Game 4:Chicago Daily Herald
Confidence:NBC 5
Patience:CBS Local
Gotta be more:Blackhawk Up
Pierogi Power:Let’s Go Hawks
I think Tampa wins this bet:ABC 7
Who? TSN
Wonderful:ESPN
Tag: Corey Crawford
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Stanley Cup Finals Morning Links 6.9.2015
Observations:Sportsnet.CA
Crazy:New York Times
Exactly:HockeeNight
I’m not worried:ESPN
You’re screwed:Daily Herald
Better than 91..I guess:USA Today
Damn Right!!PuckDaddy
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Diesel And Dust – Game 3 – Lightning vs Hawks Preview, Pregame Thread, Credit Counseling
vs 
Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, CBC, TVA
From Her Lips To God’s Ears: Raw ChargeWith the series shifting north to the United Center for games 3 and 4, both the Hawks and the Lightning believe themselves to be in highly actionable positions within the context of the series after a split in Tampa. But the team in red is the one that will be best served in maximizing their opportunity on home ice.
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A Clear Line – Game 2 – Hawks At Lightning Preview, Pregame Thread, Open House
at Game Time: 6:15PM Central
TV/Radio: NBC, CBC, TVA, WGN-AM 720
As The Eternal Cowboy: Raw ChargeWith Wednesday night’s late two-goal rally to claim Game 1 in Tampa, the Hawks have already on paper accomplished what they needed to prior to the series turning north. But now is not the time of year to cede absolutely anything to the opponent, as the Lightning found out in emphatic fashion 3 nights ago.
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Angry At Numbers 6/5
Time to just go through some numbers popping out from Game 1 and beyond. You love it when we get nerdy. Nerds are in, you know it, I know it. If only I paid this much attention to math in high school (I think I got a 590 on the Math section on the SAT while rocking the verbal, and my Rain Main-like father never forgave me for it, despite the fact that he was a writer. It was a strange family).
38.2%
That was Jonathan Toews’s Corsi number for Game 1, and that’s with the score adjusted. It’s the third lowest number he has produced in the past two playoffs, as Kopitar kicked him down to a 37% in Game 6 last year in L.A. (while Kane dragged them out of the pits like little Miho got Clive Owen), and earlier last spring Mikko Koivu held him to a 25% in Game 4 against Minnesota. But that’s it, and I guess it says a lot that the Hawks went 2-1 in those games. It’s not a formula the Hawks would have any intention on repeating, though. And just how likely is it the Lightning can keep Toews down… down on the ground…
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Change Of Heart: Hawks 2 – Lightning 1 (Hawks Lead 1-0)
Have a narrative, why don’t you? With the Hawks top six not producing much, and after the residents here proclaimed it would be the Hawks’ forward depth that would prove to be the difference, here comes the third line providing both goals that put the Hawks up in this series. And no, of course not, there’s no way that Teuvo Teravainen coming up big makes me feel especially good after all the shit we got for extolling his virtues. Why would you ever think that? He’s not special in any way.
As we previewed this series, and most others did, I feel like it was generally agreed that John Cooper was a pretty good coach. And while he probably wouldn’t come up with some novelty for this, he would do what was necessary. Well, tonight he kind of fucked up.
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Stanley Cup Finals Morning Links 6.3.2015
Game 1:NHL
This will probably keep happening:Chicago Tribune
Well that would be some script:ESPN
By the Numbers:HockeeNight
Ok..but that number,really?:Lets Go Hawks
The afterthought award:TSN
Quotes and Quotes and Quotes:Sportsnet.CA
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STANLEY CUP FINAL MORNING LINKS 6.1.2015
DAMN IT FEELS GOOD TO TYPE THAT AGAIN!!!
Best .Gif ever:HockeeNight
Proving every cliche wrong since 2009:Second City Hockey
Can I get a translation? Let’s Go Hawks
High Praise:The New York Times
My favorite live album:Blackhawk Up
2 or 19:NBC Chicago
Because it doesn’t work: Sports Illustrated
Return to his greatest triumph:LA Times
No Last Dance and No Wonderful Waltz: SportsNet.CA
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Take Away This Ball And Chain: Hawks 5 – Ducks 3 (Hawks Win Series 4-3)
Maybe it’s better that the Hawks won it this way. After all, other teams got to enjoy coming back from 3-2 to win a Game 7 in Anaheim, so why should the Hawks be left out? The Hawks were clearly not going to get caught stretching and yawning in the 1st period as they did in Game 5, and Toews had them up two barely halfway through the 1st. Though no one would say it out loud at the time, I’m sure most felt the game was already over at that point, considering the Ducks’ reputation and history. The Hawks had to weather some storms, Crow had to make a couple big saves to keep the gap where it was, and after Getzlaf earned an assist on Saad’s goal (rounding out his complete passenger performance in this series), the Hawks were content to sit back, absorb, and break when the Ducks got over exuberant. Considering how many odd-man rushes the Hawks had from the 2nd period on, they could have (and perhaps should have) put up seven or eight. Hossa was the only one able to pot one of those breaks, and it’s debatable whether it should have counted.
But no one cares about that and it probably wouldn’t have made too much difference. It’s onwards and upwards for the Hawks, so let’s clean up this series before we look forward to Tesla coils and Petty references.
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The Action Is Go – Game 6 – Ducks vs Hawks Preview, Pregame Thread, OSHA Inspection
vs Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, CBC, TVA, WGN-AM 720
Prison Bound: Anaheim Calling, Battle of CaliforniaBecause seemingly nothing can ever be simple or straightforward with this iteration of the Hawks, they now find themselves in an unfamiliar situation under Joel Quenneville: being forced to win a Game 6 at home in order to force a Game 7 after tying the series at 2-2 on Saturday. And in their way remain the Anaheim Ducks, who are looking to punch their ticket to the Cup final while keeping themselves undefeated in regulation this post season.
