Keys:
1. Ceremonial Stiffness. This will be the celebration of the Stanley Cup banner-raising in Chicago with the attendant pomp and ceremony. That means more sitting around than usual after the pre-game skate around. The Caps can?t let a combination of stiffness and the Blackhawks? adrenaline put them behind the eight-ball early. And that?s something the hawks did often last year; they were 26-2-1 in games in which they scored first. If the Caps can get out of the first ten minutes tied, consider it a plus.
2. Shoot! The Blackhawks have few weaknesses, but goalie Corey Crawford facing a lot of shots might be one of them. Last season he was 4-2-2 when facing more than 30 shots (15-3-3 when facing 30 or fewer).
3. Feel the Power. The Caps were 10-5-2 in road games in which they scored a power play goal. They were 2-5-0 in their other road games. Win with power.
In the end?
Caps fans are likely to read a lot into this game, more so if they lose. But it is a good measuring stick to see where the Caps are, and more important, where they need to go. Chicago might not win a second consecutive Stanley Cup, but until proven otherwise, they are the class of the league.
The trick for the Caps is going to be containing the Blackhawk offense. Chicago was 11-1-0 when scoring at least five goals. They were 9-5-4 when scoring two or fewer. This is something the Caps are certainly capable of; they held 21 opponents to two or fewer goals last season and went 18-2-1 in those games.
--peerlessprognosicator
1. Ceremonial Stiffness. This will be the celebration of the Stanley Cup banner-raising in Chicago with the attendant pomp and ceremony. That means more sitting around than usual after the pre-game skate around. The Caps can?t let a combination of stiffness and the Blackhawks? adrenaline put them behind the eight-ball early. And that?s something the hawks did often last year; they were 26-2-1 in games in which they scored first. If the Caps can get out of the first ten minutes tied, consider it a plus.
2. Shoot! The Blackhawks have few weaknesses, but goalie Corey Crawford facing a lot of shots might be one of them. Last season he was 4-2-2 when facing more than 30 shots (15-3-3 when facing 30 or fewer).
3. Feel the Power. The Caps were 10-5-2 in road games in which they scored a power play goal. They were 2-5-0 in their other road games. Win with power.
In the end?
Caps fans are likely to read a lot into this game, more so if they lose. But it is a good measuring stick to see where the Caps are, and more important, where they need to go. Chicago might not win a second consecutive Stanley Cup, but until proven otherwise, they are the class of the league.
The trick for the Caps is going to be containing the Blackhawk offense. Chicago was 11-1-0 when scoring at least five goals. They were 9-5-4 when scoring two or fewer. This is something the Caps are certainly capable of; they held 21 opponents to two or fewer goals last season and went 18-2-1 in those games.
--peerlessprognosicator
