If there is one thing this series was about, it is overtime. If there are two things this series was about, it was suspensions. The first two games were close to being the same. Chicago opens the scoring, Phoenix takes the lead, then Chicago scores a last-second goal to send to to overtime. The only difference was the result. Well, that and Mike Smith flopping around like a fish out of water in Game 2, leading to Andrew Shaw being suspended for 3 games. Game 3 opened up the floodgates for criticism against violence in hockey. Torres collided (it was a collision, not a hit) with Hossa, which ended in Hossa getting stretchered away. It was also the game were the late game heroics stopped, and this time Chicago blew the lead. Mikkel Boedker won it on a goal that resembled Patrick Kane's Cup Winner. Game 4 wasn't as bad, the obligatory fight (Paul "What Tie Down?"Bissonnette vs. Brandon Bollig), the return of late-game tying goals, and Mikkel Boedker scored again in overtime (deja vu eh?). Game 5 was desperation time for Chicago and they came through, winning in OT on a snipe by Toews. Game 6 was desperation time for Chicago and they...uh...were stopped by a wall named Smith. With the Blackhawks controlling most of the first two periods, Smith stood tall and stopped everything that came at him. Once Chicago got into penalty trouble in the third period that was it. Phoenix moves on to the second round for the first time in franchise history (really? not even as the Jets eh?) while Chicago "enjoys" in earlier-than-expected offseason.
Games
Chicago Blackhawks 2
Phoenix Coyotes 3 (OT)
Chicago Blackhawks 4 (OT)
Phoenix Coyotes 3
Phoenix Coyotes 3 (OT)
Chicago Blackhawks 2
Phoenix Coyotes 3 (OT)
Chicago Blackhawks 2
Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT)
Phoenix Coyotes 1
Phoenix Coyotes 4
Chicago Blackhawks 0
Three Thoughts On The Series
- I think this was the series I watched the most, and a lot of that has to do with timing of the games.
- Probably the only guy that won't be suspended for a bad hit is Jimmy Hayes. It was clearly boarding, but it didn't look as bad as other boarding calls this year.
- Damn Phoenix, not allowing Game 6 to go to overtime. Although have to give Smith a ton of credit for keeping the Coyotes in that game until they started scoring.
Speaking of Smith, he stopped a shot by Andrew Shaw in game 6, here is his immediate reaction:
Play Of The Series
There was good goals, and great saves, but all that matters to anyone in this series is that Torres got a "deserved" suspensions. I'm not disagreeing that the hit wasn't high or late, but whether the head is the "principle point of contact" is somewhat debatable. Even in the suspension video, there isn't any close-up to prove that point. 25 games was a bit too much. Anyway, here's the hit:
BONUS VIDEO: NMA (the Taiwanese animation news company) on hockey violence. Complete with Raffi Torres Rocket Skates:
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