NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 13, 2015

When is it appropriate to call a professional sports team a "dynasty?" How many championships does it take, and how tightly lumped tougher must they come? Is it three in a row, four of five, or just a few here and there over the course of a generation? Can a team on the every-other-year plan be considered a "dynasty?" Does a winning team's roster have to remain largely unchanged, or can a couple of key figures in leadership roles with a proven track record of sustained excellence be enough to consider a team -- maybe better said a "franchise" -- a "dynasty," even as most of the rest of the rest roster turns over every few years? Is there a quantifiable formula, or is it just perception backed up by facts and stats and rings? Certainly a few teams and franchises spring to mind as bonafide, unquestionable "dynasties:" Bradshaw's Steelers, Jeter's Yankees, Jordan's Bulls, the Montreal Canadiens franchise that clumped together numerous Stanley Cup wins in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. What about the current Chicago Blackhawks? Head Coach Joel Quenneville's squad isn't quite on the same track as Bruce Bochy's Giants; his team has won three Cups in six seasons rather than three rings in five seasons, but his Hawks have kept together a core of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa. Stability on the ice and behind the bench? Check. Several rings in short order? Check. Back-to-back? No, not yet, anyway, but the Blackhawks are sitting right there on the fringe of being labeled a "dynasty," if they're not there already. And who's to argue that they're not?

Winners.

Momentum isn't everything heading into the gruel of the NHL playoffs. The Blackhawks entered the tournament on a down note, having dropped four in a row to the Blues, Wild, the Blues again, and the Avalanche, though each game by only a single tally. The third-seeded Hawks needed two overtimes to get back on track and win the first playoff game against the Nashville Predators, a team that was itself reeling with six straight losses headed into the playoffs but still sitting above the Hawks in the Western-Central division standings by two points. Nashville rebounded to win game 2 by a score of 6-2, evening the series at 1-1 and headed to Chicago for games three and four. The Hawks defeated the Predators 4-2 in game three but once again needed extra time to win game four -- skating through three overtimes -- to pick up the 3-2 win and a 3-1 series lead. The series returned to Nashville where the Predators picked up a win, but the Blackhawks skated to a series-clinching 4-3 victory in the United Center to enter the next round in a showdown with the Minnesota Wild, the team that finished just below Chicago in the Western-Central standings.

If familiarity breeds contempt, the Hawks and Wild don't like each other very much. The teams skated to a third consecutive playoff showdown in 2014-2015; the Hawks won both previous match-ups, the first in six games and the second in five, meaning, if the trend were to continue, the Blackhawks would shut the door on the Wild and sweep them out of the playoffs. The series opened in Chicago with the Blackhawks scoring four goals in each game, enough to defeat the Wild both times in regulation. The series switched to the Xcel Energy Center for games three and four, and the change of scenery didn't yield different results. Chicago would win a 1-0 nail biter in game three and again tally four goals in game four to pull off the sweep; the NHL will need to reformat the playoffs to a best-of-five format for the trend to continue next season.

With the Minnesota sweep the Blackhawks skated into the Western Conference finals riding high, but so too did their opponents, the Anaheim Ducks, a 109-point regular season team and sporting a ridiculously efficient 8-1 postseason record, which included a sweep of the Jets and a 4-1 series victory over the Flames. It wouldn't be quite so easy against the Blackhawks. The series opened in Anaheim's Honda Center where the Ducks secured a 4-1 win in game one. Game two was another lengthy affair, sending the Hawks once again into triple overtime and, again coming out victorious with a 3-2 win. The series shifted back to Chicago for games three and four. Anaheim took game three and Chicago game four, again in overtime, this time in double OT. Back in California, the Ducks took game 5 by a 5-4 score in overtime, sending the series back to Chicago for a do-or-die game six for the Hawks. Chicago would respond with a big 5-2 win and, back in Anaheim for game seven, the team put up another five spot to beat Anaheim 5-3 and reach the finals, again, this time against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning amassed 108 regular season points, fourth best in the league and good for second in the Eastern-Atlantic Conference, two points behind the Montreal Canadiens, whom the Lightning vanquished in the second round four games to two, following a 4-3 series win over Detroit and preceding a 4-3 series win over the league's President's Trophy winners, the New York Rangers. The Lightning, then, only a game shy of each series going the distance, faced a mildly fresher Chicago team but a team that was taken to seven games in the Western Conference finals. The series was nail-biting close, with every game, minus the clincher, decided by a single goal. Chicago took game one on the road by a 2-1 score, but the Lightning evened the series with a 4-3 victory in game two. The series returned to the United Center for games three and four where Tampa Bay took game three by a score of 3-2 and seized control of the finals with a 2-1 lead. The Blackhawks evened the series with a 2-1 win in game four. A shift back to Tampa for game five didn't see a momentum swing back to the hometown team; Chicago took game five by another 2-1 score and closed out the series on home ice with a 2-0 shutout win to lift the Cup in front of an adoring home crowd.

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks isn't made to revolutionize sports championship videos but only to convey the most information possible in the slickest package conceivable. While the program doesn't completely satisfy both goals, it does offer a solid baseline retrospective look at the team's Cup-winning season. Built through the combined forces of highlight videos, interviews, and place- and mood-setting clips, the film pieces together the story of the Hawks' season, beginning with last season's seven-game loss to the Kings in the Conference Finals and following on with the extensions the team gave to Kane and Toews. The film looks briefly back on the regular season schedule and, after about 15 minutes, moves on to cover each Western Conference playoff series in some depth. But it's not until the Cup Finals that the program settles down and expands on the ins and outs of each contest with some level of deep detail. The film does a fine job of engaging the audience and sharing the narrative of the Cup run both on a game-by-game basis and within the broader context of the Hawks' season long run as well as its dominant play over the past several years. Still, the core plays with a familiar sports home video beat, but Hawks fans should be so pleased with the images rolling across the screen and the sounds flowing form the speakers that any sense of generic structure will quickly be forgotten and forgiven in favor of the majesty of the team's dramatic run through the playoffs.

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks skates onto Blu-ray with a satisfying 1080i transfer framed at 1.78:1. The digital image yields crisp, pleasing details. Jerseys and patches are particularly impressive in close-up shots, while various details around the arena, like signage and scrapes in the ice, are clearly defined. Interview footage shows a little more diversity in quality, some appearing sharp and crisp and others a little pastier and smoother. Colors are pleasantly bold and precise, particularly on the ice and around the crowd where team colors -- Blackhawks red in particular -- pop nicely against brighter backgrounds, like sky and ice. Minor examples of banding and blocking appear in places, while noise can spike dramatically, often in interviews or lower-light footage back in the tunnels or darkened arenas. On the whole, however, this is a quality presentation.

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks features a simple yet effective DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Dialogue is obviously central to the track, with narration, interviews, on-ice comments from players, and ringside commentary filling most every moment. Clarity is strong and the two-channel track images the spoken word to the middle. Music drifts across the front, enjoying prominent spacing, healthy clarity, and a nice sense of depth. Various crowd chants and cheers are sharp and precise, though obviously not fully enveloping considering the lack of surround channels. Various other effects like heavy checks into the boards, the wailing goal siren, and other bits enjoy robust definition and presence.

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks contains a number of mostly small supplements.

• Extended Parade Celebration (1080i, 5:09): More footage of the Hawks' championship parade.
• Extended On-Ice Celebration (1080i, 2:43): More footage from the team's on-ice celebration following the Cup win.
• Extended Locker Room Celebration (1080i, 2:59): More footage from the locker room festivities following the Cup win.
• Round 1 Best of Wireless (1080i, 2:41): Sound bytes and video highlights from around the playoffs.
• Round 1 Wireless Features (1080i, 1:57): Sound bytes and video highlights from the Hawks' first-round matchup with the Predators.
• Round 2 Best of Wireless (1080i, 2:14): Sound bytes and video highlights from around the playoffs.
• Round 2 Wireless Features (1080i, 6:20): Sound bytes and video highlights from the Hawks' second-round matchup with the Wild.
• Round 3 Wireless Features (1080i, 14:28): Sound bytes and video highlights from the Hawks' third-round matchup with the Ducks.
• Best of the Playoffs Wireless (1080i, 4:53): Sound bytes and video highlights from around the playoffs.
• NHL Network Interview with Corey Crawford (1080i, 3:01): The Hawks' goaltender stands at the net and shares a few thoughts on the season.
• NHL Network Interview with Duncan Keith (1080i, 2:41): The Hawks' defenseman sits down to discuss the playoffs.
• NHL Network Interview Brad Richards (1080i, 2:33): The Hawks' center sits down to discuss the playoffs.
• NHL Network Interview with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane (1080i, 4:31): The Hawks' superstars sit down to discuss their contract signings, their friendship, the Winter Classic, and the playoffs.
• Top 10 Goals and Saves of the Year (1080i, 8:10): Top highlights from around the league.
• 2015 Playoffs Recap (1080i, 2:32): A short highlight reel from around the playoffs.
• 2013 Stanley Cup Championship Film (1080i, 1:17:28): The official film for the Hawks' 2013 cup win.

NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dynasty? If it smells like a Duck, quacks like a Duck, and has a (playoff) beard like a Duck, then it's probably a dynasty. But not an Anaheim Duck. The Chicago Blackhawks have rattled off three Cup wins in the last six seasons and done so with the same on-ice core intact and stability behind the bench. It's been a great run and, more, a run that looks like it's nowhere near its end (depending on who the current Patrick Kane situation plays out, anyway). One more in the next year or two will go a long way in cementing this Blackhawks squad as one of the great all-time dynasties in hockey. NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2015: Chicago Blackhawks showcases the season and playoff run with flair and detail, though its length means its forced to pick and choose even highlights over the grueling season and playoff runs. Video and audio satisfy requirements and there's a nice assortment of extra content that's both Hawks-specific and league wide. A must own for Hawks fans, of course, and general NHL fans (at least those outside of Nashville, Minneapolis, Anaheim, and Tampa) should enjoy it as well.