vs. 
FACEOFF: 7pm Central
TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN Radio 720
BLOGS OF THE BRIDGESTONE: On The Forecheck
Back to the scene of one of the crimes. The last time the Hawks sauntered down I-65 they got smacked around but good thanks to Nikolai Khabibulin’s groin crumbling under the weight of his paycheck/liver and Corey Crawford pulling the full Dante “I’m not even supposed to be here today.” Hopefully, things will go a little better tonight.
Circus Trip: Hockee Night
Raanta ready to help out: Chicago Suntimes
Salary Cap Superman: Second City Hockey
John McDonough everyone: Blackhawks. Com
Kane better behave in Sochi: CSN
The outdoor czar: Puckdaddy
How the hell is this quantified! TSN
Just about 30 hours or so from the new piece of cloth going up to the rafters. And as I do every year, I’ll take a whack at predicting what goes on this season. I think the only thing I’ve ever gotten right was Hawks-Flyers in 2010 (so did McClure, and boy did the Flyers make it interesting before getting there). But we’ll do it anyway. I’ll invite the other three goofs on this blog to add their predictions to this post later today, but they have lives which I don’t. So no guarantees that I won’t be the only one hanging himself upon his own petard.
Let’s do it:
Hawks point total – The number 102-105 keeps ringing around my head. Of course, last year the Hawks were on a 131-point pace (Jesus Christ!), but no one expects that again. 102 in the old set up would have landed the Hawks probably a 4th or 5th seed. 105 near the top I would think. I just don’t see them ducking the injury and fatigue bugs all season as they pretty much did last year (only Sharp missed significant time). In this new division set up there are certainly easy points to rack up, and the Conference as a whole won’t be as tough as it once was with Vancouver and Anaheim sure to backslide at least a little. Only Edmonton looks like it has a chance to rise up, and even then only a little.
Would 105 win the division? Probably. Not sure 102 will. Pretty sure it won’t matter if the Hawks are mostly healthy in April.
Well, we’re about to embark on it all. Before we head into the dress rehearsal tomorrow (please Brandon Pirri, have like four assists), and before we roll out our Central Division special on Monday and then it all kicks off on Tuesday, there’s a few questions we should wrap up. So, let us away, friends.
Will Patrick Kane crack 100 points?
He’s going to make a run at it, that’s for sure. There’s something that happened to Kane last year. He seemed to thrive in cementing himself as a top five player in the league, at least offensively. There seems to be a new determination in him to do things he hasn’t done before. He wants an Art Ross, he wants to be in the Hart conversation, he seemingly wants to erase what he used to be known for. But, as good as he was last year, he was only on pace for only 95 points.
Well, we’re about to embark on it all. Before we head into the dress rehearsal tomorrow (please Brandon Pirri, have like four assists), and before we roll out our Central Division special on Monday and then it all kicks off on Tuesday, there’s a few questions we should wrap up. So, let us away, friends.
Will Patrick Kane crack 100 points?
He’s going to make a run at it, that’s for sure. There’s something that happened to Kane last year. He seemed to thrive in cementing himself as a top five player in the league, at least offensively. There seems to be a new determination in him to do things he hasn’t done before. He wants an Art Ross, he wants to be in the Hart conversation, he seemingly wants to erase what he used to be known for. But, as good as he was last year, he was only on pace for only 95 points.
The Kings were undefeated at home so far in the playoffs. The Kings were 22-0 when scoring first all season long. The Blackhawks were without their best defenseman (and possibly just their best overall player). The Blackhawks found themselves down a goal twice in the game. And none of it really mattered. After a simply dominant third period, the Blackhawks found themselves up 3-1 in the series and the games shift back to Chicago on Saturday night. It’s not over yet but the finals are clearly back in our sights as the Kings need to win 3 in a row to close this out… and yes, that includes two games on the road for LA, where they’ve been awful.
Bullets after the jump
vs 
Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, CBC (Anglo), RDS (Franco), WGN-AM 720
Spirit In Black: The Royal Half, Jewels From The Crown, Battle of Cali
Thanks to Mick and Keith and their 10th and 11th full blood transfusions between the two of them, the Hawks and Kings will play their second game of the Western Conference Final about 24 hours on the nose after game 1 concluded. Whether or not that gives either team an advantage is debatable, but I’m sure both would have preferred a day off in between.
I’ll admit it. I lost the faith last night. During the 2nd intermission. I felt the sweet embrace of the end growing within me. I’ve seen it before. I didn’t tweet it, or text my brother or Kills as I might normally do. It felt like last year’s Game 6 again. A brief opening flurry, watching the second period drift away. I was sure it would be followed by a brief spasm of a death rattle, before Scum cleanly and efficiently took the game, season, rivalry, bragging rights, and seemingly everything else away with them.
I should have known better. This team is made of sterner stuff. And Brendan Smith and Carlo Colaiacovo were going to be on the ice. Always a chance with that.
Full Recap: (AP)
Whew…(CTA)
Good, Bad and Ugly: (HockeeNight)
Holy Mother of God that was fun: (Chicago Tribune)
The good Ottawa boy is clutch: (Comcast Chicago)
Niklas Backstrom hurt: (PuckDaddy)
Harding played his ass off: (Minny Star Tribune)
Parise and Suter must lead for the Wild to succeed: (CBC)
Scum Jr. takes a 1-0 lead on the Kings: (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Grinding out wins on the first night: (TSN)
As Crosby turns: (SPORTSNET AP)
People with more talent than me explain the history of the chalice:(Visual Capitalist)
Remember where we all come from: (SPORTSNET)
In somewhat of a role-reversal, I couldn’t fucking sit still or stop swearing tonight (OK, I always swear a lot) and Fels was cool as a… well, not a cucumber. Maybe a zucchini? Are those cool? Some sort of squash or gourd, I guess. Are squashes and gourds even mutually exclusive? I don’t get horticulture.
While the Blackhawks didn’t make it easy for themselves, they never really seemed like they were getting outplayed. The early goal from the Wild (from Clutterbuck on a softie… because of course that would happen) didn’t inspire much confidence but it wasn’t a dagger in the hearts of the UC either. The Wild scored, we groaned but anyone who thought the Hawks would be shutout for the game was kidding themselves. The Hawks didn’t panic. They came back to their game and they found a way to score one on the advantage and then take it in a longish OT. 15.
