Home or not, I think the Hawks really do have the Kings solved.

I wonder if the success in this series has anything to do prior knowledge from Kompon?
- teh_HAWKZ

I don't.

Everyone needs to relax... The Kings are unbelievably good at home and I 100% believe Quick will come back and have two fantastic games in LA. If this series comes back to Chicago tied 2-2 (and LA holds serve) everyone's tune here is going to be dramatically different. Then what happens if a Game 5 in Chicago Quick turns in a Quick "performance"?

They're the defending champs and paying in the WCF for another for a reason.

Bickell = 2010 Buff

I don't.

Everyone needs to relax... The Kings are unbelievably good at home and I 100% believe Quick will come back and have two fantastic games in LA. If this series comes back to Chicago tied 2-2 (and LA holds serve) everyone's tune here is going to be dramatically different.

They're the defending champs and paying in the WCF for another for a reason.
- CaptainBlackhawk

True. Let's all take a breath. For some reason, they are Jeckyll and Hyde home v. road and tomorrow's game will be the first test of the series. If the Kings come out and play like they have the first 2 games, Hawks will sweep them.

yahoodi takes "relentless Saad tire pumping" to a new and obscene level.

Saad was good, and his speed allows him to shine versus a slow L.A. team. Still detect the "Saad as Next Coming of Hossa" p.r. campaign at work.

Which is just silly.

Saad's going to be some kind of good player in the NHL. How good? Hard to say. A potential Hall of Famer? There's just no evidence of that beyond ridiculous hype in certain sectors of the Hawk fanbase.

Glad to re-open this debate any time, in terms of what he actually does and doesn't do, and what great players do and don't do.

You can say that again.
- TrueGrit

and again and again

I don't.

Everyone needs to relax... The Kings are unbelievably good at home and I 100% believe Quick will come back and have two fantastic games in LA. If this series comes back to Chicago tied 2-2 (and LA holds serve) everyone's tune here is going to be dramatically different. Then what happens if a Game 5 in Chicago Quick turns in a Quick "performance"?

They're the defending champs and paying in the WCF for another for a reason.
- CaptainBlackhawk

I agree. We've all had a sip of the Kool-Aid before, hopefully we've learned to keep focus. Kings are still dangerous, and Quick can swing a series.

Yes, yes, yes, yes . . . and . . . yes.
- John Jaeckel

I never thought that our speed could beat the size and strength of Kings/Blues/Sharks but we are playing thru the mashing and they can't catch us.

The Kings don't have some other gear that's going to kick in.......we saw what they have in these 2 games............a great goalie and defense and smash mouth......but we look like we're forcing them to do things faster than they can do

my vote for the original 3.0 for those old enough, is #21.....he was mean and 2nd was Terry Ruskowski.............Shaw's remarkable.....how his timing is so good hitting guys 50 lbs heavier...........what a weekend and our ice will only get better

Plus it's hard to play at this physical level for a whole season. I think if Bickell dials it up for big games, and when he needs to open up space during a tightly checked game I would be satisfied. Then of course he needs to go full red ass when playoffs come around.
- droe411

Hopefully everyone on the board agrees and we can leave the laughable "dis interested" saying in the drawer...

I don't.

Everyone needs to relax... The Kings are unbelievably good at home and I 100% believe Quick will come back and have two fantastic games in LA. If this series comes back to Chicago tied 2-2 (and LA holds serve) everyone's tune here is going to be dramatically different. Then what happens if a Game 5 in Chicago Quick turns in a Quick "performance"?

They're the defending champs and paying in the WCF for another for a reason.
- CaptainBlackhawk

Agreed....Hawks haven't seen the Kings best punch yet, and it's coming Tuesday night...Survive that 1st period, and we can go from there....Until then, all the Hawks have done is EXACTLY what they had to do: win the 1st, 2 games at home, given the LA home record of 7-0.

This series is FAR from over.....

Two points.

For the Regular season and President's trophy does not mean anything crowd. The Hawks very well may be up 3-0 in this series before the Kings get re-acclimated to the western time zone Weds morning. Playing 3 in 4, and the first 2 at home. Regardless it is a huge advantage to Chicago.

Second, this is not a love CC/hate CC comment, it is a strategic point not mentioned anywhere, but since the playoffs started CC has been more active in handling the puck. Specifically, he has been keen to make quick clearing passes out of his zone. Why is this a big deal, because on at least 2 or 3 occasions a game this post season, he has been able to mitigate the opponents fore check. This has to be by design.

CC has also been more aggressive in playing the puck behind the net on dump ins. Yes there was the one goofy play that may have contributed to a goal, but far and away this has been a huge...HUGE...net positive for the Hawks.

Everyone wondering how Kings are going to adjust and figure out how to get their fore check going? It is hard to when CC is making passes and plays. I believe the hawk playoff opponents did not plan for this and have not adjusted.

I don't.

Everyone needs to relax... The Kings are unbelievably good at home and I 100% believe Quick will come back and have two fantastic games in LA. If this series comes back to Chicago tied 2-2 (and LA holds serve) everyone's tune here is going to be dramatically different. Then what happens if a Game 5 in Chicago Quick turns in a Quick "performance"?

They're the defending champs and paying in the WCF for another for a reason.
- CaptainBlackhawk

You are 100% correct

What we need in Game 3 is a solid first 10 minutes to hold off the crowd energized push back from the Kings

The Hawks breakout has been nothing short of spectacular these last two games. And because the Hawks are getting out clean they find themselves with lots of advantages or two on two's- which is basically an advantage because either Regher or matt Greene are on the ice, and they just can't keep up. See the Seabrook goal...

Saad, Shaw and Stalberg have been really good. Saad might have been the Hawks best forward last night. Certainly was for the first two periods. What that kids going to be in the coming years makes me giggle.

Nice to see Keith return to being Keith. Keeping his minutes down during the regular season probably helped.

Kopitar is obviously hurt. He shouldn't be getting pushed around the way he has been. Look for a surgery announced right after this series ends.

The Staples center is going to be a different beast altogether. But if the Hawks continue to play this well, I think they'll get at least a game. I have tickets for a game 5. Hopefully it's the clincher....
- yahoodi

Impressive! Same comment, 9 times...

And this is precisely one huge reason why the Hawks are where they are throughout this entire season.
- CaptainBlackhawk

Saw that too, and that's just it. During the "streak" I remarked in the blog that it looked like the Hawks had six skaters on the ice for large portions of the game. That's how they've looked at times over the last 5 games.

Bad news for a Kings' team that's tired, banged up and not all that fast to begin with. Hawks are also holding their own physically. Also not good news for the Kings.

Like I said earlier, the Hawks come out of the first period tomorrow night, tied or in the lead, they might just go ahead and put a stranglehold on this thing.

Ek needs a better load balancer on his servers.

Good thing the ice dancing team that is the Hawks can't compete with a big physical team.

Too bad they didn't trade Keith before the deadline for a power forward.


Biggest factor in those two games was the change the coaching staff made regarding breakouts and attacking. They let the d-men loose, have them pinching aggressively and carrying the puck out instead of that maddening tape to tape pass they get away with during the regular season and waiting at the blue line for the other team to advance.

Amazing how much better Leddy looks skating with the puck instead of trying to hit a home run. Not at all surprising to see Keith playing tremendous hockey when allowed to use his athleticism and ability to read the play to its fullest extent.

The Kings are in a hole, have a roster full of head cases and injured or not are incapable of matching up with the three scoring lines the Hawks can roll. Time to go for the throat and get a nice little rest before the finals.

Two points.

For the Regular season and President's trophy does not mean anything crowd. The Hawks very well may be up 3-0 in this series before the Kings get re-acclimated to the western time zone Weds morning. Playing 3 in 4, and the first 2 at home. Regardless it is a huge advantage to Chicago.

Second, this is not a love CC/hate CC comment, it is a strategic point not mentioned anywhere, but since the playoffs started CC has been more active in handling the puck. Specifically, he has been keen to make quick clearing passes out of his zone. Why is this a big deal, because on at least 2 or 3 occasions a game this post season, he has been able to mitigate the opponents fore check. This has to be by design.

CC has also been more aggressive in playing the puck behind the net on dump ins. Yes there was the one goofy play that may have contributed to a goal, but far and away this has been a huge...HUGE...net positive for the Hawks.

Everyone wondering how Kings are going to adjust and figure out how to get their fore check going? It is hard to when CC is making passes and plays. I believe the hawk playoff opponents did not plan for this and have not adjusted.
- TrueGrit

Great point. He just needs to remember he's not the greatest puckhandler, and he has made mistakes back there before. Just be smart.

I never thought that our speed could beat the size and strength of Kings/Blues/Sharks but we are playing thru the mashing and they can't catch us.

The Kings don't have some other gear that's going to kick in.......we saw what they have in these 2 games............a great goalie and defense and smash mouth......but we look like we're forcing them to do things faster than they can do

my vote for the original 3.0 for those old enough, is #21.....he was mean and 2nd was Terry Ruskowski.............Shaw's remarkable.....how his timing is so good hitting guys 50 lbs heavier...........what a weekend and our ice will only get better
- nellie

The Kings team you will see Tuesday night is nothing like what we've seen Saturday and Sunday.

Lets give some respect to the defending champs....This propaganda of thinking the series is over because they won 2 games, is a joke. The Hawks dominated 95% of the game on Saturday and barely won...thanks to Quick. Imagine if the Kings actually play well....Last night, Quick gave up some very bad goals, and the Kings were lost....

When the Kings throw their best bunch ,and the Hawks win...I'll join you...until then....all the Hawks have done is win 2 games, and last time I checked, it takes 4 to win a series....

Two points.

For the Regular season and President's trophy does not mean anything crowd. The Hawks very well may be up 3-0 in this series before the Kings get re-acclimated to the western time zone Weds morning. Playing 3 in 4, and the first 2 at home. Regardless it is a huge advantage to Chicago.

Second, this is not a love CC/hate CC comment, it is a strategic point not mentioned anywhere, but since the playoffs started CC has been more active in handling the puck. Specifically, he has been keen to make quick clearing passes out of his zone. Why is this a big deal, because on at least 2 or 3 occasions a game this post season, he has been able to mitigate the opponents fore check. This has to be by design.

CC has also been more aggressive in playing the puck behind the net on dump ins. Yes there was the one goofy play that may have contributed to a goal, but far and away this has been a huge...HUGE...net positive for the Hawks.

Everyone wondering how Kings are going to adjust and figure out how to get their fore check going? It is hard to when CC is making passes and plays. I believe the hawk playoff opponents did not plan for this and have not adjusted.
- TrueGrit

Great point .

The Hawks are also playing physical when possible which they never seemed to do in the regular season.

Impressive! Same comment, 9 times...
- Beaver-Warrior

Is that a new league record, or can we assume he fell asleep on his keyboard?

In the trading world, we would call that a Fat Finger event.

Great point .

The Hawks are also playing physical when possible which they never seemed to do in the regular season.
- mrpaulish

Not discounting that at all. Totally agree.

Two points.

For the Regular season and President's trophy does not mean anything crowd. The Hawks very well may be up 3-0 in this series before the Kings get re-acclimated to the western time zone Weds morning. Playing 3 in 4, and the first 2 at home. Regardless it is a huge advantage to Chicago.

Second, this is not a love CC/hate CC comment, it is a strategic point not mentioned anywhere, but since the playoffs started CC has been more active in handling the puck. Specifically, he has been keen to make quick clearing passes out of his zone. Why is this a big deal, because on at least 2 or 3 occasions a game this post season, he has been able to mitigate the opponents fore check. This has to be by design.

CC has also been more aggressive in playing the puck behind the net on dump ins. Yes there was the one goofy play that may have contributed to a goal, but far and away this has been a huge...HUGE...net positive for the Hawks.

Everyone wondering how Kings are going to adjust and figure out how to get their fore check going? It is hard to when CC is making passes and plays. I believe the hawk playoff opponents did not plan for this and have not adjusted.
- TrueGrit

Great point on Crawford, who works on stick handling during warm ups...Don't think that's a coincidence....

I see your point on LA, and I also know guys like brown, richards, and Kopitar all banged up...but thy still have the best goalie in hockey right now, and he is very capable of winning a game 1-0. Hawks are going to see the physical beast that STL and SJ saw...Survive the 1st period, and the pressure is ALL on the KIngs....

Stupid penalties have to to be taken out..can't give the Kings any chance of getting that PP rolling....

Sorry about the octuple posts. Not sure what happened there.

JJ, you really need to quit putting words in my mouth. Nowhere did I ever put the words Saad and Hossa in the same sentence. Or conversation. I've never compared the two. But seeing what he's doing now at age 20 when he hasn't completely filled out and hasn't totally figured out the NHL game yet is very impressive. And to think what he might be in 2 to 3 years when he has makes me very very happy.

I'm more than willing to revisit the conversation too. It will start with you saying you didn't think he was that good, and was simply a product of the Blackhawks PR machine, and that Gorilla salad was a better player. And how you were wrong on all three...

Two points.

For the Regular season and President's trophy does not mean anything crowd. The Hawks very well may be up 3-0 in this series before the Kings get re-acclimated to the western time zone Weds morning. Playing 3 in 4, and the first 2 at home. Regardless it is a huge advantage to Chicago.

Second, this is not a love CC/hate CC comment, it is a strategic point not mentioned anywhere, but since the playoffs started CC has been more active in handling the puck. Specifically, he has been keen to make quick clearing passes out of his zone. Why is this a big deal, because on at least 2 or 3 occasions a game this post season, he has been able to mitigate the opponents fore check. This has to be by design.

CC has also been more aggressive in playing the puck behind the net on dump ins. Yes there was the one goofy play that may have contributed to a goal, but far and away this has been a huge...HUGE...net positive for the Hawks.

Everyone wondering how Kings are going to adjust and figure out how to get their fore check going? It is hard to when CC is making passes and plays. I believe the hawk playoff opponents did not plan for this and have not adjusted.
- TrueGrit

Remember how Crawford was always terrible handling the puck before this playoffs? Did he work on this? I don't remember him doing much puck-handling this regular season.

He seems more comfortable at reading the situation and not panicking like he used to. Kudos for him for improving this facet of his game.

The Hawks breakout has been nothing short of spectacular these last two games. And because the Hawks are getting out clean they find themselves with lots of advantages or two on two's- which is basically an advantage because either Regher or matt Greene are on the ice, and they just can't keep up. See the Seabrook goal...

Saad, Shaw and Stalberg have been really good. Saad might have been the Hawks best forward last night. Certainly was for the first two periods. What that kids going to be in the coming years makes me giggle.

Nice to see Keith return to being Keith. Keeping his minutes down during the regular season probably helped.

Kopitar is obviously hurt. He shouldn't be getting pushed around the way he has been. Look for a surgery announced right after this series ends.

The Staples center is going to be a different beast altogether. But if the Hawks continue to play this well, I think they'll get at least a game. I have tickets for a game 5. Hopefully it's the clincher....
- yahoodi

Is that you Troy Murray? Best forward on the ICE? Yikes...

I was pushing that if he didn't show up last night, Q had to consider scratching him for Tuesday night. Saad and Stalberg played better, but Saad was VERY TIMID on Saturday. I counted at least 6+ times he peeled off finishing a check, or engaging for a 50-50 puck.

Lets hold off the push for Toronto....he still needs to net his 1st, playoff goal....

I never thought that our speed could beat the size and strength of Kings/Blues/Sharks but we are playing thru the mashing and they can't catch us.

The Kings don't have some other gear that's going to kick in.......we saw what they have in these 2 games............a great goalie and defense and smash mouth......but we look like we're forcing them to do things faster than they can do

my vote for the original 3.0 for those old enough, is #21.....he was mean and 2nd was Terry Ruskowski.............Shaw's remarkable.....how his timing is so good hitting guys 50 lbs heavier...........what a weekend and our ice will only get better
- nellie

Depth. SSS and Frolik/Kruger/Boat Anchor are better than any combination the Kings can throw out.

The shifty puck rushing defensemen of the Hawks are completely neutralizing the Kings pressure.

Excellent coaching adjustments and phenomenal execution on the ice.

Yesterday during the game I told my wife the Kings were going to get burned sending so many guys deep into the forecheck. A few minutes later we had an odd many break and scored.

If I am Sutter... I watch some tape of the Phoenix series last year. Not sayin it works.. But maybe their style isn't going to work against this team. I would play a more defensive trap game. They are getting caught out of position alot due to their insistence of forechecking us into oblivion. Problem is... The puck is already gone. And we are heading into their zone with speed. I would send one guy in and keep 4 back. And make this as boring as possible. This may be their only way to beat us. Unless Quick is Quicklike. Easier said than done against this team.

There is as much room out there for our skill guys as I have seen since we won the Cup. If I am LA... I put my ego in the drawer and change tactic quickly.