at 
Game Time: 6:00PM CST
TV/Radio: WGN, NHLN (US), SportsNet (Canada), WGN-AM 720
Who’s Your Favorite New Kid? Call Me Joey: Days of Y’Orr
From one state with legal weed to another, tonight the Hawks find themselves in Boston to take on a B’s team that is once again teetering on the edge of missing the playoffs for a third straight year, and rumors of Claude Julien’s giant bald head being on the chopping block dominate any discussion about the Bruins.
Days of Y’Orr was one of the best hockey blogs around. Then it went away. And then apparently it came back when I wasn’t paying attention. Mostly because Marshall and I are usually arguing about wrestling. Anyway, it’s back, you should read it, and follow Marshall and them on Twitter (@DOYMarshall @DaysOfYorr)
Once again, the Bruins underlying numbers are among the best in the league, and yet they’re jostling for a playoff spot in a pretty piss poor division. Is it all just poor shooting luck? Is there something more at work?
Their shooting percentage has finally started to turn a corner, but things have been pretty mind-boggling so far. To dominate possession the way they do, yet be so woefully inept at burying the puck really puts into question the adage of “good things happen when you put the puck on net.” Opposing teams are having far too easy a time forcing the Bruins to the outside, leading to some pretty poor shot selection. The top line is capable of creating offense from anywhere in the zone, but the others lack the necessary skill set.
I’ve been meaning to do this for a bit, and now that we’re over a third of the way through the season I guess this is as good of a time as any. Whereas in baseball we’ve seen some of the postseason awards take on a more analytic angle (though Porcello winning over Kluber shows we still have some way to go, but hey, Felix won a Cy with 13 wins), the ones in hockey still haven’t quite reached anything like that level.
The Hart and the Vezina are pretty easy. Hand it to Crosby and Price and move on. It’s the Selke and Norris that always generate the most debate.
vs 
Game Time: 11:30AM Central
TV/Radio: NBC, SportsNet, TVA-S, WGN-AM 720
You White, You Ben Affleck: Cup of Chowder
There really is zero excuse for an 11:30 start this morning, as the game isn’t necessarily running as counter programming to anything specific. But the NHL and marketing sensibility have never exactly gone together like bologna and Miracle Whip. So somehow what they’ll bill as in important game between two ORIGINAL SIX teams in its final pre-scheduled Sunday matchup still will start while the vast majority of the country is still sleeping. Great job again, everyone.
vs. 
PUCK DROP: 6pm Central
TV/RADIO: CSN, Sportsnet Up Dere, WGN Radio
THEY FORGOT THEIR NAME, THEY TOOK A SHOT ON THE CHIN: Stanley Cup Of Chowder (sky point Days Of Y’Orr)
The Hawks will attempt to immediately back up a pretty satisfying victory over Former Scum with toppling the Bruins at home. Which these days, just about everyone does, as the B’s have been pretty putrid in the darks and pretty damn good in the whites. They’re basically East Coast Sharks, and that comparison actually works on a deeper level as much like San Jose it’s hard to figure out just what in the hell the Bruins are.
vs 
Game Time: 2:30PM Central
TV/Radio: NBC, SportsNet, WGN-AM 720
Wahlburgers: Cup O’Chowder, Days of Y’orr
There are two things NBC is going to flog constantly during today’s broadcast. The first being Ed Olczyk’s work ethic for getting to the game after doing the Stadium Series in the Bay Area last night. Because if there’s one thing that Edzo loves more than the sound of his own voice and hit stats, it’s feigning humility at the compliments heaped upon him. The other will be a complete rehash of the 2013 Cup Final. And while these two teams are fundamentally the same, at the present juncture they’re both about as far away from June of 2013 as can be imagined. But just because this game should be watched on mute (like all Hawks games), doesn’t mean that this isn’t a big one for both sides.
at 
Game Time: 6:00PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, NHLN (US), SN360 (Anglo), TVA2 (Franco), WGN-AM 720
Chuckie, It’s Hunting Season: Cup of Chowder, Days of Y’Orr
Oh they love that Dirty Water. Almost as much as they love Larry Bird, Shawn Thornton, co-opting meathead faux-Irish culture, and racism.
vs. 
FACEOFF: 7:22pm Central
TV/RADIO: NBC, CBC, RDS, WGN 720am
ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK: Days of Y’Orr, Stanley Cup Of Chowder
If you’ll allow us to mix band metaphors: It’s right outside your door….
Or at least it will be. Lord Stanley’s favorite beer mug will enter the building sometime tonight while the two teams are on the ice, and it can only be brought out of the box by the men with white gloves to be given to someone in a white jersey. And we now know that someone will be the one with the “C”, if it breaks that way.
vs 
Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: NBC, CBC (Anglo), RDS (Franco), WGN-AM 720
Subbacultcha: Cup of Chowder, Days of Y’Orr
For all of the mewling on both sides about the various issues surrounding both the Bruins and Blackhawks, today the series finds itself pretty much exactly where everyone thought it would be. And with the series being tied 2-2 after the Hawks regained home-ice advantage on Wednesday, tonight’s game 5 is critical in taking a grip on the series.
Break Point: Cheer the Anthem
Barnburner: HockeeNight
Needed: Daily Herald
Fire Wagon Hockey: TSN
Patrice Bergeron is good and lucky: PuckDaddy
Real rule changes approved: Globe and Mail
