Hawks-Nucks Game 3 Preview
The Blackhawks have made it back stateside and will try to hold onto the home ice advantage they snuck over the border after a Game 2 comeback win.
The Hawks certainly have the momentum after rattling off five straight goals after falling behind 2-0. The Canucks added a late goal, but it was on a 5-on-3 when the refs got whistle-happy at the end of the game. The Hawks have taken over the home ice advantage, meaning they can win the series as long as they win at home.
That sounds great, but winning at home is anything but a given. The Hawks have fallen behind in a lot of games so far in the playoffs, a habit that gets you in trouble no matter where you play. A strong start tonight will be important to set the tone for the home swing.
The other advantage the Hawks have is that they seem to be in Luongo’s head. Byfuglien has been a beast so far in this series and has made a home for himself in front of the Vancouver net. Big buff has also been seen jawing with Luongo several times during the series and the Vancouver net-minder seems a little rattled, despite his comments to the contrary. Just the fact that he gave up as many goals in Game 2 as he did in the first round seems to indicate that something is wrong.
The guy is still a top flight goalie in this league though, so it will be up to the Blackhawks to keep the traffic in front of him and to continue their balances scoring. The Hawks keep getting goals from the role players, while a different star seems to step up when needed. The first series featured a lot of scoring from Havlat and Toews, while Kane and Sharp have been great so far this round. Dave Bolland has played great hockey in both rounds, while Keith and Seabrook continue to do their thing on the blue line.
Khabibulin has been good, but not spectacular. It’s been nice not to rely on Khabi to win games by himself, but the Hawks might need one of those performances later this round to push them to the conference finals.
Adam Burish provided some intrigue with a quote regarding injured Vancouver defenseman Sami Salo: “We have to target some of the other D now,’ added Hawk winger Adam Burish. “Those other guys are going to have the bulls-eyes on their backs.”
Okay then. Any worries that the nastiness would go away with the three days off can probably be put to rest. One more note on that subject though: while there has been plenty of pushing and shoving after the whistle, Vancouver hasn’t been nearly as bad as I expected in terms of gooning it up. If the Hawks get a lead tonight though, watch out. I heard Bolland comment on how important it was for Chicago to stay away from all that and let Vancouver sit in the penalty box; we’ll see how well the Hawks follow his advice.
So this is it, the Bulls season is over and the Hawks get the playoff spotlight for a while. Game 3 is tonight on CSN at 7:00 CT.
Loading ...
