Great series, I'm glad the game was able to open up (because it favored the Hawks.) It's really amazing how it's a different guy stepping up for the Hawks almost every game. I honestly couldn't pick a playoff MVP so far.

Half way there! Keep it up kids!

Got to go to the game last night. Was one of, if not the best, playoff games I have ever seen.

This team has what it takes.

I only got to see the last 10 minutes, but it may have been the most exciting 10 minutes of hockey I've ever seen. I turned on versus just before the canucks made it 5-4.

I liked the way seabrook broke up the 2 on 1 with a few minutes left, made it look easy. pretty much killed whatever tiny chance the nucks had to get back in the game. love that guy.

Sure you weren't watching an EPL/Champions league game with Chelsea?

j/k ... not sure where the ref would even come from for hockey.

The first 10 minutes of the game was outstanding too.

Seabrook played a monster game. He and Keith are a great combo. I get nervous with Walker and Hjarlmarsson on the ice.



Detroit is gonna be a battle royale.

The refs.

Good call WCC! I mean it would be so 3rd grade to take a series as dynamic as this one and decide that the refs were the basis for one team winning and the other losing. I've seen it happen, sort of, before, but this surely isn't one of those times. Silly canuck!

Settle down.

Maybe Willie Mitchell for providing Kane and the rest some good bulletin material.

I dont know about the bulletin board stuff, but he sure provided them a big goal by missing on that puck coming around the boards.

Anyway, I like to believe the pros dont need that kind of stuff to get up for a game 6 in the playoffs. That said, GO HAWKS! I got a bet on them to win the Cup (still lots to go) and I just enjoy watching them play so much.

I think it was after game 1 or 2, Mitchell called out Kane saying he was "lucky" when he scores and that he wasn't a 5 on 5 player. It's true that people in Chicago have questioned Kane's 5 on 5 play, but I think it gave the team some extra incentive in the series, and I think it woke Kane up a little bit.

Fuckin Red Wings...


I guess it had to be this way though

Nice, no 9:00 start times, and no long road trips! It's on like Donkey Kong! There is no team I'd rather beat than the Dead Wings. Even if the Hawks lose, everything from here on out is icing on the cake. They look to be about a year ahead of schedule.

Prepare to be PWNED!

I'm pumped about this series. I actually have no hate for the Hawks so if they manage the upset, I'll be happy for them. I HATE the Ducks, and would have been ill if they won. I like the Hawks, they are a great young team with a bright future. Prob not quite ready this year, but you never know! I'm excited!

I'm going to watch every second of every game, it's going to be an epic series.

Good luck.

Having been to MANY a Blackhawk game in my life, I just imagine that this series is going to look like you (as Detroit) bending the Biatch over the table (as Chicago). . . . .just without the clothes or the benefit of KY or a Kiss. I love the Hawks, and they are an up and coming team, but. . . . . man. . . I think they get spanked here, and fairly badly.

Many people said the same thing about the Canucks and Lou, and Calgary and Kipper. I like the Hawks chances. They're a much better team than they were in the regular season, and they keep getting better. Mr. Osgood, prepared to get Buffed.

I need to look this all up but if memory serves me right, Khabby does not have a good record against us in the playoffs. Times change obviously and I don't rely much on past stats but sometimes it can be a factor. Turco is a good example.

Either way, this is the matchup I wanted simply because this used to be a great rivalry back in the day and this is going to fire it back up.

Look at Habby's record against Vancouver before the series. He had not beaten them in years. Two years ago, Chicago won the season series against Detroit, this year Detroit won.

When has Khabby ever played Detroit in the playoffs? When he was with Phoenix?

I'm not being a dick, I just can't remember when they ever would have met up in the postseason, certainly not when he was with Tampa and this is Chicago's first trip back during his tenure there. If it was with Phoenix, well...times change and Chicago isn't the Desert Dogs.

*Edit* Ok, Phoenix got bounced from the 97-98 playoffs by Detroit, they took them to 6 games. I don't think we can say Khabibulin hasn't done well against Detroit in the postseason based on that.

As I stated in my post, doesn't really matter since the past is the past. I do remember lighting him up when he was with the Yotes though. But I could be wrong. Just something that popped in my head.

If you want me to really get down to brass tax though, I will put it like this.

Chicago has a great squad. No question about it. Fast, skilled, and young. But I don't think they are "mature" enough to play the Wings of all teams for the chance to play for the cup. I think experience and "maturity" can possibly come into play. We also just squeaked out a win against a goalie who had a .943 S% and Khabibulin comes in with a a sub .900 and statistically the worst numbers of all playoff goalies that played this year. He jas the ability to stand on his head but he clearly will have to step it up in this series for Chicago to win it. I don't think I am too crazy for saying that.

I don't like the word mature in my post but I can't think of what else to use at this time so I put it in quotes so pretend I am doing air quotes.

This post was not posted with any sense of anger or ill will either since I have recently been labeled an angry troll when I post. I am very excited about this series and hope to have a lot of fun with you guys in the 4 months between game 1 and 7.

OMG that looked scary seeing Havlat lay on the ice the way he was as people were laying and stepping on him.

I don't agree with an "interference" call on Kronwall there. There were no arms up for a call. A guy who gets injured all the time automatically calls for a game misconduct when he goes down again?

I thought Kronwall clearly left his skates to jump up and into Havlat, so I think he deserved to go off, but maybe not for the call that was made. Of course, Ovechkin gets away with that type of hit all the time, so who knows?

Either way, I'm glad to see Havlat didn't get further injured by the scrum on top of him.

The last replay in slowmo shows he did not leave his feet. I figured that is what he did since he leaves his feet all the time but that time he kept them grounded. That call is simply a matter of a guy laying half dead on the ice. It's a wash as I see it, uneventful 5 min powerplay so life goes on.

Yeah, I keep rewinding it and rewatching it. He clearly left his feet. It's just weird that the officials weren't going to call anything until they realized the results later.

Chicago's uphill battle will be a bit steeper without Havlat in the lineup. He's had a good regular and post season.

Looks like he left his feet to me.

It's not a wash since he got a game misconduct as well.

Both of his feet WERE off of the ice in the slow-mo replay. However, we're talking about a half an inch or so, so not like he jumped into the hit or anything.

To be honest, this wasn't interference, this wasn't charging, this wasn't elbowing.

This was, however, clearly a head shot, clearly intent to injure, and just a scumbag who continuously goes out and head hunts.

Thank you Hrudey and Neely

Wow I liked your whole post til the last bit. It was not a head shot. Havlat was not watching and got caught with his head down. The hit on Hudler was way worse IMO. He certainly did not intend to injure him. Kronwall is not a dirty player. He just waits patiently for big hit opps to come along and lays people out. He is not a headhunter. These hits happen like maybe 5 times a year from Kronwall and I don't believe he ever has intent to injure. He's one of our main D men and I don't think he would risk suspensions and such to go head hunting. And you defend Matt Cooke? Please.

I felt his feet left the ice due to his forward momentum. He certainly did not jump to hit him. And since when is there such thing as a 5 min interference penalty??? And I'm really pissed due to the fact neither ref was making a call on the original play.

There was one called in a Pens game a few weeks ago. I think the rule is that if an injury occurs on an interference play, then the penalty can be a major. I forget who got hurt for the Pens when it happened, though.


3-0 Hawks as I typed this

I agree with this. I can't believe Stock even bothered to compare the two in the intermission. The hit on Hudler was legitimately interference.

A shoulder to the head is a head shot.

He left his feet because he had UPWARD momentum, which means the whole force of his hit was towards Havlat's hit. It's a joke. It's how he hits every time. It's how Ovechkin hits. They're all head shots, whether a player's head is down or not. It's dangerous and completely unnecessary.

It's a hit that the NHL needs to eliminate. There's no reason to cut the careers of talented players short because of head hunting scumbags like Kronwall and Ovechkin. I know Kronwall is a good player, and good at other things. His trademark is hitting at the opposite blueline, and that's awesome, but hockey isn't a game where you're trying to injure other players. He might as well just take his stack and slash guys in the face, because the intent is the same. He isn't merely knocking him down or separating him from the puck. There IS a difference.

"Since when is there such thing as a 5 min interference penalty?" - Isn't that what Brown got?

I don't disagree that it's not a 5 minute penalty. It's maaaaaybe charging, but probably not, it's not interference, it's not elbowing. I agree with you there. IMO, it's still a hit the league needs to get rid of. Players are bigger, stronger, better now. Christ, shoulder pads are basically weapons themselves. Hitting to hurt is not acceptable, imo. That's all Kronwall does. He can hit him down, he can separate him from the puck, he does not need to end his career.

Im a Hawks fan, and I didnt think that was a penalty on Kronwall (based on my limited knowledge of the rules, and the announcers explanation). I did think, however, that there was a blatant trip by Zetterberg on Kane when Z had the rush right after the major. I dont know how that wasnt a penalty. Kane went flying like Bobby Orr


Edit: Im not complaining, because the Hawks obviously have gotten the better end of the calls this game, just more inquisitive of how that wasnt a penalty. I didnt get to see a replay either.

How do you know? And what was he intending to do...teach him a lesson?


Since forever.

Like I said, if they were gonna waste a top D man by risking suspension, I think they'd go after Kane/Toews. I just don't see Kronwall intentionally injuring someone. That is not Detroit Red Wing hockey. Holland/Babcock don't run their team that way.

Zach, yeah Kron does have some questionable hits. But I don't ever recall him severely injuring someone. He's just had some really iffy hits where guys get knocked/laid out. But someone like Pronger/Hatcher who continually hit people blatantly in the head with elbows that aren't even up for debate - those are ridiculous. After the replay again, I still feel like he got him under the chin (mainly chest) with forearm/shoulder, certainly not elbow.

Oh well. Almost cameback, but not quite.

This whole posts makes me laugh.

What is the point of hitting someone not looking? Tell me that.

Of course he would have hit Kane/Toews in the same way. Or, anyone else on the team. It's not like Kronwall thinks to himself in mid-play if to lay someone out because of who they are. Really?

Fine, you don't see it, but you can't say for sure he did not intend to do it. Again, tell me another point of a big hit on the blind some of someone?

Sure, they don't tell them to go out and injure someone, but it's hockey.

Wow.

Dude I'm pretty sure he had the hit lined up well before he noticed Havlat had his head down. Once you have that momentum, it's kinda hard to stop. I mean it would be pretty weak if you tried to avoid a hit after lining someone up if their head is down. I mean IMO, if someone's head is down, you should back off a bit and not try to cripple them, but we know that's not gonna happen. Why did what's his face hit Hudler when he was vulnerable? I'm just saying there are very few players who actually TRY to hurt someone. I realize it is part of hockey but Zack is implying (at least from what I interpret) that Kronwall consistently goes around looking for head shots to take people out of the game. I don't feel that's what he's doing. Just looking for a big hit to gain some momentum for the team.

Without looking, guess who led the team in points in the season, and guess who leads them in points in the playoffs.

Just because you don't see Kronwall attempting to injure players doesn't mean it's true. The dude goes out of his way to make these over the top hits where he almost always leaves his feet and targets the head. Make of that what you will. You can definitely form your own opinions, but mine is that taking a guy that hard and targeting his head has no place in our game.



So his victims have gotten lucky that he hasn't killed anyone yet? That doesn't change intent, nor does it change his actions. Clean hits are fine. Hit to the shoulders, hit to the chest, don't hit the head. Concussions are a serious matter, and we're trying to get them out of the game.

I agree that Pronger and Hatcher are likewise dirty. I didn't say Kronwall was the only one who did this sort of stuff.

You must be blind if you don't see his shoulder getting him directly in the head. I've said already 20 times it wasn't an elbow, but it doesn't change the severity of the hit, nor how dangerous it is. If it's just as dangerous, and he would know that, then I question his intent to head hunt.

Na, the game is WAY too fast for that. You make your decision when you decide to step up.



Mike Brown may be one of them, I haven't seen any other instance other than that one with Hudler, though. Kronwall has done this repeatedly, so he's on my list of people who try to go out of their way to injure others.



A big hit is different from killing a guy. For the 80th time, a big hit doesn't have to be towards a guy's head. There were a ton of clean hits to the chest, hits to the shoulder, hip checks, etc in this game and in these playoffs. Then there's a few that show an utter lack of respect towards fellow players and fellow humans.

Sounds like everyone in this thread is getting ready for a Wings-Pens final....I had nearly forgotten this was the Hawks thread.
Would be a great rematch too....too bad step 1 in spoiling the party starts tonight.

I'm cheering for Hawks-Pens.

It was actually timed perfectly, the only reason it was a penelty at all was because Havlat got injured. None of the refs raised their hands after the hit so it obviously wasnt that bad. Kronwall didnt anticipate that Havlat would just leave the puck between his skates, at that point theres nothing he can do. Not a dirty hit at all its just unfortunate that Havlat was injured on the play.

I've been hoping for that since preseason, but I never thought it would get this close to actually happening.

FWIW, I'm a Hawks fan, and I didn't see anything wrong with Kronwall's hit whatsoever. You're taught in Mites to keep your head up, the injury is on Havlat and I'm sure he'll be the first to say so when he remembers his name.

I didn't comment on this at all because i don't know the specs when it comes to a call like this in hockey. But I think this last sentence holds true. It's like the crackback blocks WRs throw in football. There's a line of what's legal by the black and white of the rules and what you do and don't do for simple respect of your co-workers. People could debate these types of plays forever though, because obvious "if it's that wrong, why don't rules forbid it to a tee".

I was in the camp that I didn't think it was a penalty, but it was a reckless play, which I think is the point zach has made here. So it goes. Big win, game 4 should rock. And I can only assume chicago's lapse in game 3 was because they heard I bet the over at 5.5, so they figured they'd get that locked in before 2nd intermission. Hah.

I want to party like it's 1992.

No, you've got me pegged perfectly. It's not a penalty in my book. I just think it SHOULD be.

Dude, I know he had it lined up from second 1 and I know you can't stop that momentum. The point I'm making is he doesn't care if he turns his head back around or not. IMO, he's going for a big hit there and if hurting him is part of that hit, that's part of the game. I think you're WAY under estimating the "very few players who actually TRY to hurt someone". They might not go out of their way to hurt someone, but they put themselves in a hitting position that if they hurt them, they don't feel bad about it becuase....like I said, that's part of the game. You think the slashes to the back of the legs are just to piss someone off? They are, but also to hurt them enough for the rest of the series. No one wants to see other players get hurt, but no one wants to have their season end more.



Agree.



Awesome.

Good points. Havlat's fault more than anything IMO. Kane just about got aced in too!