Third Time's a Charm for Hossa; Flyers outmatched

Marian Hossa has been to three straight Stanley Cup Finals with three different teams. He lost with the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Detroit Red Wings, and he lost with the Red Wings versus the Penguins. Now, he has an unprecedented third opportunity in as many years with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Hossa acknowledged his goal in a CBSSports interview. He said he wants to touch the cup, and the opportunity is once in a lifetime. However, for him, it has been three times in a lifetime, and he hopes the third time’s a charm.

Like the two previous years, he was on a great team with all the tools to claim a championship. The only difference is the opponent. While the Philadelphia Flyers have some supreme talent and veterans like Chris Pronger and Mike Richards, they lack the true depth needed to win.

The NHL playoff grind is long and difficult, and the Blackhawks have stayed remarkably healthy for the most part. The Flyers almost missed the playoffs entirely, winning a shootout on the last game of the season to get in. The reason was many star players were injured, and they didn’t have the depth to offset the missing pieces.

In the playoffs, the back ups played well. However, they had momentum coming into the playoffs. The New Jersey Devils have a goalie with a terrible playoff history, and they were a team with scoring question marks.

The Boston Bruins scored against the Flyers, but they were older and lacked the true firepower to sustain a series. The Flyers shouldn’t have ever been down 3-0, and they lost game three with a lack of heart. The coach restored the confidence, but they still fell down 3-0 in the seventh game.

Why did they come back? The Bruins lack of firepower. Boston had 11 shots on goal in the last two periods, which allowed the tougher Flyers to control the puck. The comeback was great, but the Bruins gave the series away.

The Flyers than had back up Michael Leighton post three shutouts against the Montreal Canadiens. Regardless of the previous upsets, there was a reason the Canadeins were a No. 8 seed. They only scored 210 goals and had 566 points. Only four teams were worse – the Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames and, of course, the Boston Bruins, who scored the fewest goals at 196.

The Blackhawks defeated the Nashville Predators, which was a low scoring team with good defense, the Vancouver Canucks – No. 2 in points with 734 – and the San Jose Sharks – No. 4 in points with 700. The Hawks held the Sharks to seven goals in four games.

The Flyers haven’t been tested, and the injured players who have returned haven’t played in unison long enough. They have weapons, but the Hawks are quicker, and they have offensive weapons not many teams have. They can score on any line, and the defense is as active as the leading scorers.

The reason why the Flyers are over matched -- the Hawks weren’t only third in the league in scoring, but they allowed the fewest shots (2058) and the fifth fewest goals (203). The Flyers have allowed 300 more shots and 19 more goals during the season. The only way for the Hawks to lose if they beat themselves with penalties and lack of toughness.

PREDICTION: HAWKS in 5

Hossa and Chicago look to end misery; Richards and Philadelphia try to restore mid-seventies glory

The NHL playoffs have been exciting for many cities, but only two will be give the chance to host the Stanley Cup for the next year. The Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers will duke it out starting May 29, 2010 at 8 P.M. for an opportunity to feed their respective cities a championship.

The Blackhawks haven’t won a title since 1961, when they were on only six teams, and the Flyers haven’t won since back-to-back titles in 1974-75. In short, the team that wins this series will cause its respective city to go deep into a chaotic celebration that will echo into outer space.

The Blackhawks are the favorite, but the Flyers are the team of destiny. The Blackhawks have a rookie goaltender, but the Flyers have a goalie that has only started eight playoff games (with three shutouts).

The truth is, none of this matters. Here are the keys for both teams.

Philadelphia

1) They have to make it a blue-line game. The Blackhawks are younger and faster, and their offense works better when they can quickly enter their zone. The Flyers would love to slow the tempo and let their checking do the work.

2) Michael Leighton has to continue his good play. The problem was the difference in teams he will be facing. The Blackhawks are much deeper than the Canadiens, and they can score on all four lines. He will be tested early and often.

3) The power play. The Flyers have eight power play goals in 39 opportunities, which is 20.5 percent. They have only played one more game than the Blackhawks and have nine more opportunities. They will need to continue the trend against the team that allowed the fewest shots in the league.

Why they will win…

Leighton will continue to pitch shut outs. Brian Briere, Simon Gagne and Claude Giroux join Richards with the goal scoring, and the Flyers out muscle the quicker, younger Blackhawks. In order to do any of these things, it all begins with beating the Bolland, Ladd and Keith line. The best way to do so – slow the tempo and force penalties.

Chicago

1) The matching of the lines. The reason the Blackhawks swept the Sharks, a very good team, was because Joel Quenneville utilized the skills of the Hawks. He had the Bolland, Ladd and Keith line against the Sharks best scoring line. He mixed and matched players when an injury occurred, and he moved Brian Campbell back in. Look for the checking line to be up against Mike Richards’s line.

2) The penalty kill. They own an 86.6 killing percentage. The Flyers are a team that thrives on power plays. They start comebacks with them; they score early to sustain momentum. The Flyers won the Boston Bruins series on a power play.

3) The fore-check. The Blackhawks need a plan if the tempo is slowed down. They will need to out hit the Flyers in the Philadelphia zone. The Bolland line, Marian Hossa and Dustin Byfuglien will be the bodies to watch here.

Why they will win…

The defense will allow Antti Niemi the space to go to work. The Blackhawks will limit penalties and kill off the ones they do commit. Marian Hossa will score at will and erase the Stanley Cup failures of the past. He will need good fore-checking and more confidence. It also depends on the Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Byfuglien line. It will be hard to get a match up to shut down Hossa if the top scoring line continues to produce.

Overall, the series should be a good one, and a city will be able to rejoice after four wins. Check back on Friday for the series prediction, and remember to check SoICyBlog with Mike Schmidt.

Parity bad in the NHL playoffs? Go tell Montreal and Philadelphia.

In sports, the regular season finish is rewarded with a high seed and sometimes a first round-bye. The top teams win most of the team, with a few upsets in between. However, the opposite is occurring in the NHL playoffs.

The Montreal Canadiens came into the year as an eight seed, needing to win in the final game to advance to the playoffs. The media and some fans quickly wrote them off. However, they not only defeated the President’s Cup winning Washington Capitals; but they also slipped past the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

The other team joining them in the Eastern conference finals will be another low seeded team. The sixth-seeded Boston Bruins and the seventh- seeded Philadelphia Flyers play in a game seven, a story in itself since Philadelphia has come back from a 3-0 deficit, including a win on the road, to force game seven.

Although the Western Conference playoffs has a No. 1 and No. 2 seed, the San Jose Sharks versus the Chicago Blackhawks, the Hawks struggled to get by the No. 7 seeded Nashville Predators, and the Sharks were nearly upset by the No. 8 seeded Colorado Avalanche.

If the upsets aren’t enough of a conundrum, the road teams appear to be winning more as well. The Blackhawks are 3-3 at home, but 5-1 on the road. We have had three game sevens and the road teams all won, the Canadiens twice.

Suddenly, the home field-advantage is no more, and the regular season is just as useless as Sergei Gonchar was on defense versus Montreal the other night. But, is this a bad thing for hockey? Do they want the top teams to advance easily?

Personally, I think the parity and all the upsets are great for the game, and the NHL should embrace them. The regular season is a grueling test for many of these teams. If you qualify for the playoffs, anything can happen as seen by the recent results.

So, fans in cities with teams who start slow can have hope until the end of the season. These same fans can now know their team has a legitimate chance of getting hot at the right time.

The NHL playoffs are like the NCAA tournament in college basketball. The season tells us who deserves the chance, and then anything can happen. The season doesn’t mean any less, but the seeding and advantage gives way to match ups and team consistency.

If anything, can you really complain about a Cinderella story and a possible 3-0 comeback in the same season? I know I’m not.

Check back to I Am Sportacus for more NHL thoughts, plus check out http://soicyblog.tumblr.com for some great NHL breakdowns and fantasy hockey analysis. Hey, Mike Schmidt did say Jaroslav Halak would be a target in the offseason due to his skill. Did any of you hear of him a month ago?