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Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks 8PM Central/6Pm Pacific NBC/CBC/TVA
The thing about the conventional wisdom is that it's so often "debunked."
Conventional wisdom says the Blackhawks are nearly unbeatable in Playoff Game 5's, 14-3 under Joel Quenneville.
But it also says that the Blackhawks, especially their top 4 defense, is tired, and worn out physically by the pounding of the big bad Anaheim Ducks.
And that winning on the road in the playoffs is especially difficult.
Somewhere in there the conventional wisdom will be wrong, and right, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
As far as the Blackhawks success in game 5's either at home or on the road, it is a fact. Further, when you look at the statistical differences in Patrick Kane's performance between games 1-4 of a series, and Games 5-7, it is remarkable.
Showtime has been warming up the last couple of games, and might go off for real starting tonight.
Or not.
Are the Hawks tired? Interestingly, while their defense is clearly getting a boatload of miunutes, the minutes among Blackhawk forwards are actually more evenly distributed than Anaheim's. In Game 4, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler had the most minutes of all forwards for both teams, with Getzlaf getting over 30 minutes. This has been largely the case throughout the series.
To my eye, the only Hawk really showing signs of fatigue is Niklas Hjalmarsson. But anyone who's followed the Hawks knows that is nothing new by this point of the playoffs. Hjalmarsson plays big minutes, physical hockey and blocks a lot of shots. In spite of the minutes, Duncan Keith, who leads all players in TOI by a wide margin, and Johnny Oduya, look fresh as daisies. Brent Seabrook looks a little crusty around the edges, but that didn't stop him from scoring Friday night on a bomb of a shot from between the circles.
Is fatigue a factor for the Hawks' top 4? Has to be. The question is, how much?
The Ducks keep repeating the mantra that the Hawks will wear down. But they really hadn't by the end of Game 4.
Meanwhile in Game 4, the Ducks, especially some of their top forwards, began to show a lot of frustration. Both Perry and Kesler got into a lot of extracurriculars with Hawk center Marcus Kruger.
Which is interesting, because Kruger isn't a talker or a dirty player. Kesler was 8-18 in the dot in game 4, however, and that might have more to do with his frustration.
After taking a roughing penalty, Patrick Maroon tried to initiate a smack talking match with a Hawk veteran, that ended with the unnamed Blackhawk telling Maroon to "just play the game, kid" (among some other choice words).
After the game, the Ducks almost to a man reverted to the "they'll wear down" party line.
But are the Ducks actually wearing down a bit?
Jacob Silfverberg took a few big hits in game 4, not the least of which was a shot from Bryan Bickell that appeared to have him woozy on the bench afterward. Chicago has leveled some big hits on Anaheim as well. Patrick Sharp and Andrew Shaw both had nine hits a piece in game 4. And the Ducks are showing some frustration now.
The Blackhawks appeared to solve some things in game 4. They got a lot of forward help in initiating breakouts in their zone, whch helped solve the Anaheim forecheck to a degree. And reinserting Antoine Vermette worked wonders, not just on the game-winning goal, but in the faceoff dot, where Vermette went 14-6, and the Hawks, as a team, dominated at 55% for the night.
But they slept last night in hotel room beds after a long flight out to the West Coast. And the big question has to be, after another multiple overtime game, will the Blackhawks have their legs?
If they do, they have a very good shot to take Game 5 and tilt the series their way. If they don't, it would be a real struggle to win.
One key could be Joel Quenneville and staff investing some more minutes in now 5th defenseman Kyle Cumiskey—whose play has improved game by game, including playing a role in setting up the game winner Friday night. Cumiskey's speed and ability to make a stretch pass—as well as avoiding big mistakes thus far—is noticeable.
Regardless, it should be another great game. I'll recap tomorrow.
JJ