Thanks for the invite Michael ... Hopefully your a little more fun than the Ducks Blogger ... Lets Party ...

I think the home ice advantage will be a key to winning this series. Tampa hasnt had as good record at home during the playoffs as they did in the regular season, but after seeing the the pace of the ANA/CHI game last night, tampa can really play the run'n'gun kind of game that the Rags and Wings shut down effectivly.

Tampa can play a really good north/south game if the series forms like that. But as seen against the rags, they can also shut down a team defensivly.

Anyone whos saying Chicago can start cleaning up the streets for the parade is crazy. Tampa has the depth of putting pressure on the Rundblad pairing, wich is not good news for the hawks. In contrary, Hawks has enough depth to put pressure on the Sustr pairing.

This series can go either way and another game 7 is not impossible. Conn smythe nominees? Toews, Keith, Johnson and Stamkos.

I'm not entirely sold. I mean, maybe it makes sense, but it's not like Drouin doesn't have the potential to be a real special player. Would Jones help the team more now? It certainly looks that way. Which guy will help more in five years? I'm not sure. Drafting Drouin was never a two-year project.
- Michael_Stuart

Careful...Yak played 3 years now and hasn't got his scoring groove.....Drouin has to get her done this next season or he's bust city.

I think the home ice advantage will be a key to winning this series. Tampa hasnt had as good record at home during the playoffs as they did in the regular season, but after seeing the the pace of the ANA/CHI game last night, tampa can really play the run'n'gun kind of game that the Rags and Wings shut down effectivly.

Tampa can play a really good north/south game if the series forms like that. But as seen against the rags, they can also shut down a team defensivly.

Anyone whos saying Chicago can start cleaning up the streets for the parade is crazy. Tampa has the depth of putting pressure on the Rundblad pairing, wich is not good news for the hawks. In contrary, Hawks has enough depth to put pressure on the Sustr pairing.

This series can go either way and another game 7 is not impossible. Conn smythe nominees? Toews, Keith, Johnson and Stamkos.
- Cloud

Tampa could win....but I'm going with the boys who been there before. They know what it's gonna take to win.

-Tampa is not afraid of the Blackhawks, they earned three points against them during the season including a 4-0 win. Playoffs may be a different beast altogether but the Regular season counts for something and Tampa has proven that in the past three series. If only for the fact that it allows the Bolts to believe they can beat the Blackhawks as they have in the past.

-Jon Cooper... This guy has won everywhere he has coached, at every level. He gets the most out of his team and understands the key aspect of motivation. His team battles and they battle hard. They believe in the 200 foot game, watch some Tampa games and you'll be amazed at how quickly players come back on the backcheck, amazed at how everytime a defenseman pinches there is a forward covering his spot. Cooper lacks the experience of Quenneville but he is a proven winner, just hasn't had an opportunity to win it all at the NHL level, he does now though.

- Savlep

Great post...........

A couple scrambled thoughts.

I had a couple bucks on the Lightning to come out of the East in September at 8-1. Had them beating the Jets for the cup in my playoffs bracket. So I'm a fan in a big way and have seen this team 20 times before the playoffs. Their success is no surprise to me.

No doubt their showing against the Hawks in season will help their frame of mind, and yes the playoffs are a totally different animal in a huge way. Especially comparing the in season Hawks to the playoff Hawks as this club treats the regular season like a leper. Even as a Hawk fan I have trouble separating the two.....Simply said their is no mentally tougher and battle tested group than these Hawks.

Jon Cooper: This guy will be thought of as a Babcock in a few short years. As you mention he's won everywhere he's been and I saw him take the USHL Green Bay Gamblers from worst to points champ his first year to the cup the next year before the meteoric jump to the AHL where he won another cup. IIRC he won a cup with STL of the NAHL.

So he's no secret to me either. His tactics are as good as anyone's and his demeanor with his players IMO will make him a great one.

I do think the Lightning are a faster team top to bottom in what will be a drag race series.

You mention their offense and I agree it's elite. But IMO they will have to rein the offense in a bit to protect Bishop, maybe by Game 4 or 5 and this is where the series will be determined IMO, the goaltenders. Add that the Lightning will be facing the best top 4 group in the league and the TB offense will not score as they have.

Bishop is the weak link but doesn't mean it's a deal breaker. He hasn't seen the precision puck movement and patience he'll see in his zone he will v the Hawks and as a Bolts fan you should know it's the side to side movement that is his biggest weakness. The man can often look like he has two left skates on and add it's his first Finals appearance.

But again as you mention the Bolt forwards come back like their hair is on fire, and they'll need to to help protect Bishop. To me these are the keys for the Bolts. Their forwards getting back to help Bishop taking away a tad from their offense and Bishop not losing games for them.......There is a chance that this will look like the Hawks v San Jose a few years back in that the Sharks played the Hawks even, at least, but Nobokov killed them.

Cooper will adjust as needed and I'll be watching how he plays this as it unfolds.

The Hawks are the Hawks. Unriveled top 4 Dmen, a HOF captain who's won everywhere he's been, Kane who has top 5 hands and vision in the world, a coach who has won cups, a goalie who's won a cup and a group that has won cups and will not be rattled by anything. This is a group that is as mentally tough as an opponent will see and IMO that is their best attribute.

The Hawks won't lose this, the Bolts will have to beat a proven winner.

Typical Sens fan not giving any credit to the team they are facing. I bet you also predicted Ottawa would beat Montreal because the Sens had been the best team in the league since early February.

All us Bolts fans heard going into the Rangers series was that Tampa would be overwhelmed by NY's depth and they haven't yet played a team as deep. Also this is a good one too "regular season stats don't mean anything coming into the playoffs". And just to throw it in there as well "Bishop has been ok but he has no experience appears shaky etc.".

All Tampa has been doing since the beginning of the playoffs is find ways to win. They have bounced back after almost every loss (7-1 in the playoffs after a loss) and Bishop and the team defense as a whole have been phenomenal in must win games (4-0 with only 1 goal allowed).

Tampa deserves and demands credit and respect for the following reasons:

- They have 3 of the top ten point scorers in the playoffs, and five! of the top ten goal scorers. They were the top offensive team in the season and have shown they can score and score a bunch against the opposition regardless of who it is. Keep in mind they have eliminated two of the three Vezina nominees.

-In the playoffs Tampa has allowed close to 0.50 goals per game less than the Blackhawks. Their team defense and goaltending has been completely dominant in elimination games and following a loss. They shut out the Rangers twice in the series, New York being the third highest scoring team in the NHL during the season. As Craig Button from TSN put it and also mentionned by Don Cherry, Tampa puts on a defensive clinic in these games and their opponents are left with very few scoring chances.

-Tampa is not afraid of the Blackhawks, they earned three points against them during the season including a 4-0 win. Playoffs may be a different beast altogether but the Regular season counts for something and Tampa has proven that in the past three series. If only for the fact that it allows the Bolts to believe they can beat the Blackhawks as they have in the past.

-Jon Cooper... This guy has won everywhere he has coached, at every level. He gets the most out of his team and understands the key aspect of motivation. His team battles and they battle hard. They believe in the 200 foot game, watch some Tampa games and you'll be amazed at how quickly players come back on the backcheck, amazed at how everytime a defenseman pinches there is a forward covering his spot. Cooper lacks the experience of Quenneville but he is a proven winner, just hasn't had an opportunity to win it all at the NHL level, he does now though.

I'm not asking anyone to pick Tampa to win for these reasons but to blatantly say the Hawks have basically already won the cup is a crock of you know what. I'm looking forward to another great series!

Go Bolts Go!
- Savlep

Not sure what being a Sens has to do with anything.

In my opinion, I think it will be a quick series in the Hawks favour. But I'm not always correct. Personally I had the Rangers and Hawks in the final for this year. Sorry. Lack of respect to the Bolts again I guess.

I guess I'll check with you all the time regarding predictions since you know whats what.

Great post...........

A couple scrambled thoughts.

I had a couple bucks on the Lightning to come out of the East in September at 8-1. Had them beating the Jets for the cup in my playoffs bracket. So I'm a fan in a big way and have seen this team 20 times before the playoffs. Their success is no surprise to me.

No doubt their showing against the Hawks in season will help their frame of mind, and yes the playoffs are a totally different animal in a huge way. Especially comparing the in season Hawks to the playoff Hawks as this club treats the regular season like a leper. Even as a Hawk fan I have trouble separating the two.....Simply said their is no mentally tougher and battle tested group than these Hawks.

Jon Cooper: This guy will be thought of as a Babcock in a few short years. As you mention he's won everywhere he's been and I saw him take the USHL Green Bay Gamblers from worst to points champ his first year to the cup the next year before the meteoric jump to the AHL where he won another cup. IIRC he won a cup with STL of the NAHL.

So he's no secret to me either. His tactics are as good as anyone's and his demeanor with his players IMO will make him a great one.

I do think the Lightning are a faster team top to bottom in what will be a drag race series.

You mention their offense and I agree it's elite. But IMO they will have to rein the offense in a bit to protect Bishop, maybe by Game 4 or 5 and this is where the series will be determined IMO, the goaltenders. Add that the Lightning will be facing the best top 4 group in the league and the TB offense will not score as they have.

Bishop is the weak link but doesn't mean it's a deal breaker. He hasn't seen the precision puck movement and patience he'll see in his zone he will v the Hawks and as a Bolts fan you should know it's the side to side movement that is his biggest weakness. The man can often look like he has two left skates on and add it's his first Finals appearance.

But again as you mention the Bolt forwards come back like their hair is on fire, and they'll need to to help protect Bishop. To me these are the keys for the Bolts. Their forwards getting back to help Bishop taking away a tad from their offense and Bishop not losing games for them.......There is a chance that this will look like the Hawks v San Jose a few years back in that the Sharks played the Hawks even, at least, but Nobokov killed them.

Cooper will adjust as needed and I'll be watching how he plays this as it unfolds.

The Hawks are the Hawks. Unriveled top 4 Dmen, a HOF captain who's won everywhere he's been, Kane who has top 5 hands and vision in the world, a coach who has won cups, a goalie who's won a cup and a group that has won cups and will not be rattled by anything. This is a group that is as mentally tough as an opponent will see and IMO that is their best attribute.

The Hawks won't lose this, the Bolts will have to beat a proven winner.
- Mr Ricochet

Myhockeybuzz blogs that way---------->

Not sure what being a Sens has to do with anything.

In my opinion, I think it will be a quick series in the Hawks favour. But I'm not always correct. Personally I had the Rangers and Hawks in the final for this year. Sorry. Lack of respect to the Bolts again I guess.

I guess I'll check with you all the time regarding predictions since you know whats what.
- Gord_Wilson_2.0

If you truly think this series will be over in 4 games then you need to put down the crack pipe. Neither team will win this in 4. You're entitled to a prediction, no one will deny that, but yours was stupid.

If you truly think this series will be over in 4 games then you need to put down the crack pipe. Neither team will win this in 4. You're entitled to a prediction, no one will deny that, but yours was stupid.
- tyler20c

Go Bolts.

Great post...........

A couple scrambled thoughts.

I had a couple bucks on the Lightning to come out of the East in September at 8-1. Had them beating the Jets for the cup in my playoffs bracket. So I'm a fan in a big way and have seen this team 20 times before the playoffs. Their success is no surprise to me.

No doubt their showing against the Hawks in season will help their frame of mind, and yes the playoffs are a totally different animal in a huge way. Especially comparing the in season Hawks to the playoff Hawks as this club treats the regular season like a leper. Even as a Hawk fan I have trouble separating the two.....Simply said their is no mentally tougher and battle tested group than these Hawks.

Jon Cooper: This guy will be thought of as a Babcock in a few short years. As you mention he's won everywhere he's been and I saw him take the USHL Green Bay Gamblers from worst to points champ his first year to the cup the next year before the meteoric jump to the AHL where he won another cup. IIRC he won a cup with STL of the NAHL.

So he's no secret to me either. His tactics are as good as anyone's and his demeanor with his players IMO will make him a great one.

I do think the Lightning are a faster team top to bottom in what will be a drag race series.

You mention their offense and I agree it's elite. But IMO they will have to rein the offense in a bit to protect Bishop, maybe by Game 4 or 5 and this is where the series will be determined IMO, the goaltenders. Add that the Lightning will be facing the best top 4 group in the league and the TB offense will not score as they have.

Bishop is the weak link but doesn't mean it's a deal breaker. He hasn't seen the precision puck movement and patience he'll see in his zone he will v the Hawks and as a Bolts fan you should know it's the side to side movement that is his biggest weakness. The man can often look like he has two left skates on and add it's his first Finals appearance.

But again as you mention the Bolt forwards come back like their hair is on fire, and they'll need to to help protect Bishop. To me these are the keys for the Bolts. Their forwards getting back to help Bishop taking away a tad from their offense and Bishop not losing games for them.......There is a chance that this will look like the Hawks v San Jose a few years back in that the Sharks played the Hawks even, at least, but Nobokov killed them.

Cooper will adjust as needed and I'll be watching how he plays this as it unfolds.

The Hawks are the Hawks. Unriveled top 4 Dmen, a HOF captain who's won everywhere he's been, Kane who has top 5 hands and vision in the world, a coach who has won cups, a goalie who's won a cup and a group that has won cups and will not be rattled by anything. This is a group that is as mentally tough as an opponent will see and IMO that is their best attribute.

The Hawks won't lose this, the Bolts will have to beat a proven winner.
- Mr Ricochet

Agreed, the Hawks are a scary opponent and the Bolts will have to earn their wins. This will be Tampa's toughest challenge and will take everything they have if they are to overcome it. I was mainly hoping to point out that the series will be tough as well for the Blackhawks as Tampa won't just hand them a victory either. I'm looking forward to great hockey!

Agreed, the Hawks are a scary opponent and the Bolts will have to earn their wins. This will be Tampa's toughest challenge and will take everything they have if they are to overcome it. I was mainly hoping to point out that the series will be tough as well for the Blackhawks as Tampa won't just hand them a victory either. I'm looking forward to great hockey!
- Savlep

I understand your pointing out what some are overlooking from a fantastic Bolt team, no franchise, both in substance and style. If a fan has seen the Bolts and doesn't see how good they are they can't be shown.

Gonna be a great series. One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that cuz the Bolts are playing a major market successful team many eyes will see the Lightning, and that's a good thing for not only their franchise but for the sport as well...

In other words if some hockey fans don't know the team that well they will after the next couple weeks. A team that will be a contender for years to come.

Just saw the odds on the series. Hawks a -145 favorite, Bolts a +125 dog. Fair odds IMO.

Actually, you're emo response is stupid.
Getting your drivers license soon?
- Tangled

LOL emo? Fitting....coming from an oilers fan.

LOL emo? Fitting....coming from an oilers fan.
- tyler20c

Actually you are generally a homer emo poster

Hello. I'm a lifelong Blackhawks fan. Just wanted to wish all the Lightning fans good luck in the SCF.

I'm really looking forward to another great playoff series between 2 great teams. This is my 1st time on these boards. I always enjoy talking hockey with other knowledgeable fans, no matter who they are fans of. Oh, and I never troll.

I am very active on the Blackhawks chatroom. This years SCF should be an exciting, roller coaster ride for the next 2 weeks. So lets all strap ourselves in, keep your arms and legs inside the car at all times and enjoy the ride!

From a pure hockey standpoint... the NHL wins. Yeah, sure, maybe not the market saturation you'd get from a Hawks/Rangers final, but the speed, skill and style of these two teams is going to be something to behold. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this went down as one of the best cup finals, based on pure display of skill, we've seen in ages.

While I want the Bolts to win, Pierre LeBrun (of all people) pointed out the somewhat obvious: with the make-up of this Bolts team...well.. they kind of look a little like the Hawks from 6 years ago. A young team with a give-it-all captain ready to take the leap into elite status.

Will this be the 80s Oilers beating the Isles Dynasty... or will this be the year prior, when they just weren't yet aware what it takes to hoist Lord Stanley?

I have no concern about Tampa being an elite franchise for a long time to come, but to be the best, you have to beat the best- and I don't think anyone would argue that, all around, the Chicago Blackhawks are the best all-around franchise in terms of talent and success in this young NHL era.

Going to be excellent hockey.

Also, Jero... I can't read any of your posts without having my inner voice speak your words as if it were MurderFace.

From a pure hockey standpoint... the NHL wins. Yeah, sure, maybe not the market saturation you'd get from a Hawks/Rangers final, but the speed, skill and style of these two teams is going to be something to behold. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this went down as one of the best cup finals, based on pure display of skill, we've seen in ages.

While I want the Bolts to win, Pierre LeBrun (of all people) pointed out the somewhat obvious: with the make-up of this Bolts team...well.. they kind of look a little like the Hawks from 6 years ago. A young team with a give-it-all captain ready to take the leap into elite status.

Will this be the 80s Oilers beating the Isles Dynasty... or will this be the year prior, when they just weren't yet aware what it takes to hoist Lord Stanley?

I have no concern about Tampa being an elite franchise for a long time to come, but to be the best, you have to beat the best- and I don't think anyone would argue that, all around, the Chicago Blackhawks are the best all-around franchise in terms of talent and success in this young NHL era.

Going to be excellent hockey.

Also, Jero... I can't read any of your posts without having my inner voice speak your words as if it were MurderFace.
- OzBolts

This! Great highlight in an insightful post. Kudos.

Hopefully the refs eventually go back to calling all the clutching and grabbing like they did after the last lockout so that all teams aim to be like Chicago and Tampa. St. Louis still hasn't learned the lesson that hits after the puck is gone don't really matter… Anaheim is a much more talented version of St. Louis, but neither game plan rivals the beauty of the Bolts entering the zone on a power play or the tic-tac-toe passing of the Hawks.

From a pure hockey standpoint... the NHL wins. Yeah, sure, maybe not the market saturation you'd get from a Hawks/Rangers final, but the speed, skill and style of these two teams is going to be something to behold. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this went down as one of the best cup finals, based on pure display of skill, we've seen in ages.

While I want the Bolts to win, Pierre LeBrun (of all people) pointed out the somewhat obvious: with the make-up of this Bolts team...well.. they kind of look a little like the Hawks from 6 years ago. A young team with a give-it-all captain ready to take the leap into elite status.

Will this be the 80s Oilers beating the Isles Dynasty... or will this be the year prior, when they just weren't yet aware what it takes to hoist Lord Stanley?

I have no concern about Tampa being an elite franchise for a long time to come, but to be the best, you have to beat the best- and I don't think anyone would argue that, all around, the Chicago Blackhawks are the best all-around franchise in terms of talent and success in this young NHL era.

Going to be excellent hockey.



Also, Jero... I can't read any of your posts without having my inner voice speak your words as if it were MurderFace.
- OzBolts

Good. Although some post I intend to be mellow probably come across as anything but if you hear Sir Williams voice.

This! Great highlight in an insightful post. Kudos.

Hopefully the refs eventually go back to calling all the clutching and grabbing like they did after the last lockout so that all teams aim to be like Chicago and Tampa. St. Louis still hasn't learned the lesson that hits after the puck is gone don't really matter… Anaheim is a much more talented version of St. Louis, but neither game plan rivals the beauty of the Bolts entering the zone on a power play or the tic-tac-toe passing of the Hawks.
- DMChi2010

Meh. I'm an Oilers fan, so I gre up on Oilers hockey. No team was more skilled in the 80's. But people forget about how rough and dirty some of those legends were ( especially Messier and Lowe). It's not all about skill. That's why Sather had Semenko, Kenny the Rat, Tikkanen, Jackson, etc....

It's fine if you like the the pure skill game, me, I'm not really into ice Capades. I like a lot of grit in my hockey games, to go along with skill.

LOL emo? Fitting....coming from an oilers fan.
- tyler20c

What does being an Oilers fan have to do with anything? I'm curious. Most of us didn't choose to be Oilers fans, we were raised to be. And we're loyal. Aside from that what other characteristics do we Oilers fans share that make you're response so..." Fitting"?

I'm not entirely sold. I mean, maybe it makes sense, but it's not like Drouin doesn't have the potential to be a real special player. Would Jones help the team more now? It certainly looks that way. Which guy will help more in five years? I'm not sure. Drafting Drouin was never a two-year project.
- Michael_Stuart

This

Not coming to share, be criticized or to fight.
I posted this on the hawk board and thought you might like to read it. Your blogger can take it off if he wishes:

I am no Mike Milbury or Keith Jones, nor am I Dan Rosen or an analytics machine spitting out facts. Just what my eyeballs have seen.

Over the core of the last seasons under Yzerman’s supervision they have done things the right way.
They used their Syracuse Crunch AHL farm to develop their youngsters.

They were more than willing to select and wait for Russian prospects that were left on draft boards well pass where they ranked, due to the Russian factor. (“I don’t like it here or can’t wait to play so bye bye back to USSR”, or “Can make more in KHL.”) That let them take arguably the best goalie of the 2012 draft at 19 overall, and Niki Kucherov three picks before the end of the second round in 2011.

Like the hawks they were lucky enough to draft first overall when there was a true star quality player available and second over all when there was a giant fluid defenseman to develop.

Size wasn’t an issue, when they drafted since traded Radko Gudas, a well under six foot tough defender, under six foot Nikita Kucherov, Jonathan Droiun, or the signing of underrated Tyler Johnson who is at best 5 foot 7 and half, no matter what the NHL Guide says.

I could write a couple paragraphs on Tyler Johnson alone. He’s an American from the town where he played Junior with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL.
He wasn’t drafted, told his size was the issue, and instead of putting his chin on his sweater and giving up all he did was persevere, get stronger, faster, and on ice smarter.

Let me admit, like most of us on the hawk board, I come from past generations and phases of how the game was played, and although even some of the toughest NHL original six defenders stood 5 foot 9 inches (Bobby Baun), none played in the high paced, big hit, world of giants of today where forwards and defenseman could come as big as ‘bolts Brian Boyle at 6’ 7”, and will make contact with the smaller skilled players with reckless abandon.

So while sitting six rows from the ice and saw Tyler Johnson’s size, I admittedly scoffed that sure, thinking, “Sure, he was really quick and handles the puck well, but he is gonna get caught where he gets hit, and besides, he’ll wear down in a 84 games season.” He got like 50 points last season, his first.
So this year, I had him already “judged” and tried to focus on other guys and what happened is he simply stood out. He really seems to have that gift they say the great players have where they slow the ice down and see the options. And this pistons he has for legs, well, remind me of Louie Angotti (who never could play full speed, but on that occasionally short shift seemed to be faster than the entire ice…man… if the short shift was part of the 60’s game, that might have changed things…ah, but that’s another post…)

Johnson is patient but deadly and get the jump on opponents with the strong low center of gravity
And the rookie linemates, well just remember they saw some ice together in Syracuse (and with Namestnikov and Killorn…) and Palat maybe six foot and thick is also pretty smart and at times strong on the puck. He is more of a lunchpail player who understands “layering” and gets in position and not only works his bags off, places the puck to the right place.
Niki Kucherov is a freaking wild card. His draft year I really liked his hands and release, but figured he would have to wait until early second because of his birthplace.
You better beware because he can get moving and pick a top corner like nobody’s business. He is downright scary and (I know over-used term) can change a game with one shot.
Stamkos has had moments of re-igniting but he has “struggled” in his 43 goal season I think due to nagging injuries. He still has that greta one-timer and quick hands from anywhere inside the attack zone.

It is easy to undervalue the contribution of former Red Wing Vallteri Filppula, a thick six footer who has nicely been a sort of glue at the pivot position. He was well schooled in the system they play and is a pretty good leader who plays to the strengths of his linemates and the situations. When Stamkos was made a wing on his line, he was the grease and oil for the line’s engine.

And Ryan Callaghan? I think all here know what he brings (and some of wish there would have been room for him to bring it to Chicago) and there simply is no need to spend more than a line to say he will do what he has to to win and provide solid leadership to his team.
Brian Boyle was part of the down low game that scored on darling in the game in Tampa I believe. (If not he sure provided enough muck and grease to make me think this Lightning team has such terrific balance and ways to bring in the attack.

It has taken awhile but Victor Hedman at times looked like he finally was playing with the kind of results a top two pick should. (We are quick to castrate a year old Rundblad, but the NHL is a tough league to be on the job trained in.) It became exceedingly clear that on many an occasion, Hedman was comfortable on the rush whether he was part of a two man, three man, or as the fourth man, and you see see him even lead it ala Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm, Jones and Josi.
Over the last years he has scored more than one goal on the Hawks from in close, or was part of the numbers leading to them.

The rest of the Lightning defense?
Yeah, i saw the praises heaped on Stralman here, but I probably can say with confidence he and Matt care and Jason Garrison, and Braydon Coburn and Andrj Sustr are big bodies who can lean in, they are a bit slower afoot than a team might like have back there. They are for the most part,smart and have good sticks but they get into to trouble.

The Blackhawks have in regular season games had some problems with the speed of Montreal, Minnesota, even Tampa.
That just means they cut the chances of odd man breaks and work their way through and set up the attack.

I don’t think that this will be a short series, though I think it could go South for the younger team.

You know you have another Hawk fan expert here too, who maybe instead of arguing with you need to consider his thoughts....Dominc / True Grit

I am done praising the opponent.

Myhockeybuzz blogs that way---------->
- Jeropotato

and Cartoon Channel is on your local Brighthouse Network, channel 1282

The Quran
- wiz1901

That was a long post describing the team that most of us have seen play 100+ games this year. Thanks for your contribution but right now we rather discuss the cup series.

This Chicago Transplant Hawks Fan has his Cup tickets for game 1. I have always supported the Lightning since moving to Florida just over 10 years ago. I love the game and I loved the old Vinny/Marty teams. But for this Series... I gotta support my True Love. The Lightning were an acquired fandom, but I always lived and died with the Hawks.

I will be there in Red and Black ready to go... but I will say, If the Hawks do bow out the Bolts, I wont be as devastated. I mean... its not like its the Wings or Blues