Hairyducked Idiot

3-2 Detroit. 5-on-5 has looked like a Detroit power play for 40 minutes now. This is going to be a looooong, short series.

The penalty kill is the weak part of Detroit's game, though it looked awesome for 90 seconds there.

I think we're actually a little faster overall. Their D are just so good they get a lot of things going the other way.

Campbell needs to see the ice a lot in the third. He's the only one who can skate it through the neutral zone and into the attack.

Anaheim is incredibly defensively sound. It's a whole different style, and one that is uniquely suited to playing Detroit.

When you spend two-thirds of the game in your own zone, there's going to be a lot of inopportune times.

We might well score again. It'll be a miracle if we hold them two.

That was only a matter of time. Detroit deserved that one.

The Red Wings absolutely own the neutral zone.

Great for Khabibulin, but we are on pace to give up 40+ shots again. We can't win a game doing that.

I can't believe how far up Detroit's defensemen get when the Red Wings have the puck in the corner. Almost to the circles.

Dang. Not going to win this one 1-0 after all :(

Definitely. And Detroit looks sloppy.

But he actually hasn't been awful game after game. That's fine. That's why I qualified it with an "if." I just don't like seeing closer be classified as a non-important bullpen spot. It's not.

The pendulum on closers has swung to the point where we don't consider it a high-leverage spot anymore? If he's going to be awful, then he can't be in there.

For some, it is. It's never going to be a sport for everyone.

Well, it's an oversimplification to illustrate the point I was making. A basketball game is like a baseball season. It builds slowly over time with little battles along the way. There may be exciting plays, but there's never going to be one huge, game-changing moment early on. In soccer or hockey, a goal can come at any time, and every goal is a game-changer. In baseball, the three-run homer in the first inning dramatically changes the odds of winning. In cricket, a first-over wicket has a profound effect on the balance of the game. In basketball, you can have a player throw down an epic, acrobatic, driving basket after coming around a perfect screen and taking a monumental pass, and 15 seconds later it's erased by a bunny layup off of a flukey bounce to a wide-open Brad Miller.

Personally, I'd rather just see 2-3-2 with fewer travel days.

The other thing you need to know is that Detroit Sucks. Imagine if Cubs fans hated the Cardinals so much that they just started chanting "Cardinals suck" at random times in games against the Brewers or Dodgers or Nationals.

That's exactly my point. When a soccer goal is scored, you have reason to be excited. There's nothing to get excited about until the final two minutes of a basketball game.

Blackhawks primer: After years of being bad, they are literally the youngest team in the league and have numerous high draft picks on their roster. They are fast and exciting. In the regular season, they had the third-best record in the conference, sixth overall in the league. They were tied for fourth in goals scored and fifth in goals allowed, so they are legitimately one of the top five or six teams in the league. They are known for all-around team speed, especially the defensemen, and lots of depth. In hockey, teams have four "lines," which are sets of three forwards that play together, and six defensemen who will more or less play together in three pairs. Most teams will have two "top" lines with their best six players, a "checking" line of defensive specialists who can shut down the other team's top lines, and a fourth line of whatever's left, usually guys who can go out there and throw a big hit to get the team fired up, but they won't play many minutes. The second thing the Hawks are known for is that all four lines on their team are a threat to score. They mix them up a lot, but even their fourth liners are capable offensively. Players of note: Jonathan Toews, 21-years old (just turned it), center, 3rd overall pick in 2006. He's the captain (which means a lot in hockey), and is one of the youngest captains in history. He's big, skates well, has a ton of offensive talent, is smart defensively, and does the little things right. He's Canadian, and they love him on their national teams. He was the first Canadian to win both the World Jr. Championships and the World Championships the same year. You have to watch this goal to understand his talent: Patrick Kane, 20, right winger, 1st overall pick in 2007. Was the first overall pick in a slightly weak draft, but he's been phenomenal for the Hawks. He's tiny for a hockey player, but he's an incredible offensive talent. He has an accurate wrist shot, quick hands, and passes extremely well with amazing vision on the ice. He's a defensive liability at this point in his career, and he'll frequently have games where he scores a goal, sets up two, and gives up one or two on defense, but as long as it's a net gain, who cares? A lot of people thought his game wouldn't translate to the playoffs, but it has and he's been amazing, culminating with his first career hat trick (three-goal game) in the last game against Vancouver. Kane and Toews were 1-2 in Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) honors last year. Brent Seabrook, 24, defenseman. Seabrook is what you call a "shut-down defenseman." He is always on the ice against the other team's top players, and shuts them down. Definitely one of the top 10 D-men in the league, some would say top-5. Decent passer for a defenseman as well. Defensemen tend to develop later than forwards, so it's amazing that he's so good this young. Duncan Keith, 25, defenseman. Keith is Seabrook's partner. He's not quite as strong defensively, but still above-average. He's known for his offensive contributions, especially that he is the fastest-skating defenseman in the league. The last two years he's led the Hawks in +/-, which is essentially a measure of how many goals were scored when you were on the ice vs. how many were allowed. Martin Havlat, 28, right wing. Think Milton Bradley of hockey. Great offensive talent, rarely stayed healthy until this year, his contract year. Has been with several teams, one of the few key players not developed on the team. Kris Versteeg, 23, left wing. One of three finalists for this year's rookie of the year. Good skater, good shooter, all-around player. Brian Campbell, 29, defenseman. The Hawks' huge free agent signing last year. One of the league's best offensive defensemen. Not always great defensively, but he figures if he gets the puck on defense and skates around three guys to the other end of the ice, you're not on defense anymore so who cares? Dave Bolland, 22, center. Had an excellent season as the Hawks' third center. Great offensively in the minors and responsible defensively. Would be most team's best young player, but on the Hawks he can get lost in the shuffle. Andrew Ladd, 23, left wing. Won a Cup with Carolina his rookie year and then the Hawks traded for him. Excellent two-way hockey player, solid on offense and defense. Patrick Sharp, 28, center/wing. I shouldn't have gone this long without mentioning him, he's basically on the same level as Havlat. Great skater and goal scorer, a major offensive threat for the Hawks. Led the team in goals last year and might have this year if he hadn't missed some of the season with an injury. Dustin Byfuglien, 24, right wing. This guy is HUGE for a hockey player, especially a forward. He used to be a defenseman, but they converted him when they saw how well he could skate for a guy his size. In the playoffs, he's made other teams and their fans furious by standing right in front of their goalie blocking his view (called "screening,") and he's been incredible at it. Cam Barker, 23, defenseman, 3rd overall pick in 2004. Like I said earlier, defensemen take a long time to develop, so a lot of fans became impatient with him in the last few years after being such a high pick. But he's gotten steadily better and this season was a great defenseman for us. Should be on Seabrook/Keith's level in another year or so, already a great No. 4 defenseman. Ben Eager, 25, right winger. He's part of the fourth line. He's an agitator, his job is to go out there and hit people and make them mad. He's good at it. But unlike most player's like this in the NHL, he's also reasonably talented as a player and can score some goals. Then there's our goalie situation. The Blackhawks have two legit starting goalies in the NHL. The first is Nikolai Khabibulin. He's in the last year of a four-year, $28 million contract that was the biggest signing of that offseason. He's a veteran, Cup-winning goalie. Some say he was a disappointment for most of his contract, but I'd say he didn't have a great defense in front of him, and this year he's been one of the top 10 goalies in the league, easily. The second is Cristobal Huet. He was signed to a 4/$16 deal this offseason with the idea that they'd trade Khabibulin, but with his contract there were no takers so they ended up with both. He's starter quality and had similar numbers to Khabibulin in the regular season. Lots of heated fan debates about which of the two is better.

It's a matter of matchups. The Ducks are designed to beat Detroit, that's almost player-for-player what they are buiilt for. As skilled as Detroit is, we are just a little bit faster than the Red Wings, and that could be all the difference against a team like Anaheim. Against Detroit, we are only a little faster and they are a little more skilled and a lot more defensively sound. Not nearly as desirable a matchup. It's not the quality of Anaheim that makes me want to play them, it's the style.

Basketball is an awful sport. What is there to ever get excited about? Hooray, a basket! Only 40 more of those to go in the game, for each team! Hockey > Cricket > Football > Baseball > Elite international soccer > Basketball > All other forms of soccer

yes? Just seems weird. huh? why? There was a bit of a consensus among hockey fans that the Wings had pretty much figured out Anaheim and would destroy them tonight.

yes? Just seems weird.