Game 1

[ksmith]

The Hawks spent altogether too much time defending their own net. Niemi had something like 40 saves, and some of them were whoa. But, they won 2-1, and for some strange reason play better on the road this playoff season than they do at home. They're 6-1 on the road. At home, they sometimes go all loopy.

It's going to be a long week.

Comments

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there really hasn't been any such thing as home ice advantage this year. The Sharks are one of the few teams that consistently do well at home, which is why the Tank is considered one of, if not the toughest rinks in the NHL for visiting teams.

Of course, the intensity of the fans is a large part of what makes the Tank such a tough building. You wanna put a big dent in the Sharks' armor? Take the crowd out of the equation. Chicago did that tonight, and while I won't say it was the deciding factor, it played a bigger part in the loss than most people would think.