Blackhawks beat Sharks 4-2 to take 2-0 series lead

truebluefan · May 19, 2010

Whether it’s the room service meals, the in-room movies or the field trips to Alcatraz, there’s something about playing on the road that brings out the best in the Chicago Blackhawks.

Dustin Byfuglien and Jonathan Toews scored on deflections 90 seconds apart in the second period and the Blackhawks rolled to their record-tying seventh straight road win in the playoffs, 4-2 over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference final.

“The way we’ve been playing on the road, it just seems like everything has gone right for us,” said forward Patrick Kane, who had two assists. “Sometimes you get on the road, it’s just a simpler attitude. We’ve had a lot of fun with bonding in the hotel and different things. Sometimes you do that, it’s almost like you’re clicking before you’re even on the ice.”

Andrew Ladd and Troy Brouwer also scored and Antti Niemi made 25 saves for the Blackhawks, who have a 2-0 series lead. This is the closest Chicago has been to making the Stanley Cup final since getting there in 1992.

The series moves to Chicago for Game 3 on Friday night and Game 4 on Sunday. That may not be the best thing for the Blackhawks, who are only 3-3 at home this postseason.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap;_ylt=AvFkMiA7qWB4hM_V51VlCDd7vLYF?gid=2010051818

DP · May 19, 2010

My friend called this score. The extra day in between can help everyone, not just the B'Hawks players. The distance travel from San Jose to Chicago isn't a trip you want to take over and over again. B'Hawks troubles at home are that they try to play pretty at home while on the road they try to shoot the puck. If they just shoot the puck and be less pretty, they will have a greater chance of winning.

DP · May 19, 2010

NHL.com Article

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Jonathan Toews' power-play goal roughly halfway through Game 2 wound up as winner in the Chicago Blackhawks' 4-2 victory at HP Pavilion on Tuesday night. The captain also added an assist on Dustin Byfuglien's goal 90 seconds earlier, and now has points in 11 consecutive games. He leads the NHL with 16 assists and 23 points.

The line of Toews, Byfuglien and Patrick Kane is now being considered by many pundits to be the best in the NHL. Byfuglien was obviously the missing piece -- and he has six goals in the last six games. But Toews is the glue, and he showed it again in Game 2.

Toews, sitting next to Kane at the podium following the victory that put the Hawks up 2-0 in the Western Conference Final, touched on his play as well as that of several other Hawks, including Dave Bolland, in his press conference.

Here is what he had to say:

Q: At various times you've had to be a shut-down center. Talk about how difficult a role that can be to fill and the quality of job that David Bolland specifically and that line are doing against a pretty good line (Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley)?

Toews: "They've been a huge part of our success, against all three teams we played so far. They don't sell themselves short. They know they can play smart defense and frustrate the line they happen to be up against. They've always found a way of taking advantage of some scoring opportunities. It was a big goal by Ladder (Andrew Ladd) to get us going tonight. Great job by them. We need them to keep that up."

Q: You have 11-game point streak in the post-season, which ties a franchise record. What do you think is going so well for you right now?

Toews: "Well, you know, I don't even really think about scoring. You want to kill penalties, you want to play with energy and create as much as you can in the offensive zone when that happens to be your role. I've gone into these games focused on working hard. A lot of offense has just clicked."

Q: On your goal it looked like Buff was also in front of net. On Buff's goal you were in front of the net. How key is it to have the extra man there?

Toews: "It's great. Buff is a big body. It's nice to go to the net, have that success when he's creating a lot of traffic and good screens in front of the goaltender. Kane is out in the open ice dangling around while we're in front picking up the garbage. It's nice. We'll take them any way we can. Tonight we got a couple ugly ones in front of the net. If we keep doing things right the way we have, we'll keep having success."

Q: You guys got the best-case scenario, two wins in two games here. How do you prepare for Game 3 and guard against a letdown?

Toews: "I think we can totally forget about these two games and really try and redeem ourselves at home. That's the motivation. We know we haven't done near what we want to do at home. So we'll motivate ourselves that way and get really pumped and excited about playing back at the United Center. We're really happy about having a 2-0 lead. That's great for us. We're not used to being in this situation. We'll take advantage of it and focus on what is to come."

Q: You guys tied the record for consecutive road wins. How do you explain the success on the road?

Toews: "Just haven't taken anything for granted. We go into these games putting all the pressure on the other team. We go out there and play loose, play hard, simple, the right way. You see in some of these games, it's a recurring trend, I think, where we start out, maybe have a 1-0 lead, we're down a goal or two coming out of the first period, whatever it is, we've found a way to stick with it and really be patient. We feel that we've kind of slowly taken over these games eventually in the third period. It's the right way to play on the road. But, you know, we want to keep that simple mentality when we go home. We'll be excited to play, but it doesn't mean we have to go out there and get flashy and make the big plays in front of our own fans. Still want to keep it simple and work for that offensive success we've had on the road, as well."

Q: They talked about tying up your sticks more than moving you guys out from the front. Has it been a little bit easier to get there compared to the first two series?

Toews: "I don't think so. They've got big, strong D-men, guys that can skate, that are smart positionally. We've had to work to get in front of that net. I think looking at these past two games, there's still much more we can do to get there, whether it's getting rebounds or just trying to test their goaltender a little more often."

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl
Click to expand...

What else can I say about Toews that hasnt been answered. Hes freaking great.

NHL.com Article

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Dave Bolland wants to know if Joe Thornton thought his glove was the puck. Why else would Thornton take a pretty good whack at his wrists before the official could even drop the puck for a faceoff?

"He went in for the draw and when the ref drops the puck you're supposed to go for the puck and he went for the wrist," Bolland cracked. "I think he got mixed up and went for the wrong thing. I think he just got mixed up."

Probably not.

San Jose coach Todd McLellan tried to explain Thornton's slash on Bolland's wrist with 11:46 to play in the third period as a set play. He said that Thornton told him he was trying to time the drop so he could whack the puck on net from the left circle.

"We've seen that before where he times it and tries to shoot it," McLellan said. "It's a tactic that Joe has. It ended up being a little quick and being on the hands."

There was an entirely different feeling about the slash inside the Blackhawks dressing room, especially from the victim.
Bolland feels Thornton's slash was an obvious sign of frustration from the big centerman. And, you know what, it wouldn't be all that surprising if Thornton is simply just fed up with Bolland by now.

Chicago's pesky checking-line center has been Thornton's biggest nightmare through two games. Thornton didn't talk about Bolland specifically after Game 2, but he's got to have some hatred for him by now.

"If there is always a guy on you and picking at your stick and taking the puck from you, everybody gets mad, right?" Bolland said. "Nobody likes a guy doing that."

Bolland does it better than most in the NHL now. Along with Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg, he's helped turn Chicago's third line into the sticky thorn that won't go away.

Even though he didn't have the final change, Joel Quenneville did everything in his power to get Bolland, Ladd and Versteeg on the ice against Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau in the two games in San Jose. The checkers won the battle by limiting the Sharks' Big Three to one meaningless even-strength goal.

Thornton wasn't even on the ice for it, so he couldn't pull up his plus-minus rating, which is now a team-worst minus-10. Heatley is a minus-5 and Marleau is a minus-3, though he did have both of San Jose's goals Tuesday night.

It'll be even harder for McLellan to find a way to free Thornton, Marleau and Heatley from the grasp of Bolland and the Hawks' checking wingers in Games 3 and 4 at United Center -- the Hawks get the last change and can match their checking unit against the Sharks' big line.

"It's fun, a good time, a good role and we like to have fun with it," Bolland said. "We're just playing hard, picking up their sticks. We're not really getting in their face, but all night we were just picking their sticks and we had a third man back. We were great at getting back. We just played hard."

All Thornton said about Bolland and his linemates is, "It's a battle all night." You can't blame him if he didn't want to talk about any frustration seeping into his game, but anyone watching can deduce that the big guy is a little peeved.

Not only did Thornton slash Bolland's wrists before the puck was dropped on that would-be faceoffs, but he also tried to take on both Bolland and John Madden at the end of the game when the circus broke out and officials Stephen Walkom and Kelly Sutherland assessed 18 minutes in penalties, including a 10-minute misconduct to Ryane Clowe.

"We're just being hard on them," Bolland said. "That's all we're doing and they're just getting frustrated. They can't take it."

Bolland hasn't even found the task to be all that challenging.
"If there is always a guy on you and picking at your stick and taking the puck from you, everybody gets mad, right? Nobody likes a guy doing that." -- Dave Bolland
"I don't think it's that difficult," he said.

Probably because it's nothing new to him.

Even last year, when Martin Havlat was the right wing on the line instead of Versteeg, Quenneville entrusted Bolland to be the irascible checking center who has to find ways to get under the skin of the best forwards on the other team.

He hasn't made too many friends.

"We saw it at the end of the game when a couple of guys were trying to get at Bollie and push him around," Patrick Sharp told NHL.com. "That means he's doing his job."

Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl
Click to expand...

Bolland pissed off just about every Shark he came in contact with last night. xD

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Blackhawks beat Sharks 4-2 to take 2-0 series lead

truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

DP He shoots, he scores!

DP He shoots, he scores!

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Blackhawks beat Sharks 4-2 to take 2-0 series lead

truebluefan Administrator Staff Member Administrator

DP He shoots, he scores!

DP He shoots, he scores!

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