Chicago Hawkie Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 It's Round 3 of a new divisional rivalry! The series is tied at one game apiece, but that will soon change. One of my favorite lines as the series was being previewed (Can't remember whether it was David Kaplan of SportsTalk Live or Hawks broadcaster Pat Foley or someone else entirely) who noted that the Wild defensive pairing of Matt Dumba and Clayton Stoner sounded "like college roommates". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Harding stays hot, Wild 3 Hawks 0....Harding with another shut out. Pomminville notches the game winning goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalnut3133 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Hmm, Harding's hot but not so sure it will be another shutout. Harder to shut out the Hawks than Philly. Hawks will get at least 1 or 2 goals. I picked Hawks to win in Pick 'Em. Looking forward to this match-up! Wild is another of my fave teams to watch, esp Harding & Parise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rink Rat Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I hope Crawford can bounce back after a poor performance in his last game since he is one of my fantasy goalies. I also picked the Hawks in the Pick Em Game so I am sticking with that. I think it will be a close game with a Patrick Kane goal as the deciding factor in the 3rd period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 @Chicago Hawkie I am hoping this game really is a good one...in my case, I'd like to see Minnesota come away with the win, but I understand that even the up n coming Wild should be severe underdogs in this matchup. Wild are going to have to be very, very good 5 on 5, the goaltending has to pretty much be perfect, but the biggest thing in this matchup IMO is special teams. The Hawks do many things well, but the one glaring weakness it seems they have is in their penalty kill.Granted, Chicago is generally disciplined enough to keep themselves out of the penalty box, and if they keep penalties to a minimum, they can manage that...but take enough of them, and I believe the Hawks can be made to pay for those. That said, the Wild may or may not be able to take advantage of that. While Minnesota's PP has a decent efficiency rating, most of that was built up earlier in the season...the last several games, Minnesota's PP has been non-productive. Contrast that with Chicago's lethal PP vs Minnesota's OWN less-than-impressive PK, and you can see why I believe special teams will be the key here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 @jammer2 This time, I am hoping your prediction does not come true ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 @goalnut3133 "I picked Hawks to win in Pick 'Em. Looking forward to this match-up! Wild is another of my fave teams to watch, esp Harding & Parise." Maybe the Hawks will become a favorite team for you, too ... . I am looking forward to this game! It's hard to say how this one will turn out. The Hawks have been kind of mediocre against teams in their division, but have done well against the Pacific division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 @TropicalFruitGirl26 Very true! I think special teams will indeed be the make-or-break in this game. It appears that the Hawks are on the losing side if they take too many penalties as opposed to if they stay out of the sin bin. The best way to kill penalties IMO is not to take them in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 @Rink Rat I hope Crow has a good game, too. Kane's been on a bit of a scoring run, so I think that will continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Was listening to some sports radio talk on the way in from picking up my son at school and the excitement level at Xcel Energy is pretty high. The radio personalities were talking to both Wild and Hawk fans that will be in attendance and everyone seem ready to go.Many Minny fans even said they didn't MIND having Hawks fans on hand (though they also said they didn't want TOO many of them in there..hehe), because it made this divisional game that much more exciting. And seeing as how each team has one a game in each other's rink, needless to say, next win has bragging rights for awhile...and I am sure Minnesota would like to be the first to pull ahead in their own building. Some sportscasters in the Twin Cities are already saying this is a win the Wild MUST have because of their recent struggles...but I get the feeling that even though Chicago is on top of the Western Conference heap, THEY'D like to grab his win for themselves just as much, so as to help solidify their number one and defending Cup status. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 @TropicalFruitGirl26 I wonder if this trend will continue this season, where the road team wins in this series. I think both teams are considering this must-win, but the Wild may have more of a reason to consider it must-win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Interesting thing they were just talking about on NHL Network... They were saying that Coach Yeo has transformed the Wild into more of a puck possession team as opposed to dump and chase...but that the Hawks are too good defensively for Minnesota to continue to carry the puck all night...Hmmm...sounds like a battle of wills to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Hawks down 1-0 after one Matt Cooke scored to make it 1-0 Wild. Josh Harding is having a great game, and his GAA seems smaller than an atomic particle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I knew this game was a bit too close for comfort... 2-1 Minnesota with about 15 min to go...I go look in on the Lightning for a bit...come back, and it's 3-2 Chicago with 10 min to go.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Things got nuts at the end of this game...in a fan friendly exciting way....but the Wild pull out the win. GG @Chicago Hawkie I know your Hawks will be looking to tie up the season series next go round. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hf101 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I called this game right. Nice to see Scandella get the GWG. His play this season has vastly improved. He is going to be one good all around d-man. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalnut3133 Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 @goalnut3133 "I picked Hawks to win in Pick 'Em. Looking forward to this match-up! Wild is another of my fave teams to watch, esp Harding & Parise." Maybe the Hawks will become a favorite team for you, too ... . I am looking forward to this game! It's hard to say how this one will turn out. The Hawks have been kind of mediocre against teams in their division, but have done well against the Pacific division. A very nice win by the Wild! They worked hard & their D was amazing & aggressive..stifling the Hawks at the blue line/neutral zone many times, not an easy feat. (Where was Kaner tonite?? MIA!) PP & PK was good too. A close, nail-biting game for sure! (Btw-- Hawks are already a fave of mine to watch...but don't tell anyone...shhhh ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 @TropicalFruitGirl26 Thank you and congratulations to your Wild! It was a good, well-played game by your team and they deserved every bit of that win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 @hf101 Scandella is a Hawks killer if I've ever heard of one ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 @goalnut3133 I don't know where Kaner was, but I think I need to use my magnifying glass to find him in that game ... . It was a battle of special teams ... that's what it came down to, and special teams have been our Achilles' heel. Coach Q seemed to put more of the blame on Crow than I think he should have. Perhaps Q was just really frustrated? It appeared that Q didn't even stop to think before saying to the media that he thought Crow could have been better. And don't worry, I won't say anything about your secret favorite team ... Oh, I just noticed you have a quote from me on your sig ... COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalnut3133 Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Haha, Kaner = 'Where's Waldo?'.........Hmm, I don't get the post-games on Centre Ice unfortunately so I didn't see Q blame Crow, but I think that's a very unfair remark, yes frustration on his part for sure. Yes, from time to time, I like highlighting other forum members' funny quotes on my siggy! When I first joined here, I quoted a lot of Bertmega, and Ruxpin has also had some whopper-doozies....I will probably be quoting more from them & others, no doubt! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 8, 2013 Author Share Posted December 8, 2013 @goalnut3133 Well, I'm glad you liked one of my quotes ... . I'll have to use one of your quotes in a sig sometime, because I like reading your posts. I was very surprised by Q after this game. To blame a goalie like that, especially one who has had so much to prove in the past like Crow just did not seem like Q. The media here are starting to stir with rumors of the dreaded goalie controversy because Q started Raanta in last night's game vs. the Ducks. I think Crow just needs a break. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalnut3133 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Wow thanks for using my quote, Hawkie! ( :wub: embarrassed). I've never been quoted on here before! Damn, Hawk, so Crow is injured...damn those groin injuries! And apparently didn't fly with the team to Dallas...so Raanta is in. I'm glad that he's been playing well & is a durn good back-up, anyway! You've most likely already read your paper but here it is anyway: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/ct-spt-1210-blackhawks-crawford-20131210,0,7406550.story Looking forward to the game tonite! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago Hawkie Posted December 10, 2013 Author Share Posted December 10, 2013 @goalnut3133 You're welcome! Thank you for the link! I didn't find much online at the time testerday and I don't subscribe to the Trib (mainly because I can go to the Trib website and hence not use up paper). It will be a good game vs. the Stars and I think Raanta will stand on his head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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