You might want to let these next few words sink in for a second.

The Blackhawks are 1 win away from the Stanley Cup.

What seemed impossible just a few years ago can become a reality Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia when the Hawks have the chance to win their first championship in 49 years with a fourth victory over the Flyers.

The Hawks need to start as well as they did on Sunday, although that might be asking for a lot. They led 3-0 after the first period and simply dominated the Flyers all over the ice. It was the best first period of the season, hands down, considering the enormity of the setting.

Dustin Byfuglien had a monster game with 2 goals, 2 assists and 9 hits, including a monster check on Chris Pronger.

I’m headed to Philly for the game Wednesday…can’t wait!

Three stars
1. Dustin Byfuglien: the winger broke out of his scoring slump with 2 goals, 2 assists + 9 hits
2. Kris Versteeg: was all over the ice and had 1 goal and 1 assists and finished with a +3 rating
3. Dave Bolland: the center had 1 goal and 1 assist and was strong defensively, finishing a +3

The quote: “There’s another level to the Stanley Cup Finals and I think we found that level tonight,” defenseman Brian Campbell after Sunday night’s victory.

Blackhawks video – History Will Be Made: Dustin Byfuglien What if the Blackhawks could be bullied? http://bit.ly/aaRxfm

What happened to mortgage rates last week?
Rate shoppers caught another break last week as mortgage markets improved on weak jobs data.

The May Non-Farm Payrolls report fell well short of expectations while ongoing jobless claims rose.  The two combined to cast doubt on the speed of the U.S. economic recovery, hurting stocks and helping bonds.

Conforming and FHA mortgage rates dropped for the fifth time in six weeks and, once again, rates are trolling back near all-time lows.

No doubt you’ve heard that before — “mortgage rates at all-time lows”.  Mortgage rates have dipped to these levels four times in the last 19 months. However, on each occasion, it wasn’t long after touching bottom before rates reversed higher.

November 2008 : Roughly 90 minutes
March 2009 : Roughly 6 hours
May 2009 : Roughly 1 day
May 2010 : Roughly 3 hours

What to watch out for this week:
This week, rates could stay low for a matters of hours, or days — we can’t really know. Especially with no “major” data due for release.  Instead, most of this week’s economic news is incidental. That means that mortgage markets will move based on trader sentiment and “gut feel”.

The good news is that the market momentum is currently in the rate shoppers’ favor. We entered the weekend with rates falling and they look poised to open Monday no worse.

Here’s a look at what’s ahead this week:
Wednesday: The Beige Book, a regional economic report from the Fed
Thursday: Initial and continuing jobless claims
Friday: Retail Sales and the Consumer Sentiment report

Market sentiment is a strange animal. One minute it can be your friend and, the next, it can be your enemy. Opinions change swiftly on Wall Street and so do mortgage rates.

If you’re still not locked in, consider making your move. Rates have a lot farther to rise than they do to fall. You won’t want to be on the wrong side of the bet when rates start rising.

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The family business is hockey, but Bob’s business is mortgages. And he wants you as a client. Reach Bob via email at bbowman@perlmortgage.com or call 847.513.6970.

You know it’s your year when a player who gets just four minutes of ice time scores the winning goal in a Stanley Cup Finals game.

Ben Eager’s goal late in the second period just 28 seconds after Marian Hossa scored held up as the game winner in the Hawks’ tense 2-1 win over the Flyers in Game 2 on Monday.

This was one tough win for the Hawks, who had to hang on for dear life in the third period as the Flyers took it to them. Antti Niemi was the difference with 14 saves in the final 20 minutes.

The Flyers are going to be even tougher to beat at home at Wachovia Center for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday, but it’s an uphill battle to win the next four of five against the Hawks.

Fasten those chin straps for game 3!

Three stars
1. Antti Niemi: A 32-save performance, with 29 of them coming in the final two periods.
2. Brent Seabrook: Seven hits and 3 blocked shots in 23 minutes.
3. Marian Hossa: His first goal in nine games broke a scoreless tie in the second period.

By the numbers: Teams winning the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals at home have gone on to win the Cup 31 out of 33 times.

The quote: “Flyers fans never change. They were rude and crude in the ’70s. They’re still rude and crude today.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Ron Cook

Blackhawks video — It’s just teeth: After losing seven teeth during the last game of the Western Conference Final with San Jose, Duncan Keith and teammates discuss his current condition  http://bit.ly/dwpkEk

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The family business is hockey, but Bob’s business is mortgages. And he wants you as a client. Reach Bob via email at bbowman@perlmortgage.com or call 847.513.6970.

What happened to mortgage rates last week?
Mortgage markets worsened last week as concerned of a global debt crisis lessened and stock markets rebounded. The gains in stocks came at the expense of bonds — including mortgage bonds.

Conforming and FHA mortgage rates rose for the first time in 5 weeks, pulling mortgage pricing off its best levels of the year. The best mortgage rates of last week were locked Tuesday morning.

What to watch out for this week:
This week, mortgage rates may rise even more. In addition to the release of May’s jobs report and consumer confidence data, fears of broader economic slowdown appear to be easing. Day-by-day, the chances of rates rising are real.

On Wednesday, Pending Home Sales and Auto Sales data is released for last month. Both items are “big ticket” and reflect on consumer confidence. Strong readings should be rough on rates.

On Thursday, jobless claims data hits the wires along with worker productivity stats.  Normally, these two releases don’t carry much weight, but with the jobs market in focus this year, markets will be watching for clues about Friday’s big report — the May Non-Farm Payrolls.

Anything can happen when the jobs report is released.

In April, an estimated 290,000 jobs were created and, in May, economists think more than a half-million people re-entered the workforce.  This is good for the economy, of course, but can drag on mortgage rates.  If job growth even comes close to the 500,000 marker, mortgage rates could zoom higher.

Mortgage rates moved higher last week but are still very low. If you’ve been thinking about refinancing your mortgage, you probably shouldn’t put it off much longer.  Reach out to me soon — the longer you wait, the more that rates can rise.

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The family business is hockey, but Bob’s business is mortgages. And he wants you as a client. Reach Bob via email at bbowman@perlmortgage.com or call 847.513.6970.

Game 1 against the Sharks probably can’t be described as too patient of a game considering the teams combined for 85 shots—-but the Hawks pulled out another victory. Antii Niemi was unbelievable in the nets—proving he can come up big in the pressure games. He stopped a career high 44 saves including several that were highlight reel.

4 Factors for tonight’s game at the Shark Tank:

1. Sharks Big Three: Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley were a combined minus-6 with eight shots and zero even-strength points in Game 1. Suffice it to say, that’s not going to get it done. They played against all four of the Blackhawks lines and still didn’t produce. Marleau did assist on a power play goal—but at even strength these guys will have to step up.

2. Big Buff: If Dustin Byfuglien is going to score goals on slap shots from about 30 feet away from the net, coaches around the NHL are going to come up empty when they try to draw up game plans against him. He has 5 goals in the last five games. Let’s see if he can keep the streak alive.

3. Several minor concerns add up: For the most part, Sharks coach Todd McLellan was happy with the way his team played in Game 1. However, he didn’t particularly like the Sharks’ puck possession game or the traffic they got in front of Antti Niemi. McLellan wants his team to keep up the shots (45 is a great amount), but get more pressure at the net. To do that, they have to control the puck.

4. Niemi mania: As the stage gets bigger it just seems as though Niemi gets better. He was at his best on Sunday with the career high 44 saves, including that amazing glove stop on Ryane Clowe. If Niemi continues to play like this the Hawks will be tough to beat.

‘Civic Pride’ video to get you pumped up for tonight: http://bit.ly/9tvyz0

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The family business is hockey, but Bob’s business is mortgages. And he wants you as a client. Reach Bob via email at bbowman@perlmortgage.com or call 847.513.6970.