OK, so the Hawks and the Blues can both win the division. But the hawks need to win the rest of their games need an assist from the Perds to do so.

Kimmo is still way too old to play tonight. Animal Mother is also too bad to play, but they were nice enough to call it an upper body injury on the report.

Crawford is expected to start in net for the Hawks.

The Blues will be without Steen, Tarasenko, and Bortuzzo.

I think the way this works is that if the Blues win tonight and the Perds lose, the Blues get the division.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Don't even really care about the outcome at this point. Just don't get hurt against these mouth breathers. Thanks.

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Team Cutler.

DS, what's your read on the Hawks as they enter the playoffs? I can't see them getting past round 2, and frankly, a first round exit would not surprise me. At no point have they looked like a dominant force, and they seem to have a lot of holes. Of course you need great goal tending to win in the playoffs, but the Hawks have been inconsistent all year even with Crow being damn good.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Despite any pre-conceived notions, The St. Louis Blues are probably one of my most hated sports franchises.

Go Hawks (plenty of room on the bandwagon, right?)

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1926-1931-1934-1942-1944-1946-1964-1967-1982-2006-2011

I can't get a read on this year's team. They go thru very good and very bad patches, often a game apart.
I can say I don't like the number of scoreless games they've played. Way too many.

With Kane, I would imagine that they can accomplish anything. If they can get past their first round matchup and he's back, anything can happen. Like my wife always says when they're down a goal or two "17 seconds, dude". And he seems about ready to come back.

That all being said I can't stand the defense this year. Keith, Seabrook and Hammer have all been pretty good this year. Oduya was terrible until about 3 weeks ago. The other two rotating glaciers are going to be old, slow, bad. That's very concerning to a speedier more physical playoff pace. I'm very concerned about the dropoff in the Hawks penalty kill the last couple weeks.

The forwards have all been streaky. Hossa was on fire for a couple weeks, then looks old. Sharp was terrible for the whole year, had a couple good games and seems to have tailed off again. Any consistancy there would be awesome. I don't know if its going to happen though.

Again, anything can happen once you're in. Remember when the Kings squeaked in with an 8th seed? Just get there.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

St. Laurent (38) and L'Ecuyer wearing the orange armbands while Sericolo (84) and Sharrers (57) will be relied on to watch the lines and break up the more than likely many scrums. Hope the Hawks play a speed game and not try to out-goon Kaptain Kangaroo's squad of cement heads.

http://scoutingtherefs.com/2015/04/8196 ... smen-4915/

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An unjust law is no law at all--St. Augustine of Hippo

Cause tried and true
I see the light in you
Oh, can you dig in my soul?
Could you smell my whole...
life?--Gener and Deaner

Hawks PP makes me want to stab Darkside, and I like Darkside!

Denis makes me shake my head. A strong playoff run is in front of us for Crawford to win and be traded away after.

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Elections have consequences.

I don't think the Hawks are built for the current NHL the way the Blues are. What matters today is relentless north-south physicality, and we don't have that.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Watching tonight I was thinking the Blues really are all over the place and relentless. We don't have that gear or something.

Seabrook and Hammer are awesome. Earlier when Versteeg turned it over, Seabrook sacrificed himself. I love him.

The Hawks have never been renowned for their effort, but I think these guys are all sick of one another and all the crap this year and just want to get this over with so they can golf and go to Vegas.

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Two goals in the last 170+ minutes. This team is doing the bare minimum. Maybe Toews should be the third star of the game because he deigned to put his skates on.

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Maybe the Oilers feel that way, but not a high quality team like the Hawks. When the playoffs start the Hawks will be the old Hawks.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

I hope so, they did last year. It's there, they just don't always access it.

With the fucks they've failed to give for the last three months, I'll believe it when I see it.

Minnesota is going to win their game. Hawks now need to win or get a loser point in Denver or they risk finishing in fourth place. More ignominy for this team of slackers.

I don't think they'll get that point. They match up horribly with the Avs.

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Calgary is up 2 - 0 over LA.
Wild is up 2 - 1 over the Preds.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

No, the Wild won 4-2. They're just two points behind the Hawks and have the tiebreaker because our team of hungry go-getters had to go to a shootout nine times to win.

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Kings denied a chance to defend their cup.

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An unjust law is no law at all--St. Augustine of Hippo

Cause tried and true
I see the light in you
Oh, can you dig in my soul?
Could you smell my whole...
life?--Gener and Deaner

Am I understanding this correctly that if the Wild beat the Blues in OT, the ducks lose in regulation and the Hawks lose in regulation that the Hawks would go to the cakewalk side of the conference and play the Ducks?

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Yes and the Hawks would dismantle the Ducks and that side of the conference.

That's a lot of conditions to get right just for the privilege of finishing in seventh place.

This playoff system is so fucked. Right now we're scheduled to have #1 Anaheim against #8 Winnipeg, but #2 St. Louis against #5 Minnesota, #3 Nashville against #4 Chicago, and #6 Vancouver against #7 Calgary. How can divisions matter so much that you have to play through them in the playoffs if you play divisional rivals less than you used to?

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Yea, the NHL playoff system is completely fucked up...but so is the regular season points system. Why is the NHL the only sports league to use a points system rather than the traditional wins, losses, & winning %? Why does a team get a point for getting to OT? Both the playoff & points system need to be revamped.

But it was a great night in the NHL as the Kings missed the playoffs!

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

Before addressing the messed up playoff system, I'd like to see the NHL do something about regular season pts. 5 min OT is a joke. equal pts for winning in OT and a Shoot Out is stupid. There really needs a better stage for settling the W in overtime.

Best comparison of the shoot out was deciding a baseball game with a HR Derby
I like the shoot out but it should be a last resort to decide a winner.

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