THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2014
PAGE 11
NHI
Blackhawks eliminate Blues with Game 6 win
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO — Duncan Keith had a goal and three assists, and the Chicago Blackhawks used a four-goal third period to finish off the St. Louis Blues with a 5-1 victory in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
Chicago Blackhawks' Marcus Kruger (16) checks St. Louis Blues' Vladimir Sobotka (17) during the first period in Game 6 of a first-round NHL hockey playoff series in Chicago on Sunday.
Chicago won four in a row after a slow start in St. Louis. The defending Stanley Cup champions will play the winner of the Minnesota-Colorado series in the Western Conference semifinals. The Avalanche lead the Wild 3-2 heading into Game 6 in Minnesota on Monday night.
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Shaw and Keith scored in the third period as the Blackhawks improved to 14-2 in home playoff games over the last two seasons. Corey Crawford made 35 saves, keeping Chicago in a tie game when St. Louis controlled the second period.
T. J. Oshie scored for the Blues, who outshot the Blackhawks 36-27. Ryan Miller finished with 22 saves.
St. Louis went 0 for 6 in 10 minutes of power-play time over the first two periods, wasting a chance to take the lead. The Blues went 2 for 29 with the man advantage for the series.
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The Blackhawks also struggled on the power play, but they scored when it mattered
most.
With Jay Bouwmeester in the box for tripping, Keith made a nice stop to keep the puck in the St. Louis zone, then fired a pass over to Toews. The captain beat Miller over his right shoulder for a 2-1 lead just 44 seconds into the third period.
It was Toews' third goal of the series. He also scored on a breakaway in overtime of Friday night's 3-2 win.
Toews' 23rd career postseason goal seemed to take the air out of the Blues, and it got even worse for St. Louis. Sharp got loose for a breakaway, shook off a stick to the face by defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and slid a shot past Miller.
It was an eerily similar playoff exit for St. Louis to a year ago, when the Blues also were eliminated by the defending Stanley Cup champions in six games in the first round. In that 2013 playoff series, St. Louis won the first two games at home against Los Angeles, then lost four in a row.
Sharp's first point of the playoffs sent a charge through the towel-waving sellout crowd of 22,144, and there were mocking chants of "Mil-ler! Mil-ler!" as Shaw added his second goal of the series and helped set up Keith for his second.
St. Louis rebounded for two 4-3 overtime victories, but the Blackhawks found their stride when the series shifted to Chicago. Crawford had a shutout in Game 3, Patrick Kane scored in overtime in Game 4, and Toews' breakaway score in
regular season, putting them in a first-round series against rival Chicago.
This year was supposed to be different, especially after the Blues acquired Miller from Buffalo on March 1. But they lost their last six games of the
St. Louis put the Blackhawks in position to advance.
Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook returned from a three-game suspension. Seabrook was punished by the NHL for his wipeout hit on Blues captain David Backes in Game 2.
Backes exacted a measure of revenge when he delivered a
hard hit on Seabrook into the end boards in the second period. But Seabrook added two more assists and had six points for the series.
Bryan Bickell redirected Seabrook's high slap shot past Miller for a 1-0 lead 4:12 into the game. Alexander Steen skated behind the net before finding Oshie in front for the
tying score.
The Blues outshot the Blackhawks 17-3 in the second, but couldn't beat Crawford. St. Louis had one shot trickle across the goalmouth, keeping it tied at 1.
NBA
Wizards beat Bulls 98-89, take 3-1 series
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WASHINGTON — Even with the team's "X-factor" suspended, the Washington Wizards had a No. 42 sitting next to the bench. The 57-year-old with graying hair couldn't box out or grab a rebound, but owner Ted Leonsis waved his red towel and egged on a cheering crowd that chanted "Free Nene!"
The Wizards did just fine without the suspended Brazilian forward. They scored the first 14 points and beat the Chicago Bulls 98-89 on Sunday to take a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference series.
"I thought it was pretty hilarious that Ted had Nene's jersey on," Wizards guard Bradley Beal said. "It kind of threw me off for a minute, but then I looked and seen it was Ted."
Nene or not, the Wizards did what they've done all series: Take a quick lead and force the Bulls to use up energy trying to catch up. It was 15-8 in Game 3, 29-12 in Game 2, 19-13 in Game 1. Washington, seeking to win a playoff series for only the third time since the 1970s, can finish off the Bulls on the road in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
"We keep seeing this same kind of start for the last couple of games, and it's frustrating." said Taj Gibson, who came off the bench to lead the Bulls with a career-high 32 points. "It seems like at times we get overhyped with just thinking we're going to be OK, we're just that good. But in this league it's not about how talented you are, it's about how hard you work and how much effort you put when you start the game off, and I don't think we did that."
Nene was suspended for the game after grabbing Jimmy Butler's head in the fourth quarter of the Wizards' Game 3 loss. Wall called Nene the "X-factor" this week, and for good reason: Since the March 2012 trade that brought Nene to D.C., Washington is 65-63 when he plays and 21-41 when he doesn't.
That said, the club did hold its own by winning 12 of 21 when Nene went down with a knee injury late in the regular.
season, an absence coach Randy Wittman said might have been a "blessing in disguise" that helped prepare them for Sunday.
"I saw our guys bond together," Wittman said. "Like, 'That's OK, all right. Big fellow's not going to be here, but that's OK.' And we were in tune right from the start."
Trevor Ariza scored a career playoff-high 30 points, makingsix of 10 3-pointers. Beal had 18 points, and John Wall added 15 points and 10 assists for the Wizards, who forced 16 turnovers and committed only six.
"I think we're a smart enough group to understand that when one of your pieces goes down, you have to find ways and will to win," Ariza said. "Tonight was my night to take on the scoring load."
Gibson went 13 for 16 from the field for Chicago, but his teammates combined to go 22 for 62. He made more field goals in the first half (8) than the rest of the Bulls combined (7). Mike Dunleavy, who scored 35 points in Game 3, scored only six.
Chicago's Kirk Hinrich committed four turnovers, and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah had a quiet 10 points and 15 rebounds against the Nene-less front-court.
Dunleavy jammed his left thumb attempting to take a charge in the fourth quarter. The thumb was swollen and was X-rayed after the game, but he said he didn't think it was broken.
Washington stormed to a 14-0 lead, with Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau calling a timeout after each Wizards "touchdown."
"It probably doesn't really matter," he said. "It's my left hand and it's not going to make a difference for me."
"Very disappointing to get in a hole like that," Thibodeau said. "I put that on me, and I've got to get it right. ... It's got to change or our season will be over."
Trevor Booker started in Nene's spot and had nine rebounds and three blocks.
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Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) holds his hand to his head during a break in the action against the Washington Wizards during the first half of Game 4 of an opening-round NBA basketball playoff series in Washington on Sunday.
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