Let me start this morning’s blog with a hearty congratulations to the Flames and their fans. They have proven to be all the Hawks can handle. And it’s turning in to a great series.
What a difference last night in terms of the officiating. Wow. I thought the refs and the teams had everything under control, and it was a hard fought, tough game, end-to-end. And horn to horn.
The Flames have to feel good that they held serve and won games over a team they were heretofore 0-6 against. And they have to feel good about their chances to win one in Chicago.
That said, although the Hawks clearly would prefer to have won last night, I think they have some things to build on for Game 5. And I think they can still have a lot of confidence.
Here’s why:
Playoff beards versus playoff stubble. Literally, there’s a lot of gray (‘grey’ to my Canadian friends) in the Flames’ playoff beards. They were banged up coming in to the series and it’s getting worse apparently. As a good friend and former boss once said to me: “Jake, Experience is an ornate hairbrush Nature gives us once we have already gone bald.” The Hawks are healthier. They were faster and fresher to begin with. Over the back end of a grueling 7-game series, legs and endurance could play a huge factor.
Home Ice. OK, this is from the Department of “No Duh.” But I believe the anger aroused in Game 3 is going to have a transformative effect on a packed United Center in Game 5. For the last couple of seasons, up until now, the atmosphere at the UC has almost been a big welcome home party for fans: a trip down nostalgia road with alumni appearances, a great multi-media salute to Hawk tradition and a fun, young team to watch on the ice. I, like some of the other graybeards who visit here, remember the Blackhawk-Bruin rivalry of the late 60’s and early 70’s and the power and emotion of the crowds packed into the Old Barn on cold, winter nights. It meant something. The Flames have encountered hostile crowds in Edmonton (and elsewhere) for years. All I’ll say is this, the crowd in the UC for Game 5 is going to feel a lot more like a Soldier Field crowd than a Wrigley Field crowd— for the first time in a long time.
The Comeback. It was remarkable for a number of reasons. First, it again shows how the Hawks can blitzkrieg an opponent (although they failed to finish—more on that in a second). Second, it again demonstrates the control Joel Quenneville has over this team; he calls a timeout, they’re reeling, down 4-1. Boom. They’re back in it. Third, the Pahlsson line really came together last night. With Kane back, that’s bad news for the Flames. The Hawks have three legitimate scoring lines that I’m not sure they had at the beginning of the series.
The Worm will probably turn. The Hawks had some tough breaks in Calgary. A lot of posts and crossbars in Game 3. A horrible turnover due to bad ice in Game 4 that led to a devastating goal. And, let me be clear on this: I do not believe the hand pass on Calgary’s fifth goal really made a difference. But it was a hand pass and the rules are the rules. I have absolutely no idea what the TSN announcers were looking at when they said that puck hit Havlat on the way down. That observation simply defied the rules of time and space. It was a good two feet from him. And I’ll leave my comments on Pierre Maguire’s coverage at that. (Insert thanks to Flames fans for pointing out a bonehead comment I made in an earlier version of this blog post).
Now, all that said, the Flames have a good shot. They have some momentum. They will not fold. And if they win Game 5, it’s their series to lose. Still:
Character, character, character. Dale Tallon has been talking about it for five years. Although Toews, Kane, Barker, Bolland et al don’t have the playoff experience, they are proven big game players at all levels they have competed at.
Game 5 is a big, big game.
A FEW OBSERVATIONS:
On the plus side. I thought Brian Campbell had a pretty good game last night, especially during the comeback. And Niklas Hjalmarsson is a warrior, folks. Listen, he’s going to have some rough patches, but a 20 year-old does not handle Todd Bertuzzi like that very often, if ever. He also got under Iggy’s skin too, apparently. Add to that he can move and has some skill. Regardless of the outcome of the series or the playoffs, he’s another big piece of the puzzle for the next decade, and no one expected it.
On the down side. Keith and Seabrook were both -3. They need to play better. I also feel that Khabibulin has overall been pretty shaky in the series. A lot of big rebounds and a softie last night that really, really hurt. He was great in Game 2. But has he really come up big in this series, like, say, Henrik Lundqvist has for New York, or Osgood has for Detroit? The answer is no.
I thought last night, Quenneville could have gone to Huet when the Hawks were down 4-1. And I do believe, if the Hawks lose Game 5, and Khabibulin isn’t better in that game than he was in Games 3 and 4, then he should go with Huet.
We will discuss the Huet situation at some length in future blogs. Obviously, it impacts the larger free agency/roster picture for next year. Regardless, he can win big playoff games. And when he’s really on, he’s well nigh unbeatable. It might be a roll of the dice, not to mention a nod to the future, Quenneville needs to make if the Hawks go down 3-2 in the series.
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