Blackhawks: Detroit Red Wings
Dave Reginek/Getty ImagesThe Blackhawks will enter the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the West. DETROIT -- If there was any doubt the Chicago Blackhawks did indeed want to earn the No. 5 seed and a date with the Nashville Predators in the opening round of the playoffs, Joel Quenneville erased it by pulling Corey Crawford in the closing seconds of regulation in the Hawks eventual 3-2 shootout victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
The game was tied 2-2 at the time, after the Hawks blew a 2-0 third-period lead by allowing Pavel Datsyuk to score with 47 seconds remaining and tie the game.
“Like we said going into the game, there are no bargains out there,” Joel Quenneville said afterwards. “All four teams we were eligible to play we had losing records against them this year but at the same time wherever the chips fell, wherever we end up, is always a chance. We said going into the game if we have to pull the goalie, we’ll pull the goalie.”
It sounds like more than anything the Hawks wanted to respect the game -- and the hockey gods -- in figuring out their playoff fate.
“It shows you that we want to win the game,” Patrick Sharp said of pulling the goalie. “You get into trouble if you start picking who you want to play in the playoffs. I’ve said it all along, you look at the eight teams in the West, it’s not going to be an easy series for anyone.”
So whether it was Nashville or now Los Angeles, Phoenix or San Jose, the Hawks weren’t thinking about their future foe as much as they were thinking about themselves.
“I thought we had an excellent finish to our season and have some momentum going into the playoffs,” Quenneville said. “No matter who we play it’ll be a challenge.”
The Hawks might lament giving up the lead, but they took the season series over the Wings four games to two, earning points in all six contests. That’s impressive. And all six games were one-goal affairs.
“It’s nothing special,” Duncan Keith said. “They’re a good team but right now we’re focused on the playoffs.”
And who they might play. That comes later on Saturday. At least the Hawks can say they played the game the right way right to the end.
“Last game of the season there was a lot on the line for seeding but I thought for the most part we played a good game and we were able to come out with a win anyway,” Sharp said. “So that’s good.”
Kane’s shootout move
After Pavel Datsyuk failed to score with a between the legs move, Patrick Kane tried the same, but finished on it.
“I just thought of the move real quick, put it through my legs and bring it back,” Kane said. “Luckily it worked out ... I know they were fighting for home ice but it didn’t really mean anything to our team so I figured why not try to do something.”
Unlike Thursday in Minnesota Kane didn’t need to lift the puck. He went through the legs of goaltender Jimmy Howard and scored the lone goal in the shootout.
“I just thought of it real quick to get the fans out of their seats and score too,” Kane said. “Glad it worked.”
Slappers
• Jimmy Hayes lost two teeth after getting high-sticked in the first period by Riley Sheahan.
“Then I got an elbow in the game later that split my lip open,” Hayes said.
• Marian Hossa won the team scoring title with 77 points, leading the Hawks with 48 assists. Patrick Sharp led the Hawks in goals with 33 and also had the best plus/minus on the team with a plus-28 rating.
• Sharp had two prime assists for the Hawks including a nifty pass out front to Andrew Shaw for the Hawks second goal.
• Viktor Stalberg added to his career high with his 22nd goal on a rebound of a Sharp shot. All 43 of his points this season came even strength, the most in the league.
• During the first period the Hawks announced goalie Ray Emery had signed a one year contract extension. He’ll make $1.15 million next year, according to a league source.
Quotable
“I guess we were going on the road anyway so it probably doesn’t matter much to us,” -- Kane, on not winning the game in regulation and earning a higher seed.
Despite losing the game, the Red Wings will be the No. 5 seed, finishing the season with 102 points to the Blackhawks' 101. The Hawks were 47 seconds away from a regulation win -- and one more point in the standings -- which would have earned them the No. 5 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker. Instead, the Red Wings will play the No. 4 seed Nashville Predators in the opening round.
Read the entire story.
DETROIT -- A quick look at the Chicago Blackhawks' 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday at Joe Louis Arena.
How it happened: Corey Crawford stopped all three shooters in the shootout while Patrick Kane scored the lone goal on a highlight-reel move. The Hawks scored once in the first period and another in the second to slowly take control of the game. First Viktor Stalberg completed his breakout season with his 22nd goal on a rebound of a Patrick Sharp shot. Then, in the second period, Andrew Shaw finished a scoring play after a great feed by Sharp from behind the Wings net. Detroit finally got on the board with a Johan Franzen goal from a poor angle in the third period. The puck squeaked by Corey Crawford for his 29th goal of the year. The Wings tied it in dramatic fashion with goalie Jimmy Howard on the bench for an extra attacker when Tomas Holmstrom went between his legs in the crease and found Pavel Datsyuk for a tap-in with just 47 seconds remaining in regulation.
What it means: The Hawks clinched the No. 6 seed once the game went to overtime. The Hawks were 47 seconds away from earning the No. 5 seed and playing the Nashville Predators in the opening round of the playoffs. Now they’ll have to wait until the completion of other games out west before knowing who they will play. It can still be one of three teams, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Los Angeles Kings or the San Jose Sharks. The Hawks went an entire year without a posting a shutout for the first time since the 1988-89 season. They complete the 2011-2012 regular season with a 45-26-11 record.
What’s next: The Hawks will take Sunday off and then begin preparations for the Stanley Cup playoffs with practice days early in the week before heading out on the road for the first two games of their series to begin Wednesday or Thursday.
The Hawks scored a late second-period goal when Patrick Sharp made nice pass from behind the Detroit net to Andrew Shaw, who finished the scoring chance for his 12th goal of the season.
Both teams had power-play chances in the middle 20 minutes, but could not convert, although the Hawks’ goal came a few seconds after a Wings penalty had expired.
Corey Crawford has played very well through the first two periods, stopping all 21 shots he’s faced.
If the Hawks hold on to win the game they will face Nashville in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs starting later next week.
1st-period wrap: Hawks 1, Wings 0
The Hawks got on the board when Viktor Stalberg scored on a rebound of a Patrick Sharp shot from near the point. It was Stalberg’s 22nd goal as he finishes a breakout season.
Before scoring, the Hawks earned a four-minute power play when Jimmy Hayes was high-sticked by Riley Sheahan, playing in his first NHL game. They did little with the power play, where they continue to struggle. The Wings had a power-play chance as well but failed to score.
Late in the period, the Hawks announced goalie Ray Emery had agreed to a one-year contract extension. He was set to become a free agent on July 1.
Playoff update: Four potential foes
Here are the playoff scenarios facing the Chicago Blackhawks as they take on the Detroit Red Wings Saturday afternoon. Keep in mind the first tie-breaker is total non-shootout wins by each club and the second tie-breaker is total points earned in the head-to-head series between the two teams.
If the Hawks beat the Wings in regulation:
The Hawks will earn the No. 5 seed by virtue of the second tie-breaker. Both Chicago and Detroit will have 101 points and 39 non-shootout victories but the Hawks will have more points in the head-to-head season series so they would earn the No. 5 seed and would play Nashville in the opening round of the playoffs. That series would begin in Nashville on either Wednesday or Thursday.
If the Hawks beat the Wings in overtime or a shootout OR lose to Detroit:
Chicago will be the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and play the winner of the Pacific Division to be determined later on Saturday.
Hawks' playoff position hinges on last game
“Our focus will be to play the right way,” Jamal Mayers said after the final regular-season practice of the year in Detroit. “We want to play the right way and get ready for the playoffs.”
No one will argue with that, but plenty have argued whether the Hawks should truly want to win Saturday’s game -- at least in regulation -- and overtake the Detroit Red Wings for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference. If that happens, the Hawks would take on the Nashville Predators in the opening round of the playoffs. A loss or overtime game means the Hawks will face the Pacific Division winner. Currently the Predators have eight more points than the Pacific-leading Los Angeles Kings.
Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty ImagesCould the Predators be a tougher matchup for the Blackhawks than the Kings?“You can say those sort of things and think that, but once you get on the ice it’s still Chicago/Detroit,” defenseman Sean O'Donnell said. “If you’re looking to win the whole thing, you have to beat everyone anyway. So do you drop to sixth and play a team with lesser points but with a three or four hour flight back and forth, or do you play Nashville, where it’s easier?”
Several Hawks mentioned the shorter flight to Nashville as a reason to want to win on Saturday. At the same time, they understand the differences in the teams.
“The No. 3 seed is a team that had a worse season than us and knowing that will probably give us some more confidence,” Viktor Stalberg said. “But sometimes it’s tough for traveling. It’s kind of a coin toss. We’re feeling good about our game.”
Broadcasters John Wiedeman and Troy Murray will still handle the call of the game which will also be broadcast nationally on NBC.
Hawks set sights on home-ice advantage
Every day between now and the end of the regular season I’ll update you on the playoff race as it pertains to the Blackhawks:
In holding on to beat the Nashville Predators, 5-4, on Saturday night, the Hawks clinched a playoff berth and now can set their sights on home-ice advantage in the first round. They closed the gap on the Predators and are just one point behind them for the No. 4 seed.
By virtue of a tiebreaker, the Hawks remain the No. 6 seed while Detroit is still No.5. The Wings host the Florida Panthers on Sunday having played one less game than Chicago.
If the playoffs began today, the Hawks would take on the Los Angeles Kings, but that matchup is bound to change on a daily basis. The Kings held onto the No. 3 seed by earning a point in an overtime loss to Minnesota, but Phoenix caught them in points (91) with a 4-0 shutout of Anaheim. San Jose is just one point behind both those teams after shutting out Dallas, 3-0, on Saturday.
The Hawks host the Wild on Sunday with a chance to pass Nashville for the No.4 seed. No other Western Conference playoff team besides Detroit is in action on Sunday.
Power rankings: Hawks stick at No. 8
Solid wins over the Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks were apparently negated by a disastrous 6-1 defeat to the Nashville Predators on Sunday. Even so, only one team, the Boston Bruins, passed the Hawks in the rankings. Boston moved from No. 12 to No. 7.
And for the first time in months the Hawks were ahead of the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit dropped to No. 9 from No. 7 based on a stretch of losing 8 of 9 before beating the Carolina Hurricanes over the weekend. The St. Louis Blues and Nashville are still the cream of the Central Division as they hold the No. 2 and No. 4 spots, respectively, in the rankings.
At the beginning of the season it would have been hard to imagine the Blues and Predators ahead of the Hawks and Red Wings with just two weeks remaining in the season, but that’s how the rankings look as teams are down to just a handful of games. The Hawks still have a chance at home-ice advantage in the first round which would undoubtedly put them ahead of both Nashville and Detroit.
They passed one rival, but can they pass another one? Nashville is 4-1 against the Hawks this season and that home ice, along with the final pre-playoffs rankings, might come down to their series finale on Saturday.
Playoff update: Hawks sitting at No. 6
Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the Nashville Predators wasn’t devastating in terms of the Hawks making the playoffs, but it was a blow in terms of moving up from the No. 6 seed. The Predators are now four points ahead of the Hawks while Detroit remains three points ahead. Nashville took over the No. 4 seed with their win over Chicago.
So the Hawks remain firmly as the No. 6 seed, five points ahead of No. 7 Phoenix, who lost 4-0 to St. Louis on Sunday. The Hawks also have a game in hand and are six points ahead of ninth-place San Jose. If the playoffs started today Chicago would open on the road against the No. 3 seed Dallas Stars. The Hawks have five more points than Dallas, but as the Pacific Division leader the Stars get home ice advantage.
Monday is a busy day for the Western Conference playoff picture. The Detroit Red Wings have played one fewer game than the Hawks and they host the Columbus Blue Jackets, the cellar dweller of the West.
Three Pacific teams vying for the playoffs are in action as Dallas plays in Calgary, Los Angeles is in Vancouver and San Jose hosts Colorado. Four teams in that division are separated by a single point, meaning if the playoffs opened tomorrow the No. 6 seeded Hawks could have a different opponent than they would as of today. Count on that kind of back-and-forth for the final two weeks of the season.
Blackhawks passing big tests from Wings
The Blackhawks need to learn how to win tight games and they’re finally doing just that, taking their third one-goal game in a row with a fantastic 2-1 victory over the Wings. The Hawks recorded a 2-1 win in Ottawa two days earlier and both victories were extremely impressive.
Marc DesRosiers/US PresswirePatrick Kane scored the game-winning goal in the Blackhawks' third straight victory.Quenneville had called Friday’s victory the “biggest of the year.” This one isn’t far behind. Not when you consider the Wings were 27-3-2 at home coming into the contest and sit near the top of the conference in the standings.
“They are fun games to play in,” Patrick Sharp said. “Little bit of everything out there. I’m sure we’ll see them again down the road.”
That little bit of everything included a power-play goal by Sharp, followed by his game-winning set up of a Patrick Kane score late in the second period. Make no mistake, special teams play has been the difference in the last two games. The Hawks have two power-play goals and a score on a delayed penalty, plus they’ve given up nothing when down a man. That’s a winning playoff formula.
Patrick Kane broke a 1-1 tie with a goal with just 1:19 left in the middle 20 minutes. Patrick Sharp grabbed a puck behind the Wings net and made a nifty pass in front to Kane, who slid a backhand by goalie Joey MacDonald.
McDonald entered the game to start the second period when Jimmy Howard was pulled due to an undisclosed lower body injury. Both teams had power-play chances in the second but neither did any damage, though Bryan Bickell had a blast from the slot which McDonald saved.
The Wings have hit iron several times today and will open the third period on the power play after Bickell took a late boarding call coming to the defense of Sharp who was hit hard, but legally, by Niklas Kronwall.
The Hawks got on the board first with an early power-play tally by Patrick Sharp. They moved the puck around in the offensive zone until Sharp had a good look from the point with Jamal Mayers providing a screen in front. It was Sharp’s 25th goal of the year.
Less than three minutes later, the Wings tied the game after some nifty stick handling and skating by Darren Helm. Helm eventually found Niklas Kronwall, who hammered one home at the point.
Detroit hit the post twice in the opening 20 minutes and missed on a power-play attempt of their own.
Winning solves a lot of problems
The team won its fourth straight game on Tuesday night, which only eight days ago would have appeared inconceivable. Let's face it, eight days ago, even one win was starting to look that way, much less against their old rivals, the NHL-leading Detroit Red Wings.
That each team was missing its star center -- Jonathan Toews and Pavel Datsyuk both sat out with injuries -- may have erased some of the luster going in. But much like the Chicago Bulls prevailing without Derrick Rose, the Hawks' 2-1 victory minus their captain can do nothing but bolster the confidence of a team that needs every bit of it moving forward.
Read the entire column.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Jesse Rogers
Jesse Rogers covers the Chicago Blackhawks for ESPN 1000 and ESPNChicago.com.
ESPNCHICAGO.COM HAWKS ON TWITTER
TEAM LEADERS
| POINTS | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Marian Hossa
|
|||||||||||
| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| Goals | P. Sharp | 33 | ||||||||||
| Assists | M. Hossa | 48 | ||||||||||
| +/- | P. Sharp | 28 | ||||||||||
| GAA | C. Crawford | 2.72 | ||||||||||