I’ll say it again

2/3 of the 12 best forwards playing in this series are Blackhawks.

The Hawks have Toews, Kane, and Saad all playing as well as they ever have...AND they have DeBrincat, Strome, Nylander, Dach, and Kubalik all breaking out/reaching that next gear at once. Even their 4th line is a very good shutdown line(Highmore-Kampf-Carpenter) as we saw in game 1. The Oilers can’t match that depth of forward firepower,
doesn’t matter how well McDrai plays. This is why the Hawks are vastly superior 5v5.

On top of that the Hawks actually have a reliable goalie in Crawford....AND their blue line is infinitely better with Boqvist and Koekkoek replacing Gus and Seabrook. Not to mention the return of de Haan. Chicago’s blue line is much better than most think.

Game 1 had much more to do with the Hawks and what they do well than what the Oilers didn’t do.

Series not over though. EDM can win this if the Hawks keep committing dumb penalties. The less time at 5v5 for the Oilers the better they’ll be. Oilers can also get a boost from the goalie change. We’ll see what happens. Way too early to say it’s over, but the fact remains this is NOT an upset if the Hawks indeed end up winning. They are simply the better team top to bottom.
- SimpleJack

Well said fellow Hawks fan. Well Said.

City of Chumpions.
- bruceflyers

Lonely man with a miniscule william.

It goes well beyond just the pucks that went in the net early in the game. The bottom line is the entirety of the game 5v5 the Hawks generated chances at will, many that didn’t even result in goals. This has much more to do with the Hawks superior talent at forward than the Oilers just not showing up/being out of place/not covering their man. You make it sound like EDM was some defensive juggernaut during the regular season. They really aren’t that good defensively. Better than years past, but still very leaky and easy to exploit if they’re playing a team that is as deep and skilled as the Hawks are up front.
- SimpleJack

I'm only making it seem that way as much as you're making it sound like the Hawks are some offensive juggernaut.

Certainly they're not great defensively, but I saw almost every game this year and Tippett had worked out most of the egregious types of mistakes like we saw on goals 2, 4, and 6. Overall, the team was just outworked to a ghastly degree in the first period and the top-6- specifically the McDavid line- continued to be outworked throughout the game.

I'll credit the Hawks where it's due and they absolutely outworked the Oilers and their better forward depth yielded good results. Anyone that wasn't taking the Hawks seriously prior to the series wasn't paying attention to the numbers- which favoured the Hawks.

However, there's no world where you can tell me McDavid's line getting outshot 6-3 by Kampf's line isn't more a problem of work ethic on the Oilers side. You can't make me believe that McDavid rocking a 27% shot ratio is more a result of Chicago's forwards playing well than McDavid's line simply not being ready to give the effort necessary to succeed. You won't be able to tell me that Klefbom and Larsson getting completely lost in their coverages on goal 2 and 4 is more the result of the Hawks' play than it was Oiler braincramps.

At minimum it's equal parts and, if anything else, it's more a matter of Oiler shortcomings that they have to address. If they don't, this series doesn't go past 3 games.

Then I ask that you not raise political topics within a thread for discussing hockey. Obviously I can't stop you or others from doing so, but I'll request it nonetheless.
- MaximumBone

That I can help with.

Edit: Looks like all is good

Well, gonna be an interesting game 2. Hopefully, Edmonton doesn't bury themselves in a hole.

I'm only making it seem that way as much as you're making it sound like the Hawks are some offensive juggernaut.

Certainly they're not great defensively, but I saw almost every game this year and Tippett had worked out most of the egregious types of mistakes like we saw on goals 2, 4, and 6. Overall, the team was just outworked to a ghastly degree in the first period and the top-6- specifically the McDavid line- continued to be outworked throughout the game.

I'll credit the Hawks where it's due and they absolutely outworked the Oilers and their better forward depth yielded good results. Anyone that wasn't taking the Hawks seriously prior to the series wasn't paying attention to the numbers- which favoured the Hawks.

However, there's no world where you can tell me McDavid's line getting outshot 6-3 by Kampf's line isn't more a problem of work ethic on the Oilers side. You can't make me believe that McDavid rocking a 27% shot ratio is more a result of Chicago's forwards playing well than McDavid's line simply not being ready to give the effort necessary to succeed. You won't be able to tell me that Klefbom and Larsson getting completely lost in their coverages on goal 2 and 4 is more the result of the Hawks' play than it was Oiler braincramps.

At minimum it's equal parts and, if anything else, it's more a matter of Oiler shortcomings that they have to address. If they don't, this series doesn't go past 3 games.
- MaximumBone

The Hawks, as they sit today, are very much an offensive juggernaut. Or at least very close to fitting that label. Still not a Cup contender because the defense has a long way to go(team defense including not just the blue line but the forwards as well). But just offensively speaking they are becoming a juggernaut before our very eyes. You can throw the regular season stats out the window because the individual growth of several players and the lineup construction since then is night and day. Dach(1C in the making with top end skill) and DeBrincat(40 goal potential) on the 3rd line. Then you’ve got Toews/Saad and their new partner in crime Kubalik out there lighting it up. Kane and Strome(who also has 1C potential though he’s much more likely to be a 2C) make another legit scoring line. Keith-Boqvist is an extremely dangerous pair offensively. The PP has come together quite nicely.

This Hawks team is loaded with offense. Absolutely loaded. Definitely one of the top teams in the NHL offensively speaking. But as an overall team they still have a lot of work to do.

I expect changes in Edmonton for game 2.
Koskinen in net - obvious
Neal playing on one of the top two lines.
Much heavier and much more committed to the forecheck.
More physical/chippy.

I expect changes in Edmonton for game 2.
Koskinen in net - obvious
Neal playing on one of the top two lines.
Much heavier and much more committed to the forecheck.
More physical/chippy.
- -Doh-

Looked like Smith was guessing wrong on most of those goals.