[A] Blackhawks Facts: Gearing Up For the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals

[Ton]

Typically I would do this a bit differently, but considering the Blackhawks have not faced the Bruins at all in 2013, I'm just going to have to go by what each team has accomplished in the playoffs so far. Take what you will from it, just know these are the facts.

<span style='font-size: 14px;'><strong class='bbc'>BLACKHAWKS LINE MATCHING[/b]</span> — Stats during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs<ul class='bbcol decimal'>[*]Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa have 16 goals and 21 assists (37 points) along with a plus-16 rating.[*]Bryan Bickell, Michal Handzus, Patrick Kane have 16 goals and 20 assists (36 points) along with a plus-16 rating.[*]Brandon Saad, Dave Bolland, Andrew Shaw have 4 goals and 8 assists (12 points) along with a minus-7 rating.[*]Brandon Bollig (first appearance), Marcus Kruger, Michael Frolik have 5 goals and 4 assists (9 points) along with a minus-1 rating.[/list]<span style='font-size: 14px;'><strong class='bbc'>BRUINS LINE MATCHING [/b]</span>— Stats during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs<ul class='bbcol decimal'>[*]Milan Lucic, David Krejci, Nathan Horton have 19 goals and 32 assists (51 points) along with a plus-48 rating.[*]Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Jaroir Jagr have 9 goals and 22 assists (31 points) along with a plus-12 rating.[*]Kaspars Daugavins, Rich Peverly, Tyler Seguin have 2 goals and 3 assists (5 points) along with a minus-5 rating.[*]Dan Paille, Chris Kelly, Shawn Thornton have 2 goals and 7 assists (9 points) along with a plus-1 rating.[/list]<span style='font-size: 14px;'><strong class='bbc'>BREAKING DOWN THE D[/b]</span>

It's no secret that the Boston Bruins have had a lot of production come from their defense. It all starts with <strong class='bbc'>Zdeno Chara[/b], with two goals, nine assists, and a plus-12 rating, he leads a very productive and physically imposing defense. <strong class='bbc'>Johnny Boychuk[/b] and <strong class='bbc'>Torey Krug[/b] have produced at a torrid pace with nine goals between the both of them — that's three more goals than the entire Blackhawks defense has scored combined. All-in-all, the Bruins backend has filled the net 15 times in the 2013 Playoffs (assisted 20 times), proving that the Blackhawks have to respect the threat they impose on the point. All of this is not for a lack of defensive ability, the entire Boston core combined has stayed wildly positive with a plus-38 during their run, with <strong class='bbc'>Matt Bartkowski[/b] as the only player on the team with a minus rating.

For the Blackhawks, <strong class='bbc'>Duncan Keith[/b] leads the team with identical production to Chara (two goals and nine assists) the only difference is that he carries a plus-6 rating. Although not as potent as the Bruins, the Blackhawks have had a fair amount of production coming from the defense with six goals and 21 assists spread throughout the defensive core. Again, although the numbers are not as dominating as the Bruins, the Blackhawks defense has put together a plus-20 combined to complement their offensive numbers.

<span style='font-size: 14px;'><strong class='bbc'>TALE OF TWO TENDERS[/b]</span>
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<strong class='bbc'>Career vs. BOS[/b]
GP: 2
Record: 0-1-1
GAA: 2.40
SV%: 93.0
</div><div style="float:left; padding:10px;"><span style='font-size: 18px;'><strong class='bbc'>Corey Crawford[/b] #50</span>
Height: 6-2
Weight: 203
Catches: Left
Age: 28
From: Canada

<strong class='bbc'>2013 Playoffs[/b]
Games Played: 17
Record: 12-5-1
Shutouts: 1
Goals Against Average: 1.74
Save Percentage: 93.5
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<strong class='bbc'>Career vs. CHI[/b]
GP: 1
Record: 0-0-0
GAA: 2.00
SV%: 91.7</div><div style="float:left; padding:10px;"><span style='font-size: 18px;'><strong class='bbc'>Tuukka Rask[/b] #40 </span>
Height: 6-3
Weight: 185
Catches: Left
Age: 26
From: Finland

<strong class='bbc'>2013 Playoffs[/b]
Games Played: 16
Record: 12-4-1
Shutouts: 2
Goals Against Average: 1.75
Save Percentage: 94.3
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Each goaltender has been absolutely exceptional for their respective teams in the postseason. <strong class='bbc'>Tuukka Rask[/b]'s performance in the Eastern Conference Finals may earn him a Conn Smythe regardless of whether or not he wins this series, but <strong class='bbc'>Corey Crawford[/b] is under strong consideration as well. It's safe to say that neither team would be in the Stanley Cup Finals today without these goaltenders.

<span style='font-size: 14px;'><strong class='bbc'>ROUTE TO THE STANLEY CUP[/b]</span><ul class='bbc'>[*]<strong class='bbc'>Bryan Bickell[/b] tops his previous career-high in goals (2) on May 7th vs. the Minnesota Wild. He is currently tied for the team lead (Sharp) with eight goals.[*]The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Minnesota Wild in the Western Conference Quarter-finals with a 4-1 record.[*]<strong class='bbc'>Jonathan Toews[/b] finally scores his first goal of the playoffs 10 games into the playoffs vs. the Detroit Red Wings.[*]<strong class='bbc'>Michael Frolik[/b] made history when he scored on his 2nd penalty shot in the playoffs vs. the Detroit Red Wings, becoming the only player in NHL history to accomplish the feat twice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The goal also stood as the game-winner.[*]<strong class='bbc'>Brent Seabrook[/b] scored his first career series clinching overtime goal in Game 7 vs. the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Semi-finals.[*]The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Semi-finals with a 4-3 record.[*]<strong class='bbc'>Patrick Kane[/b] recorded his 1st career hat trick/game-winner in Game 5 vs. the Los Angeles Kings to advance the Blackhawks in the series. He previously recorded a playoff hat trick in 2009 vs. the Vancouver Canucks.[*]The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Finals with a 4-1 record.[/list]<span style='font-size: 14px;'><strong class='bbc'>FUN FACTS[/b]</span><ul class='bbc'>[*]Out of the four teams the Blackhawks have faced in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, three of them have won a Stanley Cup in the last five years (Detroit, Boston, Los Angeles). Considering the Blackhawks won one of those Cups, that is fairly impressive. Boston has faced two of the last five Cup winners (Pittsburgh, Chicago).[*]This is the first time that the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks are meeting in the Stanley Cup Final. Two original six teams have not met in the Finals since 1979 between the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers.[*]The Bruins hold a 5-1 series record vs. the Chicago Blackhawks. Both teams last met in 1978, which Boston swept Chicago.[*]This will mark Chicago's 12th appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.[/list]



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[Mach29]

Welcome info. We don't look anything more than even with them, guess that's why Las Vegas has us where we are.</p>


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If Vancouver, a team that has a reasonable amount of skill and speed, can take Boston seven games we can too.</p>


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Just want a better 7th.</p>