I have been saying this all year and I will say it again: So far, this season has been exciting and fun to watch for the Chicago Blackhawks and I don’t want it to stop anytime soon. The good times need to keep rolling. I first got into hockey when I was younger while playing NHL ’95 for Sega Genesis so I was into it then. Of course, earlier in this decade, many fans left and now, the re-birth of this franchise has gotten everyone excited and back into it. The playoffs are about to start and I am just as excited as anyone else.
The Blackhawks host the Calgary Flames Thursday night. The Blackhawks won all four games against them in the regular season so they should be the favorites. In order for this team to to advance, Nikolai Khabibulin needs to be at the top of his game. I am sure he will. He has two shoutouts in the last four games so he is ready to go. I do not think anybody wants to see Christobal Thibault out there. Alright. His last name is actually Huet but he plays like Jocelyn Thibault. Remember him? He was the shitty goalie back in I believe the 2002-03 season and he was just as awful. Then I think he had some alcohol problems and I haven’t heard much about him ever since. (Or was that Theo Fleury who had a drinking problem?) Moving on though…
The key to the success of this team in the playoffs will be the health. Khabibulin seems to be ready to go. The same goes for Duncan Keith. Patrick Sharp however still is hurting from that slide into the goalie last week so who knows if he will be available Thursday. I couldn’t write this preview without mentioning Dave Bolland because if I didn’t, the lady would would give me the evil eye for a while. She for some odd reason, has an obsession with this guy for reasons other than playing hockey. So much that when she went to the Blackhawks Store downtown, she got frustrated that they didn’t have a Dave Bolland jersey shirt. Anyway, Dave Bolland is the guy that can step up if needed. He has had some big goals for this team throughout the season. This team however cannot afford another key player to go down.
I think the Blackhawks can win this series but it won’t be easy. If they do, it could take five or six games. I don’t see a sweep happening however.
Fire Ryan Poles | Fire Ben Johnson 
April 15, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I haven’t been following hockey too closely this year….but now that the Blackhawks — and Hurricanes — are back in the hunt, I’ll tune in. The Hurricanes could make it interesting….they’ve been playing much better since the return of Eric Cole.