We’re sticking with the wrestler theme and going away from our normal drummer post on a possible clincher. It is not just a season the Hawks look to bury tonight. It is an entire era of an organization. So we summon The Phenom, The Dead Man, The Best There Ever Was. St. Louis, the Creatures Of The Night request your demise.
Like this wrap was ever going to come last night.
Normally, you’d come here for some shrewd analysis and a couple insults/jokes about the game. Today I don’t feel like that. Feels like something a little more emotional is needed. For most of the season, I’ve been accused of being overly negative, much too extreme. And you know, that’s basically correct. While I think it is our job to poke holes in common narratives (for instance, the utter hokum that was “Dark Horse Norris Candidate) there have been times where I’ve been sour just for the sake of it. As most of you know, this season hasn’t been all that much fun for any of us here. Whether you agree with that or not, I think we’ve illustrated pretty clearly why so you could understand. The Hawks have made themselves a hard organization to root for, and those complaints and feelings are still very much present. I’ve let that boil over at times, and I know that. I’ve openly rooted for opponents or made it clear I didn’t care if the season ended on Thursday or last night. That’s over the top.
And then games like last night happen, and you are thoroughly reminded why you bothered in the first place.
The Rockford IceHogs exit from the Calder Cup Playoffs was certainly swift. The Hogs were fortunate enough to get to begin their first-round series with Lake Erie at home but made zero use of having home ice for the opening games.
Rockford dropped both games at the BMO Harris Bank Center, then traveled to Cleveland and had the Monsters complete the series sweep Saturday night. With little exception, Lake Erie was the better team and dominated play.
I’m not ready to forecast the state of the farm just yet, so I’ll focus this week’s gaze on the first-round debacle and how it came to be.
vs. 
PUCK DROP: 7pm (so calm down)
TV: NBC
I AM BECOME DEATH: St. Louis Gametime
Done it once, can you do it twice? And then thrice?
The Hawks staved off elimination on Thursday night, essentially letting the Blues punch themselves out in the 3rd period and 1st overtime without landing a knockout blow. The Hawks slowly, slowly made their presence known at the end of the first OT and then were the better team in the 2nd, bringing everyone back to Chicago for a Saturday night on the town. And really, where would you rather spend a Saturday night?
Guess we’ll stick with the wrestler theme, worked on Thursday. Kevin Owens is something of the true wrestling fan’s wrestler on the main roster. While he certainly doesn’t look like the true Greek God that the WWE would prefer, Owens made his name on the indie and Japan and NXT circuit by simply being better than everyone else in the ring. There isn’t an Owens match that doesn’t have you completely riveted, and his NXT title match with Finn Balor last August is considered one of the best of the year anywhere. He also cultivated the perfect heel personality, which certainly is something the Hawks are working towards. Few are better on the mic, or carrying their persona and telling a story through a match than Owens. Oh, and he’s had the same blood feud with Sami Zayn for years now, much like the Hawks and Blues. If the Hawks are going to extend this, they’ll need to Fight Owens Fight.
The only tribute we know how to do, because sometimes it snows in April.
When this thing eventually runs out of gas, I hope everyone truly appreciates how far Corey Crawford has carried these cast of clowns this year. Much like they’ve done all season, the Hawks were absolutely buried by the opposition and gave up a barrage of shots. SPOILER ALERT: Crawford kept the Hawks in it while they weathered the storm of St. Louis looking to close it out quickly.
vs.
PUCK DROP: Somewhere in the neighborhood of 8:42pm
TV: NBCSN round the nation, CSN here
THE SWORD OF DEMOCLES: St. Louis Gametime
All right, let’s get the positive right here at the top. No team has put the Hawks to the sword at first time of asking since the ’09 Wings. It took the ’11 Canucks four tries, the ’12 Coyotes two, and the ’14 Kings three. Quite simply, when the Hawks haven’t won the whole fucking thing they’ve been just about the toughest out around. And that’s with rosters as or more limited than this one. This is also a Blues team that has one series win to its name in this era. So for proceedings to end tonight, both teams are going to have to do something that has gone against their recent nature.
Much like Triple H, the Hawks have been the authority in the league for far too long to some people. And yet every time it looks like they’re going to be knocked off their perch, they somehow find a way to stay at the top of the pyramid. If they’re not going to have the belt, they’ll certainly get a say in who does. Now the Hawks need to find their sledgehammer, or risk losing control of the league they once dominated. But you never rule out the Cerebral Assassin.
And if you have time to kill, check out one Triple H’s greatest matches:
The Undertaker vs Triple H Wrestlemania 27 Full… by irfanalichaudhry
