It took a month longer than it usually does, but the Blues are rapidly approaching the event horizon of the platonic ideal of Bluesness.
So the Penguins blew an early two goal lead (again), and a late one goal lead at home to lose on an ass-goal a minute into overtime. Clearly it was the distinct lack of Trevor Daley in the lineup that caused this outcome.
So it took a little bit longer than it looked like it was going to after the the first 10 minutes of the game, but the Penguins salvaged a split at home after Tampa won Game 1. These are two incredibly flawed teams, particularly on their respective blue lines, but the speed and dynamism among their forward corps is what got both within three wins of representing the East. Somehow Pengs coach Mike Sullivan allowed both Justin Schultz and Trevor Daley on the ice together at home in a conference final game, and behind Christ Kunitz (who fell down) no less. Predictably that shift resulted in the second Tampa goal. However, Sidney Crosby ended the OT period forty seconds in after cement mixer face Jeremy Roenick said that he wasn’t working as hard as Jonathan Drouin during the second intermission.
Both of the Western Conference’s games went to overtime last night, and both series were evened at two games a piece as they head back to Dallas and San Jose respectively.
vs 
Game Time: 7:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM 720
Optimal Tip-To-Tip Efficiency: Fear The Fin
Due to a fortunate bit of scheduling, the Capades’ stand at the United Center coincided with the NHL All Star game, and as a result the Hawks’ only played four games away from the West Side in their 16 days since last being at home. And they’ll do so tonight against the Sharks, a team no one can figure out what exactly it is they’re doing.
vs
Game Time: 6:00PM
TV/Radio: CSN, WGN-AM 720
Steve Jobs Was A Irretrievable Piece of Shit: Fear The Fin
Twenty-seven hours (give or take with time zone changes) after whatever the hell that was yesterday afternoon in Buffalo, the Hawks have turned back around for a home game tonight against the San Jose Sharks and whatever it is they’re trying to accomplish.
at 
Game Time: 3:00PM Central
TV/Radio: WGN, SportsNet (Canada), NHLN (US), WGN-AM 720
Josh Costine Is The Antichrist: Fear The Fin
With the riveting thrill ride that is the Big Ten college basketball tournament taking over the United Center for the remainder of this weekend, the Hawks now find themselves subjected to the extremely rare California matinee. And unlike Thursday in the desert, these two points are actually critical for both teams to obtain.
Box Score
Event Summary
War On Ice
In spite of the Hawks jumping out in front of the Sharks with three goals from defensemen in rapid succession, there ended up being some tense moments from the second period on through the middle stages of the third.
@ 
Game Time: 6:00PM
TV/Radio: WGN for both
Rudderless: Fear The Fin, Battle Of California
You ever have one of those problems that you can’t quite figure out a solution to? Maybe you’ve tried everything – duct tape, WD-40, cursing, prayers – but nothing seems to work out. That’s kind of where the Sharks are at this point. This is a team that should have beaten the Kings last year in the playoffs. It’s a team that’s annually considered cup contenders (on paper at least). It’s a team that seems to have all the pieces. And it’s a team that seems to be running out of options.
After years of maintaining a team that couldn’t quite put together the final piece, GM Doug Wilson had enough blowing a 3 game lead to the Kings (and a 3 goal lead in game 7) and decided that things needed to change in San Jose. But maybe that was just a lot of smoke because things look pretty much the same. The only big addition for the Sharks was adding the NHL version of Fezzik in John Scott. He’s likeable. He’s strong. He’s slow as hell and not all that bright. Dan Boyle walked but that’s nothing huge. The only real major change made by the Sharks? Stripping Jumbo Joe of his C and deciding that no one else on the team really deserves it that much more. Good move?
Like a mangy dog looking for scraps in the alleyway, we’ve finally come around to recording another one of these things. For some reason there was a bit of a clamor for it, even though it seemed like no one listened to them the first go around. In any event, we’re all back for all of your podcasting delights. Or at least Sam and I are in this episode.
We’re also working on a slightly new format, one that’s a little more guest-intensive, because no one wants to listen to either of us yammer on to each other for an hour straight and not be a paid member of Chicago’s bartending service industry. So this episode will feature:
- Chris Block of The Third Man In discussing Rockford politics at length.
- Derek from Fear The Fin on the Sharks’ chances in the West.
- And Chris Gift of St. Louis Game Time (the publication) gracing Sam with 8 minutes of his attention between innings of a Cardinals spring training game.
We’ll work on getting it back up into iTunes and such, but that requires a bit of vetting and we’ve got to start all over again since we’ve moved down the block. But for now, you can download it here.
