By Jim Coffman
Even after all the thrilling Round 2 comebacks versus Vancouver (the Blackhawks have trailed in three of three victories in the current series and also rallied from a three-goal deficit in Game 1 before giving up a late goal to lose), the Blackhawks’ top playoff performance so far remains Game 5 at home against Calgary. That was when they took command of Round 1 by pouncing on the Flames for a couple early goals and never eased up on their way to a 5-1 thrashing. The Blackhawks then played a more careful game in the clincher on the road, scoring early again, adding some insurance and eventually winning despite being out-shot by a considerable margin.
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There’s a great chance we’re in for a repeat this evening, when the Canucks come to town down 3-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals. The Blackhawks have outplayed their current foes for long stretches of the past two games (most recently they out-shot Vancouver by a rate of 2-to-1 during the second and third periods Saturday) and if they can just light the lamp early, watch them ride the momentum to an early two or even three-goal lead. Then it will be up to the defense and Nikolai Khabibulin to lock it down.
And the Hawk defense’s performance when it has mattered this post-season, outside of the occasional odd-man-rush-enabling, boneheaded play by blue-liner Cam Barker, inspires all sorts of confidence. A potentially critical difference between this game and Game 3 of the series in Chicago early last week is there is only one day between the previous game and tonight’s clash. There were two days between Games 2 and 3 and that extra time was filled with people telling the Hawks how good they are as the home team relaxed in comfortable home environs. The resulting let-down was not surprising.
As for their most recent performance, the one that put them in position to clinch a trip to the Stanley Cup semifinals this evening, all that can be said is what a win. The Blackhawks, led by Dustin “Tower of Power” Byfuglien, would not succumb despite ultra-hostile surroundings in Vancouver. They would not give in despite the Canucks cashing in on some puck luck (it is to the game’s detriment at times that so many goals result from weird bounces and lucky – for the goal-scorers – little sequences) to take the lead midway through the second period.
Everyone wants the Hawks to initiate physical play but it was their ability to control themselves in late second-period scrums (where multiple players were grabbing each other and jawing and eventually escalating pushing and shoving) that set up the tying goal. Canucks players were caught taking liberties with the Hawks then, setting up Byfuglien’s power-play game-tier and again in the third period, when a high-sticking penalty set up Patrick Kane’s beautiful cross-slot feed to Dave Bolland, who had time to make a sandwich before wristing in the power-play, eventual game-winner.
Hometown Hubbie
It was a great sports Saturday night in these parts. I got back home from taking my son and some friends to the White Sox game for his birthday (he’s 10 and while I’m guessing he’ll eventually join me in Cub fandom, a boy growing up in Chicago these days who actually pays attention to baseball results is usually going to favor the recent World Series champs) in time to take in the last two periods live from British Columbia. We were fortunate to watch the only decent game of the Sox versus Texas series, what with Saturday’s victory being bookended by desultory 6-0 and 7-1 losses in which the Sox seemed disinterested at best.
But it was an even better sports Sunday night for my Boston fan wife. We just watched the Celtics’ Big Baby Davis toss in a ridiculously good 18-foot jumper at the buzzer to shock the Magic and even their second-round NBA playoff series at two wins apiece. It was the ultimate shot, one that is released with a tiny enough amount of time remaining that the buzzer goes off mid-flight.
The light the NBA has installed in all of its backboards creates such a cool visual when it goes on in these circumstances. Davis’ shot was about two-thirds of the way to the basket when the backboard lit up red around the edges. If the shot rims out Orlando wins. When it went in it was victorious pandemonium for Boston backers.
Earlier last night, Julie watched the Bruins score their first couple goals in an eventual 4-0 victory over Carolina, pulling themselves back to 3-2 down in their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the previously red-hot Hurricanes.
And she wrapped it all up with a late-inning Red Sox win over the team that has been their nemesis the past few seasons, the Rays. Despite reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia going out early with a pulled groin, Boston battled into the eighth tied 3-3 and then pulled it out thanks to Jason Bay’s RBI double and Jonathan Papelbon’s death-defying save.
Cub Drub
Papelbon has nothing on the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol, who wasn’t sharp again against the Brewers in the eighth inning Sunday. Still he was able to get out of the inning with a hold (and Kevin Gregg pitched a successful ninth for the save) thanks to a slick little play by Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles.
With the bases loaded and two out, former Cub catcher Jason Kendall scorched a ground ball to the left side that initially seemed bound for left field. But Fontenot had been cheating toward the hole and he moved quickly to his left to corral the ball. He then went to throw to second for the force but realized too late that Miles, who had also been cheating toward the hole on the right side, had a lot of ground to cover to get to the base in time for the force. Fontenot let go of a shaky throw that tailed a bit back toward first base in the air but still a step away from the bag, Miles managed to leap, grab the throw and come down on the base a beat before the base-runner arrived. Inning over – and the Cubs, who primarily have to avoid long losing streaks with Carlos Zambrano and Aramis Ramirez out for the next month-plus (I think any Cubs fan would take a .500 record during the coming stretch), had denied the Brewers a sweep in Milwaukee.
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Jim Coffman brings you the city’s best sports roundup every Monday. And he does it because he loves you. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on May 11, 2009