John Jaeckel: Can't Stop Da 'Stache

Well said. Bring on the Bolts!

First...me? I'll take it, along with the Western Conference Title.

Damnit... Ok...second.

Patrick Kane has multiple point games in each of the Blackhawk's last 5 elimination games.

https://twitter.com/PR_NH...04853891994423297/photo/1

JJ, other than what Q said in the presser, anything on the Bickell and Krueger injuries?

Bicks was seen on camera shaking his head on the bench, as if to clear the cobwebs.
Krueger appeared to have his rib area run into the boards in front of the bench by Kessler.

John Jaeckel: Can't Stop Da 'Stache
- John Jaeckel

The change in the Duck's body language was clear to see. But I think they were physically beaten up too. Funny how that seems to happen to teams every year that play the passive, docile, undersized Chicago Blackhawks.

1st line and 4th line.

2, 4, 7, and 27.

Crow.

That's all we needed last night.

JJ: Please remember that Toews is NOT a leader.

Great blog, great effort last night. Love these guys. So clutch. Big series coming and will take the same kind of perseverance. Tampa is no bs.

One of the keys to the win in the WCF this season is the improvement down the middle. Richards has been a significant upgrade at 2C, and has been very good in the playoffs, whether playing with Kane or Hossa. Vermette has been solid, especially on draws and in the defensive zone. Plus that GWG in OT.

I can't remember another series in any sport where one coach totally befuddled another........Q adjusted to everything and simply smoked Boudreau.
And was there an anaheim d-man that you would have wanted over any of our 4?

Matchup wise, this reminded me of '85 trying to get past the Edmonton and there were just too many good Oilers............worth the wait, though

Congrats again.

Tough series. I'm glad J.J.recognized it was Q who made the difference to get the match ups he needed to win.

Also, I don't think you can put it on just those three. You have to include hossa in any conversation about the Hawks success.

I can't remember another series in any sport where one coach totally befuddled another........Q adjusted to everything and simply smoked Boudreau.
And was there an anaheim d-man that you would have wanted over any of our 4?

Matchup wise, this reminded me of '85 trying to get past the Edmonton and there were just too many good Oilers............worth the wait, though
- nellie

At the end of the day Stanley Cup champions don't have Clayton Stoner and Franky Beauchemin playing regular minutes on their back end.

Thanks John. Nice job Hawks! Great game last night, and I am so glad to see them advance rather than the Ducks. I am wondering if they will stick with the 4 D-man system or if they will try to bring someone up for the Finals. Man, those are mad minutes for those top 4 guys.
By the way, we had the 'Stache T-shirts before you guys. However, it was "Car Bomb's" face on the t-shirt. Is that guy still in the league...lol?
It will be an interesting finals. Crawford keeps holding his own, and the Bolts have some speed. So, maybe a high scoring Finals?
Anyway, I hope that Kimmo can play in at least one game. He's a good guy, and to drink from the Cup would not be a bad way to end his career.

Tell you what. I don't see the demise of the Hawks with the salary dump coming that many are anticipating....at least not if Stan does it correctly.

We have several young guys who can pick up some slack next year. We will almost certainly retain a core that includes: Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, Hjmarsson, Saad ....those guys are going nowhere. We COULD lose 2 or 3 of Crawford, Bickle, Sharp.....but that in itself....with nothing back but picks and prospects still wouldn't kill us. Teravainen can replace Sharp. McNeil and Danault could see some big club action. I look at this team, and I see options to shed some salary, and STILL ice a Cup contending team.

Time will tell....but for me....the PRESENT and the FUTURE look REAL bright!!!

Here is a stat I keep coming back to

Since 2009 the Hawks have NEVER LOST a series when they've gotten to 2 wins before their opponent gets to 3. If the Hawks make it a best out of 3, they are unbeatable.

09-Detroit WCF-Hawks never got to 2 wins
11-Canucks-Nucks had 3-0 series lead, Hawks rallied, lost 4-3
12-Coyotes-Hawks never got to 2 wins
14-Kings-WCF-Hawks down 3-1, Hawks rallied, lost 4-3

Basically if the Hawks are "in it" in the early part of the series, they take over late (which is WHEN Kane, Toews, etc really make their money).

Even in 2 of the 4 series the Hawks did lose they came storming back. And lets face it, they had NO BUSINESS taking Vancouver to 7 games that year, but they did. The Kings in complete control up 3-1 and the Hawks turn the lights on. Phoenix was a tough series and the Hawks faced a goalie who stood on his head (in between acting classes), our goalie struggled and they took out one of our best players. Detroit series was just situation of "not ready yet" to knock off such a battle tested team like Detroit. Perhaps that series will give us a view into the SCF. I could see Tampa Bay losing to the Hawks and then winning a couple cups within the next 4 or 5 years.

Great series with the Ducks! Feeling really good looking forward to the Bolts should be entertaining

Tell you what. I don't see the demise of the Hawks with the salary dump coming that many are anticipating....at least not if Stan does it correctly.

We have several young guys who can pick up some slack next year. We will almost certainly retain a core that includes: Toews, Kane, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, Hjmarsson, Saad ....those guys are going nowhere. We COULD lose 2 or 3 of Crawford, Bickle, Sharp.....but that in itself....with nothing back but picks and prospects still wouldn't kill us. Teravainen can replace Sharp. McNeil and Danault could see some big club action. I look at this team, and I see options to shed some salary, and STILL ice a Cup contending team.

Time will tell....but for me....the PRESENT and the FUTURE look REAL bright!!!
- hawk35

The future looks bright, but the immediate future is certainly in doubt. Your comments are full of conjecture.

-"Young guys pick up the slack" - the reason so many other teams struggle is because of young guys. How good they'll be, how fast they develop all are unknown at this point

-"Saad" - if you don't think at least a few GMs are not checking their books over right now for a potential offer to Saad you are crazy. I love that guy, but Hawks fans should consider at least the possibility of losing him

-"Crawford" - He being a possible move? It's not easy to find goalies that seem to excel in the big moments. While moving him may be a prudent move financially, it's a huge risk

One also should consider:
-Stanley Cup hangover. You think it was bad in previous years? It could be worse next year with the number of minutes played
-Injuries. The Hawks have not lost ANY of their top 4 D-men to a longer term injury in a couple years. Kane was out for 20 games or so and that's been it. But imagine Keith or Seabs going down and one of the top forwards? Imagine Toews spending time on the shelf. The team previously had enough depth to cover a loss to Kane, because they had Sharp, Saad, Hossa, Toews, etc....next year the depth could be Toews, Hossa...errr, Hartmann and McNeill. Again, may work...may not

My take is if the Hawks win the Cup I really won't care at all about next year in regards to expectations. I'll just watch and enjoy hockey. In the rugged West with a loss of just 2 or 3 important players things get dicey. The Hawks could be losing 6 or 7 players.

Get 4 more wins and whatever rebuild happens will be sweet. I am not trying to be negative, but I am going to temper expectations. If they establish this dynasty I probably won't care if they go 0-82 next year. lol

Nice write up JJ

Hats off to the Ducks and their fans...great series!

Now another series where I'm going to be nervous as hell and chewing what's left of my fingernails

I can't say I have watched much of Tampa Bay the last few years, but I do know they have the triplet line and a Stamkos line..both quite dangerous..Callahan on the 3rd line...Hedman and Stralman both VERY very good d-men

I wonder how Q will try and match up his lines..Also, will Q separate 19 and 88 to start the series?

I hope Bickell and Kruger aren't injured too bad, and can be effective


JJ, in your opinion, does the 3 day layoff from yesterday to the 1st game, and then another 2 day layoff between games 1 and 2 benefit either team more? Or will it be the same for both?

Also you mentioned HAmmer is a bit banged up....is it something serious?

The future looks bright, but the immediate future is certainly in doubt. Your comments are full of conjecture.

-"Young guys pick up the slack" - the reason so many other teams struggle is because of young guys. How good they'll be, how fast they develop all are unknown at this point

-"Saad" - if you don't think at least a few GMs are not checking their books over right now for a potential offer to Saad you are crazy. I love that guy, but Hawks fans should consider at least the possibility of losing him

-"Crawford" - He being a possible move? It's not easy to find goalies that seem to excel in the big moments. While moving him may be a prudent move financially, it's a huge risk

One also should consider:
-Stanley Cup hangover. You think it was bad in previous years? It could be worse next year with the number of minutes played
-Injuries. The Hawks have not lost ANY of their top 4 D-men to a longer term injury in a couple years. Kane was out for 20 games or so and that's been it. But imagine Keith or Seabs going down and one of the top forwards? Imagine Toews spending time on the shelf. The team previously had enough depth to cover a loss to Kane, because they had Sharp, Saad, Hossa, Toews, etc....next year the depth could be Toews, Hossa...errr, Hartmann and McNeill. Again, may work...may not

My take is if the Hawks win the Cup I really won't care at all about next year in regards to expectations. I'll just watch and enjoy hockey. In the rugged West with a loss of just 2 or 3 important players things get dicey. The Hawks could be losing 6 or 7 players.

Get 4 more wins and whatever rebuild happens will be sweet. I am not trying to be negative, but I am going to temper expectations. If they establish this dynasty I probably won't care if they go 0-82 next year. lol
- kwolf68

I agree completely with your post except for the rebuilding of next year..With the core this team has, they will NOT have to rebuild for a while, hopefully....RELOAD is the word I like to use, as it means building up the depth of this team...again...And I agree with you, win the Cup now, I could care less about next season until it comes along, and I'll be able to enjoy hockey and watching young guys develop either into a Igor Larionov or a Igor Makarov

Saad is going nowhere. He'll be resigned before he hits the market.

Saad is going nowhere. He'll be resigned before he hits the market.
- tyweb69

Ah the paradigm of absolutes. Thing is, you do NOT know this. He could resign, but he also may well decide he is worth far more than the Hawks will (can) pay him. The Hawks are not in position of adding any new huge contracts to the books. They are trying to get rid of those type of deals.

In the 4 to 5 range? I think the Hawks are looking at keeping him
If his salary pushes up past 6, then I can see him wearing a new uniform.

I agree completely with your post except for the rebuilding of next year..With the core this team has, they will NOT have to rebuild for a while, hopefully....RELOAD is the word I like to use, as it means building up the depth of this team...again...And I agree with you, win the Cup now, I could care less about next season until it comes along, and I'll be able to enjoy hockey and watching young guys develop either into a Igor Larionov or a Igor Makarov
- captainserious

For a case book study, one only has to look back a the previous two purges

2010-Hawks did not ably "reload" and while they did make playoffs next two years, they were quickly dispatched both years

2013-The purge not as bad as 2010 and for the most part the Hawks came through unscathed. However, bringing back Handzus, who was well done, was a result of not being able to manage the 'reload" properly. Hawks lost to Kings mainly because of terrible center play

I think the purge coming up with be closer to what 2010 was an not 2013. The Hawks won't be losing just a couple bottom 6 wingers. They will be losing far more and what they lose will be similar in a lot of ways to 2010.

In the end, I do think the Hawks WILL rely on kids, that's going to be trying but also a lot of fun...Danault, Hartmann, Baun, Johns, TVR, Pokka, Panarin, Palliotta, McNeill, etc. And I am fine with that. However, I hope us Hawks fans let them develop and not throw them under the bus after the first 4 game losing streak.

Ah the paradigm of absolutes. Thing is, you do NOT know this. He could resign, but he also may well decide he is worth far more than the Hawks will (can) pay him. The Hawks are not in position of adding any new huge contracts to the books. They are trying to get rid of those type of deals.

In the 4 to 5 range? I think the Hawks are looking at keeping him
If his salary pushes up past 6, then I can see him wearing a new uniform.

No, but one can do the math. Saad may warrant a Johansen type deal but to realistically poach him an offer sheet will need to clear $5m and if it clears $6m? How many org's can pull that off right now - risk the picks and take the chance his production will drop with lesser linemates.

It may happen... but the chances aren't that great.