Chicago Blackhawks

Andrew Shaw told to keep it clean (Tribune) Brandon Saad still searching for his first playoff goal (ESPN Chicago) Hawks best players need to be the best (NHL) Daniel Cleary is a pest (USA Today) Penguins stomp the Senators to go up 3-1 in their series (PB/SSS) Alain Vigneault gets the ax. Happy trails douche canoe! Yet, Mike Gillis keeps his job. (SBN) Updated list of available head coaches (Pro Hockey Talk) No progress in contract talks between Sergei Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets (Dispatch) Flyers leading scorer Jakub Voracek walks away from a car accident in the Czech Republic (Philly)

May 18, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (right) celebrates with center Patrick Sharp (left) after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings in the first period of game two of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports The Blackhawks face Detroit in Game #4 down 2 games to one in their building which would suggest the Hawks are in trouble.  The Hawks are in need of a win to tie up the series and with a win the world would be put back in order.  Here are my top five  reasons why the Hawks win tonight. 1. Jonathan Toews Period.  This is the longest playoff drought of his great young career and after getting pushed around in Game #2 he was close several times in Game #3 including a goal post to scoring his first goal of the playoffs.  The Captain is the reason the Hawks had such a great regular season and he is the reason the Hawks are going to win Game #4.  He may not score a hat trick tonight, but the former Conn Smythe trophy winner will finally announce his arrival and turn the tide back in favor of the Blackhawks with a huge productive game tonight. 2. The Bounces will Even Out.  The bounces have not gone the way of the Hawks.  It almost feels like someone at Buffalo Wild Wings is hitting the extend button to make sure this was a long series (maybe NBC)  Bounces and goal posts have a way of evening out in a seven game series that’s why the Stanley Cup is the greatest trophy to win.  This isn’t March Madness when it’s one and done.  The bounces and bad calls can’t go against the Hawks for seven games.  The Hawks hit three posts and deflected out that won’t happen again tonight. 3. The March to the box ended Monday night.  The Hawks will not take another stupid penalty again this series.  Yes, there will be penalties on the Hawks but there will not be anymore Andrew Shaw stupidity in Game #4.  The Hawks have been a very disciplined team that avoided the box during the season and after two days off with the coaching staff in their ears,  they know they cannot kill momentum in Game #4 by continuing to take stupid penalties. There is no award at the end of the playoffs for most penalty kills so let’s stop looking at how many in a row we have killed off and just stay out of the box. 4. Sense of Urgency Will Be Skyhigh. The Blackhawks with their backs to the wall can be the most exciting team in the NHL to watch.  During the streak a couple of times they played at a fever pitch and came out on top with their urgency at an all time high. One of those times was the game against Detroit down 1-0 late in the third and with everyone playing fast Viktor Stalberg stole the puck and got it to Patrick Kane for the tying goal.  This team needed adversity to see what it was made of and in Game #4 with their backs to the wall for really the first time all season long they will come out with an all-time amount of urgency and be  flying all over the ice to notch the victory. 5. Patrick Kane always rises to the top when the chips are down.  As much as I think the Captain will break out tonight, Patrick Kane is on a two game goal streak and is always dangerous when the chips are down for the Hawks.  In 2010 when it looked like the Nashville Predators where about to take a 3-2 series lead to Nashville he scored the game tying goal to tie the game and get it to overtime for the eventual Marian Hossa winner.  In the Cup clincher, the Hawks gave up a late 3rd period goal and the momentum was with the Philadelphia Flyers when in overtime Kane scored the greatest Hawks goal in my lifetime.  Kane has magic on his stick when it looks like things are at its worst for the Hawks and he always seems to do something unforgettable.  It is the first time it’s look grim at all this season for the Hawks so look for Kane to become a superhero again tonight. The Red Wings are not going to lay down tonight, but the H

Pittsburgh Penguins (GDT) @ Ottawa Senators (GDT) Game 3 (PIT leads 2-1) 6:30pm NBCSN

On Wednesday afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks fired head coach Alain Vigneault and associate coaches Newell Brown and Rick Bowness.The post Vancouver Canucks Fire Alain Vigneault appeared first on Committed Indians.

The C May 20, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) reacts after game three of the second round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. Detroit won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports hicago Blackhawks are down 2-1 in the series against the Detroit Red Wings, and the reasons can be picked out and analyzed in detail. Bad penalties, fruitless power plays, and losing faceoffs, battles, and races for the puck are key themes in every Chicago loss. But one of the biggest factors is the team’s playoff mindset. They say all the right things and even won round 1 against the Minnesota Wild in 5 games, so how could they be so far behind the Red Wings in playoff mentality? We all know that the playoffs get more and more intense as the series and rounds go on, and the Blackhawks’ first round was geared more towards exploiting the Wild’s goaltending issues rather than using the emotion of the series to amp up their play. The Blackhawks never really reached the playoff mentality in their series with Minnesota, and it took losing two games in a row to a playoff-focused Red Wings team and excellent goaltending of Jimmy Howard to work their way up to that determination and intensity. After watching the Los Angeles Kings bulldoze their way through the playoffs all the way to the Stanley Cup last year, we new fans might think that’s how it’s always supposed to be for the champions. But looking back at the Blackhawks’ 2010 Stanley Cup run, it’s clear that the Blackhawks are a team that improves with hardship and opposition. There might need to be a prolonged moment when their run seems bleak, but if they come out of this series against the Red Wings, they will have what it takes to get through the rest of the playoffs and onto the Stanley Cup! Do you think adversity is necessary for the Blackhawks to improve throughout the playoffs? For more updates and conversation, follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up and friend us on Facebook at Blackhawk Up.

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks rookie forward Brandon Saad is hoping for No. 11 to be his lucky number again. Saad scored his first career NHL goal in his 11th regular season game. Now entering his 11th NHL playoff game, he and the Blackhawks are looking for him to notch his first career playoff goal. Despite Saad's playoff scoring drought, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville has spoken highly of Saad's recent play. Saad struggled in the opening-round series with the Minnesota Wild, but he's rediscovered his form and has been creating chances in faster-paced games against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Blackhawks took to the ice at the United Center, before heading back to Detroit for Game 4 Thursday night. First and foremost, the now infamous white jerseys were being worn by Daniel Carcillo, Jamal Mayers, Brandon Bollig and Ben Smith. This means Andrew Shaw will not find a seat for his general douchebaggery in this series thus far. I like Shaw when he plays within himself and actually contributes to the team. Being a pest and getting under the opponents skin while scoring an occasional goal is ideal. I can do without him playing like an out of control jackass like he has the last three games. So the same 12 forwards will dress tomorrow night but the lines might look a bit different. Patrick Sharp, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa took top line rushes today. Brandon Saad, Dave Bolland and Patrick Kane filled out the 2nd line. The 3rd line remained the with Shaw centering Bryan Bickell and Viktor Stalberg. Michal Handzus skated on left wing of the 4th line with Marcus Kruger at center and Michael Frolik on the right wing. The Hawks spent some time in practice working on exiting their own zone, which sounds like one hell of an idea! Q made some changes to the power play as well. The first unit featured Bickell, Sharp and Saad up front with Duncan Keith and Hossa at the point. The 2nd line had Shaw, Toews and Kane with Michal Rozsival, Brent Seabrook and Nick Leddy all getting time at the point. I like the idea of BIckell on the power play if he can just plant his big ass right in front of Jimmy Howard, good things might happen. When asked about the power play stuggles, Coach Q explained: "It starts with faceoffs. You get the setup. We had one good power play there (in Game 3); offensive zone time was in place. But we still have to keep taking shots, off the rush or in zone. We have to be a threat to score, and traffic is what we're looking for. We had better shots. Hopefully we get one." Marian Hossa added these thoughts about the Hawks power play: "We need the power play to get some goals, that's for sure, to help the series. It felt like the first power play we were moving the puck well, got some good shots. On another few, it was tough to get in. But when we got in, we had some good looks. We have to find a way to put the puck in the net."

Joel Quenneville tried putting all his top guys on one power play unit, and it didn't work. So now he's trying to spread the wealth again. At Wednesday's practice, the Blackhawks' top power play unit had Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith at the points, with Patrick Sharp, Brandon Saad and Bryan Bickell up front. The second unit featured Michal Rozsival and either Brent Seabrook or Nick Leddy at the point, with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Andrew Shaw. "We're just looking for a little more balance on the units," Quenneville said. "Hopefully, we'll get some production." The Hawks are just 3-of-22 on the power play this postseason, including 0-of-6 in losses to Detroit in Games 2 and 3. Even a unit featuring all-stars Keith, Sharp, Hossa, Toews and Kane struggled to get anything past Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard. "The last couple games, it hasn't been very good," Keith said. "So probably expect some changes there." Bickell's addition in front of the net gives the Hawks a big body to both deflect shots and block Howard's vision. "Howard's playing great, he's a hot goaltender right now," Shaw said. "Getting big bodies like Bicks in front of the net and finding those loose pucks and putting them home, I think it's going to be great for us. ... They have big defensemen and they can move you pretty well. We've just got to battle and compete and try to take his eyes away as much as possible." As for 5-on-5 scenarios, Sharp again skated on the top line, to the left of Toews and Hossa. Saad again was with Dave Bolland and Kane on the second line. Quenneville made that move in Game 3, and liked the results. Toews and Saad have combined for no goals and four assists this postseason. "We weren't having a ton of success, so we mixed up the lines a little bit," Saad said. "And I thought we played well last time."

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford said Wednesday he has to play better against the Detroit Red Wings despite the continued vote of confidence from coach Joel Quenneville. Crawford made 26 saves in a 4-1 loss to the Red Wings in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday and 27 saves in Monday's 3-1 loss in Game 3. The Red Wings lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 coming in Detroit on Thursday. Quenneville has been firm in his confidence for Crawford in recent days and hasn't said he deserves any blame for the defeats.

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports The Chicago Blackhawks have their backs up against the wall for the first time throughout this entire season. A loss on the road against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night puts them in a 3-1 hole that this team may not be mentally prepared to climb out of. If the Blackhawks are going to come out and steal one back on the road, while evening up the series, it’s going to start with the captain. This is a series that has brought a lot of criticism on the shoulders of Jonathan Toews, for a lack of postseason production. In the past few seasons, since winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2009-2010, Toews has been a virtual ghost in the postseason. He had four points in seven games in 2010-2011, when the Hawks were eliminated in the first round. He had four in six last year, when the Hawks were eliminated in the first round (though he returned early from an injury and wasn’t entirely healthy). This year, the Hawks are already off to a better start than the past couple of Stanley Cup Playoffs. They won their first series in five games, giving them their first series win since that Cup-winning ’09-’10 campaign. But they’ve done so to this point without much production from the captain. Toews has had a rough go of things during this year’s postseason. He has yet to find the back of the net, and has only three points in eight postseason tilts. Worse yet, he seems to have lost his composure on several occasions, constantly complaining about calls, or lack thereof, on the ice. The Red Wings have done an excellent job getting inside the head of Jonathan Toews. Henrik Zetterberg has done a number on him, with the Wings as a club physically pounding Toews down around the net. But he’s a world class player. It’s time to rise above that. If the Blackhawks are going to turn it around and get the momentum back in this series, it’s going to start with Toews. Not that he has played terribly. In fact, his possession numbers and scoring chances indicate he’s played very well. But his frustrations are clearly taking their toll, as he’s a mental disaster in this series. An early score from Toews in Game 4, or at any point really, could see this Hawks team take off. It would be a gigantic sigh of relief and would take a world of pressure off of him. We’ve seen him take over games this year. It’s time for that to happen in the postseason. If he’s able to do that in this series, the Blackhawks will be just fine. But if he can’t find his game in time, the Hawks are really in serious trouble.