Blackhawks 2016-17 Playoffs

[Boris13c]

Bring on the playoffs. I need a nice distraction from the Bears shit show.

watching grannie porn is probably more enjoyable than watching the Bears again self immolate

Ryan Pace is either having acid flashbacks or is experiencing acid for the first time

Not sure what to expect from the Hawks in the playoffs. When I think they will win they don't and when I think they don't have a chance they win it. This year I believe they have as good a chance as anyone. AA being healthy is going to help.

I am strangely confident in the Blackhawks this year ... can't really explain why or point to anything in particular ... it is just an overall feeling of comfortableness in their level of play and teamwork ... I think they bring home another Stanley Cup

[UOK]

I'm curious about this series. Anisimov being back should help, but I'm always torn over how Crawford starts the playoffs. Darling is always a release valve Q can go to to salvage a series when Crawford, at least once every playoffs, shits the bed.

[Otis Day]

Glad someone else sees Crawford that way. My friends give me so much shit because I tell them I am not a Crawford fan. I give him some credit for the 2 Stanleys but feel he just gets so fucking spaced out in the playoffs. He can kick ass in the reg. season but playoffs it seems his performance slips. The O needs to crank it up. I believe they should take the Preds in 6.

[UOK]

Glad someone else sees Crawford that way. My friends give me so much shit because I tell them I am not a Crawford fan. I give him some credit for the 2 Stanleys but feel he just gets so fucking spaced out in the playoffs. He can kick ass in the reg. season but playoffs it seems his performance slips. The O needs to crank it up. I believe they should take the Preds in 6.

I love Crawford, but he's nothing without a good backup. Usually in the first round, he'll have a breakdown and need to be benched. Darling will come in and save games 4/5/6 for the Blackhawks, then get shelled in game 1 of the series in the second round. Crawford will start every game after that and they'll win the cup.

[Boris13c]

I don't have a negative opinion of Crawford, but he does just wander sometimes, mentally and physically ... and of course it's made worse when he does this in the post season

he usually does bounce back though, sometimes in spectacular fashion (but not always)

I still think overall he is far above average ... but yeah, a good backup at the ready is a plus

[UOK]

Waste of time and effort.

[Boris13c]

Waste of time and effort.

it was very frustrating because they were moving the puck and creating what should have been good scoring chances, but on several of them the guy with the puck just didn't shoot ... it was almost as if it was a practice session to work on positioning but not to score

very weird game to watch

[UOK]

Waste of time and effort.

[Boris13c]

well, so much for my happy thoughts and dreams of sunshine on the next trophy ... w t f was that?

I expected Nashville to give them trouble, but not insurmountable trouble

[RING4CHI]

Stick a fork in them. The guys have had their time with the Cup. They don't care if they win it again. Their minds are on the offseason on their yachts.

[Otis Day]

I think wrapping the division up early and resting guys is coming back to haunt them. Nashville is kicking ass and just taking it to the Hawks. The Hawks have not responded. Pekka Rinne has turned into the goalie he was a few years back. No excuses, Hawks just getting outplayed.

[UOK]

Waste of time and effort.

[Boris13c]

I think wrapping the division up early and resting guys is coming back to haunt them. Nashville is kicking ass and just taking it to the Hawks. The Hawks have not responded. Pekka Rinne has turned into the goalie he was a few years back. No excuses, Hawks just getting outplayed.

other teams rested their key guys, the Capitals being the one publicly saying how proud they are to have their studs now fresh ... yet they now find themselves down 2 games to 1 in their series, while the Blackhawks are getting the ultimate 3-0 bitchslap

so it would seem to be a delicate balance between resting and playing as prep for the post season

Waste of time and effort.

on the plus side, their play has made it easy for you to respond to

[Otis Day]

Hawks just don't have it and that has a lot to do with how well the Preds are playing. These fuckers are flying around on the ice and being physical as hell. They have some big, fast guys who are just beating the shit out of some of the Hawks.

Hawks look slow, especially Seabrook and Oduya. Toews I think is just beat to hell. The guy will not be effective much longer IMO. I think Hayden needs to be playing if for anything his physicality.

Kudos to the Preds for jumping to this lead. They have did their studying and were prepared for this series.

Now, unless a miracle happens, I would love to see a Preds v Leafs Stanley Cup.

[CRM 114]

Hawks aren't going to go down quietly. I think Hawks at least force a Game 7.

[CRM 114]

Glad someone else sees Crawford that way. My friends give me so much shit because I tell them I am not a Crawford fan. I give him some credit for the 2 Stanleys but feel he just gets so fucking spaced out in the playoffs. He can kick ass in the reg. season but playoffs it seems his performance slips. The O needs to crank it up. I believe they should take the Preds in 6.

I love Crawford, but he's nothing without a good backup. Usually in the first round, he'll have a breakdown and need to be benched. Darling will come in and save games 4/5/6 for the Blackhawks, then get shelled in game 1 of the series in the second round. Crawford will start every game after that and they'll win the cup.

This happened once in 2015 against Nashville. Crawford is usually solid, especially in the playoffs.

[Boris13c]

Monty Python and the Holy Blackhawks

The Blackhawks sit on the edge of ignominious playoff elimination on the road in a series in which they’ve scored exactly two goals and yammer the self-deceit that they’re the ones who can skate without a burden.

Sounds like an argument for 4/20 Day.

Patrick Kane said the pressure’s on the Predators "to win that next game."

Yes. Well. Ahem. With the Predators up three games to none, it sure looks like the pressure’s on the Blackhawks not to lose that next game.

Or any game.

After the Hawks lost their third straight to the Predators, Jonathan Toews commented that the hardest win to get is the fourth one. Funny, but from this vantage point, it looks as if it’s the first one.

Coach Joel Quenneville said "definitely the pressure’s on them," and I’m thinking, that’s what you hear from a coach who can’t figure out how to stop his best players from looking outclassed.

But now I get it. Now I get why it’s laughable: The Hawks are the black knight at the bridge in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Being down 3-0 is "just a flesh wound."

Maybe y’all better get together in Nashville and figure out that the pressure’s on whichever Hawks are on the ice for the next shift.

[UOK]

3-0. I'm turning the game off. What a disgrace.

[Boris13c]

so did the Predators give the Blackhawks little souvenir brooms to take home with them?

[Otis Day]

I am getting a kick out of writers, announcers and fans saying "choke." WTF? To me a "choke" job is something that may happen in one game. The Hawks lost 4 fucking games in a row. To me, that is being dominated, abused and having your ass kicked. The Preds were the better team in this series, plain and simple. The Hawks had no 4th gear, no answer for the Preds speed, size or physicality. The team is built for regular season and the past 2 seasons have shown that. Playoff hockey is different and the past two years have shown that as well.

The Hawks have spoiled us and we can be unaccepting of an ass whooping. I still have to look at what they have done the past 7 years and be thankful.

I think Bowman needs to look at what he is doing and he needs to adjust his thinking. These big contracts he has been throwing out to "core" players is coming back to bite him in the ass. I think Q needs to reassess his thinking of playing geriatrics as well.

[UOK]

Honestly the answer is getting younger and craftily unloading Seabrook's contract. The young guys on the roster need to keep developing, too.

The team is just plain OLD. Need to change that.

[Otis Day]

I was impressed with the majority of the young guys throughout the season. They didn't really show up here in the playoffs.

Can't see anyone taking Seabrooks' contract over and it is a fucking horrible contract. Wouldn't be shocked if the attempted to trade Crawford either.

I kind of liked what I saw out of Forsling but of course Q being Q wanted rosival around.

Jammer is beat up and has taken way too many shots to his ankles and legs. Oduya is gone. Kruger probably done in expansion draft. Toews is slowing down already and needs help on his line. Hossa is good in spurts and cannot be counted on forever. He needs to sit more during the year, healthy scratches.

[UOK]

The rate of Toews degradation due to concussions and whatever other small injuries he's sustained over the years is starting to gain momentum. Not to mention playing in the Olympics and other non-NHL international competitions. He's just taking a fucking beating for the last 15-odd years and he's not built like Hossa where his bulk can endure longer than it should. He also doesn't play a slippery game like Kane.

Same for Seabrook. He's had god-knows-how-many concussions and clearly isn't the same player he was, and that contract is pure murder.

Trading Saad was bad enough, but then they ditched Marko Dano in order to get a useless Andrew Ladd. Then they ditched the admittedly floundering Mark McNeil for the bust that was Oduya 2.0. Jeremy Morin never left Q's doghouse. I feel like Morin could've been a solid 4th-line menace if he'd been given a real shot, and honestly a line of him, Bollig, and Hartman would be a nasty 4th line to deal with.

The Blackhawks also desperately need a guy like Andrew Shaw to keep a fire under people's asses and get under the skin of the opposition, in addition to simply more size and physicality in their 3rd line and effective defensemen. There's simply a lot of holes that this team is now facing that may take more than 2-3 years to restore, but shouldn't altogether remove them from being competitive.