SO LONG, STINKTOWN!: Hawks 5, Vancouver 1
Now this is the Blackhawk team I remember. This looked like the team that stormed through December and January, playing suffocating defense and scoring at will. It was the Hawks best team game of the playoffs so far, and if they can sustain this type of effort for the rest of the playoffs, look out.
I guess this is where I'm supposed to be magnanimous. Supposed to compliment the Canucks on a gritty effort, for a battle well fought.
I'll do nothing of the sort. The Vancouver Canucks are a pain in the ass. I don't like them, I don't respect them, and I sure as fuck won't miss them. If the players aren't bitching at each other in the press, their coach is complaining about the refs, or their fans and papers are crying about the Hawks disrespecting them by packing their stuff for San Jose so they could fly to California if they won the game. All this from a team that set up their Stanley Cup parade route back in August. Guess they can put that one back in the filing cabinet for another year.
The Canucks and their fans can wonder what might have been. They certainly had their chances to take control of the series, and like any playoff series, a few bounces either way could have changed everything. But that's for them to worry about, the Chicago Blackhawks have more important matters to attend to.
THE GOOD
Team Defense - this was the team I remember from December. Swarming to loose pucks, getting a body or a stick on every man, fighting to clear loose rebounds; terrific effort.
Dave Bolland - I've been rough on Bolland during the playoffs, but he was excellent tonight. Bolland and his line were spent the night rendering the Sedin twins invisible, and still managed a short handed goal to close out the second period.
Dustin Byfuglien - Buff was a force tonight. No doubt about it, when Dustin Byfuglien brings his physical game, he's a top line forward. Tonight was all over the ice again, knocking out Vancouver defensemen with hits, and driving a dagger into the heart of the Canucks with the Hawks 5th goal.
Packing for San Jose - Good thing the team had the foresight to do this. BECAUSE THEY KNEW THEY WERE GOING TO WIN, VANCOUVER!
THE BAD
Well, there was bad, mostly from the usual suspects. Jordan Hendry got a little too much ice time for my liking, and Troy Brouwer was terrible to open the game, but finally settled down after scoring the Hawks first goal. But the Hawks finished the series, and that's all that matters at this point.
THE UGLY
Roberto Luongo - Lungo gave up another crooked number in a playoff game against the Hawks. Granted, the final two goals were the result of necessary gambles by the Canucks defense, but if you're going to claim the title of the Greatest Goaltender in the World, you've got to carry your team in those spots. Luongo didn't, and his team is finished.
Posted by CT at 5/11/2010 10:26 PM 
Categories: Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Tags: Playoffs Canucks Blackhawks
Categories: Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Tags: Playoffs Canucks Blackhawks
OH HELL YES!!11!!!!1111
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the hawks in the second period were laying some nasty licks along the boards that were almost deadly. ladd, buff, were mean as hell tonight
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I'm sorry, but where does this put Luongo?
Will the Vancouver fans stop sucking his wang? Seriously.
This guy is the biggest choker I've ever seen.
Team Canada won IN SPITE of him.
HARDHAK HAKY!
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They would've won if they put Wellwood in front of the goal. Because his keister wouldn't fit between the pipes.
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A word for Mr. Troy Brouwer, who knows there some things more important than hockey. Like his father.
The story, courtesy of Greg 'Puck Daddy' Wyshynski:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/With-father-ailing-Brouwer-makes-triumphant-ret?urn=nhl,240380
According to the Vancouver Province, Don Brouwer was rushed to the hospital with a blood clot on his brain on April 4, the same night Troy scored a game-winning goal against the Calgary Flames. He underwent emergency surgery; his son missed the final four games of the regular season to be with his father, who regained consciousness in a hospital as the Blackhawks began their playoff run.
Said Brouwer to The Province, on coping with his father's recovery during the pressure-packed playoffs:
Brouwer refused to use his father's health as an excuse for his poor play, and had a chance for redemption when Coach Joel Quenneville inserted him into the lineup in Game 6 in Vancouver, where Brouwer was born.
The hunch worked.
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In my humble opinion, Mr Troy Brouwer, and especially Mr Don Brouwer, deserve our respect.
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Great game last night. Just solid all the way around.
I gotta disagree with CT's assessment that when Buff "brings his his physical game, he's a top-line forward". Maybe a second-line guy at best. His physical play is too often absent. He is a passenger a lot of nights. Let's hope he's figured it out.
How great was it to watch the live shots 10-15 minutes after the game and see all the Canuck fans sitting around moping like they were at a funeral (I guess they were).
Bolland has shown flashes of his old self in a couple of games in this series. Let's hope it bolsters his confidence. And Laddy played a solid game last night. Nice to see.
Hawks ovwer Sharks in six.
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"His physical play is too often absent" - hence my qualifier Dave. When he's playing physical, busting up defensemen, getting to the net, tipping shots and scrumming for rebounds, he's a force. The problem with Buff has always been getting him to bring it every night. If somebody could figure out how to do that...
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i agree CT, buff is a huge part of this run and needs to bust up douglas murray because you know he is going to try to do it on his opponents. when buff is on it benefits his linemates, look at game 4 how toews tore it up with 5 points
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJqlXkkNuc8
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