No surprise: Marty and Nik won't play

AAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPP, he's gahtt-a groin . . .

(Doesn't matter, injury, bailing or both, he's gone)

Huet played outstanding. Made huge save, after save, after save. Kept the Hawks in the game.

I hate f-ing Detroit. However, you have to respect how deep they are. While we roll out Troy Brouwer and Colin Fraser, they roll out Fippula and Helms. So anyone who thinks you can replace Marty Havlat with a Kyle Beach, Akim Aliu, Jack Skillie, Pascal Pelltier, or Igor Makarov, save it. You need LEGIT talent. The window to win is NOW, not in 3 years. They need to keep Havlat, and replace the Brouwers and Frasers of the world with skill guys that make the 3rd and 4th lines dangerous and take the heat off the top 6.

If this team lets Havlat walk, doesn't replace with any LEGIT top 6 ufas (sedins, gaborik, etc), and replaces him inhouse.....hello 6th seed at BEST.

Walker and Barker were out there for the winning goal in OT. Really sad -- Cristo makes the stop, the puck trickles out and Helm is sitting on the right side of the goal, all with Barker just looking at him. By the time he moves over, it's too late -- game over and with it, the Hawks season.

I absolutely don't think Osgood outplayed Huet tonight -- how many times do we have to shoot the puck right into Osgood's midsection? But, as he's been through the series, he played well enough to win.

I have no idea why the Hawks looked gassed in OT. For being the youngest team in the league and to watch 47 yr old Chelios beat most of the team all the way down the ice and almost score was more than I could bear.

I don't think you will see Walker and Barker back next year -- they proved to me that guys like Hjalmy are much more valuable and we need to look to improve on the back line.

If anyone thinks Khabi could or would have made that save there at the end of the 3rd period, you're smoking some good sh!t for sure!

That was not luck -- watch the replay -- not only does Cristo make the save on the 1st shot, but then watches as the backhander is lifted and he lifts his leg pad to keep the puck out. I am just hopeful that that last save will give the team some momentum in the OT. We wouldn't be talking OT if Fraser could have buried any of his 3 great scoring chances tonight.

And that shot by Kane -- classic highlight film shot. I have watched it and still don't know how he found the gap.

Then why are you paying attention to the game? Why bore us with your tedious ref/league ripping? You can join our friends in Vancouver who think the NHL only wants American franchises in the semis to build the game in Chicago and the rest of the US.

Listen to you guys: the refs are against us, Bettman's against us, the CBC's against us, East Coast bias . . . blah blah blah blah blah.

I look forward also to effusive praise tomorrow for everyone who said this was Huet's audition for next season, since you all hope he fails.

'Cause they gave us McCrappy again. 2 lovely penalties, none for Detroit even though they continue to pick throughout the 1st period. Great, just saw Pahlsson get grabbed but of course no call.

There's 2 min left as I write this -- Huet has been tested but good and has kept the door shut. The Hawks have played like crap in front of him (IMO). Let's hope he can hold down the fort.

Period just ended -- Cristo stopped 21 shots. What a great effort. Let's hope the rest of the team gets a clue. How many moves is Versteeg going to try at the Detroit line giving up odd-man breaks before Q finally benches him to get the point across?

They lost that big jerk defenseman to an appendicitis

Someone sent me an audio tape of the exchange in the locker room of Game 3 between the 2nd and 3rd peiods. Apparently, the "lower body injury" is some sort of gastro-intestinal disorder - a chronic one at that. And, contrary to rumors, Q did not scream at his goalie and was actually sympathetic.

Here's the transcript:

(goalie) "I'm tired of it! Puke! Blah! All the time, puke!"

(coach) "You're a goalie, you're supposed to be like that."

I'll admit I'm a little skeptical of the tape's authenticity, especially since the goalie had more of a French-Canadian accent than a Russian one.

In my mind, there is no need to rush either of these two - especially Havlat - back into the lineup. They're not likely to make a big enough positive impact in the game playing hurt and could only mess themselves up worse. Case in point: Havvy leaving after a hit in the 2nd period in Sunday's game. I don't care what the docs said, Q was nuts to let him see the ice.

If the boys do pull a win out of Detroilet this evening, then they have several days before game 6. At that point maybe they are ready to step back into the lineup and make a meaningful contribution.

For better or worse, we roll tonight with Huey in the pipes. My one hope is that perhaps Detroilet plays a fairly conservative game, not playing overly aggressive and that won't set the Hawks on their heels. It makes it harder to capitalize on Detroilet mistakes with a conservative game plan, but it also benefits the yewt by allowing them to at least stay relatively close.

Maybe a big, booming but LEGAL check on, say, Zettertwerp or similar to start the game and then just hammer the puck on No-good. Still like their chances - for tonight, at least.

for a second. If this actually happened, there is no way, in this day and age, that this would not have leaked out to the media. I have yet to see anybody substantiate this rumor with a credible source. If you watched the game closely, in the second period, while the Hawks were still up 3-0, Khabi made a save and gave up a rebound that went to his left and right to Franzen who was stationed at the goal line. Khabi kipped up quickly and flashed his left pad out to make a great save by preventing Franzen's stuff attempt. It looked to me as if he pulled his groin again making that save because when the puck moved to the other side, he was very slow getting to the opposite post and did so while still on his knees. He made no attempt to get back up on his skates. The guy has a history of groin pulls, and as a former goalie myself who has had his share of these, it is impossible to play, let alone at a high level, with a bad groin pull. If he quit on the team, I seriously doubt he would have been on the ice at all at today's practice. I assumed it was his groin from the get go and figured he was probably done for this series.

"Kind of fitting that this might be how Khabibulin's Hawks career ends - with an injury."

So true Tim. I am extremely greatful for what Nik has done for the team in these playoffs. But I refuse to be a 'what have you done for me lately' kind of guy regarding this player. He had way more bad than good here. From all the soft goals, the complete inability to earn a shutout, the massive amounts of time on the IR, to the over all sub-par play (unless its a contract year of course), and let's not forget about the glutonous contract. Finally, and this is most important, he is 37.

I would much rather have Huet play a bulk of games so he can improve next year, and slowly bring Crawf or Niemi up to speed so we can once again build a netminder from the farm up. We haven't done that since Eddie and Hasek.

its imperative that Chicago get at least a two goal lead. They fall behind early then call it a game. Just look at last night's game between Pittsburgh and Carolina.

Huet has a chance to redeem himself. He blows this game, I truly believe the Chicago brass sends him packing somehow, someway. His mindset and focus should be to prove that he's alot better than his game sunday and that wretched .820 career playoff save percentage. If he pulls out a win....then I'm guessing that he'll be in Chicago for another season.

As for Khabibulin and Havlat, I think they've played their last games with Chicago no matter what happens tonight. They'll be asking too much. Lets move forward. Chicago will be fine without both players as the young Hawks will be a year older and are all still getting better as players. The gap left by Havlat will be filled by Toews, Kane and Bolland as they're only going into their 3rd seasons next year.

.....to see how this team responds tonight. As embarrassing as that loss in game 4 was, it was just one game. Sure they're down 3-1. So what. While I'm practical enough to know that the Hawks would need a miracle of epic proportions to edge out the Wings for the right to play for the cup, I don't see any reason why this has to end tonight. It would be nice to at least make the Red Army Team sweat a little bit, and really earn that 4th win.

This team has been nothing if not resilient, all season, and all playoffs long. Since the type of meltdown that they suffered in game 4 was a first, for this team, this season, there is not yet any reason to think that it was anything but an aberration. Just a blip. That's it. Just a one time mental breakdown in a high stress situation....by the youngest team IN THE LEAGUE!

This team that looked so bad in game 4, is the same team that went toe to toe with the Wings in the first 3 games. Let's not forget that while they may have come out of those 3 games down 2-1, the Hawks were in each of those games deep into the 3rd period. They proved in those first 3 games that they are capable of playing with the Wings. They need to prove it again with a win tonight in Detroit. If this season, as so many have suggested, is to be a learning experience to prepare the young Hawks for years to come, then learning how to bounce back from the major letdown that occurred in game 4 might just be one of the most important lessons they could possibly learn. Even if they lose this series, if they can bounce back and push this series to 6 or possibly even 7 games, it would go a long way toward building the confidence they need, to let them know, that they can hang with the best teams in the league.

Here's to hoping for a game 6. Commit to the Indian!

..is as a third line player. He is not a top end talent. He can skate like crazy and will challenge for the puck, plus he can make a pass from the boards to set up a teamatte. But Jacukel is correct if you want to say he is a bust for a top line NHL job. Skille was moved around a lot from line to line last season in Rockford. Nonethless, I
I've seen him play often the past two seasons and he is not a difference maker. He might be a good fit on a third line, and maybe sometimes he can fill in on a top line like a Rene Bourque does (but Bourque can't skate well).

Another prospect AND is one who does everything at high speed, but maybe isn't a finisher, has excelled in rookies camp in Bensenville: name: Billy Sweat. Doesn't look to be a big guy but I thionk he competes? He is a seasoned collegiate player who I imagine would compete with Skille eventually for that third line job. You have to look at Makarov, and maybe Smith from that Boston U Or BC will pan out (but he played without much support, he was the support for young guys this year). Other than that, if you are looking for skill, the best ones also have attitude issues, Aliu in particular. Aliu has moved ahead of Beech skill wise, and Aliu scored some goals that displayed talent late this year for Rockford. But it is Beech who gets it and is closest to NHL. Markov may be a scoring type line guy, not an energy guy who has some ability to produce points. I'm not sure what Jacukel meant in an old post about Makarov being an energy line guy, but if you saw him at rookies camp last summer, this is a skill guy who could transition soon to the NHL. He competes, but he is a skill guy who would stay out on the ice all game if he could. He had a sore knee in training camp last year. Eveyone in management knows what they have in him. Don't go by his goal and points figures in Russia (where they don't give out assists as they do in the NHL). He progressed in his game, too, in the Russian K league this past year. The issue with him is all about $$$. Need to give him likely rookie NHL first round contract money and a guarantee NHL roster spot, no yo-yo Rockford.

This is someone Tallon should bet on especially if Havlat goes. It is a no brainer. Unfortunately, Markov gets paid well enough in Russia, so coughing up that money is mandatory for a sign. And we have lots of players we will need to re-sign. A real headache; here's hoping chicohaWK OR SOMEONE CAN REVIEW THE SALaRY REQUEST AND AVAILABLE DOLLARS FOR NEXT YEAR'S TEAM. Also, one other trend I see for next year: teams going cheap on the fourth and even third line guys, so they can still afford top line talent and maybe even just one f/a sign. Translation to me means this: your 3rd & 4th line guys need to be able to match up in the skating or physical (ideally: both) department with top line guys on the other teams. In road contests this is particularly obvious. Your third and fourth line guys have to compete, so a smart, defensively good, quick decision maker (but poor skater and too small) player like Fraser will have a tougher time sticking around. HP53 and others who sort of like Fraser: he would do well to improve his face off proficiency!

Pretty interesting -- one of the reporters says to Q that the guys said Nik looked pretty good today, is he going to play? Then Q turns round and says he's made good progress but would sit out Game 5. There was nothing really he reported on Havlat other than Fraser would play.

Wonder if Nik's issue really is much more than an injury and the rumor about him bailing is true? If that's the case, I would expect Cristo to get great support tonight in front of him, helping our chances of seeing a game 6.

There's a play in the 2nd period of game 3 -- Franzn goes behind the net and Nik lunges quickly from right to left, stretching his leg out. That's where he tweaked his groin.