, they still had a chance in this game in the final five minutes. That says a lot about this team and their character, and it also says a lot about the Blackhawks. They have no killer instinct. Despite five separate three goal leads, Chicago never had this game solidified until there were two minutes, five seconds left.

 

What game was he watching?

[UMFan83]

Also, I've seen tons of comments about no penalty called when Briere got hit in the eye by a high stick, but haven't seen anyone mentioned when almost the exact same thing happened to Campbell earlier in the game, although he didn't seem to be bleeding like Briere was.

[Banedon]

For those that didn't get to see this during the game...

 

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nhl_experts__65/ept_sports_nhl_experts-57584256-1275889168.jpg?ymQohQDD4_yId_rz

[Banedon]

According to Puck Daddy:

 

Byfuglien was actually asking his teammates to set up situations where he could go at Pronger one-on-one. Did you ever think you'd see the day that a team told its forwards to carry the puck down Pronger's wing by design?

 

And holy lord Buff....

 

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nhl_experts__65/ept_sports_nhl_experts-297903128-1275916330.jpg?ymrQoQDD5ATzKxjt

[inari]

My cable/internet went out for the entire 3rd period. It was absolutely horrible. Edited June 7, 2010 by inari

[17 Seconds]

FWIW, Puck Daddy still has Pronger in the Conn Smythe lead after game 5.

 

chris pronger has no chance at the conn smythe if the blackhawks win.

[17 Seconds]

For those that didn't get to see this during the game...

 

 

http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/ept_sports_nhl_experts__65/ept_sports_nhl_experts-57584256-1275889168.jpg?ymQohQDD4_yId_rz

 

he seriously looks good in that jersey

[Soul]

From a Flyers blog:

 

But despite the fact that the Flyers played an atrocious first period, they still had a chance in this game in the final five minutes. That says a lot about this team and their character, and it also says a lot about the Blackhawks. They have no killer instinct. Despite five separate three goal leads, Chicago never had this game solidified until there were two minutes, five seconds left.

 

What game was he watching?

 

That's a pretty dumb comment. Not having a killer instinct would be letting the Flyers close to 1 goal, or even tie the game. The Hawks matched every single time the Flyers tried to pull closer. The Flyers didn't quit, but neither did the Hawks.

 

Who is Puck Daddy anyway? Stupid name.