Monday, April 23, 2012
Saturday, April 21, 2012
April 21, 2012◉WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINAL◉GAME 5◉CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (#6) vs PHOENIX COYOTES (#3)◉FINAL SCORE CHI 2 PHX 1 OT ◉ (SERIES PHX 3-2) ◉
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - The Chicago Blackhawks have been oh-so-close throughout their series against the Phoenix Coyotes, lamenting their missed chances while falling into a two-game hole.
After Jonathan Toews buried an opportunity into the back of the net early in overtime, the Blackhawks are headed back home with hope that the improbable is now possible.
The Blackhawks scored another tying goal in the third period and Toews punctuated it by scoring 2:44 into overtime, helping Chicago stave off elimination with a 2-1 win over the Coyotes Saturday night.
"We stuck with it," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "We kept talking about shots and shots and traffic; we had a nice break and a nice play on the last goal, but it's that tight."
The Blackhawks tied it in the third period for the fourth time in the series, though this one came a little earlier than the others with Nick Leddy scoring midway through the period.
That led to the fifth straight overtime game - a first in the NHL since 1951 - and Toews came through, beating Mike Smith stick side for his first goal since the opener to pull the Blackhawks to 3-2 in the series.
Corey Crawford stopped 18 shots after allowing relatively-soft goals in overtime the previous two games, giving the Blackhawks a chance with some comeback history on their side; they rallied from 3-0 down to push Vancouver to a Game 7 in the second round last season.
Their chance to even the series against the Coyotes comes Monday night in Chicago for Game 6.
"We've got to come out and have a strong effort in Chicago," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said. "We're going home, which is going to be good, and try to get a lift from the fans and try to get a big win."
With Gilbert Brule scoring his first career playoff goal in the second period and Smith turning away everything through a busy first two periods, Phoenix appeared to be headed into the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1987, when the franchise was still in Winnipeg.
Instead, the Coyotes gave up another third-period goal and couldn't come through in overtime, forcing them to win in Chicago for a third time in the series or face an anything-can-happen Game 7 Wednesday at home.
After losing forward Raffi Torres to a 25-game suspension earlier Saturday for his Game 3 hit on Marian Hossa, it was not a good day for the Coyotes, who blew a 3-1 lead to St. Louis in the first round of 1999 playoffs.
"It's obviously disappointing; you never want to give up the lead and (want) to find ways to win at home for your fans, but give them credit, they played a good game," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "We didn't play as well as we needed to."
A tight and testy series has come down to a few big plays at just the right times for Phoenix.
The clog-the-lanes Coyotes bogged down the fleet Blackhawks through the first four games, giving Chicago's skill players little room to maneuver while getting superb goaltending from Smith.
The Blackhawks have had trouble getting traffic in front of Smith, their best chances coming in the closing seconds of regulation, when they've used frenetic flurries to score.
Once the games got to overtime, the Coyotes had dominated. Mikkel Boedker had extra-period goals in the two games in Chicago to put Phoenix up 3-1.
The series also has been brutally physical, filled with big hits and numerous scrums between players.
Along with dozens of bone-rattling hits, Chicago rookie Andrew Shaw was suspended three games for upending Smith in Game 2, and Torres received the second-longest suspension in NHL history for an on-ice action with his hit on Hossa, who didn't make the trip to Arizona.
The barbarity has hit the Coyotes the hardest.
Forwards Martin Hanzal and Lauri Korpikoski missed both games in Chicago and leading goal-scorer Radim Vrbata played just one shift in the opening game. The everyone-chips-in Coyotes haven't flinched when players have gone out, using their depth and diversity to grind out victories.
Phoenix opened Game 5 just as it did in all the others, allowing Blackhawks plenty of scoring chances. Smith, as he has all series, wouldn't let them in, turning away 12 shots in a first period that included consecutive power plays by Chicago late.
The Coyotes were at their counterattacking best early in the second quarter, with Smith getting the puck out quickly to pick up an assist on Brule's breakaway goal.
The Blackhawks have been resilient all series, though, and kept clawing until Leddy scored from the right point midway through the third period on a shot Smith had trouble seeing after being clipped on the mask by Chicago center Dave Bolland.
"They were coming hard," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "That was their season on the line for them, so you knew they were going to come hard."
And they kept coming in overtime, getting the big play at the right time instead of the Coyotes.
Scrambling off a faceoff, Toews gathered a loose puck near the right circle and let it fly. Unlike the previous two games, when Chicago couldn't beat Smith in overtime, Chicago's captain managed to slip one past, sending the Blackhawks back to the Windy City with momentum blowing on their side.
NOTES: LW Viktor Stalberg was called for all four of Chicago's penalties. ... The Blackhawks are 0-10 when trailing a series 3-1. ... Brule's goal came in his fourth playoff game. ... Chicago is 1-for-17 on the power play in the series after failing on four chances in Game 5.
Friday, April 20, 2012
April 19, 2012◉WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINAL◉GAME 4◉CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (#6) vs PHOENIX COYOTES (#3)◉FINAL SCORE PHX 3 CHI 2 OT ◉SERIES PHX 3-1◉
CHICAGO (AP) - It took a repeat performance by Mikkel Boedker in yet another overtime to put the Phoenix Coyotes a victory away from winning their opening-round series with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Boedker scored in overtime for the second straight game - his only two career postseason goals - and the Coyotes took command of the tight-as-can-be playoff by beating the Blackhawks 3-2 on Thursday night.
All four games have gone to overtime and the Coyotes lead 3-1 headed back to Arizona for Game 5 on Saturday night, where they hope to wrap it up.
Boedker got control of a loose puck, skated ahead of defenseman Nick Leddy on a mini breakaway and shoveled the puck through goalie Corey Crawford's legs at 2:15 of the extra period.
"Actually, I don't know how it slid in, but I'm happy it did. It was a bobbled puck and I felt like I got to it first and I kind of hit it and it bounced over the D-man's stick and I was partially alone there for a little bit, at least," Boedker said.
"It went in and it's an amazing feeling."
The Coyotes came into the United Center, one of the toughest buildings in the NHL, and won two in a row. They beat a Chicago team missing star winger Marian Hossa, who'd been knocked out of Game 3 by a thunderous shoulder-to-head hit from Raffi Torres. Torres has been suspended indefinitely, pending a scheduled hearing with the league Friday.
The Blackhawks tied it in the closing seconds of regulation for the third time in the series by pulling Crawford for an extra attacker with Michael Frolik scoring with 1:26 left to make it 2-2. Phoenix had gone up 2-0 with two goals 44 seconds apart in the third before the Blackhawks rallied.
Once into overtime, the Coyotes responded again.
" We're used to it now. We've done it for four games. Obviously we would like for it not to go into overtime, that's probably what everybody would prefer, but overtime happens," Boedker said. " We're just happy we've won three of them."
On Tuesday night, Boedker had scored on a tough angle from the left side, beating Crawford in a 3-2 victory. This time he came right at the goalie.
"I was just playing it like a breakaway. He came in and I don't know how ... I can't imagine how it went through there. Just brutal," Crawford said.
The Coyotes finished strong in the regular season to win a division title and have carried it over.
"We've been preparing for tight playoffs like this for well over a month, well, all year, but the last month we've been preparing saying, `We're going to play tight games, how are we going to respond in tight games, how are we going to deal with adversity,"' Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "This has been going on for a long time for us. Our players in here, I think they're thriving under the pressure, I think that's great for our group."
The Blackhawks had one strong offensive sequence to start overtime but couldn't manage a shot against Mike Smith, who finished with 30 saves. And then Boedker responded for the second time in three nights. Phoenix won despite having only 19 shots on goal.
"We were in their zone, had some momentum, had some pressure and some one-on-one," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said.
"It was a tough break at the end again. Kind of comparable to the last game. Brutal ending. I think both games ended kind of on a tough note for us. ... We liked our chances in overtime. It's a tough road ahead of us."
Shane Doan and Taylor Pyatt scored 44 seconds apart to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead in the third. But Brendan Morrison, making his first appearance in the series, scored to make it 2-1 and send what had been a quiet crowd into a frenzy.
Doan stripped the puck from Johnny Oduya, made a nice cross-ice pass to Ray Whitney and then scored on a rebound of Whitney's shot at 7:03 of the third. The Coyotes struck again quickly when Antoine Vermette got the puck near the boards and made a nice feed to Pyatt.
Phoenix dominated play early in the final period. After being outshot 23-10 through the first two periods, the Coyotes had eight shots on goal to just one for the Blackhawks in the first 10 minutes. But then Morrison scored on a long slap shot from the right circle that appeared to hit a Coyotes' stick before flying past Smith's glove and into the goal. And then Frolik tied it up.
The Blackhawks were already without rookie forward Andrew Shaw, who drew a five-game suspension for knocking Smith to the ice in Game 2. And there is no timetable for the return of Hossa, who led the team in regular-season points with 77.
Notes: For the second straight game, the Coyotes were without center Martin Hanzal and left wing Lauri Korpikoski, both of whom were injured in Game 2. ... Nineteen-year-old rookie LW Brandon Saad, who played two early games with the Blackhawks before spending the season in the Ontario Hockey League, appeared in his first postseason game. ... Chicago's Brandon Bollig and Phoenix's Paul Bissonnette fought early in the first period. Bissonnette got the better of the fight, but also got a game misconduct for not having his jersey strapped down.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
April 17, 2012◉WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINAL◉GAME 3◉CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (#6) vs PHOENIX COYOTES (#3)◉FINAL SCORE PHX 3 CHI 2 OT ◉SERIES PHX 2-1◉
CHICAGO (AP) - Marian Hossa had passed the puck and turned just slightly when Phoenix's Raffi Torres delivered a crushing blow with his shoulder that left the Chicago Blackhawks star crumpled on the ice.
Even as medical personnel rushed to his side, it was obvious that Hossa was not going to get up from the first-period blow. And minutes later, the sight of him being hauled off the ice on a stretcher brought a hush to the United Center crowd that had been buzzing.
Hossa had tests at a hospital and was released and is expected to recover, but the Blackhawks are really short-handed now, trailing the Coyotes 2-1 in the series with Game 4 Thursday night.
Phoenix got a short-angled goal from Mikkel Boedker and prevailed 3-2 Tuesday night in the teams' third straight overtime game.
Losing Hossa hurt nearly as much losing the game. Especially since it involved Torres, who has long been a villain in Chicago. He knocked Brent Seabrook to the ice a year ago while playing for Vancouver.
"Of course we're angry. It's a natural reaction for anybody," Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said.
"Everyone loves Hoss, respects him and loves him as a teammate. ... We wanted to win that game for him tonight, but came up short. We've got to focus on getting the next one for him."
That will be tough to do in a tight series and without forward Andrew Shaw, who was suspended three games Tuesday for his hit on Phoenix goalie Mike Smith in Game 2.
In overtime, there is no margin for error. And when you play three straight, it's also a battle against fatigue.
"It rolled through his legs," Boedker said of his game-winning shot from the left side that eluded Corey Crawford. "I was trying to hit his pad. I thought of going to the net, and I was actually shooting for a rebound, but it went through his legs and that was good for me and good for everybody in here.
"Now we're up 2-1 and that's the position that we like very much."
That Torres did not draw a penalty brought a pointed response from Chicago coach Joel Quenneville.
"It was a brutal hit," Quenneville said. "I saw exactly what happened. It was right in front of me. How four guys missed it was hard. The refereeing tonight was a disgrace."
Asked if he was concerned about coming off his skates to make the hit, Torres said: "I'm not going to answer that.
"I felt like it was a hockey play. I was just trying to finish my hit out there," he said.
The Blackhawks released a statement on Hossa right as the game ended.
"After initial evaluation on the ice, (Hossa) was taken by ambulance to the hospital for further testing, which yielded encouraging results," team physician Dr. Michael Terry said. "He has been released from the hospital and we are monitoring him closely at home."
The Blackhawks already were without Shaw, who was suspended on Tuesday for a hit that knocked Smith to the ice - but didn't force him out of Saturday night's Game 2. Smith was booed loudly Tuesday night, especially when he went behind the net to get a puck early in the game.
Andrew Brunette and Michael Frolik had goals for the Blackhawks, and Rostislav Klesla and Ray Whitney scored for the Coyotes in regulation. Chicago led 1-0 midway through the third period.
Smith shook off a big hit he absorbed in Game 2 and made 35 saves - six in overtime - to earn the win. He was on the ice for five minutes Saturday night and was able to stay in that game. Watching Hossa being carried off was tough for him, too.
"It's scary. Your heart goes out to him and his family. It's past hockey," Smith said.
As far as the numerous hits to the head that seem to be happening around the league, Smith said it's time to put an end to it.
"Obviously, the head hits have to be cut down. It's people's livelihood," he said. "We all love to play and it's a fun sport, but people have families and kids at home, and wives, and when you're getting into head and concussion issues around the whole league, we need to put a stop to it."
Crawford had played well until the final shot eluded him. He finished with 31 saves.
"It's a terrible goal. We dominated overtime. I thought I was feeling good the whole game long. I feel bad I gave them that one after the guys battled in overtime like that. It's definitely on me," Crawford said.
"We'll just worry about the next one now."
But they'll do so without two of their top forwards.
Notes: Coyotes C Martin Hanzal and LW Lauri Korpikoski were scratched after being injured in Game 2. Hanzal skated Tuesday morning and in warm-ups.
Friday, April 13, 2012
April 14, 2012◉WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINAL◉GAME 2◉CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (#6) @ PHOENIX COYOTES (#3)◉FINAL SCORE CHI 4 PHX 3 OT ◉SERIES TIED 1-1◉
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - Scrambling with time running down in regulation, the Chicago Blackhawks found a way to score in the closing seconds for the second straight game.
This time, they pulled out a win to head back to the Windy City with home-ice advantage.
Bryan Bickell had his second goal 10:36 into overtime and the Blackhawks beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 on Saturday night.
"I don't think I've ever seen that before, back to back games forcing overtime," Chicago forward Patrick Kane said. "But I was thankful we seized the opportunity and won this one."
Phoenix took the opener 3-2 in overtime after giving up a goal to Brent Seabrook with 14 seconds left in regulation. Patrick Sharp did it to the Coyotes with even less time in Game 2, redirecting a shot by Kane with 5.5 seconds left.
Bickell, like Phoenix's Martin Hanzal the game before, became the hero when he beat Mike Smith from between the circles after Viktor Stalberg kept a pass by Phoenix's Rostislav Klesla in the Coyotes' zone.
Brian Bollig also scored for Chicago, which tied the series at 1-1 as it heads back to Chicago for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
"It was exciting to get the goal to give the team the win, but you know what? It should be exciting to go back to Chicago now," Bickell said.
The Coyotes had their chances.
Overcoming a second straight shaky start, they fought back and were leading 3-2 after Antoine Vermette scored two goals and Raffi Torres added another.
Smith was steady after nearly being knocked out by Chicago's Andrew Shaw in the second period, making some big saves down the stretch and in overtime.
Phoenix just couldn't put it all together, missing on a couple chances at an empty net at the end of regulation and Smith missing the two shots that mattered the most.
The combination prevented the Coyotes from taking a 2-0 lead in eight straight playoff series since moving to the desert since 1996 and leaves them needing to win in Chicago to regain home-ice advantage.
"We have confidence in our team on the road, we know how to play the game," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "As ugly and as painful as it looks, we all recognize that it's one game. It's going to be a long series."
Phoenix won the opener by dictating the pace at just the right time, scoring two goals in the second period and the winner in overtime by keeping the Blackhawks in their zone for lung-burningly-long shifts.
Chicago had the early jump in Game 1, getting a goal from Jonathan Toews in his return from a concussion, and tied it late to force overtime. But for a puck-control team, the Blackhawks had a hard time holding onto it, bothered by Phoenix's forechecking and aggressiveness in the neutral zone.
Chicago again started fast, getting a power play 1:08 into the game and outshooting Phoenix 9-1. Bickell scored at the end of the man advantage with a waist-high whack on a rebound off Dave Bolland's shot, giving Chicago its first goal with a man advantage in its last 15 chances.
Just like Game 1, Phoenix fought back.
Torres tied it midway through the first period with a wrister out front after Doan fought off a defender from behind the net to get the pass off.
Vermette put the Coyotes up 2-1, camping out in front of Chicago goalie Corey Crawford before redirecting a shot by Keith Yandle for his third of the playoffs.
The power-play goal came after Kane was sent to the penalty box for goalie interference, a call that infuriated the Blackhawks because he took the brunt of the collision with Smith.
A bigger crash in the second period gave the Coyotes a bigger boost - following an initial scare.
After Bollig tied it with a wrister that beat Smith glove side, Phoenix's goalie provided his team and the crowd with a bit of is-he-really-staying-in-the-game inspiration.
Playing a puck behind his goal, Smith was broadsided by Shaw, who charged in from the right side. Smith threw his head back after being struck by Shaw's shoulder and went to the ice, where he lay on his back as four members of Phoenix medical team hovered over him.
Smith groggily sat up after a few minutes, prompting a chant of "Smitty! Smitty!" from the home crowd, then caused a roar as he gingerly skated toward his net. Smith squirted water from a bottle over his head, strapped his helmet back on and parked himself back in the crease.
Shaw, who was surprised by the call, was sent off with a 5-minute charging penalty and a game misconduct.
"The league will look at that," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "Obviously, that's contact to the head. Doesn't matter if it's a goaltender or a player, that's blindside contact to the head and I'm sure the league will look at it."
With Smith back, the adrenaline-infused Coyotes didn't long to score on the ensuing power play, Vermette putting them up 3-2 with a wrister from the left circle.
Smith was sturdy after nearly being cold cocked, stopping two power plays to end the second period and making several tough saves in the third.
But, just like the opener, he couldn't stop Chicago in the closing seconds.
With Crawford off for an extra attacker, the Blackhawks peppered Smith with a flurry of shots in the closing seconds. Smith turned back most of them, but couldn't react in time when Sharp, positioned right in front of him, ticked Kane's shot from the point to send the game to overtime.
Unlike the opener, the Blackhawks got the win this time, thanks to a gritty play by Stalberg and a big shot by Bickell.
"A fortunate bounce, but at the same time we did some good things as the game went on," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "It was a competitive game, one of those games where it was on the line throughout, but today we got the bounce."
Notes: Coyotes C Martin Hanzal left in the first period with an undisclosed injury and didn't return. LW Lauri Korpikoski also went out in the third period. ... Phoenix had killed off 30 straight penalties before Bickell's goal in the first period. ... Chicago's Duncan Keith had an assist on Bollig's goal and leads Blackhawks defensemen with 30 points in 47 career playoff games.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
April 12, 2012◉WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINAL◉GAME 1◉CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (#6) @ PHOENIX COYOTES (#3)◉FINAL SCORE PHX 3 CHI 2/OT◉SERIES AT 1-0 (PHX)◉
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - The Phoenix Coyotes are a team that relies on secondary scoring, getting contributions from players all through the lineup.
With no true stars, they have little choice.
The everyone-chips-in approach helped the Coyotes win their first division crown and, fittingly, led to a victory the first game of the playoffs as well.
Martin Hanzal scored 9:29 into overtime, Taylor Pyatt and Antoine Vermette had goals in the second period, and the Coyotes opened the playoffs with a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night.
"That's how we're going to have to play and how we are going to do things if we are going to be successful in this series," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said.
Phoenix had a shaky start, losing leading goal scorer Radim Vrbata to an injury on his first shift, then gave up a tough-angle goal to Jonathan Toews a few minutes later in his first game back from a concussion.
The Coyotes gathered themselves, got back to their close-to-the-vest style and had a 2-1 lead after Pyatt and Vermette scored in the second period.
Nearly perfect when leading after two periods during the regular season - 33-1 - Phoenix appeared to have the opening game of the best-of-seven series locked up after goalie Mike Smith stopped two shots without his stick during a power play in the third period.
But the Blackhawks roared back in the closing seconds of regulation, getting a couple of good chances after goalie Corey Crawford left the ice for an extra attacker.
One of those was a redirected shot by Toews that hit the post and went right to defenseman Brent Seabrook, who slipped the puck in behind Smith with 14.2 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
After the intermission pep talk and some good chances by both teams in overtime, Hanzal gave the Coyotes a little redemption by barely nicking a shot by Adrian Aucoin for his first goal since Feb. 6 to set off a wild celebration by the all-in-white fans at Jobing.Com Arena.
Hanzal, Pyatt and Vermette combined for 28 goals during the regular season - seven fewer than Vrbata - giving Phoenix a big lift headed into Game 2 Saturday night in Arizona.
"You're not going to get many opportunities to play overtime in the playoffs," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "I'm not saying that's the way you want to go into it, but once you're there, you've got to enjoy it and that's what we did."
The Blackhawks got off to a flying start, taking advantage of the Coyotes' first-playoff-game jitters to set up Toews' goal. Chicago rallied after going flat as Phoenix took the lead in the second period and managed to send the game to overtime on Seabrook's goal.
In overtime, the Blackhawks had some decent chances turned back by Smith, who had 43 saves, and spent the last part of the extra period icing the puck after the Coyotes went on long shifts in their zone.
"The big goal for our team that tied it up at the end gave us a chance in overtime, but it came down to we just got stuck in our own zone too many times in that overtime period and gave up too many chances," Toews said.
Phoenix reached the apex of its run in the desert this season, earning its first division title in 33 years as an NHL franchise.
Without an owner for the third straight season and no true star players, the Coyotes got by on grit and great goaltending from Smith, winning their final five games to take the Pacific Division crown. A nice accomplishment, though the carrot for the players was the home-ice advantage that came with it.
For a team that hadn't won a playoff series since 1987 - nine years before they moved from Winnipeg to Arizona - they were happy for any advantage they could get.
They were going to need it against Chicago.
The Blackhawks are fast, skilled and experienced, two years removed from winning the Stanley Cup. They finished with two more wins and four more points than the Coyotes, who earned home ice by winning their division.
Chicago also has two of the best lines in hockey and the top one got a big boost for Game 1 with the return of Toews. The Blackhawks' captain missed the final 22 games of the regular season with a concussion and just returned to practice on Monday.
He didn't take long to let the Coyotes know he was feeling good, squeezing a backhand past Smith from a tough angle just over 4 minutes into the game - just what the Blackhawks wanted to quiet Phoenix's raucous crowd.
The Coyotes fought back after those early game jitters, though, and players from both teams had to be separated in the closing seconds after Hanzal and Chicago's Bryan Bickell were called for roughing penalties.
Phoenix kept up the feistiness to open the second period and broke through 7 1/2 minutes in, when Pyatt lifted a shot past Corey Crawford after a nifty backhand feed by Daymond Langkow.
The Coyotes set up the goal by wearing the Blackhawks down, repeatedly keeping the puck in the zone to create an exceptionally long shift, though Chicago's coaches thought Phoenix had too many men on the ice before it went in.
Vermette put Phoenix up 2-1 late in the period, one-timing a pass from Raffi Torres so hard that it bounced out of the net and Crawford wasn't sure if it went in.
The Blackhawks fought back to tie it, but again were hurt by Phoenix's ability to keep the puck in their zone for long stretches.
"We were standing still with the puck," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said of the second period. "We didn't advance it and had some long shifts in our end and had a tired group sometimes. We lost some momentum in that period, but I thought we got it back in the third and in overtime lost it again with the icings."
With a day between games, the Blackhawks need to find it again or they'll face an 0-2 hole when the series heads back to Chicago.
NOTES: The Coyotes and Blackhawks are meeting for the first time in the playoffs. ... Phoenix has killed off 29 straight penalties, dating to the regular season. ... Toews' goal was his 16th career in the playoffs. ... Chicago's Patrick Kane had two assists and has 50 career playoff points, moving him into 15th in Blackhawks history.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Blackhawks Clinch 2012 NHL Playoff Spot
Parity is paradise for professional sports, and nowhere is competitive utopia more evident than in the NHL. There is a distinct possibility that what is nominally the final game of the regular season—Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks on April 7—could resolve multiple issues. The puck drops at 9:35 p.m. Chicago time that Saturday night, so it might be early Easter morning before the Blackhawks learn the identity of their first-round playoff opponent.
“Everything is so compressed now,” says Stan Bowman, the Blackhawks’ vice president/general manager. “[There are] very few teams under .500, and the number one team in a conference might average one win a month more than the number eight team.”
After the lockout that claimed the entire 2004-05 season and produced a collective bargaining agreement with a hard salary cap, the NHL has trended markedly toward equal opportunity. Since 2006 there has been a different Stanley Cup champion in each of the six seasons and ten different teams in the Cup finals—a slightly more inclusive mix than exists in baseball, football and basketball.
Absolutely, current events in the NHL are much more unpredictable than ever. For instance, go back 30 years to 1982 and you will find the New York Islanders en route to their third of four straight Stanley Cups. That followed a streak of four straight Cups by the Montreal Canadiens, and it preceded a run of four Cups in five years and five in seven by the Edmonton Oilers.
Or, examine a larger sample size from 1968 through 1988. Only five different franchises won a Stanley Cup during that period—Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, Edmonton and the Islanders—while just a dozen different teams reached the finals. This period includes a turbulent era when the World Hockey Association appeared and ravaged NHL rosters for seven years. One would have thought the rival league would have caused complete havoc in the NHL. But there was considerable stability, at least among the elite.
Once the Stanley Cup Playoffs commence, logic would not necessarily dictate that the Presidents’ Trophy winner will prevail. Accumulating the most points during the regular season can be fun, but the honor can be as perilous as the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. Since the award was established in 1986, only seven of 25 teams who earned it followed up with a Stanley Cup—not an especially dazzling success ratio. The Vancouver Canucks were the last April favorite to fall in June, but at least the Canucks went the distance before bowing in Game 7 to the Boston Bruins.
Five Presidents’ Trophy winners did not get past the opening round of the playoffs, and duty compels us to report that the 1991 Blackhawks were the first to suffer such an indignity. After amassing 106 regular-season points, the Blackhawks were spilled in six games by the Minnesota North Stars, who limped into the postseason with 68 points and a record that was 12 games under .500. The Blackhawks took little solace from the fact that the North Stars advanced to the finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A shocker of that magnitude is unlikely to occur this postseason, however, because the disparity in talent is not what it once was pre-salary cap. Think about it: What would constitute an “upset” now? The Kings have hung around all winter and might not land within the top eight teams of the Western Conference. But if the Kings qualify, does anybody want to play them? A best-of-seven series against Jonathan Quick? The Buffalo Sabres have put on quite a push in the East. If they make it, then knock off one of the top dogs, would it really rank as earth-shaking?
Not in this NHL, and that is why fans will doubtless abandon sleep to watch those glorious sudden death Stanley Cup playoff classics that do not end suddenly at all. Of one thing you can be sure: Hockey’s postseason is such a pure and comprehensive test that there will be no fluke survivors. A lucky bounce will occur, as will an inconvenient injury or a debatable whistle. But teams cannot go through that gauntlet of up to 28 postseason games without identifying a mission and making whatever sacrifices are necessary to attain it.
The National Football League reminds us 24/7 how anything can happen, so don’t touch that dial. And who can blame an industry with the foresight decades ago to distribute television money equally? Franchises prosper, whether in New York or Green Bay, and when the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars qualify for their conference championships in just their second year of existence, the NFL’s system is validated.
Now parity is synonymous with the NHL. Scotty Bowman, who knows all about repeating champions, says they’ve become extinct. You can find a dinosaur in a museum, but not a dynasty on ice.
“You won’t see teams repeating year after year any more,” says the Blackhawks’ senior advisor for hockey operations. “Can’t happen with the salary cap.”
Nobody felt the wrath of financial rules more than Stan Bowman, who had to prune a deep championship roster after the 2010 Cup conquest.
“Not only has the cap compressed standings,” he says, "but three-point games, where you can get a point in an overtime loss, have made it more difficult for teams to separate from others. The tiers, the layers that once existed, aren’t what they used to be. You don’t see two or three teams setting themselves apart. This, plus the maturation process of the cap, has made everything so tight.”
Under the new NHL business model, only two franchises have failed to make the playoffs since 2006. Unless the Florida Panthers collapse, that number will be reduced to one—the Toronto Maple Leafs. Forbes Magazine recently assessed the Leafs to be worth $521 million, number one in the league. The Leafs are annually at or near the top of per-game revenue via perpetual sellouts, their ticket prices are hefty, and they are Canada’s national team. But in the egalitarian NHL, riches cannot necessarily buy happiness.
A playoff berth, as the credit card commercial goes, is priceless.
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