Bruins v. Canucks – Game 7.

For one franchise, four decades of frustration is going to result in long overdue jubilation, while another is about to experience the ultimate gut-punch.

As Jim Rome has said on the radio a few times during the playoff season, you might be one of the many in the U.S. who wish not to be converted onto the game, but nothing is like Game Seven in the National Hockey League.

In one of the great traditions in all of sports, all combatants on both sides will line up for the traditional handshake line when all is said and done. Barring injury, Alexandre Burrows will have to reach for the hand he bit earlier in the series.

Yes, I did mention the possibility of injury. The brutal side of the sport has, not surprisingly, reared its head in the previous six games. Boston’s Nathan Horton went off with a severe concussion while Vancouver’s Mason Raymond is now out with a fractured vertebrae. The attrition toll on both sides underscores the problem the NHL has in keeping its players from being susceptible to serious injury.

As dangerous a game as pro football can be, hockey has many of the same elements, except the players are traveling much faster on razor sharp skates (slashes from which are another danger) while holding sticks and blocking shots from a rock-hard puck. There is also no out of bounds marker, just unforgiving dasher boards.

And including playoffs, NFL teams play a maximum of 20 games. The Bruins and Canucks will be playing their 107th game of the season on Wednesday, and opening night of the 2011-12 season is a mere 3 ½ months away.

The game remains beloved though, especially in Canada where it is that nation’s equivalent to the NFL. And some of the most memorable moments of the series have been the anthem singers. Both Rene Rancourt and Vancouver counterpart Mark Donnelly are both a perfect 3-0 on the series. Smart money says Mr. Donnelly cues the fans to sing the entire chorus of Oh Canada tonight. The fans will not let him down, and it will be so loud that it will wind up being heard in Seattle.

If FOX still had the U.S. broadcast rights to hockey, we would still be subjected to glowing pucks, along with American Idol contestants and members of the cast of Glee stumbling through the anthems. The anthem is another portion of the event that just does not get replicated in other sports (and supposedly-patriotic NASCAR regularly misses that mark badly, though that’s another story).

And then there are the teams. The Vancouver Canucks are rewarded for having the best regular season record by hosting Game 7, and they have not yet squandered their best chance at finally scoring the elusive Stanley Cup. But it has not been for lack of trying. The team blew a three games to none lead versus the Chicago Blackhawks in Round 1 before saving themselves with an overtime goal in Game Seven of that series.

And then there are the three horrific losses in Boston, which have resulted in Vancouver being on the negative end of a 19-8 aggregate count for the series. In fact, for the entire playoffs Vancouver has been outscored 65-58. Alleged franchise net-minder Roberto Luongo has been far from that title several times over the past two months, but he has also come up big at other times and has two 1-0 wins in this series. And if tonight is Luongo’s biggest game ever in the Vancouver arena, it won’t be by much. Luongo got the tap of the pads for Team Canada against the United States in the Gold Medal game of the 2010 Olympics. Roberto ultimately got the win, but not before allowing a game-tying goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation before Sidney Crosby bailed Canada out with the overtime-game winner. Luongo’s legacy remains shaky, pending how he performs tonight.

Then there is Boston’s Tim Thomas, who is the odds-on favorite to skate off with the Smythe Trophy for Most Valuable Player of the playoffs, win or lose. Upset with Max Lapierre’s celebration after scoring the lone goal of Game 5, T-Squared set the tone from Game Six by breaking the unwritten rule of hockey etiquette by firing a puck towards the Vancouver net as he came onto the ice for pre-game warm-ups, firing up his teammates in the process.

One of the most awkward moments in sports is when the Conn Smythe trophy is awarded to a member of the losing team. Unlike when the teams win their conference trophies (hockey tradition dictates that no player touches that when awarded, as doing so would signify that the team is already happy with it’s season, even without winning Stanley), a playoff MVP winner does skate off with the trophy and a ton of applause, but also with a frown.

So it comes down to this after one more 2,500 flight between the two clubs (think the Canucks aren’t glad the NHL hasn’t adopted the NBA’s 2-3-2 Finals format??) Sixty minutes (and possibly much more) for two title-starved franchises contested by forty men with playoff beards that are beginning to approach Brian Wilson length.

Who will win??

I have to admit I’m pulling for the Canucks. I went to my first NHL game at the old Pacific Coliseum 25 years ago, long before the franchise started selling out every game. That was when the Canucks were still sporting their infamous black/red/gold color scheme and the product on the ice wasn’t much prettier. I was sitting in the fourth row just right at the blue line, and the home team took a 7-1 pasting that night. But I also got a small taste that night of the Canadian passion for the game. In Canada (and Boston and several other U.S. cities) the sport is almost as important as breathing. In many U.S. markets (count the recently departed Atlanta Thrashers in that group), NHL games often pass merely for a good night out.

But there are also many reasons to root for the Boston Bruins, one being 43-year old graybeard Mark Recchi, possibly playing the final game of a 23-year career.

My gut feeling is Vancouver pulls out another one-game squeaker and completes it’s 1960-circa Pittsburgh Pirates run to the title, even though Boston has clearly demonstrated itself as the better and more determined team. If you watch just one hockey game, you just might want to strap yourself in for three hours (possibly more). And even stay up late overtime if need be. No one does Game Seven like the NHL, and nothing is more dramatic than Stanley Cup, Game Seven, SUDDEN DEATH OVERTIME.

Enjoy the game, and have at it boys.

*Denotes if necessary

Blackhawks-Sharks’ Schedule below with date, time, and what network it will be airing on.

Prediction: Hawks in 6

2010 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
SERIES N		#1 vs. #2	Network
Sunday, May 16		at San Jose, 3:00 p.m.	NBC, TSN, RDS
Tuesday, May 18		at San Jose, 10:00 p.m.	VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Friday, May 21		at Chicago, 8:00 p.m.	VERSUS, TSN, RDS
Sunday, May 23		at Chicago, 3:00 p.m.	NBC, TSN, RDS
*Tuesday, May 25		at San Jose, 9:00 p.m.	VERSUS, TSN, RDS
*Thursday, May 27		at Chicago, 8:00 p.m.	VERSUS, TSN, RDS
*Saturday, May 29		at San Jose, 8:00 p.m.	VERSUS, TSN, RDS

Prediction: Hawks in 6

Flyers-Canadiens’ Schedule is below with date, time, and what network it will be airing on.

Prediction: Flyers in 7

2010 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
SERIES M		#7 vs. #8	Network
Sunday, May 16		at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, May 18		at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Thursday, May 20		at Montreal, 7:00 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Saturday, May 22		at Montreal, 3:00 p.m.	NBC, CBC, RDS
*Monday, May 24		at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Wednesday, May 26		at Montreal, 7:00 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS
*Friday, May 28		at Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m.	VERSUS, CBC, RDS

What’s more important is I am seeing some really strong potential for a Stanley Cup championship this year now that it seems like the Hawks no longer have a goaltender problem.

Before the season started I had always stated the main problem the Hawks had this year was Huet and whether he could perform consistently. So far Huet has exceeded my expectations.

Huet was signed to a huge contract 4 year contract last season. Huet didn’t perform up to the fans expectations, and the Hawks’ management were yelled at for a bad signing, a signing that forced fan-loved goaltender Nikolai Khabibulan to be released.

But Huet shook off that year and has now won back many fans with what is shaping up to be an all-star year. Huet is 15-7-2 with a very impressing 2.09 GAA, 4th in the NHL.

Huet playing well couldn’t have come at a better time for the Hawks. This is the year for the Hawks, and if they don’t capitalize on it they might not have a better chance for years to come. It’s no secret that the Hawks are in a salary cap problem that will leave them no choice to release some talented players, such as Kris Versteeg or Patrick Sharp.

Instead of subcumming to such high expectations, the Hawks are embracing it. A run at the Cup, though it’s still very early, looks very likely for the Hawks. With both goaltenders playing their best hockey there is nothing stopping this team besides themselves. The Hawks’ offense is still sharing the wealth.  The Hawks became the last team to have a player reach 10 goals this season. Patrick Kane was that man.

The Hawks not only thrive offensively but also defensively. The Hawks boast the lowest GAA average of all NHL teams, allowing only 3 goals per game. Their power play unit is 3rd ranked, killing 85.4% of power plays.

Sure the numbers look good, but it all comes down to whether you win games. Luckily the numbers don’t lie for the Hawks. Those impressive numbers lead to a 21-8-4 record, propelling the Hawks to 2nd place in the Western Conference, 2 points behind the Kings. To me the most impressive stat is the Hawks have played the least amount of games in the whole Western Conference. They might be 2 points behind the Kings, but the Kings have played 4 more games than the Hawks.

Yes it’s looking really good for the Hawks this year, a year in which they must perform their best. This team has fans talking about them finally ending the 40+ year Stanley Cup drought. The Hawks have all the right pieces, and now they seem to have fixed their goaltending problem opening up an endless list of possibilities this year.

Catch the Hawks Friday as they battle an original six team, Boston Bruins in Chicago at 7:30pm cst.

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* – Cristobal Huet photo credit: Chicago Now

After losing the Western Conference Finals to Detroit, Hawk fans are really excited for what next year could bring. Many more NHL teams and owners are taking this young Hawks team seriously now. While the Hawks have lost their season MVP, Martin Havlat, they did add a powerful scoring forward in Marian Hossa. The Hawks lost a great goaltender in Khabibulan, and leaving the team to Huet is a bit risky. Huet has shown he can be a great goaltender, but his inconsistent play has had Hawk fans questioning how good a deal it was to pick him up and at such a steep price.

The Hawks have really big expectations to fulfill this coming season, and nobody really can say for sure if this team is capable of going all the way next year. As young as the team is though, Chicago fans are at least positive that the Hawks could win a championship in the near future. While the future is bright, the players don’t need to feel like they have no room to improve. Their inexperience was exploited by the veteran Detroit team last year in the playoffs and Detroit seems to always have the Hawks’ number. Most of all, Detroit capitalized on every mistake the Hawks made, and the Hawks will have to limit their mistakes against the Red Wings moving forward.

One thing that made me mad was the hatred for the Hawks by Sports Illustrated. They never gave credit to the Hawks, even when they made it deep into the postseason. They said they would lose against the Flames and the Canucks. When the Hawks did win those two series, SI didn’t praise the wins, they just ignored them completely. Just recently Alan Muir has called the Hossa signing a bad one. Come on! They never give the Hawks credit for building a team that can win. Sorry for going on a mini rant, but that has always bothered me a lot.

With prospect camps currently ongoing, the Hawks could find another gem. Next hockey season will be a fun and interesting ride for the Hawks and their fans. As a fan, I can only wish for another playoff berth, and who knows, maybe even a Cup.