The Ticket Chest

Western Conference Finals Start Today — Hawks @ Sharks

Sunday, May 16th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, San Jose Sharks, Sports | No Comments

Bring it on – the Chicago Blackhawks kick off the Western Conference Finals in San Jose today with a 12 noon west coast puck drop against the Sharks.

Antti Niemi will face the Sharks for the 1st time this season (Cristobal Huet started the 4 regular season games against the Sharks in which the Hawks won 3 of the games).

Hawks star Patrick Kane is excited for the series to begin after his team had a 5-day layoff and after the Sharks had an 8-day layoff: “Both teams might come out a little sloppy, but I’m sure we’ll find our game pretty soon in the series.  I think it’s going to make for a great series.  I think there’s a lot of great players.

The Hawks finished just 1 point behind the Sharks for the best record in the West this season.  The Sharks have never made it to a Stanley Cup series, losing to the Calgary Flames in their only franchise finals appearance back in 2004.  The Hawks have not won a Stanley Cup series since 1961.

Head Coach Joel Quenneville says it’s not good enough that his squad has reached the Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row — “We shouldn’t feel satisfied. We shouldn’t feel like we’ve accomplished anything.  I know getting back to where we got to last year, it’s where we wanted to be.  But getting to the next round is what we’re all about.  One obstacle that the Hawks must overcome – a rookie goaltender.  Antti Niemi is a rookie and an NHL team has not rode a rookie goalie all the way to a Stanley Cup Championship since Patrick Roy led the Montreal Canadiens to the promised land as a rookie back in 1986.  Come on Antti – let’s make a name for yourself and bring home a championship for the city of Chicago.  Go Hawks!!!

Tags: Antti Niemi, Head Coach Joel Quenneville, Patrick Kane

Chicago Blackhawks Back Home after Successful 5-3 Road Trip

Monday, February 1st, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments

Although it ended with a loss to the NHL’s 2nd worst team (the Carolina Hurricanes), the Blackhawks could not have been happier with their 5-3 eight-game road trip away from the United Center in Chicago. The Hawks started it off with wins over division rivals – the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings.  After a hiccup in Ottawa with a loss to the Senators, the Blackhawks soundly defeated the playoff-caliber Flames in Calgary.  After another bump in the road with a bad loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Blackhawks took it to the lowly Oilers in Edmonton and then showed why they are considered a Stanley Cup title contender with a big win over the Western Conference points-leader Sharks in San Jose in overtime.  Although the Hawks blew a 1st period 3-0 lead, the team never lost hope as regulation ended, striking with Troy Brouwer’s game-winning goal just a minute and a half into the overtime period.  This team is built to win, and they proved it will a big road victory over the Sharks.

After playing 7 games in a 13-day stretch, you couldn’t really fault the Blackhawks for dropping Saturday night’s game in Carolina.  Knowing they would be heading back home after that contest, it’s not surprising that they laid an egg against one of the worst teams in the NHL (who have been playing better as of late).  On the bright side – they rallied to tie the game at 2 in the 3rd period and they outshot the Hurricanes 41-24.  Huet didn’t play his best game – stopping 20 of 24 of the shots on goal.

Now it’s time to finish strong over the next 6 games before the Olympics start.  The Blackhawks play 4 of 6 games at home at the United Center where they are 21-5-1.  The play the St. Louis Blues twice, the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets – 3 teams towards the bottom of the Western Conference.  With 2 other home games against the Phoenix Coyote and the Atlanta Thrashers – 2 potential playoff teams – the schedule is set up nicely for the Blackhawks.  Winning 4 or 5 of these games is a must for the Blackhawks.  Then it’s a sprint to the finish with 15 games in March and 7 games in April before the playoffs start.

Patrick Kane still leads the club with 60 points (21 goals).  Duncan Keith (11 goals, 38 assists); Jonathan Toews (18 goals, 26 assists) and Patrick Sharp (16 goals, 27 assists) aren’t too far behind.  The Hawks are primed to try to steal the #1 West seed from the Sharks.  They trail by only 3 points and would love to be able to get home ice throughout the entire playoffs.  That makes each of these games so important – even the “easy” ones.  Coach Queneville will have his club ready for this next 6-game stretch – look for the Blackhawks to get off to solid start with a big win over the Blues on Wednesday night…

Tags: Duncan Keith, Head Coach Joel Quenneville, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp