Monday, June 15, 2015

And There We Have It

Well, that's that.

The Chicago Blackhawks have done it. Stanley Cup Champions again. And it wasn't that they were a full offensive force to be reckoned with as was the case for much of their playoff run. They gritted it out, fought their battles, kept their composure to minimize power play opportunities for Tampa, and Corey Crawford played his most solid series of the playoffs.

With a fully charged offense containing Hossa, Saad, Teows, Keith, and many more, they also managed to produce solid defense. There were very few breakaway opportunities and even when the Bolts broke free, Crawford didn't bat an eye but maybe once. He didn't let in very many point blank shots, either. The memorable shots scored on Chicago in the past six games were tap ins, redirects, and the like.

That isn't to say that Tampa didn't try. There was plenty of defensive production and if it weren't for the complications Bishop had in game three, this could have been a completely different series.They also gritted it out and fought their battles but had a lot of problems staying out of the penalty box.

The Blackhawks hoist the Cup to We Are The Champions skating in front of their home crowd. I guess if you're gonna win, that's the place to do it. And I think that's been a downfall to the Bolts this playoff series. They just couldn't win the big home games until they really HAD to. And Game five wasn't a MUST WIN, and they didn't have the charge they needed to power through. They became a team of desperation, which always comes back to bite you eventually. Unfortunately, they came up just short.

But oh boy did they make this a nail biting hard to keep your eyes off series. Congratulations, Chicago on your victory, but also congrats to the Bolts for making this the most exciting two months of hockey for me. I only wish it could've gone seven just to absorb as much hockey as possible before the summer hockey drought.  It still makes me so happy to see Scotty Bowman hoisting the Stanley Cup. Such a wonderful guy, with a lot of Stanley Cup hoists. He made it fun to root for Detroit for so many years.

And now, it's that time... Tomorrow everybody can shave their playoff beards and ask that question we'll all be yearning for over the next 86 days before training camp:  Is It October Yet?