Western Conference Finals: Chicago vs. Anaheim

[pilldoc]

all discussion for this series goes here.

 

[hf101]

This surely could be an epic battle for the ages.  Wonder how much the Rozsival injury will play in the series especially with a lot of OT's ?   

 

Ducks

Maroon - Getzlaf - Perry

Beleskey - Kesler - Silferberg

Cogliano - Rakell - Palmieri

Etem - Thompson - Jackman

 

Lindholm - Beauchemin

Fowler - Despres

Stoner - Vatanen

 

Andersen / LaBarbara

 

Blackhawks

Saad - Toews - Hossa

Bickell - Richards - Kane

Sharp - Vermette - Tervainen

Desjardins - Kruger - Shaw

 

Keith - Seabrook

Hjalmarsson - Odula

Timonen - Runblad

 

Crawford / Darling

[pilldoc]

Perry vs Kane both players have been playing lights out.  You are right a series for the ages.  Would like to see the Ducks win just becaus I don't want to see the Hawks get another Cup.  However, I have to be pulling for Kimmo to finally get a chance to have his name added to the Cup.  He deserves it.

 

This is going 7 games.  (Flipping a coin.....Ducks!)

[J0e Th0rnton]

This is the true Finals of this season. It is also the Hawks last hurrah for a few years so I think they will play like never before. Next year, they enter a cap hell that dwarves 2010 which saw them gut the team. And will face the problems that have plagued the Penguins for the past score of years. Contracts that prohibit depth. Kane and Toews definitely got greedy with those matching max contracts and it will gut the team.

 

63.5 Million Dollars invested in this Roster.

??????/Toews/Sharp

Versteeg/??????/Kane

Bickell/??????/Hossa

??????/Shaw/??????

 

Hjalmarsson/Keith

Seabrook/???????

???????/???????

 

Crawford

Darling

 

They have 4.5 million in space if the cap is 68 million. and 7.5 million in space if the cap is 71 million to sign 5 forwards

 

RFA's Saad(Going to get 4.5-5million), Kruger(2 million would be a steal), Joakim Nordstrom, David Rundblad

UFA's Richards, Vermette, Desjardins, Carcillo, Oduya, Timmonen, Rozsival

 

Rookies and ELC's they can plug in: Van Riemsdyk, Teuvo Teravainen, Kyle Baun, Ville Pokka,

 

Hawks fans are praying to god the cap goes to 71 million and even so, Sharp and Crawford have No movement clauses. Hossa is old at 36 with a cap hit that runs to 2021. Bickell's contract is going to be hard to move unless he has an unreal playoff(which he is not doing thus far)

 

In any case, this is going to be so much more of a space sale than 2010 was. Crawford expressed "I am staying in Chicago" during this playoff when the question came up when Darling was playing well. His full no movement clause will make sure of that. So despite Hawks fans hoping he is the one moved, it looks bleak.

 

Kane and Toews are two of the best in Hockey. But even they cannot expect to overcome an obstacle as big as 7-8 rookies on the team, many of which are not NHL ready.

 

The reality is, they need to move any two of Sharp, Crawford and Seabrook.

[hockey webcomics]

I'll avoid the pool. The jinx exists.

It's curious that Ducks and Hawks Campbell Bowl finals could have happened in 2013 and last year and many fans expected that but Ducks failed to cope with expectations.

 

And now I may thank Karri Ramo for the lot of work he demanded to allow goals because we're about to face the best defense in the league.

[Podein25]

I'll take the Ducks in 7. They are bigger.

[fan4ever]

Hawks in 7.

 

Just because of Kimmo

[Commander Clueless]

I was hoping an interesting team would make it this year.

 

 

Oh well. Should be an entertaining series, at any rate.

 

 

Anaheim in 7.

[yave1964]

The real Stanley Cup Final?

 

I am taking the Ducks in 7 but it could go either way. Cannot wait!!

[jammer2]

@yave1964  Exactly, and it's been that way for a few years now....the winner of the Western Conference final and that series is really the Stanley Cup final....there are no teams in the East that can keep up with the Ducks or Hawks....just as it was last year.

 

 

 I have the Hawks in 7....but yeah, could go either way....Kimo could play a huge role here...for the Hawks or the Ducks....cause Runblad is not the answer.

[yave1964]

@jammer2

 

Yeah the Hawks losing Rozsival with a broken ankle is a very under the radar injury that could cost the Hawks, still not certain why they donated young Adam Clendening to the Canucks back in January. Trevor Van Reimsdyk was playing very well early in the year before getting injured and may deserve a shot because yeah, Rundblad is rotten. I plan on DVRing the Anaheim home games and watching them in the mornings before I find out the score.

[jammer2]

@yave1964  Funny, I was thinking of doing the same thing with the Ducks on the DVR...but I switch from 6am to 6pm to my night shift on 6pm to 6am after Friday...so not much use in doing that for me....either I willl be up for the games or DVRing them if I happen to work that day. Sucks being on nights during the Conference finals and Stanley Cup final.

[ScottM]

As much as I dislike both of these teams, I'm looking forward to the kind of hockey I expect to see in this one. Right now, I find it very hard to pick against Chicago. I never would have thought it possible for them to manhandle the Wild the way they did. They're the hotter team right now, and I think they'll prove it. The Ducks will put up a fight, but the Hawks will take it in six.

[jammer2]

  The Ducks exceptional checking lines have the very best chance to shut down Kane and Toews.....but I'm not holding my breath....time and time again, those two come through when it matters most. I do think Andersson is a better goalie than Crawford.....so in a tight series like this is bound to be...a very nice edge to have.

[Holymakinaw]

I think Anaheim is about to win another Cup!  Getzlaf and Perry are just too good and Andersen is the real deal.  Chicago has been too inconsistent this season.

[jammer2]

  The Hawks defense got ABUSED in this game. Not enough depth, not even close. So many things went wrong, I don't even know if they can be realistically addressed....this may be a throw away game...pretend it never happened.

[J0e Th0rnton]

  The Hawks defense got ABUSED in this game. Not enough depth, not even close. So many things went wrong, I don't even know if they can be realistically addressed....this may be a throw away game...pretend it never happened.

Rundblad descriptions were dead on haha.

 

And to think Hawk fans. Starting next year due to Toews and Kane's greedy contracts, you will have a team full of rookies and Rundblad's

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton

Rookies and Rundblads. Sounds like the title for a Stephen King Horror novel, lol.

 

Seriously, the Ducks depth is just too much. As long as Anderson performs like he has the Ducks may just be unbeatable. 9-1 so far this postseason.

[J0e Th0rnton]

@J0e Th0rnton

Rookies and Rundblads. Sounds like the title for a Stephen King Horror novel, lol.

 

Seriously, the Ducks depth is just too much. As long as Anderson performs like he has the Ducks may just be unbeatable. 9-1 so far this postseason.

I won't cry over the Hawks decline. I like them as a team and have a ton of respect for their players. But Toews and Kane got flat out greedy here and it will cause a huge decline in their team. They won their cups, paid their dues and then said "EFFF the team, I want money for ME"

 

Last time they were in a cap situation like this, they were able to bury Huet's 5.6 million dollar salary by loaning him to the swiss team. They also gave away Campbell for free(his contract was pretty unmovable otherwise) and STILL they had to lose a lot of talent.

 

This time, half their team are UFA's. They need to plug rookies or journeymen into so many key slots. 3 defensemen. Hossa is waaaaay older and in decline. Saad is due for a nice raise and so is Kruger(One of the best checking centers in the league). They have no second line center or left winger. Effectively, assuming they resign Saad and Kruger, they need two top 6 players, 3 bottom 6 players and 4 defensemen. Furthermore, a 4.5 million dollar contract to Saad and 2 million contract to Kruger leaves them with a grand total of 1 million in cap space to sign two top 6, 3 bottom 6 and 3 defensemen.

 

The most reasonable options for them to trade are Sharp(Old and in decline with a limited NMC), Hossa(Old in decline with a big cap hit for 5 more years), Bickell(overpaid with a limited NTC) and Crawford(Who kinda tweeted he would not waive his full NMC)

 

Yeah, goodbye Chicago. This year is your last hurrah.

[Yorick]

I managed to watch only the 3rd and the OT, but that was some entertaining hockey to watch!

 

Captain Serious Luck managed to score two goals in the last two minutes remaining in the period to send it to the OT. The tying goal must have surprised even himself big time.

 

Then boom! a very sudden death goal in the OT by Beleskey must have been perceived by the Hawks as involuntary ice bucket challenge.

 

Great game.

[jammer2]

@Yorick  The story of Game #5 was the odd, inconsistent play of the goalies on both teams. When the Ducks were up 2-0 and pressing to make it 3-0 early in the 3rd, Crawford made some OUTSTANDING saves to keep his team in the game. This game could have been out of reach very early, if not for the heroics of Crawford....and the two goals he gave up early were not his fault, the second one, he was screened so bad by his own d-man he had no sight of the puck at all. Even later in that game, Crawford was stellar in the 3rd, allowing for the Hawks to creep up on the Ducks and mount their comeback.

 

 It's hard to blame Crawford for the HUGE rebound he let out in the OT, leading to the game winner....BUT, an elite goalie would have directed the rebound to the corner, or at least not right back in the crease area. It was a bang-bang play but as per usual, a lot of times it's not what you stop, it's where the rebound goes. Crawford did have some lapses though, he and Andersson have suffered from inconsistency....lot's of room for improvement here.

 

 I'm sure anyone who watches hockey will agree with me, Towes second goal which tied the game with under a minute left....that was a HORRIBLE effort from the young Andersson!!!   That goal was the result of him being lazy....and or being technically unsound. I mean *IF* you are paying attention, your stick is on the ice AND you are on the post due to the puck position in the corner....Andersson FAILED miserably at this....NO WAY, NO HOW should that puck EVER reach the back of the net from that angle.....an UNFORGIVABLE lapse in concentration.

[Pekka Power]

Home ice advantage will be big in this game 7 tomorrow. I think the Ducks pull out a tight game in OT 4-3.