Third time is a charm

Hawks win! They are going to the Stanley Cup for the first time since '92, and they have not won since '61. I've already written about how awesome it is from a fan's perspective, but how about from the eyes and heart of Marian Hossa?

This is his third consecutive year reaching the Stanley Cup finals, however, he has yet to lift Lord Stanley's Cup. First, he was playing for the Penguins, the year they lost to the Red Wings. The following year (last year), he signed as a free agent with the Red Wings. The Red Wings lost to the Penguins in the finals. This year, he branched out from previous Cup winners and signed a 12-year contrct with the young, talented Blackhawks. And as we all know, the Hawks are waiting to see who their opponent will be in the Stanley Cup finals.

Again, this is his third time playing in the finals. Will the third time be a charm for Marian Hossa? Yes, I believe so. He may not have scored as many times as people would have suspected, but he does the little things to create scoring opportunities. Whether he takes a hit in order to push the puck out of the zone, or steal the puck and use his strength to create a scoring opportunity for a teammate, he does the dirty work in order for his team to win. He is a man on a mission.

Like I've continued to say, the Hawks are a group of young, talented skaters. Game four against the Sharks proves that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going, and they have the ability to bounce back and fight their way onto victory. They are young, and because of their age, they have legs that can skate longer and harder than any other team in the league.

Even when they go down 2-0, they can score in a matter of minutes, one or even two times. This is the year. These guys will not look past either opponent they are destined to face in the Stanley Cup. It's playoff hockey, and the Hawks know this. The Nashville series was a scare for the fans, but the Hawks did what they needed to do in order to advance, and then they learned from their mistakes.

Keep the bandwagon moving. Go Hawks!