Ben Smith, ladies and gentlemen.

In a game in which the Chicago Blackhawks never held a lead, Smith scored his third goal in the playoffs, swatting a rebound past Roberto Luongo 15:30 into overtime to give the Hawks the lead when if counted most, a 4-3 victory, forcing Game 7 Tuesday night in Vancouver.

Let's get to this:

THE GOOD:

Smith. If he brought any more grit & hustle to his game, he could be an undersized baseball player. He played in 2010's epic Frozen Four, where every game is an elimination game. That experience under fire served him well, batting in the rebound off Niklas Hjalmarsson's shot from the blue line. Tonight, a Chicago legend may have been born.

The return of Brent Seabrook. John Scott dressed more for the eventuality of another blowout game, to keep the chippy play to a minimum. Since there was never more than a one goal lead, nobody wanted to give away power plays, so it was all actual hockey. Having a healthy Seabrook suddenly makes this team a lot more formidable.

The line of Dave Bolland, Bryan Bickell & Michael Frolik. One goal each, including Frolik's tallying the first-ever playoff penalty shot goal in Chicago Blackhawks history. Bolland absolutely clobbered Dan Hamhuis to free Bickell for his goal, and then Bickell freight-trained Kevin Bieksa later on. It's funny how effective lines always seem to follow Bolland around.

Nick Leddy. Another coming-of-age story. He broke up a 4-on-2 rush in overtime, which is the reason we're not putting up a season recap tomorrow. He's still a colt, but his play is constantly improving.

THE BAD:

The Hawks power play. What a shitstorm. Again, well over a minute of 5-on-3 time that came up empty. They need to straighten this shit out.

THE UGLY:

Cory Schneider's groin exploding on Frolik's penalty shot. Every dude watching winced and cringed when that happened, make no mistake. Maybe this is karmic payback for Alain Vigneault claiming Luongo was hurt, rather than he was spooked. Who knows. What I do know is, you could see he was in serious pain, and that's never anything you want to see.

So next up, of course, is Tuesday night in Vancouver, win or go home. Except this time, the Canucks are facing elimination as well. The Hawks have gown accustomed to the view from the brink.