#5 Los Angeles Kings vs #1 Chicago Blackhawks WCF series thread

[gmalis1]

Quick is a great goalie, no doubt about that. He can win a game pretty much by himself. But the Kings are getting no help from anyone else. They play such a close to the vest style that they have little wiggle room for error.

The Hawks exploited that in Game 4. Two bad turnovers with a bad line change propelled the Hawks to the win. And as you can see, Quick has been less than stellar in two of the four games.

Don't get me wrong. I like Quick and would love him on my team. But the Hawks have been able to solve him at times by creating traffic in front of the net and firing high on him.

I'm back to my thoughts after Game 2. I don't see the Kings making enough adjustments to be able to dominate a game. Even Game 3, which the Hawks lost, could have gone either way. The Hawks admittedly played bad, yet with a push in the third period could have tied or won the game.

The Kings, in Game 4 with a chance to tie the series, showed NO pressure in the third period after the Hawks took the lead and only had TWO shots on goal. Hawks defense is very good, but two shots while trailing isn't gonna get you much.

Hawks need to keep their skates on the pedal in Game 5. Skate hard and skate fast and throw lots of pucks to the net. You never know what can happen. The series winner is always the most difficult to win.

 

[davnlaguna]

Except the Hawks haven't scored many high on Quick. Most have been in the lower third of the net.
Quick has problems with his mind drifting. If he doesn't see a shot for a while he dozes off. He also has issues with shots to the far side low. He tends to kick them up the middle and if a King doesn't clear it is an open net. His third issue is tips about 5-10 feet out. Because he plays so far out he doesn't have time to react to the high slot tip. As far as solving Quick one 3 goal game and one 4 goal game that two were put behind him by Kings.
The Kings problem is a lack of scoring. Part of that is the Hawks but it has been an issue all post season. I don't know why. Injuries have played a part some known and maybe more. Defense has been an issue. It is hard to score from your own zone. However it seems this is the year of top line guys not producing and role players stepping up. Except for Voynov and maybe Pancakes no other King player is doing much.
Hoping not to have to shave this weekend

 

[gmalis1]

My point. Quick is great, but he's getting no help. He was made out to be practically unbeatable the first two rounds (Pavelski's shot was just a lucky save and that's all...if he elevates the puck two inches it's in the net and no one is showing that dumb replay over and over again) but Quick IS beatable. Stick side low, left pad low and up high are the place to shoot for.

The guy I would be worried about in the next round is Tuukka Rask. He's looking like he IS unbeatable.

Blackhawks roll four effective lines out there. They wear down other teams. They exit the defensive zone quickly and get the puck to their speedy forwards. Possession time is key to this team. Yet, they can also effectively forecheck on the puck. Now, the Hawks will never win the HITS category in any game. Part of that is they don't hit people all the time, only when needed. The bigger part is since they are a possession team it's hard to hit someone when you have the puck.

Sutter has tweaked his lines slightly. But I'll be honest. After watching four games, I don't think it matters who the Kings put out there. They all look the same to me. The high level skill players aren't showing it right now. They are having difficulties sustaining any offensive zone pressure. Now, whether the Kings have a bunch of players banged up or they're just tired (which I don't buy since the Hawks had a grueling seven game series as well and had one less day of rest between series), something is amiss with the Kings. They aren't the same team as last year. Of course, missing Richards has really hurt the Kings. And Drew Doughty has looked just terrible at points in this series. Don't know what's up with him. Right now Slava Voynov is the best player on the Kings.

Quenneville has moved Kane back with Toews, and that has made a big difference in the play of both. More energy, more chances, more uptempo. And Handzus, Hossa and Sharp played better when they were reunited in Game 4. Handzus and Hossa have that Slovakian connection and they play very well together. And the Hawks third and fourth lines continue to put offensive pressure on the Kings. They aren't any slackers either.

Kings have to play with a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose tonight to even have a chance. Even with that, it should project to be yet another close game, probably 2-1 or 3-2. I'm hoping for a 4-1 Hawks win, but that's just a wish. Should be fun tonight at the Madhouse on Madison.

 

[BlueWolfZero]

Alrite Kings I put 100 vcash on ya...don't let me down or I might have a vbreakdown

 

[BF4L]

Game time !

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Could us Hosers be watching Bob Cole's last HNIC telecast?

Yeah, he's senile.

Yeah, he falls asleep during the game.

Yeah, he's a Leafs and Habs homer.

Yeah, he constantly confuses Gonchar and Karlsson; this one will be even more awkward next year if it happens.

All those things aside I still get a little more pumped when Bob starts calling a game.

 

[BF4L]

Hawks strike 1st

 

[BlueWolfZero]

Wow...that's a bad goal

 

[BOSSMANPC]

OMG Quick wants that one back.

 

[RangersReds03]

What's up with Quick?

 

[BF4L]

2-0 Hawks and this may be over "quick:"

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Ruh Roh

 

[BlueWolfZero]

Bad rebound for another. The roof is falling in on the Kings in a hurry

 

[BOSSMANPC]

What a terrible start for the Kings.

 

[KennyBanyeah]

The Buffalo Strangler made no mistake there.

If I had 20 cents for every time I've seen him use that kind of poise with puck...

 

[KennyBanyeah]

Quick looks rattled.

 

[BlueWolfZero]

Hawks aren't fucking around tonight

 

[BF4L]

Hawks aren't fucking around tonight

It sure does not look like they want to allow the Kings anything. I like that thought. You got a team down so step on the throat and get the kill.

 

[BOSSMANPC]

I think the Kings will need at least three goals to win this game.

 

[davnlaguna]

Just got home.
Can we start this game over?