Special teams have not determined the first two games: the Hawks have been even - no PP goals, but no PK goals given up.

SOG: no, not an inordinate number put on Rinne - but (especially in game 1) the Hawks have gotten up a lot of shot attempts, most of which were blocked or missed. Keith, for instance, has had 11 shot attempts - 9 of them have been blocked.

Chicago is getting zone time - and time in the scoring areas - but haven't been able to (or, Nashville has stopped them from) taking advantage.

Ummmmm ......

Who saw this coming?

I know someone who did?

What was his name again?



Started with a T.........Tanner, was it? Guys a genius!
- James_Tanner

In his own mind.

Who saw this coming?

I know someone who did?

What was his name again?



Started with a T.........Tanner, was it? Guys a genius!
- James_Tanner

Many Hawk fans did see 2-0 coming...just not this bad

I couldn't agree more. Everyone is talking about the Blackhawks
and no one is giving the Preds Fred for hitting everything in sight.
In the first game Chicago threw everything they had at them but the shots
were not getting thru

They stink

Did Not see this coming. I'd be happy if Nashville came out 1-1 after 2 games.

A few thigs to consider

1- missing pieces
A lot of the key players from the previous cup winning years are gone.
Brandon Saad - Gone. Dustin Bufyglien- Gone. Patrik Sharp- Gone. Dave Bolland- Gone. Brian Bickell- Gone. Andrew Shaw- Gone. Do I have to mention Antti Niemi? If yes he's also gone

Granted some of these guys are more important than others and a salary cap league will do that. But the Hawks put the bulk of their investment into a core of 9 or 10 players with the bread crumbs going to the rest. Speaking of investment let's move on to reason 2

2- Dependency
The Hawks have for a long time depended too much on their top six forwards and their top 4 defenceman. Looking Back at their last Cup in 2015. Keith, Rosival, Oduya and Campbell ate up a ton of minutes with Timonen and Van Riesmdyk getting in the occasion lick. Players like Toews, Kane, Keith and Crawford were the ones given the big money (whether their inflated egos couldn't settle for less to keep a powerhouse team a powerhouse team I don't know) made it necessary for certain changes which ultimately changed the model of the Hawks team just slightly but perhaps slightly enough. Now the hawks no longer have a pest/agitator like Andrew Shaw or a physical guy like Dave Bolland. And no disrespect to players like Schmaltz, Kero and Hartman but they are simply not in that particular class. Essentially they were forced to shift a more finesse type of play as opposed to an equal balance of finesse and physicality. I'm not saying the wheels are falling right now but you can't keep on depending solely on a third of your team to win 16 crucial games.

3- All they can Handle
Of all the opponent's the Blackhawks have faced in their cup winning years, Nashville I would say, have given Chicago the most trouble. In 2010 Chicago was almost eliminated in the first round and most likely would have if Jerred Smithson hadn't tried to force a pass through the middle of the ice in the offensive zone with under half a minute to play with the Predators holding a one goal lead and on the powerplay.
In 2015 the Hawks had to rotate goalies twice in mid-game. But compared to the Preds most of the other opponents were pretty much easy pickings.

Should the Hawks hit the panic button- Hell No
Should they be concerned? Hell Yes

oh btw- 99 is not a triute to the Great One. It's a tribute the expansion of the NHL into Nashville

Who saw this coming?

I know someone who did?

What was his name again?



Started with a T.........Tanner, was it? Guys a genius!
- James Tanner

You did not predict that Nashville would win the first two games or that Chicago wouldn't score even once in them. You simply predicted Preds in 6 (which some others also predicted, but even Preds fans are quick to admit that they didn't see a 2-0 start coming). You also predicted Calgary in 6 and Edmonton in 4. Your predictions were hardly even backed up with any facts or stats, just your characterizations and hunches.

Have a little humility. Acting like this is why no one likes you or takes you seriously around here. In fact, it's ironic that Trump bothers you so much, yet you act quite like him, with self-back-patting calls for attention like this being similar to many of his tweets. If you want to be taken seriously, act seriously and have a little humility.

Did Not see this coming. I'd be happy if Nashville came out 1-1 after 2 games.

A few thigs to consider

1- missing pieces
A lot of the key players from the previous cup winning years are gone.
Brandon Saad - Gone. Dustin Bufyglien- Gone. Patrik Sharp- Gone. Dave Bolland- Gone. Brian Bickell- Gone. Andrew Shaw- Gone. Do I have to mention Antti Raanta? If yes he's also gone

Granted some of these guys are more important than others and a salary cap league will do that. But the Hawks put the bulk of their investment into a core of 9 or 10 players with the bread crumbs going to the rest. Speaking of investment let's move on to reason 2

2- Dependency
The Hawks have for a long time depended too much on their top six forwards and their top 4 defenceman. Looking Back at their last Cup in 2015. Keith, Rosival, Oduya and Campbell ate up a ton of minutes with Timonen and Van Riesmdyk getting in the occasion lick. Players like Toews, Kane, Keith and Crawford were the ones given the big money (whether their inflated egos couldn't settle for less to keep a powerhouse team a powerhouse team I don't know) made it necessary for certain changes which ultimately changed the model of the Hawks team just slightly but perhaps slightly enough. Now the hawks no longer have a pest/agitator like Andrew Shaw or a physical guy like Dave Bolland. And no disrespect to players like Schmaltz, Kero and Hartman but they are simply not in that particular class. Essentially they were forced to shift a more finesse type of play as opposed to an equal balance of finesse and physicality. I'm not saying the wheels are falling right now but you can't keep on depending solely on a third of your team to win 16 crucial games.

3- All they can Handle
Of all the opponent's the Blackhawks have faced in their cup winning years, Nashville I would say, have given Chicago the most trouble. In 2010 Chicago was almost eliminated in the first round and most likely would have if Jerred Smithson hadn't tried to force a pass through the middle of the ice in the offensive zone with under half a minute to play with the Predators holding a one goal lead and on the powerplay.
In 2015 the Hawks had to rotate goalies twice in mid-game. But compared to the Preds most of the other opponents were pretty much easy pickings.

Should the Hawks hit the panic button- Hell No
Should they be concerned? Hell Yes

oh btw- 99 is not a triute to the Great One. It's a tribute the expansion of the NHL into Nashville
- SpeedDemon99

Nashville Predators first game was in 1998.

Loving it.

I'm still not counting the Hawks out this early!

Did Not see this coming. I'd be happy if Nashville came out 1-1 after 2 games.

A few thigs to consider

1- missing pieces
A lot of the key players from the previous cup winning years are gone.
Brandon Saad - Gone. Dustin Bufyglien- Gone. Patrik Sharp- Gone. Dave Bolland- Gone. Brian Bickell- Gone. Andrew Shaw- Gone. Do I have to mention Antti Raanta? If yes he's also gone

Granted some of these guys are more important than others and a salary cap league will do that. But the Hawks put the bulk of their investment into a core of 9 or 10 players with the bread crumbs going to the rest. Speaking of investment let's move on to reason 2

2- Dependency
The Hawks have for a long time depended too much on their top six forwards and their top 4 defenceman. Looking Back at their last Cup in 2015. Keith, Rosival, Oduya and Campbell ate up a ton of minutes with Timonen and Van Riesmdyk getting in the occasion lick. Players like Toews, Kane, Keith and Crawford were the ones given the big money (whether their inflated egos couldn't settle for less to keep a powerhouse team a powerhouse team I don't know) made it necessary for certain changes which ultimately changed the model of the Hawks team just slightly but perhaps slightly enough. Now the hawks no longer have a pest/agitator like Andrew Shaw or a physical guy like Dave Bolland. And no disrespect to players like Schmaltz, Kero and Hartman but they are simply not in that particular class. Essentially they were forced to shift a more finesse type of play as opposed to an equal balance of finesse and physicality. I'm not saying the wheels are falling right now but you can't keep on depending solely on a third of your team to win 16 crucial games.

3- All they can Handle
Of all the opponent's the Blackhawks have faced in their cup winning years, Nashville I would say, have given Chicago the most trouble. In 2010 Chicago was almost eliminated in the first round and most likely would have if Jerred Smithson hadn't tried to force a pass through the middle of the ice in the offensive zone with under half a minute to play with the Predators holding a one goal lead and on the powerplay.
In 2015 the Hawks had to rotate goalies twice in mid-game. But compared to the Preds most of the other opponents were pretty much easy pickings.

Should the Hawks hit the panic button- Hell No
Should they be concerned? Hell Yes

oh btw- 99 is not a triute to the Great One. It's a tribute the expansion of the NHL into Nashville
- SpeedDemon99

interesting points but you got alot of your player facts wrong;

1. Hawk 4 dmen in 2015 were kieth, seabrook, oduya and hjarmelson not cambel (on the panthers) or rosival (he was injured)

2. not smithson but erat who passed it up the middle from behind the redline..

give preds credit for playing a dogged team trap game for 120 minutes...thats hard to do and getting alot of bounces; preds win 2 on the road with no goals from forsberg, neal, subban, josi;

nhl hockey is very weird game

I'm still not counting the Hawks out this early!
- NewfieStud

I have watched everygame for the last 10 years and I have not seen a hawk team get throttled like this in consectutive home playoff games...

they got complacent after big run to catch the wild and get #1 seed and have lost 6 in a row since clinching and looked bad; mentally they are beaten and unprepared

they have bad starts all season long; they won alot of games by 1 goal via late goals and OT or by great goaltending,

they give up a ton of shots and no longer the elite speed/possession team they once were..

note the wild topped out in late february and have been in a death spiral since and now can't get a break (playing pretty well) and find themselves down 3 - 0.

the preds might just blow the hawks off the ice in the first period;

Is the series over? I thought it took 4 wins to win a series. I'm sure the Preds are inside the Hawks heads. A team which has won 3 Cups including coming back down 0-2 vs the Preds. Ek you turd. Why are you making me stick up for the Hawks?
- gergeswillems

Thank you..a voice of reason..from a Wings fan to boot..who I'm sure remembers round 2 in 2013, being up 3-1 to the Hawks, anything can happen.

Exactly. Most Cup Champs survive some kind of adversity. The Hawks will raise their game and I wouldn't be surprised if they win the next 4 in a row. Sometimes all it takes is a break to get things going. Like the Lidstrom centre ice goal on Dan Cloutier in game 3 in Vancouver. Is it just me or does Seabrook take too many shots? It's like he thinks he's AL MacInnis. But without the results. It might not hurt if he passed the puck to a teammate once in awhile.
- gergeswillems

He's making up for Keith, who never shoots and if he does, misses the net.

Did Not see this coming. I'd be happy if Nashville came out 1-1 after 2 games.

A few thigs to consider

1- missing pieces
A lot of the key players from the previous cup winning years are gone.
Brandon Saad - Gone. Dustin Bufyglien- Gone. Patrik Sharp- Gone. Dave Bolland- Gone. Brian Bickell- Gone. Andrew Shaw- Gone. Do I have to mention Antti Raanta? If yes he's also gone

Granted some of these guys are more important than others and a salary cap league will do that. But the Hawks put the bulk of their investment into a core of 9 or 10 players with the bread crumbs going to the rest. Speaking of investment let's move on to reason 2

2- Dependency
The Hawks have for a long time depended too much on their top six forwards and their top 4 defenceman. Looking Back at their last Cup in 2015. Keith, Rosival, Oduya and Campbell ate up a ton of minutes with Timonen and Van Riesmdyk getting in the occasion lick. Players like Toews, Kane, Keith and Crawford were the ones given the big money (whether their inflated egos couldn't settle for less to keep a powerhouse team a powerhouse team I don't know) made it necessary for certain changes which ultimately changed the model of the Hawks team just slightly but perhaps slightly enough. Now the hawks no longer have a pest/agitator like Andrew Shaw or a physical guy like Dave Bolland. And no disrespect to players like Schmaltz, Kero and Hartman but they are simply not in that particular class. Essentially they were forced to shift a more finesse type of play as opposed to an equal balance of finesse and physicality. I'm not saying the wheels are falling right now but you can't keep on depending solely on a third of your team to win 16 crucial games.

3- All they can Handle
Of all the opponent's the Blackhawks have faced in their cup winning years, Nashville I would say, have given Chicago the most trouble. In 2010 Chicago was almost eliminated in the first round and most likely would have if Jerred Smithson hadn't tried to force a pass through the middle of the ice in the offensive zone with under half a minute to play with the Predators holding a one goal lead and on the powerplay.
In 2015 the Hawks had to rotate goalies twice in mid-game. But compared to the Preds most of the other opponents were pretty much easy pickings.

Should the Hawks hit the panic button- Hell No
Should they be concerned? Hell Yes

oh btw- 99 is not a triute to the Great One. It's a tribute the expansion of the NHL into Nashville
- SpeedDemon99

Antti Raanta? Is that a joke? He did nothing to help the Hawks win a cup except tell a Finish newspaper that he rooted against them during the playoffs because he wasn't playing, which of course was incorrect in translation, according to him, per usual..

Weak defense core.

Seabrook sucks and has one of the worst contracts in the league.

interesting points but you got alot of your player facts wrong;

1. Hawk 4 dmen in 2015 were kieth, seabrook, oduya and hjarmelson not cambel (on the panthers) or rosival (he was injured)

2. not smithson but erat who passed it up the middle from behind the redline..

give preds credit for playing a dogged team trap game for 120 minutes...thats hard to do and getting alot of bounces; preds win 2 on the road with no goals from forsberg, neal, subban, josi;

nhl hockey is very weird game
- bogiedoc[/

1-oops right on the Campbell part.
2- didn't watch that game. Had a final so I read in some article that it was Smithson.
3- Giving the Preds full credit btw. Hats off to them.

Nashville Predators first game was in 1998.
- gergeswillems

Yeah but it was the 1998-99 season

Antti Raanta? Is that a joke? He did nothing to help the Hawks win a cup except tell a Finish newspaper that he rooted against them during the playoffs because he wasn't playing, which of course was incorrect in translation, according to him, per usual..
- Butcherboy66

mistake. Meant Antti Niemi. guess mistakes happen when you get no sleep and don't check your work. ill be fixed in the Original

mistake. Meant Antti Niemi. guess mistakes happen when you get no sleep and don't check your work. ill be fixed in the Original
- SpeedDemon99

Antti Niemi won a cup for the Hawks for the first time in 49 years, and for that, every Hawk fan should be eternally grateful, but he has been a shell of that since, he and Kari are the main reason Dallas didn't make the POs this year, no loss at all for the Hawks, considering they won 2 more cups with CC

Antti Niemi won a cup for the Hawks for the first time in 49 years, and for that, every Hawk fan should be eternally grateful, but he has been a shell of that since, he and Kari are the main reason Dallas didn't make the POs this year, no loss at all for the Hawks, considering they won 2 more cups with CC
- Butcherboy66

There's a bit of a saying "A goalie is only as good as the team which plays in front of him." Not arguing about Niemi being a shadow of his 2010 year but the Stars defence wasn't exactly helping much either.

Not really sure if the Hawks would have won that Cup without Niemi but Crawford's emergence a year later did more than make up for Niemi

Of course if the Hawks didn't have Darling two years ago, would they have won that 3rd Cup ? I guess we'll never know.

One thing we can agree on. The Hawks of now are not a mirror image of the Hawks of then. Oh they're still the creme of the crop no doubt but there's definitely been some major changes which have effected their game approach

You did not predict that Nashville would win the first two games or that Chicago wouldn't score even once in them. You simply predicted Preds in 6 (which some others also predicted, but even Preds fans are quick to admit that they didn't see a 2-0 start coming). You also predicted Calgary in 6 and Edmonton in 4. Your predictions were hardly even backed up with any facts or stats, just your characterizations and hunches.

Have a little humility. Acting like this is why no one likes you or takes you seriously around here. In fact, it's ironic that Trump bothers you so much, yet you act quite like him, with self-back-patting calls for attention like this being similar to many of his tweets. If you want to be taken seriously, act seriously and have a little humility.
- Osprey

This is the best response I've ever gotten. Just for the record my friend, you can get a sense of humour at Walmart for like five bucks. If you want a name brand one, I think you can get one at J.C Penny for $19.

This is the best response I've ever gotten. Just for the record my friend, you can get a sense of humour at Walmart for like five bucks. If you want a name brand one, I think you can get one at J.C Penny for $19.
- James_Tanner

There is nothing anyone can buy to make your jokes funny Tanner.