Back to the Madhouse

Our best of seven series has now turned into the best of three and home ice advantage really seems to be worth the price of all the hard work and regular season success. The Blackhawks do have home-ice advantage in the final three games, starting Sunday night with Game Five of the series.

Much like going to Philadelphia for Games Three and Four, I didn't think winning the two games at home for the Blackhawks were going to mean as much away from home and they certainly were not.  This thinking does apply again for Game Five, as I don't think there is a lot of momentum that can be brought forward into the United Center by the Flyers, especially since one game was in overtime and the only game of the series that wasn't won by a single goal, was won by two, including an empty-netter.  This series is close and home-ice does seem to make a difference.

The Flyers did exceptionally well to find a lot of open ice in their own building, making themselves much more accessible for good passing plays and cutting through the slot for good shots on Antti Niemi.  This has to continue for the Flyers, if they want to be successful, especially with the series being so close.  Chris Pronger is becoming more and more of a factor for the Flyers wins and if he grows in confidence, especially in Chicago, this could mean a tougher uphill climb for the Blackhawks, even in the confines of their own building. 

The Blackhawks will have to get revved up in their own building again, they will need that crowd to help their big guns find their legs again.  Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were almost unseen on the scoresheets away from the United Center and those are the two kids that really helped guide the Blackhawks to this point in the series.  They may not have their own brand of momentum to guide them into this game, but one of their best assets in this playoff run is how they have managed to create something out of generally nothing.

Game Five will definitely be decided in front of the goaltenders again and if either team can make an early impact on their opposition goalkeeper, they might be able to draw from that for 60 minutes.  In order to get the puck to the front of the net, there will also need to be some great play along the boards, being physical and hard on the puck.  He who dares, wins.

Team	Scott G.	Myles D.	Derek B.	Neil B.	Russ D.	Stuart G.
Points	261	-4	-14	-15	-17	-19
Patrick Sharp	x	x	x		x
Dustin Byfuglien	x
Brian Campbell	x
Patrick Kane		x	x	x		x
Jonathan Toews		x		x		x
Marian Hossa				x	x	x
Duncan Keith			x		x
Brent Seabrook
Scott Hartnell	x	x
Claude Giroux	x	x	x			x
Kimmo Timonen	x
James Van Riemsdyk
Chris Pronger		x
Daniel Briere					x
Braydon Coburn					x

Another elimination from the table, as Leo fell underneath the 20-point cushion, especially with only three games (potentially) remaining in the series.  That now leaves us with the top six teams left on the table, with risk of losing one more to the 20-point cushion by the end of Game Five.

The pool did get somewhat more interesting when the series started out, as Myles did see some good improvements in his standing when the series started in Chicago.  The more games this series goes, the more chances he has to close in on Scott G..  If Marian Hossa can score a boatload of goals tomorrow and Duncan Keith assists on all of them, both Derek B. and Neil B. might find themselves on a real hot streak... but I'm just messing around there.  This series has been way too tight to predict, let alone expect, that sort of scoring.