SCF Game 5 Preview

Boston Bruins @ Chicago Blackhawks (8:00pm ET)
TV: CBC, NBC, RDS
Series: 2-2
A lot of the outcome of this game will be determined by which Hawks team shows up tonight. Will it be the team that was lulled to sleep by the Bruins defense and only scored one goal in two straight losses? Or the team who, when faced with the prospect of going down three games to one, came out with a fire in game four and torched Tuukka Rask for six goals?

To be fair to Rask, the Bruins played their worst defense in front of him in a long, long time. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg logged more than 30 minutes in game four, but had nothing to show for it except a minus two and surely some video from the coaches for him to watch. Then there's Zdeno Chara who despite getting a couple of assists was a minus three and looked out of gas by the end of the night. Even for all his great mobility and unsurpassed reach, I don't think I've ever seen him beat to the outside so many times in one game before.

Credit to the Blackhawks forwards, who knew that they had to play their speedy, attacking style if they ever wanted to break through. All of the big guns for Chicago were firing, as they got goals from Patricks Sharp and Kane, Jonathan Toews (finally) and Brent Seabrook with the OT winner. But of course, that comes with a consequence; giving up chances against. Goaltender Corey Crawford didn't exactly come out of game four smelling like a rose either, having given up five goals on 33 shots. 

I realize all this is merely rehashing game four, but it's very relevant to what should happen tonight. The aberration that was game four likely isn't going to be repeated, as fun as it was. We're not going to see eleven goals. Crawford isn't going to get beaten five times to the glove side. Chara isn't going to be doing a pylon impression. These are quality, skilled, veteran teams who have been here before, and I expect a much tighter game akin to what we saw in the first three matches. 

But going back to my original question, which Chicago team will we see tonight? I think they've got the momentum, I think they're going to come out flying on home ice, and I think the Bruins are going to have to weather a tough early storm if they want to go back to Boston with a chance to clinch. If they can get through the first period relatively unscathed, I expect another close, hard-fought chapter of this incredible series and perhaps some more overtime as well.

Marian Hossa skipped practice yesterday, but is expected to be in the Hawks lineup. Nathan Horton is still struggling with his shoulder injury, but will play as well. There may be a slight wrinkle, as Carl Soderberg was practicing on the Bruin's fourth line and may take the place of Kaspars Daugivins, as coach Claude Julien continues to look for chemistry there since Gregory Campbell went down with an injury. Crawford will start in net, even after his poor performance led to some calling for Ray Emery to make an appearance, and Rask will naturally start for Boston.

Prediction: 3-2 (OT) Hawks.