Following Niklas Kronwall's hit on Martin Havlat Friday night, there's been plenty of discussion about the officiating in the Western Conference final. Actually, there's always a lot of discussion about officiating in the NHL, and following Detroit's 6-1 dismantling of Chicago on Sunday afternoon, Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville sounded off, blaming the referees for ruining a good hockey game. Seriously.
That sound you're hearing is Red Wings fans laughing out loud.
Huge news out of Chicago, where the Detroit Red Wings are severely crippled in their bid to gain a stranglehold on the Western Conference Finals. All-Everything defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3 of the series Friday night and will miss Sunday's game. It's the first time in Lidstrom's career that he has sat out a Red Wings playoff game -- a streak of 228 games..
If Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury and Carolina's Cam Ward can repeat their Game 1 performances, when the two youngsters matched each other save-for-save in the Penguins 3-2 win, this series likely won't be decided until a seventh game.
Ward, 25, and Fleury, 24, have already helped lead teams to the Stanley Cup Final, while Ward not only won the whole thing as a rookie in 2005-06, he also took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
So, are these two guys considered elite, franchise goaltenders?
It's not a death blow by any means, but the Chicago Blackhawks are firmly behind the eight-ball, and they have all the pressure on them.
Tuesday night, a huge mistake by Chicago defenseman Brian Campbell set Detroit up for a game-winning goal. The overtime marker by Mikael Samuelsson put Detroit up 2-0 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.
Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 2, OT: Recap | Box Score Red Wings lead series 2-0
A series billed as youth versus experience got its start Sunday, with the experience controlling most of the 60 minutes. Detroit's mix of amazing skill and unending will was more than enough to hold off Chicago at Joe Louis Arena. The opening game of the Western Conference Finals wasn't a blowout, but there was not much of a feeling Chicago could break through in this one.
Red Wings 5, Blackhawks 2: Recap | Box Score Red Wings lead series 1-0
The Western Conference Finals brings us one of the classic Original Six rivalries in the NHL, as Detroit and Chicago square off with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line. The Red Wings are looking to become the first team to repeat as champions since they did it during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, while Chicago is looking to return to the finals for the first time since 1992.
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo during a sweep of St. Louis in the first round, more was expected. The Canucks looked like a team committed to playing strong in their zone, and they knew if they could keep lanes clear for Luongo and make the extra effort to get to rebounds, they could go far.
It all blew up on them in the second round. A younger, faster, exceptionally determined Chicago team took out the Canucks in six games, and they scored 21 goals to do it. It's got some in Vancouver wondering about Luongo's future, which is the last thing that should be up in the air now.
After blowing a three-goal lead in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series Thursday, Vancouver was able to stage a late rally and win the game. Trying to follow a similar formula Saturday night in Game 2, the Canucks ran into a buzzsaw. Vancouver took a 2-0 lead in the first period, had their home crowd in a frenzy, and proceeded to completely fall apart.
When you watch the Vancouver Canucks, you have to be impressed with their ability to take over a game they're hardly dominant in. Sometimes, it just works that way for you.
If you're a Canuck fan, you ride it as long as you can. The opportunistic Canucks started right where they left off after their sweep of St. Louis, taking a big lead through two periods while being outshot. They then proceeded to blow the lead, and needed a late Sami Salo goal to beat Chicago 5-3.
The NHL cranks up the conference semifinals Thursday night, as Chicago opens their series at Vancouver. With both teams off impressive opening-round victories, who has the advantage? And will we see any hair-pulling theatrics this time around?
Following Niklas Kronwall's hit on Martin Havlat Friday night, there's been plenty of discussion about the officiating in the Western Conference final. Actually, there's always a lot of discussion about officiating in the NHL, and following Detroit's 6-1 dismantling of Chicago on Sunday afternoon, Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville sounded off, blaming the referees for ruining a good hockey game. Seriously. 
If Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury and Carolina's Cam Ward can repeat their Game 1 performances, when the two youngsters matched each other save-for-save in the Penguins 3-2 win, this series likely won't be decided until a seventh game. 
It's not a death blow by any means, but the Chicago Blackhawks are firmly behind the eight-ball, and they have all the pressure on them.
After watching Vancouver play stout defense in front of All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo during a sweep of St. Louis in the first round, more was expected. The Canucks looked like a team committed to playing strong in their zone, and they knew if they could keep lanes clear for Luongo and make the extra effort to get to rebounds, they could go far.
When you watch the Vancouver Canucks, you have to be impressed with their ability to take over a game they're hardly dominant in. Sometimes, it just works that way for you.
