The reality is that we’re looking at something in the middle, but much closer to a clean hit.  While Havlat didn’t have the puck on his stick, he was absolutely ready to carry it up the ice and couldn’t have been any closer to the puck. Kronwall’s forearm came up and he came off his feet, but it was after the blow was delivered.  Awful, awful call to throw him out of the game on what wasn’t a penalty, but hey, too bad…it’s 2-1. 

Fact is, the Hawks are saying what they should be saying.  Havlat is a leader on this team and they’re going to rally around him by calling Kronwall a goon.  Every bit of motivation counts.  Anyway, Game 4 starts in about a half hour, so let’s get to the bullets.

• The Hawks know they can’t carry out some kind of revenge plan on Kronwall today.  They need to play the same kind of disciplined hockey that has kept them in the series.  When they’re focused and limit the turnovers, they’ve been the better team for a good part of the series. 
• Injuries will play a gigantic role in this game.  For Chicago, it’s looking like Huet in place of Khabibulin, who left Game 3 with an injury before Huet shut the Wings down for the third period and OT.  Havlat is doubtful until he can remember what year it is. For the Wings, Kris Draper is out again and Pavel Datsyuk will be a game-time decision with a foot injury. 
• Lots of scoring from defensemen in Game 3 as Seabrook and Keith got on the score sheet with assists.  For Seabrook especially, it was nice to see some contribution in what has been a rough series. 
• The Hawks are 3 for 3 in scoring first so far.  Today they have a great chance to really put some pressure on Detroit with another early goal.  Put one past Ozzie in the first and thoughts of going back to Detroit at 2-2 will creep in. 
• It will be interesting to see how Huet does after preparing to start.  In Game 3 he was thrown into a tough spot and didn’t allow a goal.  If I remember correctly, Huet started the Winter Classic and was pulled, so Game 3 was a good confidence boost.
• I thought Andrew Ladd played a great game Friday and he might need another without Havlat.  Can’t wait to see how the young guys respond after having two days to let the theatrics of Game 3 settle. 

One thing is for sure: the crowd is going to be insane.  Nothing like a big hit to create a villian to fire people up.  I’m sure fans will be even more strong in voice when sharing their feelings on Detroit throughout the game.  Get ready, because the game starts in less than 30 minutes.  2 PM CT on NBC.

Part of that must have been the lack of scoring opportunities leading to fewer whistles than normal.  I definitely was shocked when I looked up to find only four minutes separating the Hawks from going back to Vancouver down 3-1 with their playoff lives in serious jeopardy.  Then predictions started coming true.

“I’m sensing a big game for Havlat tonight…and Havlat could be the guy to help them tie this series up.”

Boom, Havlat scored with about 2:45 to go, forcing overtime after it looked like the Hawks were dead.  Chicago had been relentless in their attack, but nothing was getting through to Luongo.  Then Andrew Ladd made a great pass on the boards to spring Havlat, who found twine to tie it.  Andrew Ladd you say?

“And where has Andrew Ladd gone?  He has one point in nine games and that was a goal in a 5-1 win in the Calgary series.  He had one shot on goal in the first three games of this series after he had 13 last series.  Come on Ladd!”

Well, Ladd wasn’t satisfied with just making me stop talking bad about him, he had more work to do in OT.  Just about three minutes into the extra session Havlat threw the puck across the ice and Bolland drove it toward the net, where Ladd had the game winning tip-in for the goal.

What a gigantic win for the Blackhawks.  A loss would have sent them back to Canada down 3-1 with a series that would be all but over.  Now, no matter what happens up there, we’ll see one more game in the United Center this round.

The Blackhawks did give up the first goal again this game, but it was a different kind of deficit.  For nearly the entire game, the Hawks carried the play.  Vancouver limited Chicago’s chances, but seemed content to try and win this game 1-0.  It almost worked.

Game 5 is Saturday night at 9:30 CT in Vancouver.

After the slow start, the Hawks managed to tie the game on a real soft goal by Cam Barker.  The Flames took the lead back about four minutes into the third period on a Cammalleri goal and the nerves kept building while the Hawks tried to battle back.  With just under six minutes to go Barker forced a turnover and Martin Havlat fired a shot, got his own rebound with three Flames right around him and wasn’t touched until he was knocked down celebrating his goal.

After both teams had some late chances, Chicago’s first playoff game in seven years needed a little extra time to decide a winner.  It didn’t take long because after a quick turnover Dave Bolland fed Havlat for the game winner.  Great first win for Chicago and they can really put some pressure on Calgary with a win Saturday.  Bullets?

• That first period was definitely troubling when you thought about the inexperience in the playoffs for the Blackhawks.  The Flames were much more physical, they dominated the game and took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission that could have been much worse.
• Khabibulin was unreal in the second period.  Some of the most unheralded plays in hockey are gigantic saves by your goaltender when your team is down by one or two goals.  Khabibulin kept the Hawks in the game despite some excellent chances from Calgary.
• I thought youngsters Dave Bolland and Kris Versteeg played outstanding games.  Bolland was flying out there and seemed to be the only guy producing offense in the early going.  Bolland also made the play to knock down the puck and feed Havlat for the game winner in overtime.  Maybe these kids are ready for the playoffs after all.
• The officiating was great.  Aside from a questionable no-call when ex-Hawk Rene Borque slammed Kane into the boards, the officials let the right things go and didn’t allow this huge game to be bogged down with penalties.  I watched the Wings game last night too and it was ridiculously bad with all the penalties.  They need to realize that the brand of hockey we saw in Chicago is much more fun to watch.
• Bad games?  It would be nice to see more from Patrick Kane.  I thought Toews was pushing hard last night and made some nice plays, but Kane seemed to have trouble.  It will be nice to get Sharp back in game shape too.  Not that the defense played poorly, but they need to be a little more physical.  There were too many instances where Calgary players were standing around the net with the puck deep in the zone; they need to be on their backs.
• The crowd was amazing too.  I’m not sure if a cold breeze came through my apartment, but I got some serious chills when the anthem was going on.  There was some nervous silence in the third, but there were also times before that equalizing goal that the crowd got the players going.

Alright, Game 1 is in the books and the Hawks will look to really put the pressure on Calgary with a win in Game 2.  That contest will take place Saturday night at 8:00 ct at the United Center.  The game will also be on Comcast Sports Net.

With the two losses, the Hawks have now lost six of eight games and are 13 points behind Detroit in the Central and only five points ahead of Vancouver for the fourth seed in the West.

So what has the problem been for Chicago lately? In my mind the two biggest factors in the skid have been injuries and poor defense.  Injuries have slowed the Blackhawks for a while now it seems.  The first that comes to mind is Duncan Keith and his absence’s effect on the power play.  Now the Blackhawks are dealing with the loss of Khabibulin and Patrick Sharp.

The loss of Khabibulin is a big one; the goaltender was in top form before the injury and the Hawks had found a nice balance between him and Cristobal Huet.  Huet has struggled with the everyday responsibilities since Nikolai went down.  It looks like the Hawks will have their number one guy back in a week or two.

Sharp was leading the team in goals before his injury, a distinction that now belongs to captain Jonathan Toews.  Of course, when one of your top goal scorers goes out with an injury, that is going to be evident in your production. What is overlooked is the impact on the team as a whole when guys like Keith, Khabibulin, and Sharp go down.  All of the sudden guys are playing on different lines, playing more time, and feeling more pressure to produce.  Every team deals with injuries, but I think that sometimes with a young team, you’re going to feel the impact a little more.

To make matters worse, Martin Havlat got dinged up this weekend sustaining a “lower body injury.”  I love hockey for that kind of stuff.  Anyway, Havlat had been playing arguably the best hockey he has played in Chicago before the injury.  I haven’t heard anything specific, but let’s hope this is only a week or two, because that’s one guy Chicago will need down the stretch.

Even with all those guys back, the Blackhawks won’t be successful without good defense.  Pahlsson will help that from the forward spot, but it’s on the blue liners to pick it up.  There is too much talent back there to be giving up so much space that leads to so many goals.  It’s hard to say exactly what they’re doing wrong now, but they just seem a step behind where they were a month ago.

The Hawks had the day off yesterday and I’m sure they’re having a very serious practice and film session today before taking on Carolina tomorrow night at the United Center.  Lulls in the season happen and this actually isn’t a terrible time for one, but Chicago better start to turn it around, because they want to be playing their best hockey pretty soon.

Troy Brouwer scored first just over a minute into the game and Andrew Ladd finished up a pretty passing sequence with a goal from Havlat and Dave Bolland later in the first.  Cristobal Huet was back in net and was great aside from a stretch of about two minutes in the second.  Huet let in the first goal after he gave the puck away behind the net, and the second on a scramble where he looked like he walked into a spiderweb.  Huet came back with some great saves in the third to keep the game tied up though, and stopped 26 of 28 shots for the game.

The win was great, but it’s the trade deadline that is on fans’ minds today.  One guy that might have been moving if the Hawks weren’t having success is Havlat, but they can’t afford to give him up now and are actually working on an extension.  This is huge, because Havlat was pretty much a flop with that contract he got to come to Chicago.  This season, Havlat has taken a more active role defensively and seems to be more of the old Marty.

The main thing the Hawks seem to be out to get is a center.  With a ton of young players to move (not those young players) there is virtually no one on the market that is untouchable.  To me, the most important thing the Hawks need is some experience.  A tough, experienced center would be ideal.

A few guys to keep an eye out for are Nik Antropov, Dominic Moore, Keith Tkachuk, and Olli Jokinen.  Antropov and Moore are both with the Maple Leafs and both could move today.  I think Antropov is a better fit as the Hawks could really use the size.  Tkachuk probably stays in St. Louis from what I’ve read; maybe that’s because he’ll just end up back there again anyway.  Jokinen is a very intriguing idea for the Blackhawks, as he has good size and is a great passer.  That one could come down to how desperate Phoenix is to get young and how much the Hawks are willing to give up to get him.

It’s possible that Chicago tries to add that experience on the blue line instead of up front though.  There are plenty of guys here that fit the needs of the Blackhawks.  They simply want playoff experience, toughness, and leadership.

The deadline is at 3:00 PM eastern and we’ll let you know if the Hawks pull anything off.