Everyone is tired: LA Times/Chicago Tribune
Composure is key: Comcast
Western Conference Finals by the numbers: HockeeNight
A “Regular” Dog apparently is a good luck charm: PuckDaddy
A Tender subject: ESPN Chicago
Ready for more moments: Verdi
He is capable: Daily Herald
One day I will sit down and teach myself advanced metrics: Puck Prospectus
While his analysis has gotten better lest we forget his track record:The Hockey Writers
The two league system which must exist:Winnipeg Sun
Numb.
That’s how I’ve felt since it all ended. I’m not sure where my feet are. I only have a loose grasp of where my hands are occupying. I’m sure you get it.
Maybe it’s fitting. Maybe this is how it had to be. To rip the hearts out of your most loathed rival they way they’ve been doing in various fashions for so long I think I just want to hurl and cry at the same time. And I can’t afford to lose that many liquids out of my face. Maybe that’s the ultimate justice.
Does it erase all the scar tissue? No, of course not. Is it pretty fucking sweet that the end of the Hawks-Wings Western Conference rivalry will forever be known on Brent Fucking Seabrook mind-shifting one home? Yeah. Yeah it is. There’s no other way to say it.
vs 
Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, CBC (Anglo), RDS (Franco), WGN-AM 720
Juggalo Homies: Winging It In Motown, Abel To Yzerman
We thought it was coming back in April. Then Scum shocked almost no one outside of Orange County by giving the paper tiger Ducks more than they could handle in seven games to draw one final matchup with the Hawks. The consensus had been that the Hawks would make short work of Detroit (this blog included), but an outfit as decorated as this would not cooperate so easily, pushing the top seeded Hawks to the brink of elimination with a commanding 3-1 series lead. But the Hawks have pushed back and forced a decisive Game 7 on West Madison, with tonight marking, at long last the final meaningful intraconference meeting of these two heritage franchises. And it should be fitting that so much is on the line.
And here we go: CSN Autoplay
Tonight, Tonight: Daily Herald
How to survive Game 7: Cheer The Anthem
A fitting conclusion: Verdi
Great Moments, were made from great opportunities? CSN
Get ready for one unproductive day: CBC
So here’s the experiment. Every once in a while I have the idea that a “rally shot” will really help the fortunes of the Blackhawks. At the start of the period where the Hawks are down, usually the third, I will order a shot and not drink it until the Hawks score a goal. As soon as they do, I take the shot and order another. Repeat as necessary until the Hawks win the game (which means another shot) or if the lose, I pass it along to someone else. Very rarely does that seem to happen.
What this really means is that during the last 20 minutes of hockey, I consumed 4 shots along with a few beers. If this recap begins to make less and less sense and becomes riddled with more typos than usual… well, you can blame Fels. He was originally supposed to write this but might be in worst shape than I am right now. (more…)
at
Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, CBC (Anglo), RDS (Franco), The Loop-FM 97.9
Wango Tango: Winging It In Motown, Abel To Yzerman
On Saturday night, the Hawks took the first step in their quest to erase the deficit they had created for themselves in this series. But the second step, tonight’s tilt at Joe Louis, is the real motherfucker.
Just in case you need a refresher: NHL
They are here because of strategy: Verdi
One goal at a time: Daily Herald
He just needed a Marlboro 72: ESPN
The Wings want to go California Dreamin: Sportsnet
But it won’t be easy: Free Press
Game 7: PuckDaddy
In 16 months of doing links, this is the fifth time I have linked such a piece: SN
Not today. Or yesterday. Whatever.
I wasn’t sure what the invasion of Jesus freaks outside the UC meant for the Hawks before yesterday’s game. Was God coming to help? Was he coming to condemn? One thing is for sure, I and all my readers are going to hell. Dude on the megaphone told me so. So you’ve got that going for you. (Sidenote, I love when these nutjobs get one of their kids to preach on the megaphone. Like that kid’s belief system doesn’t have a great chance of altering forever the first time he sees a pair of boobs.)
Anyway, the Hawks finally found some power play goals (you can score two in a game?), and pretty effortlessly closed out a 3rd period lead to keep breathing in these playoffs. What’s funny is that aside from the power play, and the lineup shuffle, I don’t know that all that much changed in this series.
vs
Game Time: 7:00 PM Central
TV/Radio: NBC, CBC (Anglo), RDS (Franco), WGN-AM 720
The Dark Carnival of Souls: Winging It In Motown, Abel to Yzerman
So here it is once again. On the brink of elimination for one final time in the West at the hands of Scum. That old familiar sting. We try to kill it all away, but we remember everything.
Yeah, I know. The light out of the darkness is looking awfully faint, if it can be seen at all. There’s an overwhelming urge to start declaring who takes the fall, who doesn’t, what changes need to be made going forward, what went wrong, all that.
But really, this is not over. Maybe it feels like that to you, but the margins of this 3-1 deficit just aren’t all that large. To overturn it, a massive transformation doesn’t have to be engineered. In fact, a lot of the Hawks are doing already is all that needs to be done. It just can’t be interrupted.
Last night, aren’t we essentially talking about the difference in Leddy and Kindl taking the exact same shot from the same place, both hitting the inside of the post, one going in and one going out? That’s pretty much what separated teams last night.
You can’t win all three games tomorrow night. You can only win the one. So how do the Hawks go about doing that?