Troy Brouwer is another player who, if he can get back to delivering the physical presence and scoring touch he showed this year, can also help tip the scales.

Al Cimaglia and I had an excellent conversation yesterday about this series. Al mentioned that it is very important for the Hawks to take the opening pair of games at home.

The Canucks are a better t-e-a-m this year; Chicago will have to have all hands on deck from the first drop of the puck…and not let up.

Great job. Just the threat of having Buff up front will cause a distraction for Vancouver as they will spend time worrying about that instead of concentrating on more important things like putting the puck in the net. You can add that to the list of intangibles.

More here:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=376902

Saturday, May 1 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. ET/ CBC, VERSUS
Monday, May 3 at Chicago, 9:00 p.m. ET/ CBC, VERSUS
Wednesday, May 5 at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m. ET/CBC, VERSUS
Friday, May 7 at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m. ET/CBC, VERSUS
*Sunday, May 9 at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. ET/CBC, VERSUS
*Tuesday, May 11 at Vancouver, TBD CBC, VERSUS
*Thursday, May 13 at Chicago, TBD CBC, VERSUS

All times Eastern.

(*–if necessary)

As always I look forward to more of your and Al’s articles and will keep trying to create more traffic this way. Keep up the great work!

Watching all the games this year between these teams, it just looks like they are the perfect match in so many ways.

The cliché “whoever wants it more” might just be a perfect fit as well for this series.

My prediction? It is all about Luongo. Which one will we see. I know that during the Olympics I had no confidence in him and felt Canada won in spite of him.

Even that save he made the other night on Ryan Smyth, great save, but he had put himself way out of position in the first place. I find he tends to turn the wrong way on way to many occasions.

We shall see. One thing I am pretty sure of, it is going to be a great series.

Cheers

http://prosportsblogging.com/nhl-hockey/chicago-blackhawks/chicago-vs-vancouver-the-rivalry-renewed/

I gave the slight edge to Vancouver at the forward depth unless Bolland/Brouwer/Byfuglien the 3 B’s can step it up and bring some sort of physicality. I doubt very much we can be as physical as the Canucks but as we have seen in the past Chicago does not get out of position just to make a hit which is very smart.

Jesse Rogers is reporting that Buff has been practicing at forward alongside Madden and Brouwer and his derriere has been spotted in front of the net during PP drills. So that means Hendry or Boynton will draw in again.

For me, I’d rather start on the road. With the homogenization of NHL rinks, one wonders what home-ice advantage really is anymore. Losing one of the first two at home puts us in hole and frankly, the ‘hawks play a more complete game on the road. Alas, that’s not to be, so two wins are imperative, IMO, for the ‘hawks to advance.

This year’s Canuck team is far more explosive than the last year’s cohort. The ‘hawks will need to be “in the game” all the time as Vancouver can quickly pump in three or four goals if you’re not on your game or have a slight let down. One thing’s for sure, this Canuck team is never out of a game as evidenced by the remarkable 3rd period comebacks they produced this year.

Last year it was all about Bobby Lou, and while he has been average this year, the Canucks’ new-found scoring prowess has more than made up for this.

One area where I would give the nod to the Left Coaster’s is in net presence. They have several forwards who crash the crease without reserve and I’m not sure we’re strong enough physically on D to deal with it. Samuelsson has been scary so far, he’s cagey smart and when he’s with the Sedin’s he knows where to go to get the puck.