At Least It's Interesting Now

Before I express my set of blah feelings on this series so far - not terribly surprising, given my attitude coming in and what's shaken out so far - let me point out a bush league mistake I made in my Predators preview. I don't claim to be overly knowledgeable about any NHL team except the Hawks, but I do pride myself on being able to at least present an accurate overview of a team after a bit of research.

Unfortunately, I missed out on a pair of Preds in my Friday post, because both came over in mid-season trades very late and neither logged a ton of ice time. The first isn't terribly impactful - Dustin Boyd did see action last night, but only because young goal-scorer Patric Hornqvist was injured. A depth forward who came over from Calgary, hopefully Boyd's not a name you have to care about (if it is, the Hawks have caught a few more crappy breaks).

The other player - Denis Grebeshkov - is worth mentioning. He's yet to appear in the series due to a groin issue, but he's definitely a solid defenseman who had a nice break-out season for the Oilers in 08-09 (7 G, 32 A, +12), only to take a step back this year as that whole franchise went from suck to blow. His presence would definitely help add a bit of depth and skill to the Preds' blueline.


Now to my thoughts... blah.

First blah is to the whole experience that was Game 1. First off, stupid Versus having a monopoly and only one venue to show the games is retarded. Back in the day, ESPN would air the games on ESPN and ESPN2, allowing you to watch non-stop action and rarely miss much. Sure, I've got to be happy that I can find playoff hockey anywhere on TV these days, but having been down in Florida this weekend, it was annoying to not get to watch the Hawks for the first period.

Second blah is to Google Maps and the government of Ft. Lauderdale, FLA. It didn't help my mood that as the Hawks were unraveling, I had to help my Mom find the Ft. Lauderdale airport because Google had absurdly terrible directions and that idiotic town (or state) didn't put up good signage. Aggravating all of this was that my youngest sister was learning the valuable but frustrating lesson that you should never plan on watching a key game at a bar unless you are sure it'll be playing there, with you having an easy time seeing the screen.

I thus was trying to update my sister as she made her way home from her bad bar game-watching experience and keep my Mom from touring the Ft. Lauderdale ghetto (semi-successfully) and thus didn't get to see as much of Game 1 as I would have liked. I caught the Hawks dominance in Period 2 and the unforgiveable garbage goal by the Preds, but after that I had, at best, one eye on the game. It was enough to be sickened by what happened, but not enough to pinpoint why.

Third blah - one obvious conclusion I had that I haven't read anywhere else: the Hawks choked WAY too many great chances. Versteeg claimed to have been hooked on his open net in Game 1, but whatever - be strong and bury the damn thing already! There were a number of other clear chances - I think Toews had one, definitely a few other guys did, where we just weren't hitting the 4x6.

Fourth blah - to the temptingly awesome, but frustratingly annoying technology that is in-flight internet. I was flying home from Florida smack dab during Game 2, but the timing was ideal - puck dropped about a half hour after take-off, plenty of time to get in the air and be allowed to rev up my PC for at least the first two periods (the hope - it was a blow-out so I wouldn't mind missing Period 3 as we landed and got our stuff).

I started out by listening to the free broadcast on WGN (cheers to the NHL for not trying to make a buck on every opportunity - if a fan is willing to listen to a hockey game on the internet, he shouldn't have to pay for it, too... but more on that later). But as good as Troy and John are, I really had a need to see how the Hawks were skating, really see for myself how things were shaking out. So I went to NHL.com and figured they'd have some online way to watch and that I'd be willing to pay. For $19.95, I could do just that - sweet. Didn't even run into any blackout issues, as my I.P. address of the middle of the sky was not considered a local market.

Random aside - what the F is with local blackouts? Look, I get if the Hawks are blacked out on Versus if that same Hawks game plays locally on WGN or Comcast. But why black out other games or other media? They think anyone would CHOOSE to watch online when they could get in front of a TV? Are they idiots?!? And do they really think that if I want to watch the Sharks game but it's blacked out, that I'll watch the Hawks? Or that you'll lose much of your Hawks audience because the Sharks game is available on Satellite or the internet?

The ONLY thing these black-out rules do is piss off your most diehard fans. NO ONE benefits in any way - the rights holders are not gaining any audience by these blackouts. Not in the slightest. These are antiquated rules that deal with a wholly different media landscape from literally generations ago. It's time every major sporting league revisit their broadcast agreements and completely rework the black-out policies with the modern media landscape and the fan in mind. Because these days, it doesn't matter how you reach them, just that you do - every broadcast opportunity can be easily monetized in today's world. So take the fan every way you can get em, with no limits, and you'll maximize the return for everyone.

Sorry, but that was a necessary digression. One I might turn into a bigger post someday, in the hopes that Puck Daddy will carry it and changes will be made. You can all thank me then.

Unfortunately, while I actually was able to get the Hawks game online, the connection on the plane wasn't good enough, even at the lowest quality, to be watchable. It was OK for like five minutes to end the first, but then it went into buffering mode every other second (literally) making the game a slowed-down stop-animation mess of frustration. I eventually just quit, went back to WGN, and was able to listen through the second period.

So in Game 2, much like Game 1, I didn't get a great view of things and can't add a ton to what everyone else is saying. But again, I do feel like the Hawks were missing too many prime chances for a team that is this good. Troy Murray seemed to be with me, complaining loudly and often about the poor shot selection of the Hawks. This was from the opening drop - as if he already was leery of this issue.

I know Toews had a beauty he shanked and there were a number of other chances that guys just couldn't seem to turn into lamp lighters. The refs got in on it, but that was only one of the many opportunities - and hey, that's just how sports work sometimes. Hard to fault the refs for one blown call, even as painful as it was.

So yeah, in this game these missed opps didn't hurt, but you never know when you're gonna be in a situation like Game 1, where a fluke bounce, bad turnover, and some momentum will be enough to sink you. How different would Game 1 had been if instead of making it 1-1, that crap goal only cut the lead to 2-1? Or better yet, 3-1. Both could easily have been the case and we'd probably be looking at a whole different series.

Heck, even Game 2 - how much nicer would it have been to win that game 5-0, for the statement it would have made? Sure, Nashville was heading home with confidence of taking a game and returning to home ice either way, but if the Hawks had a blow out under their belts, don't you think the Preds might have been a bit more likely to fold come some difficulties in Games 3 and 4?

Whatever, that's all conjecture - what matters is that the Hawks need to figure out whatever it is that's wrong and make the correction. It's nothing so simple as working harder, but maybe it's a better focus. Maybe it's a better approach to the game - maybe all the hype has got this team a bit on edge. Something is keeping them from playing their best hockey.

Heading down the stretch, my one hope was that the Hawks avoided the Wings in Round 1. But now I'm wondering if our best first round opponent wouldn't have been the Wings. Instead of playing a series that didn't have a lot of room for achievement but a ton for failure, the Hawks could have come in with something to prove right off the bat. Set the playoff tone immediately - the Wings era was over, now was the time of the Hawks.

Instead, the Hawks are up against a team who plays a super-frustrating game and can play it well. And dumb freakin luck gave them the confidence they need to actually believe this style of play could triumph over the Hawks. I give the Hawks credit - Niemi especially - for taking the necessary steps in Game 2 to begin burying the Preds longshot hopes.

And I'm looking forward to Game 3 - I think the Hawks, when challenged, are able to step up to any style of play and beat the other team at it. They ran into problems last year against the Wings because the Wings had more talent AND played the style of game better. This year? I don't see the Hawks facing that scenario again. I believe the Hawks will always be more talented and that they can thus beat any team at their game, whatever it is.

We saw it against both Calgary and Vancouver last year. Calgary tried to make the game a slugfest, and the Hawks not only slugged back, but out-worked and out-gutted the Flames, to the point that the team is now a shell of itself. Vancouver tried to get under the Hawks skin, while riding Luongo and a few solid offensive options. The Hawks responded by getting right back under the Canucks' skin, peppering Luongo along the way to the point of tears. Literally - they made the dude cry.

So I fully expect that a far less talented Preds team up against a far more talented and accomplished Hawks team will meet a similar fate. Sure, a bit of luck, a great goalie outing, or just another brain fart of a game by the Hawks might send this to six games. But I've got every faith the Hawks will dispose of this team, and without it going the distance.

I just wish they'd dominated from the first drop of the puck, taken away all the drama and established themselves more convincingly as in the mix of Cup favorites. And I wish that I had been able to watch a good TV broadcast of the entire thing.

But hey, all the rest of the Cup Contenders are in the same position - having dropped one of the first two. And my schedule is pretty free on Tuesday and Thursday - I'll be in front of my TV, with my favorite co-pilot next to me (my 9 month old daughter Lily), ready to see the Preds put back in their place. Maybe I complained a bit about the Preds making for a blah first round opponent, but now I've been, annoyingly, given reason to get my dander up about these games. I plan on a pair of Ws, maybe a bit ugly, but Ws all the same, to put the Hawks back squarely on the path to something we'll all remember forever.