Goodbye to My Beard, Down With the Canucks

By: Dustin

If you read my last post and stayed up to watch the Blackhawks fall to Vancouver in overtime tonight (last night, technically, since it's past midnight here) you know my playoff beard is doomed and so are Chicago's chances at a Stanley Cup championship defense.

I'm already up past my bedtime, but I just want to get this out there before I fall asleep and lose my steam.

It's kind of a sports cliche that you tend to root for the team that knocks you out of the playoffs; if that team wins it all, you can at least say you were eliminated by the eventual champ. There's a bit of solace to be taken from that.

Well, fuck that. I don't want to see Vancouver win another game. Some of them strike me as smug pricks ( Coach Alain Vigneault and Roberto Luongo come to mind) and some of them are dirty, dirty thugs (Raffi Torres, you know what you are). Their GM, Mike Gillis, is a whiny pussy who pulled a bullshit stunt in the press to try and get a few calls for his team. I can't articulate it all that well, but very few of them are likable to me. And it's not just sour grapes. I had some of these feelings before the series even started, although certain incidents have obviously exacerbated said feelings.

So this is my official support of the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference semifinals. Knock these guys out. The Canucks, especially Luongo, have a reputation for postseason choking; they almost did it again in these quarterfinals, and it would still be a major gag job if the President's Trophy winner doesn't make the conference finals. Get it done, Preds.

A few other random thoughts:

• Corey Crawford was a man in this finale. He made some unbelievable stops, and he had a good series overall. Hell, he had a great rookie season. If he plays from day one instead of the wasted months of sharing time with worthless has-been Marty Turco, Chicago probably pulls a higher seed. It certainly would've helped matters. Turco isn't worth a dried-up dingleberry hanging from my dog's ass. I never want to see him in a Blackhawks uniform again.
  


• I do want to see Crawford in a Blackhawks uniform again. He's apparently due to become a restricted free agent in the offseason, and I think the team should do what it takes to bring him back. Let's not have a repeat of this Niemi situation from last year. For the second year in a row, you end the season with arguably the hottest goaltender in the league. Don't let another one slip away unless there's a damn good option in place.


• The deciding goal in OT was on Chris Campoli, plain and simple. You have to take care of the puck, especially in front of your own net in FUCKING OVERTIME OF GAME SEVEN OF A GOD DAMN PLAYOFF SERIES. To be totally honest, the Blackhawks were careless with the puck for most of the series. That fact, combined with the fact they were physically dominated by the Canucks in the first three games and most of the seventh, is why they are done.


• Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk are a great broadcasting duo. I especially love Foley's energy in the booth. I don't know if he ever gets any gigs to call national broadcasts, but I think he could do the job.


• All season long, you kind of knew things wouldn't end the way they did last year. From the start, I didn't get the feeling that this team was special. It's hard to repeat, after all. With the salary cap and the heavy turnover it brings with it, you'll have this. Here's the thing, though. Chicago's talented core group willed itself into the playoff picture after an ugly first half of the season. Those guys aren't going anywhere, and this offseason will be an important one in terms of filling some key holes. This is a team that is set up to be good for a long time. I hope this prediction holds true, because I'm finding that very few spectacles in sports can beat playoff hockey.