For the first time in their long history, the Chicago Blackhawks recovered from a 3-1 series deficit, and they capped off their remarkable comeback with a 2-1 overtime victory to send the Detroit Red Wings home. With the win, the Blackhawks completed the NHL’s final four which now includes each of the last four Stanley Cup champions. They will now host the defending champion L.A. Kings on Saturday evening in what promises to be a classic battle for the Clarence S. Campbell Trophy.
One night after a tight seventh game between Los Angeles and San Jose, the Blackhawks and Red Wings did their best to produce an even more exciting clash. The tense first period may not have featured a goal but it wasn’t short on action.
Both goalies were superb in the opening frame with Corey Crawford and Jimmy Howard turning away a combined 24 shots on goal. Howard and Crawford would continue to be the story for much of the game.
After failing to beat Jimmy Howard in the first period, the Blackhawks broke through almost immediately in the second. Just one minute into the period, a bad change by the Red Wings gave the Hawks a 3-on-1. The flying Chicago forwards formed a triangle around Detroit defender Kyle Quincey, and went to work on a beautiful play. Patrick Sharp, on the right, dropped a pass behind to Michal Handzus who sent it forward to Marian Hossa, and then Hossa dished across the face of goal for a Sharp one-timer that lit the lamp.
Howard had little chance to make a stop on the perfectly executed play, but he rebounded to keep the Wings in the game for its remainder. Detroit mounted little resistance in the middle frame with only six shots on goal, but much like their opponents in the second they scored just moments into the third.
Just 26 seconds into the final 20, Johnny Oduya gambled on a pinch to get the puck out of the Blackhawks’ zone and lost, allowing Detroit to take advantage. Daniel Cleary flipped the puck ahead for Gustav Nyquist who drove to the net where Henrik Zetterberg made himself available for a lethal one timer. Zetterberg’s fourth goal of the playoffs set the scene for a wild ending.
Both teams traded chances for a potential game winner over the next few minutes and each team finished the period with nine shots on goal.
With just under two minutes remaining Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson found some space in the slot and beat Jimmy Howard cleanly, beginning a massive celebration in the stands. But the would-be game winner was controversially called back due to a penalty call just seconds before the goal.
In perhaps the most controversial moment of the playoffs, Detroit’s Kyle Quincey knocked Chicago’s Brandon Saad over the boards well away from the play. Instead of dropping Saad onto the Red Wings’ bench, Quincey picked him up and hurled him onto the ice. The defenseman was eventually given two minutes for roughing.
Quincey’s actions merited only a delayed penalty which would have allowed the goal to stand, but Brandon Saad’s response to the incident was also met with a somewhat dubious matching minor that resulted in a whistle, thus canceling out the Hjalmarsson goal.
The Blackhawks would have to win the game again, and they were prepared to do just that. The Blackhawks only needed two shots in the short overtime to finish the job. Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook carried the puck over the blue line and found a surprising amount of space in the slot. He fired a wrister that took a deflection off the leg of Niklas Kronwall and past Jimmy Howard, to officially book the Chicago Blackhawks a ticket to the next round.
It seemed like a cruel ending to a marvelous series for Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings who came just one goal from knocking off the Western Conference’s top two seeds after nearly missing out on the postseason altogether.
The President’s Trophy winning Blackhawks, meanwhile, have returned to form after spending three games on the chopping block.
Though much of the press has gone to 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick, the Kings goalie will face a formidable competitor in the form of Corey Crawford over the next two weeks. Crawford has flown under the radar this postseason but the youngster who was the weak link in Chicago’s chain last season has become a remarkable strength. His 26 save performance on Wednesday proved that he is ready to step up in big games.
The Blackhawks won two of their three games against L.A. in the regular season. On January 19, Chicago opened the season with a rare win at the Staples Center in L.A. The Kings have not lost there this postseason, so Chicago will either need to break that trend or take excellent care of their home ice advantage, which they failed to do against the Red Wings.
With loads of playoff experience on both sides, the Western Conference Final should provide some truly excellent playoff hockey.
