Hockey in August

 

August 10, 2020

I guess I was way off base when I said the 12^th seeded Blackhawks would be lucky to win one game against the 5^th seeded Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers have the two top scorers (Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid) and the best power play in NHL history. They are also lightning fast, while the recent vintage of Blackhawk teams have been slow. Imagine my surprise when the Hawks completely dominated in a 6-4 first game victory. The Hawks were their very sloppy old selves the next game, losing 6-3. I thought the Hawks were all but done trailing 3-2 in the final minutes of game three. Then it seemed like the old-time magic of the previous Stanley Cup winners came back. The Hawks scored twice in the last 5 minutes; the game winner coming with 1:19 left for a comeback win. Up 2 games to one, I starting believing the Hawks could win this series. In game 4 with the game tied, I thought the Hawks were doomed after committing a 5 minute major penalty. Fortunately, with a dumb Oiler penalty, the Hawks penalty killing unit only had to shut them down for three minutes. The Hawks were able to score and hang on for a scintillating 3-2 series clinching game.

The Hawks defense was outstanding in holding the Oilers to 5 goals in the last two games. At 37 years old, Duncan Keith is still a premier defenseman. Connor Murphy has been good for a long time. Olli Maatta not only played good defense but showed some offensive ability carrying the puck up ice. Unsung Slater Koekkoek, was excellent as well. The defense caused numerous off-side penalties. This was critical as it slowed the tempo and the ensuing face-offs were out of the defensive zone. The Hawks were also much better in clearing the puck out of the defensive end.

Jonathan Toews had one the best stretches I’ve seen in a long time. He was involved in the scoring and was excellent on face-offs. Brandon Saad can create his own and line mates scoring chances. He is very good controlling the puck in an opponent’s defensive territory. Set up by Patrick Kane, rookie Dominik Kubalik continued to score multiple goals as he did prior to the shutdown. Fellow rookie Kirby Dach has vastly improved and was super. He showed why he will be a star for many years to come.

The major reason for the Hawks success is goaltender Corey Crawford. After recovering from the coronavirus, he only had a couple days to get ready. Although the defense was good, Edmonton still was able to barrage him with shots and he stood on his head to make outstanding saves. It’s well known, that with a hot goalie you can make a long playoff run.

Finally, the Hawks should thank the Oilers for numerous penalties. Although with the exception of game one the Hawks didn’t capitalize. However, the Oilers offense was severely crippled being short-handed. It was fitting that with a little over 2 minutes left in game four, the Oilers were called for a penalty. In what would have made former North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith proud, the Hawks played a perfect four corners set-up,  hanging on to the puck and moving on to the next round.