| 05 May 2010
After game 2, it would be nice to believe that the momentum for this series has swung in the Blackhawks' favor. It would be nice to imagine that game 2 was a demonstration of the kind of hockey we'd see for the next few days.
It would be nice, but we've been here before, and should know better. Anything can still happen tonight, and the thing is, whatever does happen tonight may not affect the outcome of the next game, or the one after that. That's how wild momentum can swing, especially in a tied series.
As with round 1 against Nashville, as with the series against Vancouver in last year's playoffs, a tied series only means we're back to square one, with home advantage maybe shifting back to the Canucks. Split the next 2 games and home ice returns to us. Lose both and we'd be digging our own graves. Win both, and we could conceivably close the series out at the United Center again.
But we can't look too far ahead. There's a trick to this balancing act, to finding the line between keeping perspective in spite of possible adversity and playing balls out hockey because each game is important, every 60 minutes or more on the ice needing to be played.
In game 1 the Blackhawks failed to show up. In game 2 the Canucks may have stopped skating for the last 55 minutes.
In terms of lineups, expect to see Buff on the first line with Toews and Kane, although Kesler's line seems to be winning that match-up. Bolland's line is set up against the Sedins, and the Hawks' third line seems to have had more success in game 2 against the twins, so hopefully that continues to happen. The second line of Sharp-Kopecky-Hossa is due to break out soon, because they're up against Kesler's line half the time, and Demitra's line the other half.
With Buff on the first line, Brouwer in the doghouse (what came first, getting benched leading to his mental state, or his mental state causing him to get benched?), and Johnsson's whereabouts still unknown, I guess we'll be seeing Jordan Hendry back on the blue line tonight. I thought Quenneville actually did a good job managing his defensemen's TOIs--Hjalmarsson led blueliners with 24:58, while Keith was a close second with 24:44. That was with Buff switching back to forward halfway through the game and leaving the team with 5 defensemen.
As for the result, who knows? We won't know how the boys will play until we see them skating, although for the sake of having some breathing room, it would be nice to break out of the Hawks' pattern for once, and just come out with a win tonight. (Stating the obvious, much?)
