As opposed to the doubleheader I attended on Friday, I had a lot of time in between the Cubs game and Blackhawks game on Saturday. Thus, I went home to relax before driving to the United Center.

Parking
I parked for free on Washington Blvd. between Ashland Blvd. and Paulina St. The walk is not too far from the United Center and will allow you to pass scalpers as you walk to the arena.

Beg, Borrow and Deal
After parking, I walked to the United Center box office directly. I saw a scalper I knew and he offered me a SRO ticket for $50. However, I did not feel like paying over face value for the game. Instead, a fan had an extra $230 face value ticket. I asked how much he wanted and he responded $200. I offered $150, he responded with $175. We agreed on $160 which saved me at least $70 from the face value of the ticket and my first big savings on this year’s Blackhawks playoff tickets. Even though I spent $110 more than if I had bought the SRO ticket, I would always buy a ticket for under face value than over if I have the choice.

Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks
In the opening game of the second round playoff series, the Canucks defeated the Blackhawks handily 5-1. The Canucks second goal with 11 seconds left in the first period and their third goal scored 32 seconds into the second period appeared to seal the fate of the game and pushed the Canucks to a 1-0 series lead.