The Chicago Blackhawks have earned a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals, as they beat the defending champion Los Angeles Kings 4-3 in double overtime, on Saturday night in Chicago. Patrick Kane scored the game-winner, and his third goal of the game, 11:40 into the second overtime period. Kane only had 3 goals in the postseason coming into this game.
The Kings and Blackhawks were tied at 2 late in the third period, when Kane scored his second goal of the game, on an assist from Bryan Bickell, right after Bickell appeared to get away with a tripping penalty. It looked like the end for the Kings, until Mike Richards tipped in an Anze Kopitar shot to tie the game with 9.4 seconds remaining in regulation. This led to the first overtime period, in which neither team scored.
Jonathan Quick, the Kings’ goalie, was having another superb postseason until the Western Conference Finals. It turns out, even during the regular season, he has more trouble with the Blackhawks than any other team in the NHL. The first goal on Saturday, just 3:42 into the game, Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith took a shot from a step inside the blue line, and it slipped between the leg pads of Quick and into the goal. This is something you almost never see from a goalie of Quick’s caliber. Then the second goal, also in the first period, was as a result of confusion about whether an icing would be called on the Blackhawks. When it wasn’t, Jonathan Toews made a pass to Kane, who scored his first goal of the night.
Quick settled down after that, and didn’t allow another goal until Kane’s second goal, late in the third period. But of course, the third Kane goal ended the reign of the defending champions. After going 16-4 in the playoffs last year as the eighth seed in the west, the Kings ended this postseason 9-9 as the fifth seed.
The Blackhawks will face the Boston Bruins for the championship, after the Bruins’ surprising sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins, holding them to only 2 goals in 4 games. The Penguins averaged over 4 goals per game in the playoffs going into the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bruins never trailed at any time in the series.
While the Blackhawks had the best record in hockey the entire season, starting with their record-breaking 21-0-3 start, I find it difficult to pick them over the red-hot Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals. They have peaked at just the right time, dominating the favorite to make the finals from the eastern conference. The Bruins held past league MVPs Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to zero points combined in the four game sweep of the Penguins.
Chicago has home ice advantage, but I still think the Bruins will prevail. Unless their quality of play drops tremendously from their last series, they can shut down the Blackhawks, who aren’t as potent as the Penguins. Even with the Kane’s hat trick tonight, Kane and Toews’ production is well below the Bruins’ top line of David Krejci, Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton. Also, Tuukka Rask has been unbelievable in goal lately, and you can’t forget about the guy who has probably the best nickname in sports. Brad Marchand, the Little Ball of Hate, at 5’9″ plays a big role in the success of the Boston Bruins.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
