Thursday, May 30, 2013

The "Original 6" Game 7 Victory By The Blackhawks



Blackhawks Win Game 7 in OT 2-1


By Haz Bey
With the Chicago Blackhawks facing elimination against the Detroit Red Wings  being down 3 games to none, Chicago regrouped to rally from facing elimination to moving on to the Western Conference Finals.  Game 7 came down to the wire with a dramatic ending.

The "Original 6" (Montreal Canadians, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings & Chicago Blackhawks) is the backbone of what the NHL is all about.  Other than the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Original 6 seemed to be always in contention for Lord Stanley's Cup, year-in and year-out.  With this year's playoffs, it is not any different for not only did the Blackhawks and Red Wings duke it out for 7 straight games, in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins are back in the Eastern Conference Finals again.  So for another year the Original 6 are representing for the O.G's.

Detroit fought hard and hand a commanding lead over Chicago, but nothing is ever guaranteed in playoff hockey.  The NHL is the hardest league out of the American four major pro sports league to predict because it takes a lot more than X's & O's win a hockey game. Heart, effort, speed & toughness can change a series outcome in a heartbeat.  The Red Wings couldn't stop Chicago's momentum and now they have all summer to think about it.

The Chicago Blackhawks started Game 7 with a the type of physical intensity that had let them to rally from a 3-1 deficit.  Then 3 1/2 minutes into the 2nd period, Patrick Sharp scores the game's 1st goal off a terrible line change from the Red Wings.  The way Chicago was playing it seemed that 1 goal advantage would be all they needed.  They continued to play picture-perfect hockey up to the 2nd intermission.  Then all hell broke loose in Chi-Town when Henrick Zetterberg scored off a Chicago defensive lapse and the game was all nodded at 1 goal a piece only 26 seconds into the 3rd period and Detroit was "back in the game, baby!" (in my Tryone Biggums voice aka Dave Chappelle)  Chicago thought they had won in the final moments with a potential game winning goal, but the back referee called roughing penalties on  both a Red Wings player and a Blackhawks player so the potential game winning goal by Niklas Hjalmarsson did not count.  Finally in overtime, Brent Seabrook shot the game winning goal off of a deflection that sealed the deal for the Chicago Blackhawks.

With the Blackhawks moving on the conference finals, their is a 50/50 chance the Original 6 will be in Stanley Cup Finals with a possible match-up between the Bruins and the Blackhawks, which would be epic.  Even if the Original 6 doesn't make an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, we will truly see who the true best team in the last 5 years will be.  This is because for the 1st time since 1945, the NHL's "Final Four" will consist of teams that have each won Stanley Cup Finals in the last 4 years.  It's the "Best of the Best" going at it and Lord Stanley's Cup is the ultimate prize.  Now let's sit back watch how it all plays out.

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