Hawks and Wings will battle for the 801st time in the teams’ history as they fight for a chance to win the cup. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Game #2- Detroit Red Wings vs Chicago Blackhawks

Game Time- 12:00pm Central

TV- CBC, NBC, RDS

Radio- 97.9Fm

Series Review: The Blackhawks and the Wings will be meeting for game two this afternoon for another skill laden affair.  Hawks won the opener 4-1 after dominating the Wings in the second and third period.  Howard looked solid for the Wings, but the Wings offense couldn’t help him out.  Crow made some big saves when he had to, which were few and far between.

Preview:  The Wings really need a win in today’s game, and going down 2-0 isn’t an option for them.  Babcock has had ample time to come up with a strategy to slow down the Hawks, so we could start to see some line changes.  The one thing you have to give Babcock credit for is his ability to adjust his team’s strategy from game to game.  Another thing to look out for is Abdelkader possibly looking for some revenge on Rozsival as I’m sure that crosscheck to the head didn’t sit well with the Wings.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Shaw get ran a few times as well since the Wings must have figured out that he is more than willing to take a dumb penalty.  Detroit knows that stealing a win in the UC is vital, and they will need to take advantage of any situation that they can to get this win.

On the Hawks side of things, the Stalberg drama sideshow continues, and hopefully it’s not being a distraction to the team.  Chicago will definitely be focused on staying disciplined, and there is no doubt in my mind that Q talked to Shaw about his frequency in the box.  The Hawks know that the Wings are struggling in the third, so we should expect to see some extra pressure in period three.  Crawford has been rock solid down the stretch.  He’s leading everyone in the playoffs that played five or more games with a .950 SV% and a 1.27 GAA.  While Crow is pulling his weight in the crease, Sharp is having a great playoff run with six goals and three assists.  Along with Sharp, Hossa is in full on beast mode with four goals and three assists.  The Hawks will be looking to build off of an overall solid game one, and you can expect more of the same, but hopefully with fewer penalties.

Random Blackhawks Fact: Hossa is ranked 5^th among active players for points in the playoffs with 104, and 9^th in GWG with 8.

Prediction:  Wings are going to come out hard but Hawks come away with a 4-2 victory.

What’s your game 2 prediction?

May 17, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins ice crew member picks a hat off the ice after Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (not pictured) scored a hat trick against the Ottawa Senators during the second period in game two of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at CONSOL Energy Center. The Pittsburgh Penguins won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Last night’s game

Pittsburgh Penguins-4 Ottawa Senators-3

Sidney Crosby’s 2nd career hat trick helped lead the Penguins to a 2-0 series lead as the series heads to Ottawa.

(Senshot) (Ottawa Sun) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

Today’s Stanley Cup Action

Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks Noon  (Chicago leads series 1-0)

Will the Red Wings respond to Chicago’s tremendous effort on the forecheck in Game 1 or will they continue to struggle with the Hawks pressure?

(Octopus Thrower) (Chicago Sun-Times) (Blackhawks)

Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks 8pm (Kings Lead series 2-0)

The Kings have found different ways to beat the Sharks now it’s up to the San Jose to make it a series with the game at the Shark Tank.

(San Jose Mercury News) (LA Times) (NHL)

Dec 14, 2011; St. Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville during the second period against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Wild 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The personal and team accolades for the regular season keep rolling in for the Chicago Blackhawks.  Along with Bruce Boudreau of the Anaheim Ducks, and Paul MacLean of the Ottawa Senators, Blackhawks head coach, Joel Quenneville was named a finalist to win the Jack Adams Award.

The Jack Adams Award is awarded to the head coach who has been recognized for contributing the most to his team’s success, amongst all of the other coaches in the NHL.  So, basically “Coach Q” is up for Coach of the Year.  Quenneville previously won the Jack Adams Award in 2000, when he was head coach of the St. Louis Blues.  “Coach Q” has the most career wins as a head coach, amongst all active coaches in the NHL, with 660 (regular season) victories, which has him ranked 6th all-time in that category.

Congratulations, Coach Q!

One thing you can count on is Coach Q would happily lose this award in exchange for another Cup!

For more Blackhawks updates follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or like our new Facebook page at Blackhawkup

May 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks left wing Bryan Bickell (29) is defended by Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jakub Kindl (4) during the first period in game one of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

There wasn’t a lot of bad things on the ice on Wednesday night especially the last two periods, but here are three Hawks I’m looking forward to having a better Game #2 Saturday afternoon at the United Center.

1. Bryan Bickell- Bickell didn’t have a bad game but when the hits are 43-24 someone needs to make a point to the other team that running at players at to “finish off checks” will not be the norm in this series.  Bickell is the best skilled big guy that can throw his body around with the possible exception of Brent Seabrook.  Bickell had a very good regular season and first round against the Minnesota Wild now he needs to assert his will especially physically against the Red Wings and mostly Justin Abdelkader.

May 9, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw (65) is congratulated by his teammates for scoring a goal against the Minnesota Wild during the second period in game five of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

2. Andrew Shaw- Shaw looked like he drank 5 Mountain Dew’s and a 5 hour energy before the game because he was out of control.  The Hawks needs his peskiness and his ability to throw his body around but do it without taking the stupid penalties.  The Hawks Penalty Kill has been outstanding going 20-20 in the postseason but there is no reason to give the Red Wings extra chances like Shaw and the Hawks did in Game #1. Shaw is part of the four line rolling but should never be part of the story in the box.

May 7, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) is congratulated by forward Michal Handzus (26) against the Minnesota Wild following game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at Xcel Energy Center. The Blackhawks defeated the Wild 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

1. Michal Handzus- Handzus was brought in to win faceoffs and yet he’s only 40-90 .44%  This is not going to cut it for the entire playoffs.  Handzus needs to be near 60 percent especially when it’s important faceoffs in our zone late in games with one goal leads on the line.  The other concerning thing about Handzus is does he have the ability to keep up with speedsters Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp.  The last couple games it seems like he’s a third defenseman instead of the #2 center.  I know speed isn’t his #1 attribute but to play with those two another gear will be needed from Zus.

What Blackhawks players are you looking forward to showing improvement in Game #2?

For more Blackhawks updates and conversation follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or Like us on our new Facebook page Blackhawkup.

May 16, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins center Brad Marchand (63) is surrounded by teammates after scoring the winning goal in overtime on New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (not pictured) in game one of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. The Boston Bruins won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Last night’s Stanley Cup Actions

Boston Bruins-3 New York Rangers-2 OT (Bruins lead series 1-0)

Don’t let the Bruins get a game to overtime in Boston with the puck on Patrice Bergeron stick bad things will happen, this time it was Brad Marchand’s game winning goal.  Henrik Lundqvist kept the Rangers in the game with 45 saves but it wasn’t enough.

(Causeway Crowd) (New York Post)

Los Angeles Kings-4 San Jose Sharks-3 (Kings lead series 2-0)

After blowing a 2-0 lead the Kings scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation to beat the Sharks and take a 2-0 lead to the Shark Tank.

(Blades of Teal) (LA Kings)

Tonight’s Stanley Cup Games- Only one game on the schedule.

Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30pm (Penguins lead series 1-0)

Will the Ottawa Senators push back after getting blitzed by the high octane Penguins in Game 1.

(SenShot) (Ottawa Sun) (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)

The Blackhawks beat the Red Wings 4-1, but can still be better. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Blackhawks had a record start to the season, and coach Q said that they still had a lot to work on.  Then the Hawks closed out their series with the Wild in five games, and again, Q said that there was room for improvement.  Wednesday night the Hawks asserted their dominance in the second and third period leading to a 4-1 win.  Like Q, I can see some room for improvement still.  The Hawks traded chances with the Wings and got out shot in a very even first period by a margin of 7-6.  Then the Hawks kicked it into gear and outshot the Wings 36-14.  Even with that uptick in performance, let’s take a look at three things the Hawks need to improve on.

3) Player Management: I doubt we will ever find out what has been going on with the Hawks organization and Stalberg, but it probably should stop.  I know that for a while now Stalberg’s agent has been upset that his client isn’t getting more responsibility, but the playoffs are not the time to send a message.  Stalberg will always be more of an asset to the team than Carcillo.  Not knocking Carcillo for his performance last night, because he did get an assist on the Kruger goal.  What it boils down to is that you are wasting a spot for Carcillo to play six minutes when Stalberg can be way more of a threat and be trusted with a lot more ice time.  Not exactly something that can be fixed on the ice, but it still needs to be addressed within the Hawks.

2) The Power Play: The power play is currently 3 for 16, and that is 2% better than the regular season which was sitting at a sad 16%.  While the PP has been looking better of late, we still haven’t found any consistent success like what Pittsburgh has been enjoying.  Now I don’t expect the Hawks to be converting at a ridiculous rate of 36%, but ideally Q wants to see 20-25%.  When you look at our lineup, they should have no problem getting into that range, and yet, we still struggle quite a bit.  One positive improvement in our most recent PPs is that there haven’t been any real short-handed scares.  So, at least the PP is heading in the right direction, but still is a concern going forward.  One major issue the Hawks have had in the past is the over abundant need to pass and the inability to just shoot the puck.  Our zone time is getting better and our shots per PP have also increased, but we still aren’t converting like we should.

1) Bad Penalties: This is by far my biggest concern, not just for this series but any possible future matchups.  The five penalties in game one were all fairly stupid and pointless.  It’s great knowing that your PK can be in top form five times a night, but that is unnecessary extra work and time without possession.  If the Hawks end up facing Pittsburgh and their ridiculous PP unit, it could really put the Hawks in the hole.  For a team as skilled and fast as the Hawks, they should be the ones drawing penalties and definitely not taking penalties 100 feet from their own zone.  Shaw was playing incredibly selfishly, and while his energy is welcome, it’s useless in the box.  More importantly, it’s not irreplaceable.  With a number of Rockford guys just waiting to get their shot to make a name for themselves, Shaw needs to play more responsibly.

While these complaints may be nitpicking, I’m not letting our few negatives ruin such a great run.  The second and third period of Wednesday night’s game was extremely fun to watch.  When the Hawks are dominating possession like they did then, all you can do is sit back and enjoy the show.

Apr. 15, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Jose Sharks left wing Raffi Torres (13) hits Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle (3) during the first period at Jobing.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

The Breaking news in the NHL is that Raffi Torres is suspended for the remainder of the San Jose Sharks vs Los Angeles Kings series after his hit to the head of Jarret Stoll.  The NHL acted quickly in suspending Torres for the series but did they correctly decide on proper length of his suspension.

Torres is the poster child for repeat offender and yet his sentence continues to get smaller.  He is a player that has no regard for the health of others and not just playing a physical brand of hockey.  The problem is he is a head hunter.  People will look at the video from Tuesday night and say that it was just a hard playoff hockey play but I disagree.  There is one thing to play physical but there never is a reason for the shoulder to connect with another players head.

The reason this is such a big deal is to me is because its been barely over a year since he sent Marian Hossa to the hospital ending his playoffs.  If you forget how bad the hit was here’s a reminder.

After that hit Torres was suspended for 25 games and you would have thought the message would have been sent, and  after multiple head shots that Torres would know that Brendan Shanhan was serious about player safety.  Torres was traded at the deadline to the San Jose Sharks from the Phoenix Coyotes and helped them finish in the #6 spot in the Western Conference and he was under the radar and on his best behavior.

Torres was solid in the opening series sweep against the Vancouver Canucks which led them to face the Los Angeles Kings.  Torres after almost a complete season of good behavior, was up to his old tricks with this Jarret Stoll hit.

These of course aren’t his only transgressions but they are his last two that have injured people in the head.  This is 2013 and head hunting and concussions are the worst terms any sports can face.  Instead of  a series long suspension, Ban Raffi Torres should have been suspended for a year MINIMUM!!

You missed the chance to send a message NHL, Torres is a repeat offender and will always goon it up when the chips are down. The NHL should have given  him a year off and maybe a season in the KHL to learn that the NHL is not going to deal with his antics.

The NHL missed the opportunity to put their foot down for player safety.  The sad part or question is in 2013-2014 who will be the next player injured by Raffi Torres because the NHL didn’t step up for their own players safety, and then we will be showing these two videos as proof he should be banned from the NHL.

What do you think? How long should have Torres been suspended?

May 3, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Michael Frolik (67) celebrates scoring a goal against the Minnesota Wild during the first period in game two of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

In every game and series there are plenty of numbers.

Here are a few of last night’s numbers

Shots on Goal for the first period Detroit-7 Hawks-6

Shots on Goal for the rest of the game-Hawks-36 Detroit-14

-Sometimes shots on goal is misleading, but in Game 1 the Hawks dominated period 2 without any goals but it set up a huge third period.

Hits Detroit-43 Hawks-24

-This stat can be taken with a grain of salt but here is the difference in Game 1, The Red Wings hits were finishing off checks while the Hawks hits were forechecking winning the puck back hits.

The Hawks are 41 games over .500 with Johnny Oduya in the lineup.

-This stat is mind blowing! Oduya scores the game winner and his nightly terrible turnover came with only a couple minutes left. The Hawks defense may not be the most physical group but their speed and passing have made this group of six one of the best units in the NHL.

The Powerplay was 1-3 in Game 1.

Marian Hossa scored after Patrick Sharp broke up an outlet and Toews got it to Hossa.  The Hawks are now 3-16 and its almost amusing when the Hawks go to the powerplay everyone in the United Center cheers while eveyone on Twitter Groans.  You don’t have to score everytime you have the man advantage but you can’t kill the momentum which the Hawks were successful at on Wednesday night.

6:04- Daniel Carcillo playing time.

-Not sure what the point of benching of Viktor Stalberg was from Coach Q, but playing Carbomb 6 minutes proves that he really isn’t the answer for the rest of the playoffs.

The Penalty Kill is 20-20 in 2013.

This is the best stat of the playoffs so far. While the game was still in doubt the Blackhawks were down a man 3 times on Wednesday night and they killed off all three.  Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik are fourth liners that are rock stars on the penalty kill. Their speed and tenacity have made these two minutes scoreless and not momentum builders for the Wild last series and the Wings in Game 1.

1.32

- Crawford now leads the NHL playoffs in Goals against average. After a shaky start when he seemed to be looking behind him after every first period shot was able to settle down (with the help of only 14 shots) and stop every shot he saw the rest of the night.

1-Goal!

What is your favorite number from Game 1? What do you think was the turning point of the game?

For more Blackhawks updates and conversation follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or Like us on our new Facebook page at Blackhawkup.

Bruins And Rangers Look To Square Off After Both Teams Won Their Game 7 To Advance. Mandatory Credit: Michael Ivins-USA TODAY Sports

THU MAY 16, 2013   @ Boston   7:30   RDS, TSN, NBCSN

SUN May 19, 2013   @ Boston   3:00   RDS, TSN, NBC

TUE MAY 21, 2013   @ New York   7:30   RDS, TSN, NBCSN

THU May 23, 2013   @ New York   7:00   RDS, TSN, CNBC

The Summary: The Bruins went 28-14-6 this season with 62 points, and the Rangers are 26-18-4 with 56 points.  Both teams had to win a game seven to advance, but each team won their game in dramatically different fashions.  Boston pulled off a miracle come back within the final 10 minutes of the game to tie it up and then win it in overtime.  The Rangers found their offensive touch and came away with a clean 5-0 win over the Capitals. Boston has Lucic and Krejci creating some great offense, but Seguin and Peverly have struggled.  The Rangers offense has been fairly well spread with Brassard leading the campaign, but the Rangers are relying heavily on Lundqvist to pull out wins.  Neither team is playing to their full potential, and both have slumping players that could potentially swing the series their way if they can get going.

The Season: The Rangers won two of three meetings over the regular season, but Boston got a point in both losses leaving both teams with four out of six points.  Each team scored nine goals, and both goalies were nearly identical with Lundqvist edging out Rask with a .911 SV% over Rask’s .909 SV%.  Lucic, Horton, and Marchand each had two goals in the series.  The Rangers had Gaborik put up three goals, but no one else put up more than a goal for the Rangers.  The main issue for the Rangers is the obvious fact that Gaborik is no longer there, and to make matters worse, no one has the scoring touch right now.  Both goalies played fairly average games in the series, so it will be interesting to see which team can kick it into the next gear.

The Reality: This matchup is a close one.  Each team is having some glaring problems, and it most likely will come down to which team can get their slumping players back into form.  The Bruins seemed to have found that extra something in the comeback win which could carry over nicely into the second round. On the other hand, the Rangers have finally been able to find the back of the net.  With Rask and an overall better D pairing, Nash and Richards will need to be contributors if the Rangers want to advance past Boston.

The Prediction: 4-2 Boston with Bergeron building off of his clutch performance in game seven.  It really looked like something clicked for Boston in the second half of the third, and I don’t think they are going to regress after that close call.  Seguin is in the slump category, but he hasn’t been terrible.  He has 29 shots, which is second on the team, and he is due to put one in very soon.  When that happens, Boston will be looking even more dangerous.  It is also worth noting that this could turn into some really hard hitting hockey which tends to favor the Bruins’ style.

The Upset:  Just like most of the season for the Rangers, this will fall heavily on Lundqvist’s shoulders.  He was phenomenal against the Capitals, but even so, he can’t do it alone.  Nash and Richards will need to heat up.  Three points in seven games doesn’t cut it when they were expected to be factors in every game.  Brassard will need to continue with his outstanding playoff performance.  He has been the best player for the Rangers not named Lundqvist.  The Rangers are a very hard working team on both sides of the puck, and they will need to continue that team game if they wish to upset the Bruins.

May 15, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) moves the puck past Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk (13) during the third period in game one of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. The Blackhawks beat the Red Wings 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

For the second consecutive day the Chicago Blackhawks had a player receive the news that they are a finalist for an NHL award.  It’s not the Hart trophy but yesterday Jonathan Toews was named finalist for the Selke Trophy and today Patrick Kane was named finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy (most gentlemanly conduct).

Patrick Kane only took 4 minor penalties all season long while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time with several games of double shifting while covering for Patrick Sharp or Dave Bolland injuries. Kane scored 23 goals and 32 assists in 2013 in 47 games which matched his goal total in 2012 in a full 82 game season.  Kane came back from Europe a focused player and it paid off in the shortened season.  Seven different Blackhawks on nine different occasions have won the Lady Byng but the last time a Blackhawk to win the award was Stan Mikita in 1968.

The other finalist for the award are a finalist from last season in Matt Moulson of the New York Islanders and two-time Lady Byng winner Martin St. Louis who could become only the 9th player to win the award three times in his career.

Congrats Kaner! All these awards announcements are nice but the One Goal is the Cup!

For More Blackhawks conversation and updates follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or Like our new Facebook Page!