Best. Playoff. Series. In a very very very very long time.
Hands down, no doubt about it, shut up if you disagree.
What a crazy series this has been. Know what, this is going to go to a Game 7 also because why wouldn't it?
How about we just tell the Rangers, "Hey guys, thanks for playing." and make this the finals. Or better yet, how about another 7-game series after this one? We can just call this the "Home-ice series." or the series to decide who has home ice in the finals.
Or maybe take Ken Campbell's advice and make this a best-of-15 series.
Breaking news: NHL's board of governors to hold emergency meeting to vote on decree to make LA-Chicago series a best-of-15.
— Ken Campbell (@THNKenCampbell) May 31, 2014Chicago made a late charge in Game 6 to take it 4-3, much in part to the previously invisible Patrick Kane. The same Patrick Kane who had four points in Game 5. Your big players need to come to play when the series is on the line and my god has he showed up. The line dubbed, "That 70's line" have met their match in Kane-Saad-Shaw. With two threatening lines, and Michal Handzus completely vacated from the top-6, The Hawks have again become a deeper offensive threat.
I questioned the coaching of Joel Quenneville, who in the first four games of the series looked completely dumbfounded at the matchups and how they were going for him. However, credit the veteran bench boss. He put his lines in a blender after Game 4 and these games have looked very favorable for the Chicago. Great changes, and they have made a massive difference on the outlook of this series. Well done from Quenneville.
Well done from Kane's linemates also in Saad and Shaw. The young duo have been energetic and effective. Hard to imagine a pair that can hang with the speed and intensity of Patrick Kane but the duo have been excellent.
Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith have also stepped in a positive direction after a couple of real out of sorts games in the first few of the series. Overall, the Hawks have looked much more...Hawks...the last few games. A lot of speed, firepower, and a strong knack for the counter attack.
Not to completely disregard the Kings here, they have played two fantastic hockey games in Games 5 and 6 but come out on the wrong end of things. Quick was not sharp in Game 5, and Game 6 was just one of those nights. I know there are a few people out there posting his save percentage in the series, and the low number of "scoring chances" the Hawks had, but I think he played well enough for the Kings to win. Not every goal that goes in has to be of fault of your goaltender. Sometimes it's just a great play.
Toews and Kopitar remain locked in an epic battle, with the smallest victories making huge differences. Example, Toews won two key draws against Kopitar late in the game with Quick on the bench. Small battles, big consequences.
Slava Voynov and Willie Mitchell continue to be a train wreck, and to make matter worse the struggling duo have had the pleasure of matching up against Kane. Check out the corsi numbers of Mitchell and Voynov the last two games. Trevor Lewis, normally a strong defensive player, has also made a few costly defensive gaffs in the last two games. He was caught flat-footed on the game-tying goal by Duncan Keith and left Michal Handzus completely alone in front of the net on the overtime game-winner last game.
Simple mistakes, huge implications. Again, this series has been THAT close.
More on goaltending though. Neither goalie can be particularly happy with their numbers this series, honestly. Both Quick Crawford have had a save percentages that are sub-.900 in 4 of the 6 games. Goaltending is just a small portion of this series though. I don't think it's entirely to blame, nor is it a reason you can point to any victories. Should it be different when you have a "World-class" goaltender on one end? That's a debate for another day. Life has not been easy for either of these goaltenders. There has been tons of traffic in front, redirections, a lot of special teams work. There has been a fair share of bad goals, good goals, and everything in between. At this point it's a wash.
And as far as Quicks numbers go this postseason...well...they have been playing the number 1, 2, and 6 offenses in the NHL from the regular season. I wasn't expecting his numbers to be that great to begin with. Moving on though.
You had to know that Chicago would show up. There was no way that they were going to go down in 5 or 6 games with their backs against the wall. Stanley Cup champs and all that.
By my math (which is admittedly sketchy), CHI is now 25-4 in Games 5, 6 and 7 in the Kane/Toews era.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 31, 2014And hey, Patrick Kane pretty much nails it.
Toews: "I don’t think anything motivates you like having your back against the wall." #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@TramyersCSN) May 31, 2014Well, now their backs aren't going to be against the wall so to speak. They will have a ton to play for on Sunday, as will the Kings. The Kings are going for yet another Game 7 victory. Hey, at least they are mixing up how they have been getting to Game 7's right? Down 3-0, Down 3-2, up 3-1. Credit them for at least not following a boring script...I guess. If you think the Kings are out of this simply because they didn't put it away yet, think again. They have been here before...twice to be exact.
The Hawks are going for yet ANOTHER finals. It would be the 3rd in 4 years and another step on the path of forging a modern day dynasty.
Justin Williams, are you ready?
Remember those antacids everyone was taking for the Ducks series? Yea bust 'em back out.
Already I have a few questions about Game 7 floating around in my mind. Who are the Kings going to match up against the Kane line? Are Voynov and Mitchell going to stop being terrible? Is one of these goalies going to steal a game finally? Is Darryl Sutter going to pull his goalie before 1:20 left in the game if down? (Really, holy god what was that?)
Speaking of Sutter, here is a little bit to chew on:
God I love Sutter pic.twitter.com/uA2SVgfkzl
— Jason Brough (@JasonPHT) May 31, 2014What changes do the Kings make if any? Thoughts? Feelings? Drunken ramblings?
My immediate thoughts? They will need Quick to be good for Game 7, yes, but if No. 26 and 33 don't show up, this series is done-zo for Los Angeles.
Sunday can't come soon enough. Back to the Windy City they go. Regardless of the outcome, this has been a MONSTER of a playoff series. It will be the best of the playoffs, and the winner of this will win the cup. I don't doubt it, and yes I'm calling it right now. Sorry Rangers fans.
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