SAN JOSE, Cal. – The Chicago Blackhawks this afternoon took a one game to none lead over the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals by winning 2-1. This win was the first game win in four consecutive playoff series for the ‘Hawks going back to last season.
This game was fairly evenly played but the statistic that stood out was the amount of shots taken in the game. San Jose themselves took 45 shots on Antti Niemi who let his only mark in early in the game.
Although 14 of those shots were on the power play, Niemi had a great sense on the location of the puck and the field of players in front of him. His critics were shutdown saying his experience is what will not carry him far. With the game on the line and the ‘Hawks on the penalty kill, the Chicago netminder was huge in goal stopping at least four shots on a single series. If he was not able to stop the puck, he was able to deflect it away from the offense with his glove or pads to the open ice. The toe kick was one of his numerous types of saves that kept the game from getting away from Chicago.
How can you complain about either goaltender in net? Evgeni Nabokov had a respectable .950 save percentage in the game stopping 38 of the 40 he faced.
In the first period, rookie defenseman Jason Demers first goal of the playoffs got the Sharks the first lead of the game at the 11:19 mark. On the power play, Dan Boyle with the puck was checked by Marian Hossa but the puck came out towards the blue line but was barely kept in by Patrick Marleau. He backhanded the puck to Demers who took a shot in towards the net that was deflected in by a ‘Hawk defender.
The Blackhawks then tied it up in the second frame as the team took the puck up end to end on the ice as defenseman Duncan Keith rush up the ice made up for the defection that gave the Sharks their first goal. Keith crossed over San Jose’s blue line and passed the puck back to the slot to left winger Patrick Sharp who dragged the puck and fired a wrist shot to tie the game up at one with 7:44 gone in the period.
The final lead change came in the third as the Blackhawks gained control of the puck on the face-off where Patrick Kane got the puck to the top of the circle where right wing Dustin Byfuglien reared his stick for the slap shot in to the right of Nabokov. Captain Jonathan Toews who won the face-off got the second assist giving him a point streak in ten games in the playoffs.
As for the Sharks top line of Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, and Joe Thornton, they were limited to eight shots and each was on the ice for both of the ‘Hawks goals. Goal leader Joe Pavelski was held pointless for the third game in a row.
With the long layoff between games, neither team looked rusty. It was a physical game and the coaches did fairly well in matching the players up throughout the game. The continuous play went east and west all afternoon which contributed to the amount of shots taken, but a bunch went on the ‘Hawks as they were called for five penalties to none for the Sharks. Only one of those penalties led to a power-play goal. Even though the game was physical with the amount of good quality hits, the teams didn’t let it get chippy as the Vancouver/Chicago series was. In that series there was a lot of dislike with each other unlike in this series there is a lot of respect for one another.
Outside of the uneven calls, on the Blackhawks last penalty, center Dave Bolland, number 36, tripped up Devin Setoguchi. Alright there is usually nothing wrong here but the officials sent number 32 Kris Versteeg to the box with 56 seconds left. That left Bolland out who is on the ‘Hawks penalty kill line. Neither the officials nor the San Jose Sharks caught this.
The two teams will now continue on to Game Two in San Jose on Tuesday.
The Three Stars of the Game
Third Star: Dustin Byfuglien ( Chicago) with the game winner
Second Star: Evgeni Nabokov ( San Jose) with 38 saves and .950 save percentage
First Star: Antti Niemi ( Chicago) with 44 saves and a .978 save percentage
Western Conference Finals
W1 San Jose Sharks vs. W2 Chicago Blackhawks
Series N
Chicago Leads Series 1-0
Sunday, May 16 Chicago Blackhawks 2 at San Jose Sharks 1
Tuesday, May 18 Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks, 9:00pm
Friday, May 21 San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks, 7:00pm
Sunday, May 23 San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks, 2:00pm
*Tuesday, May 25 Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks, 8:00pm
*Thursday, May 27 San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks, 7:00pm
*Saturday, May 29 Chicago Blackhawks at San Jose Sharks, 7:00pm
* if necessary, All times Central Daylight Time
Contact the author at matt.chin@prohockeynews.com
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