First of all, I would like to apologize to all of our readers for never putting out a Hawks vs. Sharks preview as promised. I was busy this past week becoming unemployed; also known to some as graduating college. When I look back, I wish I would have taken a moment to type up that preview because a lot of what I wanted to say would have been apparent in the Hawks big Game 1 victory this afternoon.
This series is going to be a blast. 40 shots apiece in a regulation game? You can’t ask for better TV. I think the story in this one is that San Jose gave the Hawks everything they had to offer and came up empty. If you could have asked anyone associated with the Sharks what they thought the outcome would be if they had 40 shots and 5 power plays to the Hawks 0 I think we all know what they would have said.
Unfortunately for them, Antti Niemi saved his best playoff performance to date for the perfect time. In addition to making all of the saves expected of him, Niemi made above average saves on a regular basis. If he can continue to elevate his play to the level we saw today a fish fry is in order. The last type of game you expect when playing the Hawks is one in which their goalie beats you. With Niemi adding that element to the Hawks arsenal we have to be happy with our chances in this series.
In the games ahead I see the shots looking more like 35-25 Hawks. Our defense is capable of playing better and hopefully San Jose won’t be +5 in power-play opportunities. If the Hawks can straighten out those two issues I think a date with the Flyers is in order.
With that being said I can see that I’m beginning to get way ahead of myself. Not writing for a week has left me with a plethora of thoughts that I am struggling to formulate together. It is for that reason that I am going to stop for now and wait for Game 2 to play out. Hopefully I will be back Tuesday night with plenty more good things to say about the Hawks. See you then!
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