CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Chris Kuc: Hawks’ repeat quest ends with OT loss to Kings
That the Kings did it against a Hawks team that was rolling following two consecutive victories after falling behind 3-1 in the series and was playing in front of a roaring crowd of 22,135 made it that much more impressive.
Shannon Ryan: Kings’ winning goal likely to haunt Blackhawks
Crawford did not make himself available to reporters after the game. He and Leddy looked equally stunned on the ice.
Shannon Ryan: Patrick Sharp snaps slump to give Hawks chance
He broke free against the Kings on Sunday night, giving the Hawks a major boost in a game they wound up losing 5-4 in overtime.
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Mark Lazerus: Blackhawks’ season over after painful OT loss in Game 7
The loss brings to an end maybe the dizziest year and a half in team history, a whirlwind of success that started with a record 21-0-3 start when the lockout ended last January, and didn’t stop until the Kings skated off the United Center ice as Western Conference champions on Sunday night.
Rick Morrissey: Blackhawks put on great show, except for the end
All the talk about a dynasty will have to pick up next season. The defending Stanley Cup champions were hoping for two in a row and three in five years. Now they’ll have to watch the Kings play the Rangers from their couches.
Mark Potash: The resilient Kings earn respect from vanquished Blackhawks
As close as the series was, the Kings earned the victory more than the Hawks’ let it get away. The Kings overcame nine deficits in the series, including three in Game 7.
CSNCHICAGO.com
Tracey Myers: Checkmate: Blackhawks tripped up by Kings in Game 7
The Blackhawks are understandably unhappy with the final result. They squandered leads. They had their chances. They nevertheless went on another great run.
Tracey Myers: Blackhawks couldn’t figure out defensive woes in loss to Kings
In the Western Conference Final, however, that usually stingy defense wasn’t so stingy. The Los Angeles Kings, bolstered offensively this season, were more than happy to take advantage of that.
Nina Falcone: Kings never doubted they’d win series vs. Blackhawks
But despite the back and forth, the talks of who faced “more pressure” and the momentum swings throughout the series — not matter how slight they may have been — the Kings never showed any signs of backing down. In fact, their confidence didn’t seem to waver once.
ESPN.com
Scott Burnside: Still the Kings of Game 7s
A year ago, the Blackhawks dispatched the Kings in five games en route to a Cup championship, but there was little in the way of “revenge” talk in the Kings room. Last year, the Blackhawks smacked the Kings around, Brown said, but this year there’s a different sense of respect between the two teams.
Jon Greenburg: Blackhawks run out of ways to win
Yes, the Blackhawks dynasty is on hold. The Kings have a chance to match the Hawks with two Stanley Cups in this golden age of salary-capped hockey.
Scott Powers: Hawks unable to contain Kings’ offense
The Blackhawks didn’t blame Crawford for the series, but he had set a higher standard for himself and wasn’t as consistent as he had been in the recent past. He had given up more than three goals in only five of 37 games before the Kings’ series during the previous two series. Against the Kings, he gave up four or more goals five times.
GRANTLAND
Katie Baker: We Went There: The Fall of the Blackhawks, the Return of the Kings
For just about everyone but the poor goalie coaches, the Western Conference finals were a classic. The possibilities were infinite, and no lead ever was safe.
NHL.com
Corey Masisak: Kings win in OT, advance to Cup Final vs. Rangers
Two years after becoming the first team to take a 3-0 lead in every series, despite starting all four on the road, the Kings became the first team in NHL history to play all 21 possible games in the first three rounds. They’re also first to win three Game 7s on the road in one postseason.
Brian Hedger: Blackhawks give up too many leads, lose series
For the series, The Blackhawks saw nine leads melt away thanks to the persistence of the Kings and some defensive lapses and, at times, Corey Crawford’s goaltending.
Brian Hedger: Blackhawks set up to contend for foreseeable future
Heading into this offseason, the biggest storyline will likely be the status of contract extensions for elite forwards Jonathan Toews, Chicago’s captain, and Patrick Kane, who finished the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs with eight goals and 12 assists in 19 games.
THE COMMITTED INDIAN
Sam Fels: Jumped Into The River Too Many Times To Make It Home: Kings 5 – Hawks 4 (OT) (Kings Win Series 4-3)
Tonight was the first game the Hawks broke even or better on the special teams battle and lost. Says everything, basically.
Sam Fels: Lock Up When You Leave
In the end, Toews simply couldn’t overcome Kopitar for seven games. The Kings top line got better as the series went along. The Hawks’ didn’t.
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