M-V-P! M-V-P!

I've mentioned before that Buff deserves a ton of credit for the role he played in getting this team turned around down the stretch. Could the Hawks have gotten past the surprisingly fierce challenge of Nashville if they were still reeling from a rocky stretch, such as they had in March? Would the Hawks have had enough confidence and heart to rebound from Game 1's disaster and Game 2's brutal opening against Vancouver if their belief in themselves hadn't been restored in early April?

That hot finish was huge for this Hawks team. And one of the most crucial pieces to that finish was Buff, a guy who did the unthinkable and changed from a forward to a blueliner capable enough to skate Top 4 defenseman minutes almost instantly. He provided solid play in his own end, great energy in pushing the puck up ice, and of course, physicality all over the place.

Given the incredible talent and impact that so many of Buff's teammates have, it's hard to call him the MVP of that stretch run. But relative to what you thought you'd get out of him, was anyone really more valuable than Buff to that strong finish?

And it hasn't changed now that the playoffs have gotten going. Not that Buff was any great shakes in Round 1, but he did log solid minutes on the blue line and didn't hurt us. Given the play of the Preds and intensity of the situation, that's a pretty big achievement for a guy who hasn't skated back there for years.

This series, Buff has answered the call of duty from his team yet again. The desperate demand was for a physical winger who could be a major distraction in front of Luongo - both in-game and to his overall psyche - while also being the grinding support player that Toews and Kane have needed since Brouwer went MIA, but still capable of burying the chances those two playmakers are constantly creating.

Last night Buff did all that, and in spades. He was a force in front of the net, helping to rattle Luongo for the first time this series - creating a serious crack in his confidence that until now had to be high following his work in Games 1 and 2. He was a beast all over the ice - delivering timely, impactful hits, successfully working the boards, and skating hard to be in plays on both ends.

But most of all, Buff flashed the goal-scoring touch that has allowed him to get by on less than full effort for years now. Both of his goals were well-earned results of not only crashing the net hard, but using his stick and size to corral the puck and get a great shot on net.

I called for Buff to be moved off of the blueline before this series. But I won't claim that I did so because I believed in his ability to effect this series as a forward. I just didn't want such a green defender back there against such a strong offensive team, and also had misplaced confidence in Hendry.

But credit goes to JQ, who went into this series with every faith the Buff would make a difference up there. For realizing that Buff would be the best compliment to Toews and Kane. Likewise, credit to all those fans who've had more patience then I did with Buff's annoying lack of commitment on every shift, in every game.

I knew Buff had value, but given his price tag and regular lackadaisical efforts, I didn't think that value was worth it. And next year, maybe it won't be, as payroll pressures grow and new needs crop up.

But this year, Buff has proven his worth. Again, relative to what I was expecting, no one has had more value in these playoffs than Buff. His ability to fulfill blueline minutes respectably in the first series and now his immense impact in such a crucial game has made Buff's continued presence on this club a real asset, even if he was to get hurt today and never see the ice again.

Because you can't underestimate the importance of last night's W. So far the Hawks had been blown out once and avoided a very precarious 0-2 hole heading back to Vancouver thanks only to some great goal-keeping and late heroics. If Vancouver takes Game 3, they can write off Game 2 as a fluke and look ahead to Game 4 as a chance to basically finish off the Hawks.

Instead, in large part thanks to Buff (as well as to a number of other Hawks, whom I'll get to shortly), the Hawks have already banked the one game they needed in Vancouver, they've taken back momentum and created doubt and frustration with the Canucks, and best of all, they now have a shot to all but end this series on Friday.

So sure, Buff's impact this series has only been in one game, but that game was so significant that to this point, I'm hanging my MVP (again, relative to expectations) for the stretch run and playoffs to date on Buff, both for his commendable work on a the blueline and the way he turned this series back in the Hawks favor.


Having said all that, let's not forget the other accolades that need to be showered on this Hawks team. First off, just a teamwide stellar effort. And I stress effort - it's not even that they played well, which they did, it's that they played hard. They won the board battles, they got to the loose pucks, they crashed the net.

The NHL has a pair of Hawks commercials in that cool reverse action, what-if style that they've been using for their playoff spots. In both cases (highlighting Versteeg's and Hossa's game-winning goals), they show enough of the play that you appreciate what happened - basically all five guys on the ice did something impressive to create those scores.

Both commercials give you chills (although the caption at the end of the Versteeg one refers to Madison's House - poorly done, fellas), but both also serve as perfect reminders of what it will take to win the whole thing - all five skaters working tirelessly to contribute.

I said it before the series, I said it after Game 1, and I'll repeat it today - if the Hawks out-work the Canucks, they cannot lose this series. Period, end of story. The last two games have shown that and I don't see any way it will change. The Canucks might steal a game, even two, where the Hawks have out-worked them. But three more? Nope.

I could go down the list of guys that stood out in some way, but it's probably easier to point out the guys I was a little leery of - basically just Hendry. Everyone else seemed to find a way to help this team. I'm pumped to see Eager and Burish back making an impact (and they are - that 4th line is playing a lot like it did last year). The Bolland line has been a nice two-way force. The Sharp line is giving us a bona fide 2nd scoring front, and of course, the Toews-Kane-Buff group has been a beast. Can't leave out Madden, who JQ has been using brilliantly in limited 4th line work and key defensive situations.

Defensively, Seabrook is looking like the monster he was last post-season and The Hammer has matured at an incredible pace (remember, a year and a half ago, he was in the AHL). Campbell is getting back to where he once was (although we still haven't seen the big offensive impact - that'll come) and Keith is settling down now that he's got more help. And Sopel has yet to be exposed - just the opposite, he's handled himself well and continued to be a plus killer.

Of the skaters, only Brouwer and Hendry have been much of an issue, and Brouwer has easily been replaced in the lineup (which is in everyone's best interest - his head obviously isn't there, apparently due to some issues with his father's health). Hendry is the lone clear weakness and I'm not giving up on him yet.

Hendry's still a plus skater and shown himself respectable in the past. I think if JQ were to leave him at that 6th spot for a bunch of games in a row, he'd settle down and become serviceable. And that's all we need - the guy isn't playing special teams and doesn't have to log much for minutes. The Hawks don't want Keith, Seabrook, The Hammer, or Campbell off the ice for very much time, even if they had another capable blueline option.


Having said all that, I can't finish a post about last night's win without heaping praise on Niemi. As I mentioned previously, Niemi followed up the confidence-inspiring two shut-outs in his first four games with two straight mediocre outings to close out that series and a total garbage performance to start this one. His response in Game 2... initially, it was to serve up some juicy rebounds and bury his already reeling team in a 2-0 hole before 5 minutes had passed.

But then Niemi, as he's done all year, went from bad back to good without any notice. He stonewalled some stellar chances and allowed the Hawks to work their way back into Game 2. And then Uncle Niemi flew that same game with him to Vancouver, throwing up nasty save after nasty save as the Hawks were able to weather the expected Canuck onslaught to start Game 3. Despite allowing 16 shots - a rarity for this Hawks team - we lead 2-0 after the first.

From there, Niemi allowed an iffy goal that tightened the game at 3-2. At that point, Niemi could have folded up, taking the Hawks down with him. I mean he's a rook with consistency issues playing for a very demanding fan base on a team with sky high expectations.

Instead, he put the iffy goal behind him, made the stops he needed to, and allowed the Hawks to run away with the game. In doing so Niemi showed a pair of incredible attributes - attributes required of any Cup-winning netminder - in both heroically carrying his team in the face of an onslaught and in responding to a possible momentum-changing letdown with steady play.

Do I expect more of the same from Niemi? Yes and no. I think what we've seen out of Niemi is what he is. Some days he's great, some days he's good, some days he's OK, and every once in a while, he's flat out bad. I expect the same inconsistency the rest of the way. But I also expect that there will be enough good in there that the Hawks can win if the skaters play to the level they are capable of.

In fact, I claimed we could count on a shut-out in every series from Niemi. I still believe that - so I'm saying that the Hawks have another W in their pocket. The question is can they win one more on top? Ideally Niemi cashes in that shut-out on Friday and the Hawks have a 3-1 lead as well as a pair of home games to get the close-out win.

And why not Friday? The Canucks quit last night. Sure they'll regroup and realize that by defending the home ice in Game 4, they can reset this whole series, and thus will come out firing to start the game again. But if Niemi stones them early and the Hawks again get a few early ones past Luongo, would it surprise you to see this Vancouver team fold the tents?

As the third period got underway, I said to my wife that the one good thing about it being 3-2 instead of 3-1 is that the Hawks were forced to be more aggressive offensively. They are an uber-talented offensive team and are never more difficult to beat then when they unleash the full fury of their goal-scoring attack.

However, with a 3-1 lead in the third period on the road, it would be natural to tighten up, try to lock down your own zone, and hope you can escape. To me, that's like playing the prevent defense in football, and will be equally unsuccessful. The Canucks are just too good offensively and the Hawks and Niemi a bit too suspect defensively to expect you can withstand a 20-minute offensive barrage without giving up a pair of goals, or more.

I mean we've seen what happens in all three of these games when the Canucks turn the pressure around on the Hawks - they withstand it for a while, but eventually they break. Think about the Canucks goals in all three games - they were for the most part the result of constant pressure that the Hawks couldn't turn around, eventually leading to a scoring opportunity the Hawks couldn't stop.

But instead of that decision being laid on JQ, the 3-2 lead forced the Hawks to continue to bring it against the Canucks. The result was the 4th goal and a bit of breathing room. At that point, up two on the road and with only 12 minutes left, I still would have hoped for the pressure to continue, but would have understood on some level if the Hawks went into lockdown. Clearly the Canucks were going to be coming with offensive desperation and the Hawks would need their full focus on D to hold up against it.

Not what happened, at all. The Canucks did not bring anything. Sure, some of that is to the Hawks credit. Half because the Hawks didn't go fall back defensively, instead just applying more offensive pressure, dominating the puck, winning the battles, and making the plays.

But half because the Canucks quit. There was no desperation, no increased energy, not a flash of intense pressure to get themselves back into the game. It shouldn't have been hard - the Hawks D and Niemi are beatable, they were at home, and the Canucks have the firepower.

Instead, Vancouver just went through the motions, the Hawks kept bringing it, and eventually the game was put away with Buff's 2nd goal. Even then, a team with true heart would have seen six minutes left and at least tried to make it respectable.

Not the Canucks. They showed no effort at all, then made things worse by getting a bunch of pointless, cowardly roughing penalties. The kind they had avoided so far in the series, the kind they swore they wouldn't get suckered into after last year's loss to the Hawks, the kind that speak to an out-matched team.

So yeah, I can see Niemi all but ending this with a shut-out on Friday. It won't be easy - the Canucks will definitely play with desperation and intensity to start the game. But if Uncle Niemi can stand up like he did for the final 55 minutes of Game 2 and the start of Game 3, then I expect to see these Canucks fold after a couple of Hawks goals. Sure, they might find another spark late, when the true weight of their season ending becomes more clear, but it'll be futile.


I thus put it on Niemi to dig down for one more great stretch of play to start Game 4. I put it on the Hawks skaters to play their best in their own end. And I also put it on the skaters to win the board battles, win the loose pucks, and apply pressure offensively until Luongo breaks as he's broken so many times before.

Do that, and the Hawks can win this series in the first period.

If not, the Hawks could still take this. They've shown they can come from behind, they've shown they can win on the road. And even if they lose Game 4, I've got faith in this team. Three games to play, two on home ice - given the Hawks proven superior talent and proven ability to out-work the Canucks, a Game 4 loss doesn't shake my confidence that we take this in 6 or 7. As I've said before - you gotta assume you're gonna lose two games in every series. So the hope is we bury them for good in Game 4, but I've got faith in this squad either way.