April 16, 2009 Bring on the Post-Season TFP Columnist
Josh Mora is jacked about covering the playoffs.
CHICAGO, IL -- Happy, happy, joy,
joy. Happy, happy, joy!
I haven't been to the playoffs in eight years.
My last post-season experience occurred in a Game 7 in Buffalo, with
Darius Kasparaitus pulling away from a graying Doug Gilmour, his shot
eluding a fatalistic Dominik Hasek who appeared to give up on the
play.
Not one of those guys is still in the league.
Since that goal, I spent three seasons watching Buffalo's bankruptcy.
I waited out the lockout. I took a new job in Chicago and watched the
Blackhawks slog through three more sorry seasons.
It's too long to go without the best part of the job. The rigors of
following an NHL team, from the daily grind following the minutiae to
the long haul of watching a team evolve, get rewarded in the playoffs.
It's a joy to follow the themes and threads of the storylines of
series. It's a thrill to get to know the players as people, and to see
their character revealed in the post-season. It's exhilarating to ride
the crests and depths of the waves as teams take and give away leads,
and ultimately as they win or lose.
Here in Chicago, fans will similarly experience the playoffs for the
first time in a long time. For many, fans will experience the playoffs
for the first time. The Hawks last playoff venture, 2002, hardly
counts. The Hawks were a collection of journeymen having career years,
and that lifelong mediocrity showed up in the pressure-cooker of the
post-season when Chicago failed to score in its two home games.
So if you're doing the math, the Blackhawks haven't scored a playoff
goal at home since 1997.
That will change this year, because the Hawks have tons of offensive
talent, and because they look like a team that is losing their
maidenhead on what should be a long run of post-season appearances.
That said, the future is hardly guaranteed, which is why the Hawks are
best advised to take advantage of the situation that is unfolding
before them.
They have an outstanding opening round matchup. It's not just that
they beat the Calgary Flames in all four meetings, but they did so by
exploiting the Flames' defense. In every game, Chicago's speed wore
down the Flames' backline. And that backline is banged up. Top
defenseman Robyn Regher probably won't play in the series. Dion
Phaneuf and Cory Sarich will play hurt when they play. Marc Giordano
couldn't keep up with the Hawks in the regular season, and he's only
just now beginning to try to return from a shoulder injury.
That leaves the Flames with three ex-Hawks to take up a lot of
minutes. Adrian Aucoin and Jim Vandermeer were moved because they
didn't fit in with the Hawks' speed game. Anders Eriksson played in
the minors almost all year.
Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, despite leading the league in wins (in
a league-leading 74 decisions), has had a horrendous year. He lost 6
of his last 9 starts, giving up 20 goals in those six games. Add in
that Calgary's locker room seems to be in some disarray, and that
Hawks' goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has owned Calgary in his career, and
it looks to me like Blackhawks in five.
And the ride will only just be getting started.
DA PICKS
WESTERN CONFERENCE 4 CHICAGO V. 5 CALGARY
See above
1 SAN JOSE vs. 8 ANAHEIM
Horrendous draw for the Sharks, but they’ll prevail. Anaheim’s
uncertainty in goal is their undoing.
San Jose in 6
2 DETROIT vs. 7 COLUMBUS
Conversely, a great draw for the Wings. Detroit doesn’t have to travel
west, and gets the one team that can’t best take advantage of their
shaky goaltending.
Detroit in 5
3 VANCOUVER vs. 6 ST. LOUIS
Intriguing matchup between the West’s two hottest teams down stretch.
Vancouver’s depth of experience proves too much here.
Vancouver in 6
EASTERN CONFERENCE 1 BOSTON vs. 8 MONTREAL
Habs hex over Boston will make this a long series, but Bees are much
tougher team.
Boston in 7
2 WASHINGTON vs. 7 NY RANGERS
Rangers don’t have ability to shut down Caps or keep up with them in a
shootout series.
Washington in 5
3 NEW JERSEY vs. 6 CAROLINA
Trendy upset pick, based on Carolina’s play down stretch and Devils’
relative lack of firepower against a goalie who has won it all. What
can I say, I’m a slave to fashion.
Carolina in 6
4 PITTSBURGH vs. 5 PHILADELPHIA
Penguins are not the team they were a year ago. They might, gasp, be
better!
Pittsburgh in 6
Josh
Mora,
a Columnist with TheFourthPeriod.com, is an Anchor and
Blackhawks Reporter with Comcast Sportsnet Chicago.
