Tuesday night was a big night for Chicago sports fans, and it ended with mixed results. I'll start with the bad news, and end with the good.
The Chicago Blackhawks lost game 7 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks, by a final score of 2-1. They rallied back and fought hard from a 3-0 series deficit, but fell just short. Even in game 7 they showed alot of grit and resiliency, especially from their starting goaltender, Corey Crawford. Crawford allowed only 2 Alex Burrows goals, neither of which were his fault. The first goal of the game resulted from a bad line change, and the Canucks made the Hawks pay. The final goal of the game was due to a terrible turnover in the Hawks' zone, and Burrows didn't make any mistake with the shot. It was a laser right over the shoulder of Crawford that sent the Hawks home for the summer. Crawford stopped 34 of 36 shots, many of them spectacular, ridiculous saves.
The captain, Jonathan Toews, tied the game with just 1:56 left in the third on a short-handed goal. At that point I thought the Hawks might pull it out, and when they were sent on the power play just seconds into the overtime period, I really thought it would happen. Patrick Sharp had a fantastic opportunity to end the Canucks' season, taking a great pass from Toews through the crease and aiming for the top shelf on the short-side of the net. Luongo made a terrific stop, and the Hawks never got close to scoring in the overtime after that. It was a disappointing end to the season, but I was very happy with the effort the defending cup champions showed in the final four games of the series. There is no shame in losing the series the way they eventually did, and Hawks fans should be proud of the effort they showed in the last four games.
The biggest issue for the Hawks this year was that they waited way too long to play anything resembling championship hockey. It is tough to repeat in any sport as champion, and it hasn't happened in 13 years in the NHL, so the Hawks were up against it to begin with. However, they played sluggish and unmotivated all season. They backed into the playoffs on the last day of the season after losing to Detroit, but getting some from the Minnesota Wild, who defeated the Dallas Stars to send the Hawks to the postseason. When I think about it though, they could have easily been in a better position. They lost several games earlier in the season that they had no business losing. Three times they lost to the Colorado Avalanche, who were the second worst team in the Western Conference. They lost twice apiece on home ice to the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets, which just shouldn't happen. They also made it a regular habit to blow multiple goal leads, and leads in the third period, which good hockey teams just don't do. Winning those games earlier in the season would have put the Hawks in a much better playoff position than playing the top-seeded Canucks, who were just a little bit better this season.
On the court, the Chicago Bulls finally did what all of their fans wanted them to do, and they put a whooping on a clearly inferior, although competitive Indiana Pacers squad. I had been talking with a buddy of mine before the game, and we were convinced that if the Bulls could have a good shooting night, they would destroy the Pacers. That is exactly what happened. Rose hit 3 three point shots, Bogans was 5-7 from the three point line, Deng and Korver each knocked in a couple of threes, and the Bulls absolutely ran away from the Pacers in the second half. Joakim Noah had his second straight great game, finishing with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks, not to mention getting in the Pacers' heads. He played physical with Hibbert, Foster, Hansbrough, and McRoberts at times in the Bulls' game 5 116-89 victory over the Pacers. McRoberts was ejected from the game for throwing a forearm punch at Noah during a basket altercation at the end of the third quarter. AJ Price, who really pissed me off in this series with the way he played, was also given a technical foul for trash talking to Noah following another altercation with Tyler Hansbrough. When Noah is going like he was last night, the Bulls feed off of his energy. It was great to see, and the crowd at the United Center was fired up all night.
The glaring weakness coming from this series is obviously the play of Carlos Boozer. The Bulls brought him in to take some of the scoring load off of Derrick Rose, while also grabbing big rebound numbers. Boozer's last two performances in games 4 and 5 of this series were brutal. He scored 2 points and pulled in 5 rebounds last night, and that was it. He routinely missed easy layups and close range shots in this series because he went up soft at the rim. He was constantly in foul trouble, and they were legitimate/stupid fouls. Pushing people in the back on rebound opportunities and lowering his shoulder when driving to the basket are clear-cut fouls, and yet he continues to do those things early and often. If he isn't going to pick his game up in the playoffs, I'd rather see Taj Gibson, who was brilliant last night, get those minutes. He's much better defensively, and isn't too bad offensively either.
I would talk about Derrick Rose, but there really isn't a need. He's been fantastic all season long, and was again last night, going for 25 points and 6 assists. He's clearly the MVP of the season, and as long as he is on the court, the Bulls will have a chance to win any game they play.
So now the Bulls wait for their second round opponent. It will be either the Hawks or the Magic, and I think they can defeat either team in a 7 game series. I think I would rather see the Atlanta Hawks, simply because they don't have the talent to match up with the Bulls. Either way, it'll be great to have NBA Playoff basketball in Chicago in May. Hopefully they can keep it going into late May and June.
So overall, Tuesday was a bittersweet night for Chicago sports fans. The Bulls certainly looked like a team that deserved the number one seed and homecourt throughout the NBA Playoffs. The Blackhawks, while in a losing effort, showed championship heart, and proved that there is still reason to believe they can contend in the NHL for years to come.
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