Results tagged “playoffs”

   

There are no box scores to link to today as none of Chicago's teams were in action last night. However, there's plenty of sports news to go around.

When Steve "Mongo" McMichael won a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears, they couldn't go undefeated. But the Chicago Slaughter, the team he coaches in the Continental Indoor Football League, did just that on the way to winning the CIFL Championship on Saturday.

Well, it was a great run for the NHL's youngest squad but the Blackhawks' season came to an end Wednesday night. The 'Hawks didn't go down without a fight, but ultimately the Red Wings were too much for them in Game Five, beating the 'Hawks 2-1 in overtime and winning the series 4-1. Chicago, playing without Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin, gave Detriot a spirited fight for over 60 minutes with the two teams drawing to a 1-1 at the end of regulation. Neither team got on the board until the third period, when Detroit struck first when Dan Cleary knocked the puck into the net. A sweet backhand by Patrick Kane tied the game a few minutes later.

Following the Blackhawks' 6-1 pasting by the Detroit Red Wings, coach Joel Quenneville had some strong words to say about the officiating in the game, particularly a roughing penalty on Matt Walker at the end of first period Sunday. The penalty's ensuing power play led to a Detroit goal and put the defending champs up 3-0 in the crucial Game Four. “I think we witnessed probably the worst call in the history of sports today," said the Blackhawks coach. The NHL didn't much care for Coach Q's critique of the officiating and fined the 'Hawks coach $10,000 for his outburst.

Things got ugly yesterday as the Red Wings and even with Martin Havlat back in the lineup after the nasty hit he received in Game Three Friday night, the Blackhawks looked terrible as the Wings whipped the young 'Hawks 6-1 to take a 3-1 series lead. Things began looking bleak right away when Marian Hossa scored a short-handed goal for the Red Wings in the first; Detroit would add two more - including one off a power play following a controversial penalty on Matt Walker at the end of the first period - before the 'Hawks got on the board, courtesy of a Toews power play goal. But just four minutes later - less than halfway through the second period - the Wings had added two more goals to put the lead at 5-1. One more goal in the third period gave the Wings the final 6-1 tally. With the Bulin Wall still sidelined with an injury, Cristobal Huet got the start in goal, but didn't fair well, giving up five goals while stopping 21 shots; Corey Crawford even saw action, stopping 6 of 7 shots he faced. The scary part? The Wings did this without either Nicklas Lidstrom or Pavel Datsyuk, both of whom sat out with injuries. For the series (so far), the Wings have outscored the 'Hawks by a total of 17-9. Game Five is Wednesday night in Detroit.

Looking to avoid a virtually insurmountable 0-3 series deficit, the Blackhawks knew they needed to win on their home ice in Game Three of the Western Conference finals. In spite of blowing a three goal lead on the Detroit Red Wings, the Blackhawks won 4-3 after scoring less than two minutes into overtime.

The Blackhawks played a much better game on Tuesday night, and matched the Red Wings goal for goal in regulation, but that still was not enough as Detroit scored first in overtime to beat the 'Hawks 3-2 and take a 2-0 series lead. As in Game One, Chicago scored first when Jonathan Toews hit a shot off Jonathan Ericsson's skate past Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood. Brian Rafalski countered and the two teams again entered the locker room at the first intermission tied 1-1 on a pair of power play goals. Onetime Hawk Daniel Cleary continued to frustrate his old team, giving Detroit a 2-1 lead when he scored late in the second period. Toews scored his second goal of the evening -- redirecting a Kris Versteeg shot into the net -- to tie the game in the third period and help send it to overtime.

On Sunday afternoon, the highly anticipated Western Conference finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings got underway at Joe Louis Arena in the Motor City. In the end, the defending NHL champs won 5-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the seven game series. 'Hawks fans were the ones cheering early on, as Chicago scored the first goal of the game when Adam Burish backhanded a loose puck into the net. Former Hawk Dan Cleary evened the score for Detroit just moments later, and the first period ended with the score knotted at 1 goal apiece. Johan Franzen gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead in the second period.

With last night's Detroit victory over the Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks, the stage is set for one hell of a Western Conference Finals series. It's the Blackhawks versus Red Wings for a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals and damn, we're excited. Here's how the schedule shakes out:

With the sudden rise in the popularity of hockey in town, it's only natural that some of the newbie 'Hawks fans have some questions about the sport. For example, "What's a hat trick?" or "Why did everybody just throw their caps on the ice?" And while the lifelong Blackhawks fan next to them will roll their eyes and explain the three-goal feat and its rarity, that die-hard 'Hawks fan may not have the answer to the next question, "What happens to all those hats afterward?"

For the first time since 1995, the Blackhawks will be playing in the Western Conference Finals after eliminating the Vancouver Canucks in six games, with a 7-5 victory at the United Center on Monday night.

The Chicago Blackhawks took a 3-2 lead on Dave Bolland's power play goal Saturday night and never looked back, beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 and taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

A strong defensive effort from Vancouver and a sterling effort by Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo kept the Blackhawks in check as the Canucks took Game Three of their Western Conference semifinal series by a final of 3-1. Vancouver got all the offense they would need before the Blackhawks even lit the lamp. Mason Raymond scored late in the first for the Canucks, followed by two more Vancouver goals (Steve Bernier on a power play and Henrik Sedin) in the second period to give the Canucks the 3-0 lead.

The Chicago Blackhawks bounced back from a Game One loss to take Game Two of their Western Conference semifinal series against the Vancouver Canucks with a 6-3 victory on Saturday night. The Canucks jumped to a 2-0 lead with a pair of first period goals, but the 'Hawks would dominate from then on, scoring five straight goals. Patrick Sharp scored twice and Dave Bolland added a short-handed goal, all in the second period to put the 'Hawks up 3-2. Ben Eager had what would turn out to be the game-winner and was followed by Patrick Kane, scoring his fifth goal of the playoffs. Vancouver added another goal late, but Dave Bolland scored his second of the game, an empty-netter, as time wound down to give the 'Hawks a little extra cushioning. Khabibulin stopped 18 of 21 shots he faced in a physical game that saw 27 separate penalties called, mainly in a rough third. The Canucks visit the United Center tomorrow night for Game Three, with the puck dropping just after 7 p.m.

When the playoffs began, nobody would have even expected the Bulls to be playing on Saturday night, because doing so would have meant pushing the reigning NBA champs to seven games in their open round playoff series. And yet the Bulls extended the series to a final, deciding game in dramatic fashion, with four overtime games and seven total OT periods. Saturday night's game wasn't quite that close, but there were still moments where the upset seemed possible. In the end, though, Boston prevailed over the Bulls 109-99, ending the Bulls' season.

The Blackhawks got off to a rough start on the left coast as they opened their second-round NHL playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks last night, losing 5-3. It was all Vancouver early on as the Canucks put up three goals over the first two periods to take a 3-0 lead while Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo stopped all 18 Blackhawks shot over that span to keep the shutout intact.

The Bulls and Celtics redefined "nail biter" last night, as the two teams battled through three more overtime periods before the Bulls prevailed 128-127 to force game seven to determine which team moves on to face Orlando in the second round. Down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and facing elimination, the Bulls came out red hot Thursday night. John Salmons scored 16 first quarter points -- including three 3-pointers -- to help the Bulls score 37 points and hold an 11 point advantage after the first period. During the first, Rajon Rondo -- already the target of booing by the fans for his hard foul on Brad Miller in game 6 -- and Kirk Hinrich got into a bit of a melee after Rondo flung Hinrich into the scorers' table. This time the refs called the flagrant foul on Rondo, but also teed up Hinrich. Boston made a run at the Bulls throughout the second quarter, chipping away at their double digit lead until they tied up the game at 55 apiece late in the half. Ray Allen hit four of his nine three pointers during the period. Bulls held a two point lead at halftime, 59-57.

This Bulls-Celtics series continued to add to its claim of most exciting playoff series -- at least early round playoff series -- ever with Tuesday night's thriller. Once again Chicago and Boston needed overtime to determine the winner. On their home court, Boston came away with the 106-104 victory over the Bulls.

For the first time since 1996, the Blackhawks have won a postseason series, and will now be moving on to the second round of the NHL playoffs. They did so by beating the Calgary Flames on Monday 4-1 at the Pengrowth Saddledome, winning the series 4-2.

During the first half of yesterday's Bulls-Celtics game, shooting guard Ben Gordon injured his left hamstring. While it didn't seem to slow him down during the game -- he scored 22 points and hit a key 3-pointer to send the game into double overtime -- there was cause for concern.

After two incredible games in Boston, the Bulls looked like they had returned to earth in game three when the Celtics handily defeated them upon their return to Chicago. After Sunday's epic battle at the United Center, which the Bulls won 121-118 in double overtime, they proved that they have the heart and hustle to go the distance with the reigning NBA champs. The Bulls and Celtics battled throughout the first half, heading to the locker room separated by a lone point. In the third, the Bulls jumped ahead by seven lead late before Boston turned the tables and closed out the period with a five point lead.

On Saturday night, the Blackhawks came out firing. Jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period, the 'Hawks beat the Calgary Flames 5-1 at the United Center, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Brent Seabrook initiated the scoring with a goal midway through the opening period. Moments later, Patrick Sharp found the net followed by a Kris Versteeg goal just 19 seconds later. Of course, the first team to score in this series had yet to win a game, so we'd understand if Blackhawks fans got nervous when Calgary scored their lone goal of the evening early into the second period. Chicago, however, answered with two more scores by Andrew Ladd and Cam Barker to extend the lead to four goals. Neither team was able to light the lamp in the third period.

After their surprising game one victory and close loss in game two coming on a buzzer beater, the Bulls looked up to the task of challenging the defending NBA champs in their best-of-seven series as it moved back to Chicago. With their rabid fans all dressed in red to give them the added boost, surely the Bulls could regain the series lead against the Boston Celtics, right?

In a wild six-goal second period, the Blackhawks fell behind the Calgary Flames by three goals before mounting a furious comeback attempt and tying the game before the second intermission. But it wasn't enough, as the Flames added two more goals in the final period to beat the 'Hawks 6-4 at the Pengrowth Saddledome, and send the series back to Chicago tied 2-2.

Having surprised everybody with their 105-103 overtime victory in game one, the Bulls looked to steal both games in Boston and return to Chicago with an incredible 2-0 series lead over the defending NBA champs. Surely, Saturday's performance by Derrick Rose and the rest of the Bulls was just a fluke, right? Unfortunately, Boston did end up winning Monday night's game, though the Bulls again played like Boston's equals. It took a Ray Allen 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining for Boston to pull out the 118-115 win.

Playing in Boston against a team with a much better record, the Bulls were given little chance of winning their playoff opener -- even if the Celtics were playing without Kevin Garnett. But the Bulls surprised many when they upset the defending NBA champs 105-103 in overtime Saturday afternoon, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the series and stealing home court advantage away in the best-of-seven series.

Playoff hockey returned to the United Center ice for the first time in seven years, as the Blackhawks faced off against the Calgary Flames in game one of their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals series.

Heading into Wednesday night's action, the Bulls looked to have a lock on the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. A Bulls win or a loss by the Philadelphia 76ers and a series with Orlando Magic was on the horizon. The Bulls were wrapping up their regular season at home -- where they'd won 15 of 17 at the United Center since February -- against the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors. And the reeling 76ers -- losers of six straight -- were facing off against the East's top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers. We hear that Joakim Noah already had his mouse ears packed!

The Blackhawks closed out their regular season on a high note Sunday, shutting out the Detroit Red Wings 3-0. Now, it's playoff time. For the first time since 2002, the 'Hawks are among the 16 teams fighting for the Stanley Cup (just as we predicted).

If the Bears hope to win the NFC North, they likely have to win out. Fortunately, the have a number of dogs on their schedule down the stretch. On Sunday, the Bears took care of business and beat the fast fading Jacksonville Jaguars 23-10 in a frigid Soldier Field. Early in the game, the defense created an opportunity for the offense to strike quickly. Danieal Manning intercepted a pass on the third play of the game and nearly returned it for a TD. Down at the 5 yard line, the Bears scored a TD two plays later to take an early lead. A second quarter 22-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen and two Robbie Gould field goals helped the Bears take a 20-3 lead into the locker room at the half. The team then coasted through the second half, managing a lone field goal. But it was more than enough against a Jaguars team that has lost six of its last seven games.