The Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup run is still alive and well. The Hawks began by winning the first round series against the Nashville Predators four games to two. Game six of the series was truly remarkable; seven of the eight cumulative goals in the game were scored in the first period, and the Hawks went on to win the game 5-3.
The series started off a little shaky for the Hawks, losing right off the bat to the Predators 4-1, leaving many fans feeling very uneasy. However, they recovered quickly and bounced back in the second game with a 2-0 shutout victory.
Unfortunately, the feeling of success didn’t last; the Predators returned fire with another 4-1 win, making the Hawks look foolish yet again.
Luckily for the Blackhawks, some sort of spark seemed to ignite after realizing that they were losing the series to a team seeded seventh in the Western Conference, for they came back with another shutout win in game four, followed by an incredible overtime victory in game five. Winger Marian Hossa scored the game winner to give the Hawks the lead in the series.
Next in line for the Hawks are the #3 seeded Vancouver Canucks, who are coming 4-2 series win over the Los Angeles Kings. Their right wing, Mikael Samuelsson, was the playoff leader in goals (7) at the end of the first round.
The first game of the series was abysmal. The Canucks scored a shocking five goals in the first two periods. The final score of the first game was 5-1.
Luckily for Chicago fans, their beloved Hawks decided to step it up in game two. The Canucks scored the first two goals of the game, which induced some panic in the United Center. However, the Hawks ran the show for the rest of the game, scoring four unanswered goals to secure the victory. Brian Seabrook and Patrick Sharp both scored, but winger Kris Versteeg scored the game winning goal with about a minute and half left in the third period. Less than a minute later, Patrick Kane put the game in the bag by scoring on an empty net.
If the Blackhawks want to move on further in the playoffs, there will definitely have to be an obvious increase in their level of play, because the Canucks are no pushover. And you can bet that both the San Jose Sharks and the Detroit Red Wings will be even tougher to defeat if the Blackhawks move on.