This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.
Something tells me this will not be a short series.
No more wasting time; let’s get to abbreviated bullets before I turn into a werewolf or whatever mythical creature comes out after midnight.
- The Bruins really have one line that consistently does damage offensively: Krejci-Lucic-Horton (or Seguin, if Horton aggravated a separated shoulder and isn’t able to return). So why is Joel Quenneville choosing to use his second defensive pair to match up against them while using Keith and Seabrook against Bergeron-Marchand-Jagr? I mean, I understand the logic….sort of. He doesn’t want to weaken the second line even further by giving them a weaker defensive pair. But….an adjustment is going to have to be made. If it weren’t for a Herculean effort by Corey Crawford, the game should have been over by 9:30. And that was from the Bruins essentially driving offense from one line.
- Speaking of, that pre-game video of the Hawks locker room was great. It looked like Joel Quenneville was in the middle of an intense round of “Catchphrase” as he sped through his pre-game notes. I want to watch that before every game.
- Maybe the Hawks hit a wall from an exhausting series against the Kings and need to catch another wind or maybe they were exhausted from playing behind all night but man, it seemed like they had no extra push in the overtime frames. Boston carried the play for long stretches and again, if it weren’t for Corey Crawford, this game ends long ago. To make matters less encouraging, Boston played the majority of overtime with 10 forwards as Horton was hurt and Shawn Thornton was unloved.
- Oh, so that’s what Dave Bolland looks like. Better late than never.
- Two too many men penalties in overtime of a Stanley Cup Final. This should not and cannot happen. And actually, the Hawks got away with a third midway through the second overtime.
- I’ve never seen a team that uses so much motion and defensemen jumping up in the play on 5-on-5 play get a man advantage and suddenly forget how to move without the puck. The Hawks are simply clueless when it comes to the man advantage. I could spend hours breaking down why it is so awful. Instead, I’ll leave you with one thought. In Game 5 of the Detroit series when the Hawks scored twice on the power play, they were rotating defensemen on the point. In other words, Seabrook would start on the right side but would rotate to the left for an easy one-timer and vice versa for Keith or Leddy. It’s actually kind of hockey 101. For an unbeknownst reason, the Hawks have stopped this rotation and Seabrook on the right point just sort of shuffles along the wall whenever the puck comes his way. The Hawks power play looks more like an assembly line as each player just moves down the line; instead of you know, rotating, moving or being unpredictable.
- I suppose it doesn’t matter what it looks like as the Hawks are a mere three wins away from lifting the chalice but this was certainly a goalie win. And unless Corey Crawford completely wets himself the rest of the way in or NHL players don’t head to Sochi, he will definitely be one of the three goalies for Team Canada next winter.
