HAWKS WIN! HAWKS WIN THE STANLEY CUP!!

[Texsox]

Drop the puck, I'm tired of waiting.

[Steve9347]

Some nice shots of the construction of Hawks helmets on the Art Institute lions.

 

[Texsox]

Some nice shots of the construction of Hawks helmets on the Art Institute lions.

 

 

I love that tradition.

[GoodAsGould]

I love that tradition.

 

Is that just a blackhawk thing or is that done for every Chicago team?

[clyons]

Is that just a blackhawk thing or is that done for every Chicago team?

 

I can recall seeing it for all except the Bulls, which apart from maybe a sweat band, would be hard to do anyway. I think one of the Bears' helmets was stolen a few years back.

[LittleHurt05]

Hawks win in 6.

 

Philly steals one of the first two at the UC (I say game 1 since I won't be there). Hawks return the favor in Philly, come back home and win a tough battle at home to make it 3-2. Go back to Philly, dominate and the cup is finally back in Chicago.

 

I'm sure it won't happen like that, but thats my prediction and I'm sticking to it.

[Harry Chappas]

If the Hawks did not choke the game away in Philly, the Flyers may not have even made the playoffs. I found that point interesting.

[Steve9347]

If the Hawks did not choke the game away in Philly, the Flyers may not have even made the playoffs. I found that point interesting.

...and we would have (if everything stays the same) been the 1 seed.

[southsider2k5]

...and we would have (if everything stays the same) been the 1 seed.

 

Which might have meant going through Detroit, which could have really changed things.

[SoxAce]

I had Hawks in 5 against Nashville (they won in 6) Hawks in 6 against Vancouver (correct) and I had Hawks in 5 against San Jose cause of the great match-up style (they obviously said f*** it and won in 4) I'm gonna say Hawks in 5 against the Flyers.

[Texsox]

I can recall seeing it for all except the Bulls, which apart from maybe a sweat band, would be hard to do anyway. I think one of the Bears' helmets was stolen a few years back.

 

 

[RockRaines]

Get real.

[knightni]

Get real.

^^^

[whitesoxfan101]

Well, they've played NJ who is a f***ing good team and the Flyers played the Hawks and beat them. Their top 2 lines match very evenly with the hawks as well as the top 4 d pairings. The hope is that the overall depth for the Hawks will prevail, but that is a small percentage of ice time in a cup series like this, especially for the blueliners.

 

The bolded couldn't possibly be less relevant, and you know that. It was one meeting during the post Olympic haze with Huet in net, and the Flyers pulled out a miraculous win in the last minute.

 

However, you are right about the top two lines for Philly matching up reasonably evenly. People seem to have this idea that Philly is 4 lines deep at forward now because their reserves played well against Boston the last 4 games and Montreal though, and I'm just not buying that at all because Boston was injured and not very good, and Montreal's team built on tiny players was pretty obviously tired from the first two rounds. Overall depth will prove to be important if it's a long series, as well as if the top two lines wash each other out, and I think both of those scenarios are very possible. That's why I think Hawks in 6 is probably a good pick for the series.

Edited May 28, 2010 by whitesoxfan101

[Balta1701]

[Texsox]

??

[Balta1701]

Embedded video from WGN, works for me.

[Controlled Chaos]

Get real.

"Get real" is the new "One Goal"

[Harry Chappas]

The Sharks top two lines were coming in on a much higher level than the Flyers in my opinion. I still do not think the Flyers have played nearly the competition that the Haks have in the playoffs and while the Flyers have been on the brink of elimination I think the HAwks are more playoff tested at this point.

 

The fact that the Toews line can play against the Flyers number three line is huge.

[IlliniKrush]

The Sharks top two lines were coming in on a much higher level than the Flyers in my opinion. I still do not think the Flyers have played nearly the competition that the Haks have in the playoffs and while the Flyers have been on the brink of elimination I think the HAwks are more playoff tested at this point.

 

The fact that the Toews line can play against the Flyers number three line is huge.

The SJ top line is more talented than the Philly top line by a little bit, but 3 lines deep, I'll take Philly's forwards. They have some dynamic players over there, and a lot of the 2nd/3rd line guys played up on the first line and held their own with Gagne and Carter out for stretches.

 

Philly's forward depth is excellent.

 

 

[RockRaines]

The SJ top line is more talented than the Philly top line by a little bit, but 3 lines deep, I'll take Philly's forwards. They have some dynamic players over there, and a lot of the 2nd/3rd line guys played up on the first line and held their own with Gagne and Carter out for stretches.

 

Philly's forward depth is excellent.

SJ top line is defensively weak compared to Philly, Richards is a beast much like Toews.

[LittleHurt05]

SJ top line is defensively weak compared to Philly, Richards is a beast much like Toews.

 

Thats what I was just thinking about too. A big reason the Sharks lost was that their top line would get stuck back on D and just get destroyed. Heatley finished the playoffs -7 and Thornton finished -11 which is absolutely unacceptable. Heatley was the one who somehow lost sight of the biggest player on the ice for the game 3 OT winner. I definitely don't see Phillys forwards being anywhere as easy to score on.

 

 

[Texsox]

Embedded video from WGN, works for me.

 

 

Must be blocked

[RockRaines]

Thats what I was just thinking about too. A big reason the Sharks lost was that their top line would get stuck back on D and just get destroyed. Heatley finished the playoffs -7 and Thornton finished -11 which is absolutely unacceptable. Heatley was the one who somehow lost sight of the biggest player on the ice for the game 3 OT winner. I definitely don't see Phillys forwards being anywhere as easy to score on.

Philly's forwards do a great job of getting back and on the PK they stack 4 players very close to the net to force teams to move the puck at the point. One thing that they havent faced however is a team with the puck possession skills of the Hawks. The Hawks arent going to flinch at Philly packing its players in deep because they have faced teams like that and are perfectly happy moving the puck at the point and firing away from deep waiting for rebounds. If I see Philly scrambling to chase the Hawks in the first few minutes of the first game I will feel alot better. If the game starts to look like Nashville where we struggle to enter their zone, then I will be worried.

[CanOfCorn]

Philly's forwards do a great job of getting back and on the PK they stack 4 players very close to the net to force teams to move the puck at the point. One thing that they havent faced however is a team with the puck possession skills of the Hawks. The Hawks arent going to flinch at Philly packing its players in deep because they have faced teams like that and are perfectly happy moving the puck at the point and firing away from deep waiting for rebounds. If I see Philly scrambling to chase the Hawks in the first few minutes of the first game I will feel alot better. If the game starts to look like Nashville where we struggle to enter their zone, then I will be worried.

 

I agree completely.

 

One thing I'd like to add...in the last two years, the 'hawks have faced pretty much every type of team and game. Hard checking...fast paced...neutral zone trap...and with the exception of the Red Wings, who I believe was more of a mental thing than a talent thing, the 'hawks have beat them all. I hope that they have learned from all of these series.