Hawks Done in Five

In a much harder fought game than the Eastern Conference finale, the Blackhawks put up a valiant effort to send Game 5 with the Red Wings to overtime, but the Red Wings were far and away the better team in the series and they ended up flexing that bit of muscle to put the Hawks away. It was a 2-1 final in overtime, which didn't see any scoring until the third period. With scoring down in this game, it wasn't very kind to the poolies, who were hoping for a back-and-forth skating effort to help their teams out.

The Blackhawks were certainly a favourite to come out of the first round against Calgary, being taken 118 times in the pool. Now all 118 picks have been eliminated from competition. The most popular Blackhawks player to be eliminated was defenseman, Duncan Keith, who was taken 22 times and finished with 6 assists. In the series versus Detroit, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp each finished with 3 points to lead the Hawks, which certainly wasn't enough to get the job done. They were taken 8 & 15 times respectively. Martin Havlat, taken once, and Nikolai Khabibulin, taken 3 times, led the Blackhawks in scoring through the playoffs with 16 points. Toews and Sharp also led the team in GWG bonus points with 2 each.

The Blackhawks should also have their Pool Outlook finished today, so stay tuned for that. We'll see what they need to have signed to make a better run next season.

I didn't get a chance to watch Game 5 on TV, but it looked to be a goaltending duel for the better part of the game. Chris Osgood outdueled Cristobel Huet for the win and that was enough for Osgood to lead the pool players of the Red Wings in points for the night. Osgood's 30-save effort for the win made him the only multiple-point player in the pool on Wednesday.

Osgood also led the series in pool points as well, earning 8 points for all 4 wins in the series, nothing more, nothing less. Overall, it was a pretty low scoring affair, especially in the pool. Four players all finished with 5 points for the Red Wings; Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen, Mikael Samuelsson and Brian Rafalski all turned the trick for Detroit. If there was anyone fortunate enough to have two of them and Osgood or just three of the four, then you probably ended the Conference Finals on a good note.

Osgood does also lead the Red Wings in overall scoring through the playoffs with 27 points, followed by Franzen who has 21 points. Franzen and Samuelsson each have 2 GWG bonus points to lead the team in that category as well.

Game-Winning Goals
Just in case you were wondering, it was Darren Helm that scored the winner for the Red Wings. He, as a support player for the Red Wings, was not going to make it onto the sheet, but I'm sure his enthusiasm and production is not being missed by all those Wings fans out there.