[A] Karmatic Flair: CHI 4, PHX 3 (OT)

[Ton]

The Blackhawks pulled off the comeback, giving themselves home ice advantage if they can ring off the W's at home. This game was fairly eventful, or perhaps you can say unfairly eventful due to multiple factors.



If you were able to nail all the goal scorers for this game, we'd have to ask you if we can borrow your crystal ball for game three. Bryan Bickell kicked things off for the Blackhawks, but it's not the fact that he scored which was surprising, it was the fact that it was on the power-play. Unfortunately that is as far as the Blackhawks momentum would take them for the first period of the game as the Coyotes answered with two goals from Torres (boo this man) and a Vermette tip-in.



Bickell's first tally wasn't the most surprising one as Brandon Bollig... yes, Brandon Bollig, notched his first NHL goal with a shot that surprised Mike Smith. Heck, after Bollig scored he even surprised himself.



Later in the period Mike Smith put on a display that was a flair for the dramatic as he flopped to the ice after Andrew Shaw clipped his head. Smith milked it for everything he possibly could have. Although many will say if the tables were turned then the opinion would change; however, I've never seen Crawford fake injury that bad, even Luongo hasn't put up and act more than a minute or so unless he was leaving the game. The fact that Smith was on the ice for that long then got up and was ready to play after Shaw was thrown out made me lose all respect for him. If Crawford were to pull something like that I doubt very much I would change my opinion. Now if he was legitimately hurt and had to leave the game, I would agree with the 5 minute major but that was not the case.



Never-the-less, karma had started to brew for this Oscar performance even though the Coyotes scored on the ensuing 5-minute major (game misconduct) to put themselves ahead 3-2. At that point, Crawford had zoned himself in and stopped everything the Coyotes could put on him including several spectacular saves, one of them on Mikkel Boedker.



Just when it looked like Phoenix was about to take game two, Brent Seabrook was able to fire a puck that Patrick Sharp was able to deflect past an angry Mike Smith, who seemed to continue to build on his Oscar performance with another flair of dramatic pouting. Tie game, 5 seconds remaining in the game, anyone with flashbacks to 2010?



Here comes the overtime period, Corey Crawford makes an incredible toe stop that would make you're heart drop. Then, get this... Bryan Bickell scores his 2nd goal of the game (OT winner) to complete the karma train on Mike Smith.



It's finally a series. Only took two games this year!



BLACKHAWKS THREE STARS OF THE GAME



1. Bryan Bickell

2. Corey Crawford

3. Brent Seabrook



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[CLWolf81]

Dear Hawks fans,



**** Smith! **** these blind-ass refs!!!! That is all.



- Brian Bickell

 

[Pez68]

PLEASE LEAVE BRUNETTE IN PHOENIX! Thank you.

 

[dlrob315]

Hell yes! Never let those damn refs get in the way, take matters in your own hands.

 

[CLWolf81]

Its natural to leave him there. Hes old and useless ---- perfect for the golf course.

 

[mikita's helmet]

PLEASE LEAVE BRUNETTE IN PHOENIX! Thank you.

For such a slow skater, it was wonderful to see him go offside, twice, with Hossa and Kane bringing the puck in. Incredible.

 

[mikita's helmet]

Smith was going to shoot the puck to his right, changed his mind, turned directions. There was no way for Shaw to avoid him.



2 minutes GTI, at most.

 

[roshinaya]

Refs were out to **** the Hawks again. I hate to blame the refs, but there's now been three bad decisions by them that have lead to Phoenix goals. Mike Smith with the Academy Award winning embellishment. Shaw should have gotten a 2, not a fucking major and a misconduct. What a joke. NHL owning the Coyotes. NHL employing the officials. NHL wanting to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix. You do the math.



As for the Hawks game, I thought they looked better than the first game. Better cohesiveness all around. Were less moronic in their own zone. The PP delivered once, but the others were abysmal.

But how about the fight in this team. Second game in a row to tie it up in the dying seconds to force OT. Clutch as ****. If they can round out and improve their overall game and special teams, this team has that 'it' factor that wins championships. Another loss in OT could have been devastating, but a win is going to be a huge momentum builder going home with a tied series.



This loss probably hurt Phoenix more than it hurt Chicago to lose the first game. They were 5.5 seconds away from a 2-0 lead and are now going to face a clutch team in their own barn for the next two games. I like the Hawks chances.

 

[the canadian dream]

Craw was outstanding tonight again.



Im not getting into the shaw shit. I have my opinion regardless if smith exagerated it. My view wont be liked by the sounds of things. I think shaw needs to and had time to not go that agressive into him. Penalty was rightly called but smith did milk it for 5.



All that matters is hawks won.



All that matters right now is seabs plays it smart sharp breaks his lackluster play and bickell gives us scoring support. Bollig also with a nice release on his goal.



Kane played well at center. Hossa is mia still. Keith needs to put that game behind him. Brunnette is still a waste as a top 6. Toews still shaking rust. Hammer scares me sometimes. Stalbergs due to explode. Q got weird but at the end it worked with much thanks to crawford.



Please hossa wake up...i know you will.

 

[mikita's helmet]

Crawford shut down the Yotes with some incredible saves after the 5 minute BS PP.

 

[Mach29]

Awesome win, we needed it.



Keith needs help but hey, we move home with a split. Crawford is as good as we need for a real run.

 

[CLWolf81]

I have to admit, Craw saved the game from getting out of hand many times. The outcome could have been far worse had he not come through big for us down the stretch.



If anything, I think that call on Shaw might have woken up the sleeping giant.

 

[Pez68]

Craw was outstanding tonight again.



Im not getting into the shaw shit. I have my opinion regardless if smith exagerated it. My view wont be liked by the sounds of things. I think shaw needs to and had time to not go that agressive into him. Penalty was rightly called but smith did milk it for 5.



All that matters is hawks won.



All that matters right now is seabs plays it smart sharp breaks his lackluster play and bickell gives us scoring support. Bollig also with a nice release on his goal.



Kane played well at center. Hossa is mia still. Keith needs to put that game behind him. Brunnette is still a waste as a top 6. Toews still shaking rust. Hammer scares me sometimes. Stalbergs due to explode. Q got weird but at the end it worked with much thanks to crawford.



Please hossa wake up...i know you will.

You aren't getting into it, and then you comment on it.

Watch the replay and Shaw is looking at the puck the entire time. He's just trying to steal that puck from him, and the contact was incidental. His stick was on the ice the entire time.

 

[Mach29]

I hope the giant is awake, too much stress leaving it to the last 14 or 5 seconds.



Something I never see: how that little weasel Torres eludes a super good hit.

 

[roshinaya]

I'll also jump on the "Crawford saved the game" bandwagon. He has quietly elevated his game towards the end of the season and on so far in the playoffs. He did it in the series against the Canucks, so there is no reason he couldn't do it again. He makes the saves when needed and some of them are literal game savers.

 

[CLWolf81]

... especially that one in OT... Wow....

 

[Rex]

... especially that one in OT... Wow....

That was huge, but I was also thinking the glove save with 2 minutes left in regulation when down by a goal.

 

[EspoForever]

Refs were out to **** the Hawks again. I hate to blame the refs, but there's now been three bad decisions by them that have lead to Phoenix goals. Mike Smith with the Academy Award winning embellishment. Shaw should have gotten a 2, not a fucking major and a misconduct. What a joke. NHL owning the Coyotes. NHL employing the officials. NHL wanting to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix. You do the math.

Clearly a conflict of interest! The call on Toews was almost as big a joke as the call on Shaw...mrs smith the dominatrix of the academy awards hit Toews outside the crease not the other way around.



The Coyotes should be called the Phoenix Buttmans.

 

[the canadian dream]

The refs were not out to get the Hawks. When you go down that road you start sounding like a Canuck fan. I refuse to go down that road then turn around and start calling Canuck fans out for yapping about officials. Hawks had enough of pp time and a few penalties they got away with. So did the Yotes. I don't buy into the idea that because the Yotes are nhl owned that the league is going out of their way to favor them...not while watching the same shit going down in nearly every other series.



The call on Toews was bad no doubt about that but I have seen a bad call on almost every team these playoffs so far..it's not about the officials coming after the Hawks it's about the NHL officiating being poor league wide.



I said my bit abut the Shaw on Smith shit. Im not going deeper into it I believe the league stance is you are never allowed to put an shoulder into a goalie (which is what shaw did) wether its intentional or not. The same call would have been made had it been any Yotes player on Crawford (I agreed that it was embellished and that drew the larger penalty..but its still a penalty...it should have been 2). End of story. Wait and see what Shannaban says before flipping out. That is if he can get to that incident because saturday was filled with shit he is going to be looking at..something was in the air today around the nhl.



Anyways I prefer talking about our good goalkeeping rather than bicker about officiating like Canuck fans.Or talk about how the Hawks overcame the adversity because that is much more important.



Will be interesting to see how healthy the yotes are in game 3 because they did go down 2 important forwards tonight and who knows how vrbata is actually feeling. Yotes might feel some wear and tear early in this series.

 

[R K]

Wheres the dumb **** that wants to ***** about the goal tending. Yea.



Rosh I couldn't agree more. Three fucked calls, three goals against, in both games could have cost the Hawks the W. NHL is in question here no doubt about it. Score more than they do or the NHL will keep the in the series any way they can.



Game #1 the TMM, the 6th guy clearly played the puck. Is called 99.9999999% of the time, no question.



Game #2, Smith CLEARLY interferes with Toews, Toews given the GTI, PP goal against.



Shaw CLEARLY trys to avoid Smith, who CHANGED HIS DIRCTION, then laid on the ICE waiting for the CALL to be made, then went back into his net. Another PP goal against.



Sorry but that's pretty fucked for all to be in TWO GAMES! NHL?