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Here's a bleary-eyed Saturday morning blog, and no alcohol was involved.
Hard to sleep last night after the Blackhawks pilled off a Game 6 win to force a deciding contest back in Chicago on Sunday. This has been a great series, regardless of who wins.
But you have to live the Hawks' chances now. Home ice. L.A. will be playing it's 21st game of the playoffs thus far, and sleeping in strange beds on the road. And the Hawks have taken an advantage strategically on the ice. Last night, the line of Brandon Saad, Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw had 5 points, after getting 9 points in Game 5.
Kane was electric, as he always seems to be in the latter stages of playoff series, with 2 goals and an assist.
The Kings have won two Game 7's on the road thus far in these playoffs, so they should not be counted out by any means. And were it not for Kane's heroics last night, the game could easily have gone the other way.
But the fact is, this Blackhawk team is loaded, and at the forefront are two of the most dynamic, competitive players in hockey today: Kane and Jonathan Toews.
Other Hawks who excelled last night (and there were many):
Saad, Shaw, Marian Hossa, Marcus Kruger, Brent Seabrook, Ben Smith, Duncan Keith and especially Corey Crawford. The Hawks needed a big game from #50 and they got it. Crawford was strong all night and especially in the closing seconds under a barrage of close-in opportunities for the Kings.
The tide appears to have turned in this series. Can it again on Sunday—and the Kings move on the face New York? Absolutely. But the Hawks also seem to know that and so they will be prepared to come out with all their guns blazing.
No one on the Hawks seems to be guaranteeing victory, unlike the Kings' Drew Doughty. Doughty has played like a beast in the series, but his prognostication skills have not been so great.
I'll be back with a preview of what should be an epic game 7 tomorrow.