Game 7 IGT: Blues @ Blackhawks 4/23 at 7:30 p.m.

[clonetrooper264]

I was already sad...and then Ares made it worse

 

[The Hawk]

Agree with all of this. The call of Panik was questionable because the puck was being scuttled on the boards right behind the Blues player...to call interference on that while allowing numerous open-ice hits away from the play earlier in the game was mind-blowing. But as you said, the Hawks' "margin of error" this year was miniscule. Earlier in the game Kane clearly had his stick held on a great chance in front of the net...you could see it in real time...but it was just one of a few great chances Kane had and didn't convert. You can't really point to one missed call and ignore the other 3-4 quality chances the Hawks just simply didn't convert. Here are my thoughts on the overall series:

*People made a lot out of the Blues "folding" and their lack of playoff success, but I don't think it was ever a factor. If anything, it was the Hawks who let the Blues back into games, when in seasons past the Hawks would have stepped on their throat and finished the deal. I didn't think this Hawks team was as strong as last year's...but maybe that is just stating the obvious.

*The Hawks missed Oduya. They went from having four defensemen to having three defensemen. I think the fact that none of the other defensemen stepped up to become a legit NHL regular would have end up costing the Hawks later in the playoffs had they beaten the Blues...it probably would have cost them against Dallas the next round. That's why I am not super disappointed that the Hawks lost Game 7...the Blues were a good team, and the Hawks looked tired in the 1st round.

*In terms of "goonishness", I saw much worse in years' past from the Flyers, Red Wings, Ducks, Coyotes, and even Canucks. The Blues didn't really do all that much. I thought Backes was on good behavior. Brouwer was a putz, but it was mostly after-the-whistle stuff. I was amazed that Ott saw so much ice time, and the refs let him get away with murder. I remember Hitchcock actually had him face off against Toews...which would be like Paul Newman inserting the Hanson line into the game...yet the refs allowed Ott to grab Toews, put Toews in a headlock, peel Toews' helmet off, and take Toews down to the ice. No call. This is still the most puzzling aspect of the NHL to me.

*Some of the young Hawk forwards had great regular seasons, but I would trade all of them to have Saad back for the postseason. He was such a huge factor in last year's Cup run...a physical guy who could create his own openings. Hossa is really the only guy on the roster who can do that. Ladd is not that type of player.

*Not a very 'characteristic' Hawk series. Lots of defensive turnovers, the Hawks never really "put away" a game, Toews and Kane combined for 1 goal IIRC. I don't know if the Blues 'outplayed' the Hawks, but I don't think you can say the Hawks deserved to win the series.

*My biggest disappointment is how the final Blues goal was scored. Brouwer looked Special person. He whiffed on the shot...he whiffed trying to kick the puck in...then he finally got his stick to touch the puck and score. Crawford was like an NHL 96 goalie...somehow drifting diagonally backwards out of the crease the entire time.

*My 2nd biggest disappointment is if that was Andrew Shaw's last game for the Blackhawks. Not the best or the brightest, but I empathize with him the most. When I'm watching the game and feel like jumping into my TV to try to beat up a Blues player, Shaw actually does it. When I am bitching at the refs, Shaw actually does it. When I call a Blues player a derogatory *** slur while my wife disapproves, Shaw actually does it. Love that guy.

Great post, Rory! I thought that the officiating was bad in this game. They didn't call blatant Blues penalties that could have made a big difference in the game. ANd I agree with you, I love Shaw. He is like Rodman when he played in the NBA, in that he is a guy you love on your team and hate when he is somewhere else. He also has some pretty good skill that doesn't get mentioned enough. They have to keep this guy.

My take is that they need to continue the rebuild of this team and they absolutely need at least one two way defenseman, preferably two.

IT was a good even series and the Blues showed their mettle and deserved the win. I have always felt that hockey play-offs are the toughest play-offs in sports and has the most even teams of any sport. IT is very VERY tough to repeat and maybe the Hawks just didn't get the breaks that they could have. A double post non goal was the big bad break in this game, otherwise the Hawks win it. Lets see what Bowman does in the off-season.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Trading Hossa for a high pick...wow. No rebuilding team is going to give up a high pick for Hossa. The Blackhawks would never get equal value in return by trading Hossa. Quoting a regular season stat line for Hossa is equally wow...one, Hossa's value is not merely statistical, two, Hossa's main value is in the postseason. I would guess that if the Blackhawks want to win the Cup next year, they'll let Hossa hang around.

Do you think he's going to be in the Indian head until the end of his deal?
Wow.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

I thought you were talking about the Hawks trading Hossa this offseason. I had no idea you were talking about Hossa being an UFA in 2022. Must be a misunderstanding on my part. Mea Culpa.

I think if a deal is in place, you can pull the trigger if it makes this team more defensively sound. Yes, he's a good defensive winger, and I'd love to see him get number 500 in a Hawks sweater, but time will tell.
His possession numbers are still pretty good, although they were not so hot this playoffs (we'll never know if he was playing injured and to what degree).

Eventually this team or another will "Pronger" him when the time comes.

 

[MassHavoc]

I think if a deal is in place, you can pull the trigger if it makes this team more defensively sound. Yes, he's a good defensive winger, and I'd love to see him get number 500 in a Hawks sweater, but time will tell.
His possession numbers are still pretty good, although they were not so hot this playoffs (we'll never know if he was playing injured and to what degree).

Eventually this team or another will "Pronger" him when the time comes.

All Hail Dale?

 

[DMelt36]

Outside of Campbell, the UFA class of defensemen this year is largely garbage. And Campbell is 36, so there's no guarantee he'll be at the same level of play next year.

Obviously the best way to cure this No. 4 D-man problem would be to find a solution within the organization. I'm not ruling out Gustafsson as a future solution to that problem, but he's still very inexperienced and would probably be better served in a 5/6 role next year (along with TVR, I'd think).

So the other option would be a trade. I think the Hawks have some legit pieces to work with in terms of prospects, although they're running low on draft picks after the last trade deadline. Of course it's a matter of finding the right piece to solve the puzzle without giving up too much in return. Bowman sorta swung and missed at the deadline this year but I'm not really worried about him.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Daley and Oduya enjoying the next round.

 

[mikita's helmet]

Do you think he's going to be in the Indian head until the end of his deal?
Wow.

Ottawa could be a place for Hossa to go and end his career there.

 

[DMelt36]

Daley and Oduya enjoying the next round.

And Stephen Johns.

 

[MassHavoc]

Outside of Campbell, the UFA class of defensemen this year is largely garbage. And Campbell is 36, so there's no guarantee he'll be at the same level of play next year.

Obviously the best way to cure this No. 4 D-man problem would be to find a solution within the organization. I'm not ruling out Gustafsson as a future solution to that problem, but he's still very inexperienced and would probably be better served in a 5/6 role next year (along with TVR, I'd think).

So the other option would be a trade. I think the Hawks have some legit pieces to work with in terms of prospects, although they're running low on draft picks after the last trade deadline. Of course it's a matter of finding the right piece to solve the puzzle without giving up too much in return. Bowman sorta swung and missed at the deadline this year but I'm not really worried about him.

I'm a little worried with them bringing Runsbad back for the playoffs they still have hopes that he's the answer. I'm hoping the ship has sailed.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Tough loss but not as heart breaking as Game 7 against the Kings in 2014. Look, we won the Cup in 2013, played in Game 7 of the Conference Finals in 2014, and won the Cup in 2015. Can we cut our guys some slack? They look exhausted from three brutally long Cup runs.

We played with two and a half D-men (Seabrook was so gassed at times he could hardly skate) and constantly shot ourselves in the foot with terrible penalties at the worst times.

The Blues are annoying as hell and I doubt they win the Cup - but they are good team. We'll be back next year for a long playoff run. This core will get one more Cup. There is no way Toews, Kane, Keith, etc are finished.

Let's see what Dale can do this summer. Maybe we'll get a couple of ring chasers. We're going to be a good team for several more years.

 

[Ares]

Tough loss but not as heart breaking as Game 7 against the Kings in 2014. Look, we won the Cup in 2013, played in Game 7 of the Conference Finals in 2014, and won the Cup in 2015. Can we cut our guys some slack? They look exhausted from three brutally long Cup runs.

We played with two and a half D-men (Seabrook was so gassed at times he could hardly skate) and constantly shot ourselves in the foot with terrible penalties at the worst times.

The Blues are annoying as hell and I doubt they win the Cup - but they are good team. We'll be back next year for a long playoff run. This core will get one more Cup. There is no way Toews, Kane, Keith, etc are finished.

Let's see what Dale can do this summer. Maybe we'll get a couple of ring chasers. We're going to be a good team for several more years.

I think Seabrook was injured, not just tired.

All he did was wince in pain last night every time the camera was on him while he was on the ice.

Blues are gonna get their teeth kicked in by the Stars.

 

[DMelt36]

Blues are gonna get their teeth kicked in by the Stars.

The Stars barely beat a Wild team that didn't have its best player (and only legit offensive threat) for the entire series. I think the Blues will be the ones doing the teeth-kicking.

But then they'll probably get blasted by the Sharks, who looked damn impressive in handling the Kings in five games.

 

[Ares]

The Stars barely beat a Wild team that didn't have its best player (and only legit offensive threat) for the entire series. I think the Blues will be the ones doing the teeth-kicking.

But then they'll probably get blasted by the Sharks, who looked damn impressive in handling the Kings in five games.

Nah, Sharpie, Oduya, Johns, and Niemi gonna get revenge for us.... Stars will handle them, mark my words.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

Let's see what Dale can do this summer. Maybe we'll get a couple of ring chasers. We're going to be a good team for several more years.

Florida is going to eat more cap for the Hawks?

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

The Stars barely beat a Wild team that didn't have its best player (and only legit offensive threat) for the entire series. I think the Blues will be the ones doing the teeth-kicking.

But then they'll probably get blasted by the Sharks, who looked damn impressive in handling the Kings in five games.

Take away the 12 game win streak, the Hawks were basically the Wild.
I somewhat agree on the deep playoff runs maybe gassing these guys brought up by DJ, but that's why these guys are in Chicago-- to continually compete every year. They were a couple of bounces away from meeting the Stars this year and a horrible offsides call in '14 from meeting the Rangers.

 

[DMelt36]

Take away the 12 game win streak, the Hawks were basically the Wild.
I somewhat agree on the deep playoff runs maybe gassing these guys brought up by DJ, but that's why these guys are in Chicago-- to continually compete every year. They were a couple of bounces away from meeting the Stars this year and a horrible offsides call in '14 from meeting the Rangers.

And they would've crushed the Rangers, too.

So, so damn close man. That's what is simultaneously euphoric and infuriating about this game. And it's why I can't ever look away in the playoffs.

Also, it's about 14 hours after the fact and this loss still sucks so I wrote this article for CCS about it. Give it a click if you're bored at work like me.

 

[Tater]

And they would've crushed the Rangers, too.

So, so damn close man. That's what is simultaneously euphoric and infuriating about this game. And it's why I can't ever look away in the playoffs.

Also, it's about 14 hours after the fact and this loss still sucks so I wrote this article for CCS about it. Give it a click if you're bored at work like me.

Am I missing something? All I saw in that link was the one paragraph.

 

[DMelt36]

Am I missing something? All I saw in that link was the one paragraph.

Should be a whole article there ... it's showing up on my end.

 

[Tater]

Should be a whole article there ... it's showing up on my end.

Hmmm, all I see is one paragraph from you and then a tweet from Mark Lazerus.