I admit I was way off in predicting the score of game 1. . But all the good feelings we had after game 1 will be gone if we lose game 2. You have to figure the wings will be a lot better at home. We need to win tomorrow. I hate early saturday games. Can see them coming out flat
- tomcat24

ya know....if you keep predicting they will come out flat sooner or later you will be right

The Wings will be on an all out attack tomorrow for sure.

The Hawks have a couple secret weapons... Toews and Kane... you know... those guys who have yet to score in the playoffs? You can bank on a solid effort from the Wings as much as those guys finally coming to life and scoring some clutch goals.

Kane's mullet in full effect again... fear the mullet! http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/ty_cam/51579/

JJ...no intention to "bash" any goalie really. Just sarcastically pointing out that goal tenders that have been praised and lauded also fail on occasion...and those failures can turn out to be costly, and Anderson butchered one of Crosby's shots tonight.

I don't believe Crawford is anything more than a solid NHL goalie, currently playing on a Hawks club with an outstanding defense (which includes Oduya Phil ). If Craw is in net for a Cup winner he'll enter a different realm. Until then...well we all wait and watch.

Question for ya JJ...are you suggesting that Ottawa has a poor defense overall, or just tonight's game? Because if I'm not mistaken the Sens finished ONE goal behind the Hawks for the Jennings, and it was a lack of scoring that slowed them down.
- ArlingtonRob

If you remember Rob, i was LOVING Oduya last year after he was acquired...and then his performance in the playoffs SHOCKED me and many others here.

He's a tremendous athlete. Said that many times, but he is an experienced vet now and cannot throw pucks into our own slot at any point in the game. He did late in game 1. NOT ACCEPTABLE.

JJ...i know you like Andy and picked the Sens...but the 2nd goal smelled worse than this dude


- philco28

Hi Phil...I had to run to work and didn't even realize that Anderson was pulled for Lehner. Quick look at the stats tells me Pitts has too much offensive punch for the Sens. Series hangs on game 3...can the Sens use home ice to find some momentum? If not, the series could end quick.

If you remember Rob, i was LOVING Oduya last year after he was acquired...and then his performance in the playoffs SHOCKED me and many others here.

He's a tremendous athlete. Said that many times, but he is an experienced vet now and cannot throw pucks into our own slot at any point in the game. He did late in game 1. NOT ACCEPTABLE.
- philco28

I know, I know...that TO has you very put off.

I know, I know...that TO has you very put off.
- ArlingtonRob

Thought the Sens would be better...they fought hard tonight...but too little too late. Like the move to yank Andy. McLean showing good judgement to protect his starter's confidence.

As for Oduya...sorry dude...yeah it does put me off...because STUPIDITY like that loses games. The boys work too hard to lose on mental errors by anyone.

Saad has played in all situations for at least half the year! Not that he has deserved to but he was hustling all year long creating penalties and got rewarded by Q... Victor should look in the mirror, he has had no one but himself to blame for the last 3 years!!!! Was on the first line for a spell years ago and could not finish. Love his speed, but usually that is all he has!
- moots

Stalberg had substantially more goals last year on the 1st line than Saad was on pace to have this year. All speed no finish indeed. Why would Stalberg blame anything on the last 3 years? He's become an incredible solid puck possession guy, half a point a game, incredible speed; there have been more games this year where Stalberg stood out this year than Saad to me, and it hasn't even really been close. Stop saying he can't score (this is directed at everybody)

Also, teams should stop taking penalties against the Penguins, its not like they have the puck all the time, and are deadly on the PP and mediocre at evens

On stalberg: wtf if he did go to kompon with his concerns/gripes/whatever? He went to the appropriate coach privately, not run around the locker room spreading poison. This is incredible, and we all know that there ARE double standards with Q.

I'm not getting all the condescension and backhanded "compliments" towards CC here. The guy is leading or in the top 2-3 in just about every category in the playoffs. Anderson has a crap game with 2 softies, so it is somehow appropriate to defend him by criticizing CC? I just don't get it. It's almost as if some of you guys are actually DISAPPOINTED that CC hasn't screwed up and cost us games.

ya know....if you keep predicting they will come out flat sooner or later you will be right
- UnnamedSource

Exactly. And that day will be tomorrow early afternoon. Or not. But seriously, winning tomorrow would be huge. I just can't see detroit winning 4 of the last 5 if we win tomorrow. But, tied 1-1 going back to the joe would make things a lot more difficult. I wonder how san jose comes out tomorrow night? That was a real hard way to lose game 2

Stalberg had substantially more goals last year on the 1st line than Saad was on pace to have this year. All speed no finish indeed. Why would Stalberg blame anything on the last 3 years? He's become an incredible solid puck possession guy, half a point a game, incredible speed; there have been more games this year where Stalberg stood out this year than Saad to me, and it hasn't even really been close. Stop saying he can't score (this is directed at everybody)
- rollpards19

Stalberg was given every chance to succeed the last 2 year's. This year I think they didn't want to pump up his #'s with first line time cause of his contract situation. If he did it on the 3rd line they would live with the consequence's...Stalberg is 27 years old Saad is 20..Big difference... It's all speed with Stals! Kane gave him a lot of open looks last year that he couldn't bury um'.. He should have had 30 or more with those chances...I wonder how good or bad Saad will be when he is 27!!!

NBC wants saturday afternoon playoff hockey so it shall be.

I don't like them either, I always think the routine change with these almost mornng games work against one of the teams.

I have a tremedous respect for Coach Babcock and his team, and think they could make this series a whole lot closer if they score one early.

I think you may see Drew Miller back sooner than expected.

Even though the game one score was closer for most of the game, the hawks seemed to have numbers whatever zone they were in. That might have been the most one sided puck possession Cup game I have ever seen.

The hawsk swarmed to the pucks and frustration built up for the Wings with their inability to get to carriers, the wall pucks or the loose ones inside.
The hawks success was a result of some really hard work, and everyone better have early wake up calls and be ready to do the same in the afternoon.

I think that the Detriot defensemen played like they were over-matched, and they will need to create time for themselves with quicker outlets.
It seems difficult to imagine those wing defenders looking for the stretch or chipping and chasing around pinching Hawk dee-men, because that is going to require one of the wing forwards to pull "Malkin duty", where that forward never actually does any covering in their defensive zone. The wings need numbesr to get some of those pucks to start to generate breakouts, or the results will look very much like Wednesday.

I agree there should be lots of contact in this next one by virtue of the last one.

Oh, and no matter what our opinions on the Stalberg media frenzy, no one can deny that Stalberg is a better player now than the one we got in a trade to fill a vacated roster spot.

Rob, there seems to be an undercurrent in your posts, bashing Niemi, now Andersson. Is it that Corey Crawford is an unappreciated wunderkind? Because if it is, understand, this defense is making two average goalies look very good. If Crawford played behind Ottawa's defense? Oy gevalt. He'd fall apart like a Yugo with 150K miles.
- John Jaeckel

So if Nabokov (pretty avg goalie) is in net for the hawks he owns a 1.27 GA and and 950 save %?

Nice strawman...no one is saying CC is a wunderkind....but if he allows Crosbys 2nd goal; you might be just arguing crawfords "soft" goal costs hawks.

Stalberg had substantially more goals last year on the 1st line than Saad was on pace to have this year. All speed no finish indeed. Why would Stalberg blame anything on the last 3 years? He's become an incredible solid puck possession guy, half a point a game, incredible speed; there have been more games this year where Stalberg stood out this year than Saad to me, and it hasn't even really been close. Stop saying he can't score (this is directed at everybody)
- rollpards19

And Saad had 10 goals on 98 shots this year and Victor had 21 goals on 215 shots last year with the same shooting % as Saad this year! Almost no difference, except Saad plays in all situations...And to answer wiz comment Stals is way better then when he first got here, no doubt about that! Most likely to little to late.. Would love to see him get hot before he leaves for more money!

JJ...no intention to "bash" any goalie really. Just sarcastically pointing out that goal tenders that have been praised and lauded also fail on occasion...and those failures can turn out to be costly, and Anderson butchered one of Crosby's shots tonight.

I don't believe Crawford is anything more than a solid NHL goalie, currently playing on a Hawks club with an outstanding defense (which includes Oduya Phil ). If Craw is in net for a Cup winner he'll enter a different realm. Until then...well we all wait and watch.

Question for ya JJ...are you suggesting that Ottawa has a poor defense overall, or just tonight's game? Because if I'm not mistaken the Sens finished ONE goal behind the Hawks for the Jennings, and it was a lack of scoring that slowed them down.
- ArlingtonRob

yep...they do...but C2...nah he is just some average stiff that happens to play for a great defensive team...gotta stay with the narrative rob....

Stalberg was given every chance to succeed the last 2 year's. This year I think they didn't want to pump up his #'s with first line time cause of his contract situation. If he did it on the 3rd line they would live with the consequence's...Stalberg is 27 years old Saad is 20..Big difference... It's all speed with Stals! Kane gave him a lot of open looks last year that he couldn't bury um'.. He should have had 30 or more with those chances...I wonder how good or bad Saad will be when he is 27!!!
- moots

I don't buy much (or any) of this story about Stalberg beefing to Kompon about no PP time. I think Q wants a 3rd line vs Detroit of Bolland/Bickell/Shaw and Viktor is the odd man out, mainly because of defensive shortcomings that Q thinks Detroit could exploit. Period and end of story.

At some point in the series Q can unleash #25 and let him use his speed to put more heat on Detroit's defencemen.

And right now, Saad has little or no finish around the net either. He could have had 2 or 3 himself in Game 1.

I think stalberg will sign an overpriced contract in the off season somewhere else and life will go on here.

I don't buy much (or any) of this story about Stalberg beefing to Kompon about no PP time. I think Q wants a 3rd line vs Detroit of Bolland/Bickell/Shaw and Viktor is the odd man out, mainly because of defensive shortcomings that Q thinks Detroit could exploit. Period and end of story.

At some point in the series Q can unleash #25 and let him use his speed to put more heat on Detroit's defencemen.

And right now, Saad has little or no finish around the net either. He could have had 2 or 3 himself in Game 1.
- RickJ

All signs point for me that the decsion to bench Stalberg had little to do with his on ice performance...

But Q. can get by in this series with Carcillo playing 4-5 minutes a game....At least for now.

How long Handzus can play with a sore back and adding little to the offensive production on the 2nd line is a bigger question for me??

On Twttter@AlCimaglia

Hi Phil...I had to run to work and didn't even realize that Anderson was pulled for Lehner. Quick look at the stats tells me Pitts has too much offensive punch for the Sens. Series hangs on game 3...can the Sens use home ice to find some momentum? If not, the series could end quick.
- ArlingtonRob

The Sens have absolutely no chance with Anderson playing as he is....Looked really bad.

HATE, HATE these afternoon starts. Seabs is usually hangin' like an elephant's trunk come puck drop. We usually seem to be sluggish...at least that's my short term recall.

Detroit will come harder for sure. Hope we be aggressive but also stay away from risky pinches by our d. Detroit is too skilled to allow too many odd man rushes. Let our forwards do their job, win puck battles and create pressure. Let the D stay back and protect our zone.

Which Oduya shows up ? The guy who sniped the timely GWG or the Deep Dish deliveryman ?
- philco28

If the Hawks win the Cup we will be talking a lot about Roszival/Oduya because they will be a big reason why...

He's a very good goalie. 35 shots in two periods and no one stopped Crosby getting to the net. Crawford's given up two softer goals in these playoffs, in about 1/2 to 2/3 as many shots per game.

Ottawa isn't IN the 2nd round without Anderson. Crawford has played well thus far behind the league's best defense. Almost an apples to oranges comparison.
- John Jaeckel

Ottawa can't come close to beating Pitt without Anderson displaying an A+ effort....I think the Hawks could beat anyone left in the playoffs with a very good Crawford...He doesn't have to bring an A+ effort every night.

Like I said before if Crawford has to be the best Blackhawks every game...This team is not constructed as intended.

Tough to compare a well seasoned Anderson, with any goalie in their third year.

On Twitter@AlCimaglia

My buddy is getting married tomorrow and the wedding ceremony/reception starts at ... 12:00 p.m.-4p.m.

Here's how a conversation went down between my buddy Mike, wife, and me.

Mike, "Dude! I actually have unlimited data on my phone and I have the NBC sports package where I can stream the game live off of my phone"

Me, "Great! We can watch the game during the reception"

Mike's wife, "Sweetheart, are you actually going to do that? Isn't that tacky?"

Mike, "You do realize that the groom probably will be at our table watching it as well, right? We're going to be the most popular table there. Yes. Really. I'm doing this"


- CaptainBlackhawk

Same situation by me...I finally get a nice 7:00p.m.game, no waking up at 2:00am etc.....BUUUUUUT.......girlfriend celebrating her b-day...bar b q style...her family my family....Sooooo I'm probably gonna miss the game,and she will not happy that I'm going to be checking my phone every 5min to see what the score is
Oh well, I tried to explain to her what the NFL season, and the NHL playoffs mean to me

Rob, there seems to be an undercurrent in your posts, bashing Niemi, now Andersson. Is it that Corey Crawford is an unappreciated wunderkind? Because if it is, understand, this defense is making two average goalies look very good. If Crawford played behind Ottawa's defense? Oy gevalt. He'd fall apart like a Yugo with 150K miles.
- John Jaeckel

Nice one JJ...2 of the funniest things I have memories of Yugo's about:

1.)Die Hard 3 when Bruce Willis and Samuel L. jackson hot wire a Yugo, and Samuel L Jackson complains about the speed of the car And then Bruce Willis explains that it is a car made for good mileage and not speed Worst thing is, when comparing gas prices here and in the states,a Yugo isn't even a gas saver here,so it was hardly economic

2.)I was a big Toni Kukoc fan as a kid...until I realized no defense, no rebounding etc...waste of talent...Anyways, after Krause paid big bucks for him, paying him even more than Pippen,and the. Pip and Mj tore him apart at the Olympics one Jay Mariotti(hate him but this was funny) had a quote in his article,that Jerry Krause paid Rolls Royce money for a Yugo

Nice read JJ. While Stalberg may have voiced some displeasure about TOI etc., my take on Stalberg is that he is sitting on the sidelines because 1) he has a tendency to pout on the ice when things don't goes his way like when he looks back at the ref if he thinks a penalty should have been called on the other team while the play goes on, 2) his tendency to try and force a play at either blueline when there is none to make other than to get it out of our zone or dump it in the other team's zone, 3) his fly byes when he has the opportunity to finish a check with some authority and 4) his fly byes by the net in the offensive zone. His speed and size makes him a very dangerous player and he certainly brings a lot to the way the Hawks want to play the game but IMO I think he has average hands and does not always see the simple play in front of him and is not the kind of player that thrives in the playoffs. I would rather have Shaw than Stalberg on right wing with Bolland and Bickell and am not sure if Stalberg brings anything to the 4th line. He is, IMO, an above average 3rd liner in the regular season but not a big time 3rd liner come playoff hockey. Your thoughts?
- FourOrr

IMHO he is an upgrade over carcillo on the fourth line and hopefully some of your concerns about his playing style go away today when he comes out pissed off this afternoon and decides to skate through all the screens detroit will put in front of him to slow hi down
In a perfect world he would decide to play powe forward wrecking crew today and use his speed too catch p to the puck carrier and barry the playrno te rds wit his strengthand sze
a guy can wishcat i

Rob, there seems to be an undercurrent in your posts, bashing Niemi, now Andersson. Is it that Corey Crawford is an unappreciated wunderkind? Because if it is, understand, this defense is making two average goalies look very good. If Crawford played behind Ottawa's defense? Oy gevalt. He'd fall apart like a Yugo with 150K miles.
- John Jaeckel

Nice analogy. A Yugo is a scary thought, what with the possibility of a timing belt failure or the possibility the wind picks it up and carries it away....

I think Anderson bounces back, as does the rest of that Sens team. They could very well take both games in Ottawa and make a series of it.