Dave Bolland
Cup Time — Blackhawks Advance to Stanley Cup Finals with 4-2 Win Over Sharks
Monday, May 24th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the 1st time since 1992 after they swept the #1 Seed San Jose Sharks in 4 straight games in the Western Conference Finals.
After the Sharks raced out to a 2-0 lead midway through the 2nd period, it looked like the Hawks might have to close out the series back in San Jose later this week. But the Blackhawks quickly answered with goals by Brent Seabrook and Dave Bolland to tie the game at 2 before the end of the period.
Then it looked like we might be headed to another overtime contest, but Dustin Byfuglien’s 8th post-season goal with just under 6 minutes left to go in the game put the Hawsk ahead for good. Byfuglien has scored all 8 of his goals in the last 2 series against the Vancouver Canucks and Sharks and has proved to be a valuable forward on attack with the Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane after playing the 1st round of the playoffs as a defenseman. He is a big reason that Toews continues to increase his post-season franchise record of scoring at least 1 point in a game with either a goal or assist. Toews has now made it 13 straight games this post-season with his assist on Byfuglien’s game winner.
Kris Versteeg closed out the scoring in the 4-2 win with an empty netter with under a minute left to play.
Antti Niemi proved as good as gold again in net. Although he only faced 18 shots in the game – the lowest number of shots taken by the Sharks this series – he stopped 16 of them. And more importantly, instead of getting down on himself after allowing the 1st 2 goals of the game, he rallied to keep the Sharks out of the net the rest of the way.
Now the Hawks await the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens Eastern Conference Finals to find out who they will play in the Stanley Cup series. Can’t wait – this city has waited long enough to hoist a Stanley Cup Trophy on the United Center ice here in Chicago…
Blackhawks Top Sharks 3-2 in Thrilling Overtime Win, 1 Game Away From Stanley Cup
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Sports | No Comments
The Blackhawks defeated the Sharks 3-2 in overtime on Friday night at the United Center in Chicago. The Blackhawks need just 1 more win to advance to their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1992.
After a scoreless 1st period, each team scored on a power play goal in the 2nd period. Patrick Marleau scored 4 minutes into the period and Patrick Sharp answered for the Blackhawks just 3 minutes later.
It was still tied at 1 to start the 3rd period, but the Sharks came out firing on all cylinders in the final frame. Although the Sharks would end up out-shotting the Hakws in the period by an 18-6 margin, it was the Blackhawks who answered the call with less than 7 minutes to play on Dave Bolland’s goal. It looked like the Hawks would get the in regulation, but Marleau knocked in his 2nd goal of the game with less than 5 minutes to play.
So to overtime we go. This period, the Hawks were the aggressor, sensing a chance to put the series away for good with a win. The Hawks quickly outshot the Sharks 11-5, and at the 12:24 mark of the 1st overtime period, Bolland fed a wide open Dustin Byfuglien in front of the net for the game winner. It was the 4th straight game in which Byfuglien has scored a goal and it was his 7th goal of the post-season. Byfuglien is quickly turning into one of the most productive forwards for the Hawks in the playoffs as other teams focus on the more well-known goal scoring prowess of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
But let’s not forget about the fabulous goal-tending of Antti Niemi. The Sahrks literally threw everything but the kitchen sink at Niemi and he still managed to hold down the fort. It was the 2nd game of the series in which Niemi saved 44 shots. Unbelievable! Outstanding! Superb! The rookie has proved everyone wrong, as it is clear that Niemi has what it takes to lead a team to 16 wins during any given post-season to capture the Stanley Cup crown. IN the 3-game series thus far, Niemi has made 113 total saves, while allowing just 5 goals. This to one of the most productive offenses in all of hockey. It is truly a special thing to be able to watch Niemi night in and night out.
Captain Jonathan Toews (just 22 years of gae) also set a Hawks’ franchise playoff record by recording at least 1 point in 12 straight post-season games (he had 2 assists in the win). Toews was honored to set the record and is even more jacked to get a chance to play in his first ever Stanley Cup — “I mean, you’re not going to get too high on yourself or too full of yourself like that. You got to do the right things and play the right way if you’re going to have success… We’ve done that. There’s nothing about us that says we’re unbeatable. As soon as we get away from playing our game, you know, we’re a mediocre average team. We got to go out there, work hard, stick to our guns, stick to how we learned to play this year. The way we’re going to be tough to beat.” Sounds like a man who knows where his team is headed – straight to hoisting that magnificent Stanley Cup after 5 more wins this post-season.
Game 4 is Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
Blackhawks Answer Call with “Easy” 5-1 Win Over Canucks; Headed for 2nd Straight Conference Finals
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, NHL, San Jose Sharks, Sports, Vancouver Canucks | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks eliminated the Vancouver Canucks for the 2nd straight NHL post-season with a convincing 5-1 win at GM Place on Tuesday night. The Hawks won the series 4 games to 2 and will now advance to the Western Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row. The Blackhawks lost to the Detroit Red Wings in 5 games in last year’s Conference Finals and will look to advance to the Stanley Cup for the 1st time since 1971 with a series win over the San Jose Sharks this month.
After a scoreless 1st period that saw a total of 25 shots on goal, it looked like it would be a defensive battle all night long. But Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg scored goals just 36 seconds apart 2 minutes into the 2nd period and the Hawks had a quick 2-0 lead. Dave Bolland’s short-handed goal with 45 seconds left in the 2nd period gave the Hawks a commanding 3-goal lead heading into the final period. The Hawks held the Canucks to just 6 shots on goal in that decisive 2nd period and by the end of the game’s 1st 40 minutes, goalie Antti Niemi had saved all of the Canucks’ 19 shots on goal.
You gotta give the Canucks some credit though. They came out firing on all cylinders in the 3rd period and even scored a goal just over 3 minutes into the period to cut the lead to 3-1. But less than 5 minutes later, Patrick Kane put the dagger in the Canucks’ proverbial backs with a brilliant goal that gave the Hakws a 4-1 lead. When Dustin Byfuglien drove home his 4th goal of the series just 25 seconds later, the celebration for the Hawks was on.
Niemi stopped 29 of 30 shots on goal and won his 2nd straight post-season series. He has proved all the critics wrong with his stellar goal-tending throughout the entire post-season. Sure, he has had an “off” game or 2 in each of the 1st 2 series, but it doesn’t get him down and he seems to be able to re-group and be focused for the next contest.
The other crazy thing to take from the Hawks is their better play on the road than at home. The Hawks won all 3 games on the road in the Vancouver series in convincing fashion – 5-2; 7-4; and 5-1. The Hawks also won 2 of the 3 games played on the road in the opening round series win over the Nashville Predators. That leaves them with a 5-1 road record this post-season, with a disappointing 3-2 home record at the United Center. It is shocking to see the Hawks struggle at home this post-season since they won 29 games at home during the regular season. They did have a winning record on the road as well – 23-14-4 – but I’m surprised to see how tense they are playing in front of the home town fans.
It was a good thing that the Hawks packed their bags for an extended trip on the west coast. The Hawks head to San Jose today to get ready for the Conference Finals series which will likely begin sometime this weekend. The Hawks took 3 of the 4 games from the Sharks in the regular season series, so they do have the confidence to take out the West’s #1 seed (by 1-point) in a 7-game series. After falling behind the Colorado Avalanche 2 games to 1 in the opening round of the playoffs, the Sharks have been on a roll – winning 7 of their last 8 games. They won the final 3 games of the Avalanche series and took out the defending Western Conference Champion Red Wings in just 5 easy games, so it is going to be a dog fight. I can’t wait!
Blackhawks Dominate Play, But Series Tied at 1-1
Monday, April 19th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks dominated opening round playoff hockey with the Nashville Predators over the weekend, but the series is tied at 1 game apiece. In some ways it was a frustrating 1st 2 games for the Blackhawks, but at least the series is still tied at 1, and the club is still in great position to advance to the conference semifinals round.
In a “must-win game” on Sunday, rookie goalie Antti Niemi rose to the challenge and pitched his first playoff shutout for the Blackhawks – it was his 8th shutout of the season. Niemi stopped all 23 shots on goal by the Predators. For a 2nd straight game, the Blackhawks out-shot Nashville – this time by 10 shots on goal – 33-23. After a scoreless 1st period, Dave Bolland got the Hawks on the scoreboard first with a power play goal just over 8 minutes into the 2nd period. The Hawks applied the pressure during the power play and it finally paid off when both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews made nifty passes to keep the puck in front of the net, and Bolland slid the back-hander part Predators goalie Pekka Rinne for the game winner. Patrick Kane then increased the lead to 2-0 with his 2nd goal of the series. Kane looked like he was going to pass the puck for the longest time, but at the last second he rifled the shot past Rinne. At that point, the Hawks were confident and skating a great game.
The 1st game of the series was a similar contest, with both teams feeling each other out for the initial part of the game. Although Patrick Kane gave the Hawks the lead with the 1st goal of the series midway through the 2nd period, the Hawks collapsed under the pressure in the 3rd period. It all started with a “lucky” goal by J.P. Dumont who flipped the puck at Niemi just a little over 1 minute into the period. The puck took a funny bounce of the ice and ricocheted off the post into the net past a surprised Niemi. 9 minutes later Dumont added his 2nd goal of the period and the Hawks trailed 2-1 with less than 10 minutes left in the game. The Hawks were dazed by the turn of events and could only manage 4 shots on goal the entire period. The Predators added 2 empty net goals with under a minute to play, and just like that, the Predators had stolen game 1 from the Hawks on their home ice at the United Center.
But the Hawks rallied on Sunday night, playing a near perfect game to earn the win. The Hawks will need to be patient and not try to force things too much. Each team will try to control the puck as much as possible, so if the Hawks can avoid any defensive lapses, they should be able to prevail in the series because they have way too many offensive weapons. The series could still go 6 or 7 games, but I’m thinking the Hawks will end up going forward when it’s all said and done.
The series resumes Tuesday night in Nashville. Look for another hard-fought defensive struggle by both teams.
Blackhawks Lose 3-2 to Red Wings, Settle for #2 Seed in West
Monday, April 12th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks had an opportunity to secure home field throughout the entire Western Conference playoffs, but a 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings at the United Center on Sunday put an end to those hopes. Dave Bolland and Colin Fraser scored the Blackhawks only goals, while Antti Niemi saved 18 of 21 shots on goal by the Red Wings. The Blackhawks outshot the Red Wings 29-21, but they couldn’t convert often enough.
As the #2 seed, the Blackhawks will square off against division-rival Nashville Predators. The Predators racked up 100 points in 2010, winning a lot of close games. The Predators have a 0-goal differential – giving up 225 goals, while scoring 225 goals. The Hawks, on the other hand, had a +63 goal differential and they won the season series against the Predators 4-2.
But since the Predators play a patient, defense-oriented style of hockey, so it should be a hard-fought series. The 2 teams never combined to score more than 5 goals in any of their games. It will be imperative for the Hawks to keep up the attack and apply constant pressure on the offensive end. I see the Predators taking one or 2 games in the series, but this one should be over pretty quickly in favor of the Blackhawks. The series opens this weekend at the United Center with 7:30PM CST time starts on both Friday and Sunday nights. Get ready for some sweet playoff hockey action…
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