While the Hawks don’t need to save a crumbling galaxy from an all-consuming enemy, they do need to get creative tonight against what could be a very robust force. No one does it better than Peter Quill, or Star Lord, as he’s not above going nefarious to achieve his goals. Which sometimes involves bedding alien girls. But hey, we all have our tastes. If the Hawks have to send out a dick message to get even in the series tonight, so be it.
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Beard Of The Day – April 14th: Hugo Weaving
You hear that name and of course you think, “And tell me Mr. Anderson. What good is a phone call if you’re unable to…speak?”
But if you’re in the know, you know that Hugo is an extremely wide-ranging performer, with the other end of the scale being Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, of course. He’s also been signature characters Elrond and V, and there probably won’t be another actor who performs a monologue where 75% of the words begin with V and we can’t see his face. And if there is, it certainly won’t be nearly as striking.
The Hawks will have to be just as flexible, and able to go in every direction tomorrow night to get past what seems to be a Preds team intent on being obstinate.
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Boots & Boys: Predators 1 – Hawks 0 (Preds lead series 1-0)
In the aftermath of this one, and even really during it, I saw a lot of citing of how much time the Hawks had off, combined with not even really trying in the last week, and how bad they are when they get a lot of rest. I don’t know that this is really a viable excuse. After all, the Preds had to keep trying throughout the season and they capped it off by losing to the fucking Jets. But we’ve been down this road with the Hawks before, including against this very team seven years ago. The Hawks are rarely totally sharp in a Game 1 in the first round, and couldn’t save this one tonight even though it was sitting there like a pig on a spit. The Preds almost certainly won’t be so lucky next time.
But we did learn some things tonight.
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Aloha – Game 1 – Predators vs Hawks Preview, Instant Re-Finance
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Game Time: 7:00PM CDT
TV/Radio: CSN, NBCSN (US), TVA-S2 (Canada), WGN-AM 720
Golden Showers: On The Forecheck
The long national nightmare is over, The Chicago Blackhawks are once again playing hockey games that matter. And they’re doing so from their most advantageous position in four years, with home ice for as long as they remain in the Western Conference playoffs. For those counting at home, under Joel Quenneville the Hawks are 11-1 in series wherein they have home ice, the lone outlier being the 2014 Western Conference Final, which took to Game 7 in OT to end. That also remains the only series that the Hawks have ended up losing wherein they have taken Game 1. The road is laid out for them, and the first step is tonight on West Madison against the Nashville Predators.
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Turn To Gold – The Nashville Predators’ Forwards
Continuing this Tradition Unlike Any Other, our positional preview of the Nashville Predators now moves to their group of forwards, and based on some of the reports coming in out of the Preds’ morning skates, they’re seriously up against it.
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We R Who We R – Nashville Predators Playoff Preview: Goalies And Defense
As is tradition here, we will break up our preview over two days. I’ll take the back end today, because most tend to think I’m a horse’s ass, and then Matt will be around tomorrow to take you through the forward group. So let’s dive right in before they drain the pool, shall we?
Goalies
Pekka Rinne: 31-19-9, 2.42 GAA, .918 SV%, .929 EV SV%, .862 SH SV%
Ah yes, this old thing. You remember this. The Hawks have only faced one other goalie three times in the playoffs, and that would be Roberto Luongo. He was able to turn the tables on the Hawks at the third time of asking, but the 2011 team is not this team and the Predators are not the ’11 Canucks. When we first did this dance in 2010 it was a little scary facing Rinne, but then the Hawks punted him to a .911 over six games and won. In 2015 Rinne’s limitations were already well known to everyone, and while Crawford and then Darling took their turns swallowing mouthwash, Rinne couldn’t take advantage and put up a .909 over six games and was once again sent home. There’s no reason to think this will go any differently.
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Live From The Five Hole – You Don’t Get Me High Anymore
At long last, games that matter are here. And the four of us go around the league to try to parse out what matchups are going to be worthwhile in both conferences. Spoiler alert: The Leafs series is obviously going to be the most important for the league, the sport itself, and the global economy. Have a listen after the jump.
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A Spring Of Trepidation
Let’s start this with a story, one that exemplifies how childish, petty, and vitriolic being a sports fan can be. But hopefully, if you work out these kinds of emotions in this arena, you don’t apply them to the rest of your life where people close to you might get hurt. I said, “hopefully.”
It’s the Winter Classic at Wrigley. You may not remember, but as the Hawks had exploded on the scene in November and December, they had actually crawled to within four points of the Wings for first in the division. They faced two games against them, one in the Joe and the Winter Classic. Those of us who weren’t quite in tune with our senses thought this was the moment to really fire off a warning shot. I had launched the C.I. two months before, and was still sleeping on my father’s couch while it took hold.
You might recall that the Hawks got completely pantsed in Detroit, and it wasn’t much better at the Winter Classic. The Hawks got taught a lesson on what it would take to be where Detroit was and how much farther they had to go. But that’s not the point here.
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High On The Hog: Bringing Up Goalies
The Rockford IceHogs currently have a plethora of net-minders as their season winds down next week. Taking a look at the list of goalies in town really got me in a pondering mood.
In one corner, we have Lars Johansson, brought from across the ocean as a potential future backup in Chicago. Across the way, we have Mac Carruth, a 2010 draft pick who’s days could well be numbered after spending parts of four seasons with the Hogs.
The plot thickened back in January when Jeff Glass was brought in on an AHL deal to compete for crease time. The new kid (literally) is 18-year-old Wouter Peeters, last summer’s third-round selection of the Blackhawks, having his tires kicked on an ATO.
Peeters was in Rockford solely to practice with the IceHogs and get a close-up look from the organization; Rockford released him from his tryout Sunday morning. Still, four goalies on the roster gave me pause to think. What may we expect from this youngster in terms of an NHL future? For that matter, what lies ahead for the rest of this motley crew?
Corey Crawford is 32. Deal with it. At some point Chicago will have to find it’s next great (or even good) goaltender. Will it come through nabbing a late blooming prospect or via the draft?
