California Crossing: Blackhawks Must Dethrone Kings To Reach Stanley Cup Finals
By Rob Winn in News on May 31, 2013 4:20PM
After an epic comeback to beat the Detroit Red Wings, the Blackhawks move on to face defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. The Kings are undoubtedly the toughest opponent the Hawks have faced yet. They have the size and toughness to match up against any team in the Eastern Conference and feature arguably the best goaltender in the league in Jonathan Quick. It will take a herculean effort from the Hawks to win this series. But after the comeback against the Red Wings, they are certainly up to the task.
There is a lot of talk leading up to this series about the size of the L.A. Kings, and with good reason. Even their skill forwards, like Anze Kopitar, are well over six feet tall and aren't afraid to mix it up. If the Blackhawks even attempt to out hit the Kings, they will fail miserably. To win they'll have to use their speed and skill to neutralize the Kings' size. If they are willing to take hits to make plays and continue to make the precision passes we've seen throughout the playoffs, the Hawks should be able to open up the ice and let their speed influence the game.
Of course the Kings will take a page out of the Red Wings' playbook and clog up the neutral zone. But the Hawks have seen that before and after all, Kings coach Darryl Sutter doesn't exactly pose the evil-genius that Mike Babcock does.
Oh, the power play. I have a feeling we're going to be talking about the power play until this team wins the Cup, and then again next year. The Hawks were finally able to break through with three power-play goals against the Red Wings in Games 5 and 6, but they reverted back to their struggles in Game 7. Nick Leddy seems to be the only defensemen capable of handling the puck and setting up the power play, but he is often on the second or third unit for coach Joel Quinneville. Hopefully Coach Q will use him more in this series because a few power-play goals against Jonathan Quick will go a long way.
There is a high level of angst among Hawks fans. But the Kings really only have one plan to win: hit everyone with an Indianhead logo, score one or two goals per game and let goalie Jonathan Quick stop everything. That's not a bad plan since Quick is once again on a roll in the playoffs, stopping 362 of 382 shots this post season. He also showed up in critical situations, allowing only one goal in Game 7 against the Sharks — the same amount Corey Crawford allowed in Game 7, for those who doubt him. However the Hawks have found their offensive mojo by scoring on pinpoint shots twice in Game 7 (if you include Hjalmarsson's disallowed goal). Quick will be the main factor in the series. But if Bryan Bickell plants himself in front of the net to stop Quick from taking away angles, the Hawks should be able to get a few past him.
There are only four teams left standing in the Stanly Cup playoffs and each of them has won the Cup in the last four years. Fortunately for the Hawks few teams repeat in today's NHL, so they are primed to knock off the champs. But if all else fails maybe this dog can take a few more shits in Patrick Sharp's yard.