Blackhawks vs. Red Wings - Win Recap

"Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot"



What a way to close out 2011; with a bang! The STILL hated Detroit Red Wings came into town Friday night for the first time this season. Both teams came in with almost identical records in their last 10 games (7-3-0/7-2-1), so this was the best match up yet to determine just how the Blackhawks stand. The Wings came in generally healthy, and riding a hot goalie, in Jimmie Howard. This one was shaping up to be a barn burner with a playoff atmosphere. The Hawks also called up rookie Big Jimmy Hayes from Rockford to fill in for injured Marcus Kruger.

The first period had EVERYTHING a great Hawks/Wings game has. Scoring, Breakaways, Penalty Shots, Big Hits, Fights, Great Saves, and Big Defensive plays. How were these teams going to follow that up. Oh, and the score was 1-1 after 20 minutes. The second period was more of the same, with both teams scoring a goal and going into the intermission tied 2-2. The Hawks came out with a message in the third and put the game winning goal in, while holding the Wings scoreless. Great way to close out 2011.

The Good

• Jimmy "Wille Mayes" Hayes almost created a Cinderella story, just missing a fat scoring chance on his first shift of his first NHL game. He continued to buzz around the ice the whole first period, hitting everything that moved. He played 4:01, had 2 pims, 1 shot and 4 hits in the first period alone. Unfortunately, the 4th line only saw 3 minutes of ice time the rest of the game.
• Car Bomb got in a scuffle early with dickbag Todd Bertuzzi after Car Bomb laid a big hit on him. Tim Sassone brought up a good point on Twatter, questioning why Bertuzzi didn't get an instigator penalty after chasing Carcillo down. EXCELLENT question!
• Captain Big Balls whipped his junk out on the ice drawing and scoring on a penalty shot against Lidstrom, no less, to follow up the Wings goal. HUGE play!
• Big Hoss decided it was time to whip his OWN junk out, putting on a one man show in the Wings zone, beating Filppula and blowing a shot past Howard to tie the game back up at 2-2
• Two minutes into the third period Brent Seabrook put the Hawks up for good on what turned out to be a shorthanded chance, because the Hawks were changing. Seabs found a soft spot in the slot and waited for Shooter to see him. Shooter did see him and hit him with a pass on a platter for a one timer, which Seabrook kindly deposited up stairs, over Howard's glove.
• MegaMayers was the only Hawks center that didn't do well at the dot, going just 2-7
• Datsyuk and Zetterberg were invisible last night, which can be mostly credited to the shutdown line, and Deuce/Sleven. Bertuzzi goal aside, they have a tough job, and they don't always get the credit they deserve.
• Crawford was solid when called upon. Twenty seven saves and several big stops. It's nice to be able to breathe easy again, isn't it?

The Bad

• The Wings took a 1-0 lead on a lazy defensive play by Kaner. He watched his guy freely skate right through the middle of the Hawks zone and picked up a ft rebound in the slot. Sloppy.
• Dickbag Todd Bertuzzi put the Wings back up with his enormous tuchus with Mike Commodore taking a long shot that deflected off Dickbag and past Crawford. The question begs to be asked just why all the Hawks forwards were in the same 15x15 portion of the ice leaving Commodore wide open. That's just pure slop from the "shutdown" guys.
• Maybe something finally clicked for Quenneville, regarding the 3rd pair. They were grossly exposed all night, and they only saw a handful of shifts in the second and third periods. They CAN'T keep rolling 4 defensemen for 40 minutes. If Q hates Pistol so much, dump his contract, and figure something out. Enough with the fucking shenanigans already.

The Ugly

• The Hawks powerplay has returned to the land of the clowns and carneys. They get a lot of good perimeter shots, but they are cleanly seen and any rebounds are left for the goalie to cover. I'd like to see more driving the puck to the net and some urgency on the rebounds.

Here are your video highlights:

I Am The Law

July 2nd 2010: Blackhawks sign defenseman John Scott to a 2 year deal.

July 1st 2011: Blackhawks sign winger Daniel Carcillo to a 1 year deal.

We all remember these fateful days, but usually for different reasons. Each day was the opening of the free agent signing period in the NHL. Much bigger names were inked by the Hawks on those days, but these two guys were snuck in under the radar. Both of these players were signed to low risk, low paying contracts to bring "grit" and "toughness" to the Blackhawks, which is something they haven't had in a decade. Some may argue that they aren't much tougher today than the day they won the Stanley Cup, and I'd have to agree those people.

These two players that are known first and foremost for one skill, tenderizing faces. To date, Carcillo has 4 fighting majors, and Scott has 2. While, last year John Scott had 8 all season. I would hardly call 6 fights in 37 games "grit" or "toughness", and before I get 20 emails saying that grit is more than fighting, I understand that means more than just fights. Most of the fights Scott or Car Bomb have been in, are as a result of some random 1-on-1 yapping with an opposing player, not to set a tone or protect a teammate. For the first time in a year and a half, we saw Scott actually stick up for a teammate that took a cheap shot, when Kruger was concussed against the Penguins. The same goes for Car Bomb when he stuck up for Toews, a few games previous. Otherwise, just about every time one of these players displays their "toughness" it ends up biting the Hawks in the ass, or just simply turning the game momentum in favor of the opponent. Now, of course, this is not Scott or Carcillo's fault, because they are doing what they do best.

This is no longer a league where players like Tie Domi, or Stu Grimson would fit on an NHL team. The rules against fighting and for opening up the ice make these players irrelevant, ESPECIALLY John Scott. The league is just too fast for him, and he's FAR too slow to make up for the mistakes he makes. He's a huge 6'8" 260 pound liability. The fact that he hasn't been in many scuffles this year isn't really all his fault, because the rest of the league has seen what he can do, and just simply avoids him for the 5 minutes he sees a game. Ignore him, and go about their business. No one the Hawks have played looks frightened of John Scott whatsoever. He's not quick enough to catch someone in a corner, and I highly doubt he'd know what to do if he DID have someone lined up. Last night, he had one of the Kings smaller players trapped behind the net and gave him some stiff arm/chokeslam hybrid thing, that just looked awkward. The bottom line is that he's lost on the NHL ice. He doesn't have a defined position and he's not cerebral enough to swing a game around, when the Hawks are trudging uphill or running around like it's a Chinese fire drill. Playing him in almost half the first 37 games is a fucking JOKE.

Car Bomb is another chapter, but from the same book. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that he was sat down, when he signed, and told that none of those stunts he pulled in Philly or Phoenix were going to be tolerated in Chicago. We all know Quenneville won't put up with it, but again, who's at fault here? You bring a guy in and then muzzle him by telling him that he now can't do what he's good at. It's what he KNOWS. As a result, you have Carcillo running around without a purpose, and hearing "don't do it" from a big bushy gray mustache, in the back of his head. He's a neutered and muzzled pitbull that can only piss on your leg every once in a while. Do you think that last year's Car Bomb would have been in a position to basically skate into an opponent's fist and end up with a concussion? No fucking WAY. He would have been on that guy's back throwing uppercuts from behind, and probably biting the guy's ear, Iron Mike Tyson style. This year they have had him skating on the TOP LINE, with two of the best players in the NHL, where his is GROSSLY out of place. Dan Carcillo is not, and never will be, Al Secord, Wendell Clark, Dino Ciccarelli, Cam Neely, or even Rick Tocchet. He will yap his fucking head off, throw haymakers, and take cheap shots. Once, on a blue moon, he'll be in the right place and throw in a goal or two.

The moral of the story here, is that there are two people responsible for this charade. Stan Bowman and Joel Quenneville are to blame for both of these failed experiments, PERIOD. They put two square pegs on a team full of round holes, and keep jamming the fucking pegs into the holes over and over. You can't have it both way's gentlemen. Either the dogs are released, or you cage them up. Don't chop their balls off and wonder why the whimper away. Neither of these guys are players that the Hawks NEEDED. Being upset with Scott or Carcillo PERSONALLY, is irresponsible, but being upset with Q or StanBo is perfectly

If you're looking for that kind of aggression, look no further than one of the GOOD moves Bowman made this summer. Jamal "Megamind" Mayers, has a team leading 7 fighting majors, but you don't think of him as a fighter. He has shown that when a teammate is in need of some help, he's more than willing to jump in to make a point. He's useful on the penalty kill, a leader in the locker room, defensively responsible, can play wing or center, and has actual hockey skills. The biggest part of MegaMayer's game is that he's SMART. He doesn't seem to take stupid offensive zone penalties that handicap the team, like the others do.

The problem here is that we all know I'm pissing in the wind, because the management will jam their decisions down our throat over and over, rather than admit failure. So be it...I suppose.

Blackhawks vs. Kings - Loss Recap

"All The Kings Horses"



For just the second time this year, the Blackhawks were set to face the very talented Kings. For the Kings, this was a bad time to come to the UC because the Hawks are smoking hot. The Kings came in 3-1-1 in their last 5, but only 4-5-1 in their last 10 so they are certainly heating up. After the slopfest that happened the other night against Columbus, the Hawks were in for a much different challenge. The Kings are strong in all aspects despite their latest scoring struggles and were recently turned over to former Hawks coach Darryl Sutter.

The first period was a very streaky one, as the Kings opened up with 6 straight PP minutes, and then followed by the Hawks getting 4 of their own, but neither team capitalized. The Kings were able to score the only goal of the second, and out shot the Hawks 15-10 to put their shot total at 28 after just 40 minutes. The Kings added and insurance goal in the third, and the Hawks weren't able to solve the Kings netminder sending the Kings home 2-0 winners.

The Good

• MegaMayers had a great chance on the Sharpie double minor, early in the first period. His speed was excellent as he whizzed past the Kings defense, but ran out of gas and had his shot partially blocked.
• Crawford made a HUGE penalty shot save on Mike Richards, in the second period, on a questionable call against El Capitan. It shouldn't be forgotten that Seabrook got caught pinching on the play and left Tazer out at the point with no stick.
• Credit must be given to both goaltenders, but Jon Quick was outstanding. There are at least a couple of times that he snuffed out sure goals. Crawford kept the Hawks close, and without his solid play, it would have been 5-0.

The Bad

• Trent Hunter put the Kings up 1-0 in the second period. Kyle Clifford was able to knock a loose puck out from Crawford's reach and then looked to interfere with Crawford's effort to make the followup save. Hunter found the juicy puck and buried it. I call shenanigans.
• Jarret Stoll put the Kings up 2-0 on a 3rd rebound chance. If a team gets a third crack at a rebound, the chances aren't good that it'll stay out of the net. I'm not sure I can describe just what Leddy and Hammer were doing on this play, with the both of them ending up minus 2 on the night.
• Because of Big Slow's inadequacy and simple mind MegaMayers and Frodo were limited to under 10 minutes of TOI. The cascade effect Scott is having, just throws the whole bottom six into disarray.

The Ugly

• Well, just when I start warming up to Big Slow playing forward, he takes a complete cement head penalty in the offensive zone trying to take on four Kings, to leave the Hawks shorthanded. In his defense a Kings player should have joined him, but c'mon, man. Luckily they killed the powerplay off, but this play threw the momentum into the Kings favor. 3:20 of playing time is simply fucking pointless, Q. He played a total of 5 shifts after his dumb ass penalty, including a 5 second shift. Really? This is how this situation is going to go down?
• During a second period scrum the it looked like the fucking circus out on the ice. The Kings Clifford purposely kicked Crawford's stick half way across the rink, for which he was not penalized, but Frank the Tank had the presence of mind to bring it back. Once Tank got to the other end of the ice he missed a feed that was sent back his way, which led to a few odd man chances in the Hawks end. Thankfully, Crawford was EXCELLENT, but the Hawks D men were playing hot potato.
• Twenty eight shots against, at home, in two periods is just unacceptable. Crawford is the only reason it wasn't 4-0 at that point. They ended up giving up 38 shots, which is about 10 too many.

Here are your video highlights:

Year End Gripes and Grudges

The lame duck portion of the year is upon us, and the Hawks fill that space nicely with two quality opponents and one piss-poor opponent. After a 4 day ChristmaHanaKwanzika break, the Hawks came out pretty flat to to play the very bad Blue Jackets. Luckily, the Jackets weren't interested in a win, and defaulted to the Hawks. Tonight they play the young and talented Kings, and Friday night they face the old and talented RedWings. With these end-of-year festivities going on, the Hawks have a few issues of their own:

• Where ever Corey Crawford lost his game, he seems to have recovered it, after his little Amber Alert. He'll play his 3rd game in a row tonight, and he's looked solid in his previous two contests. This is good news for the Hawks, because two hot goalies is a nice problem to have.
• Looks as though the Blackhawks brought back Dream Warrior Marcus Kruger too early. In his first game back he absorbed a few really big hits including a Rich Nash punch to the back of the head. While it's not specified, a punch to the back of the head of a recently concussed player should warrant at least a fine. Nash first missed with an elbow to the face, and followed up with a knuckle sammich to the back of the head. This wasn't a fight, so Kruger had no need to expect a cheap shot to the dome. This will never happen, but I reiterate, if this had happened to Sid the Kid, Nash would have had to go into protective custody. Anyway, it might be a while before we see Kruger, after this medical staff snafu.
• Brandon Pirri has his bags packed for Rock Vegas when the Kruger news hit. Fortunately for Pirri, this benefits him. Skating with two of the hottest players in the NHL will be nothing but good for his confidence, and with Kruger's baby food brain in disrepair, he'll get an extended look at the #2 center spot. I'd love to see the kid grab a hold and stick around. It never hurts to have too many good players on the roster, and opens things up, when the trade deadline arrives.
• Rumors are that the Panthers and Uncle Dale are going to sign former Hawks and Devil Cup Winner John Madden tomorrow. If so, good for him. I always liked that guy.
• Bickell continues to be Bryan Bickell. Blue line, one-two-three strides, 60 foot wrist shot, miss the net. Will he EVER learn to hit people? Maybe he can with Uncle Dale in Florida.
• While I LOVE John Scott in the latest Blackhawks parody video, and his Freshwave commercial, he still does nothing for me as a hockey player, and especially on defense. Sami Lepisto has to be carrying a John Scott VooDoo doll around, because if I'm Lepisto, I'm NOT happy that big lug is playing in front of me. Hell, I'm NOT Lepisto, and I'm pissed that Scott is playing in front of him.
• Kaner is reported to have Strep Throat, and will be in the lineup tonight. He could be dehydrated and a bit on the weak side, so look for Q to go easy on him.
• Has anyone seen what happened to Frolik? Me either, but he'll continue to ride the Megamayers express on the forth line. So much for that 30 goal prediction, as he sits at 5 goals with almost half the season gone.
• Car Bomb seems to be feeling better with whatever top secret upper body injury he had and was seen skating with Frodo, and Megamayers this morning.
• All in all, being in first place overall with 50 points has left us grumpy bloggers with very little to bitch about. OK, not very little, but much less to scream about. Again, nice problem to have.

Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets - Win Recap

"Swedish Meatball"



First of all, Merry Christmas to all of you, and thank you all for coming back to read my blogs. Now on to the final games of 2011. The Hawks welcomed the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets into the United Center, Monday night. They were more improved than last time they played, but not much better. They just can't seem to keep from digging the puck out of the back of their net, and the Hawks are excelling in putting it IN the opponents cage. The Hawks were still without Car Bomb and they recalled Brandon Pirri to fill the spot, but Marcus Kruger was back in the lineup for the first time since getting his eggs scrambled in Pittsburgh. Crawford was in net for his second game in a row.

The Hawks opened up as the pregame show predicted, sloppy. They were out shot 13-5 but thankfully didn't give up any goals. This certainly needed to change though. The Hawks opened up this game, in the second, scoring three goals and taking the momentum. The third period was a 1-1 tie as far as goals go, but the second period was all the Hawks needed. Even though the Hawks were grossly out shot, they ended up 4-1 winners.

The Good

• Just when the Hawks looked tired and out of sorts, in the second period, Hoss and Shooter took over, connecting for a 1-0 Hawks lead. Sharpie took the puck deep into the Jackets zone so the defense could change, and worked a little give and go with Boss 81, redirecting the return pass into the net. Good way to celebrate your dirty 30, Shooter.
• Pick-to-Click Vik put the Hawks up 2-0 with a play of sheer determination. He had the puck high on the near boards and was allowed an open path to the net. The BJ's defender was more worried about the point than he was Vik, so Vik drove straight to the net and was able to put his own rebound past Mason.
• Vik scored his second of the game with 4 minutes to go in the second, on a nice feed from Bolland. Vik sat his ass in a nice soft spot in the slot, and one timed Bolly feed through Mason. Looks like he is finally hitting his comfort zone, and that's very good news for the Hawks, even if it means they unload him for a name at the trade deadline.
• Hoss scored his 16th on a powerplay, with four minutes to go in regulation. The Hawks simply worked the puck around the net and the odd man was Hoss in the slot. MONEY! That's a matchup we'll gladly take over and over.
• Crawford was more of last year's Crow than this years, last night. He kept the Hawks in it, despite a couple of fat rebounds. That's what your defense is there for.

The Bad

• The Hawks were as sloppy as expected in the first period. Passes were off, shots were sloppy, and the defense was a half a second slow. Luckily, none of this hurt the Hawks, but it was slightly concerning.
• Dream Warrior was wearing a target in his first game back. The Blue Jackets took every chance possible to rattle him.
• Former Hawk Jim Wisniewski put the Jackets on the board, a few minutes into the third period. Crawford kicked a fat assed juicy rebound right out into the slot, but the Columbus forward whiffed on the chance. Unfortunately, Crawford was playing that shot and over slid the initial miss. Wizzer just picked up the puck and backhanded into a wide open net. 3-1 Hawks.
• Pirri and Bolland were both under 35% at the dots. No Bueno.

The Ugly

• The Powerplay was a complete clusterfuck for most of the night, and some would say it didn't look all that great on the Hossa goal, either. Columbus had pretty much given up at that point anyhow. Since they were able to score even strength, it can slide, THIS TIME
• In all the hoopla, it was overlooked that the Hawks were outshot 38-22. FIX THAT. This is one of the more poor teams in the league and 38 shots is FAR too much.

Here are your video highlights:

Blackhawks Christmas Video Breakdown

For those of you who haven't seen it, YOU MUST WATCH IT! It's utterly ridiculous and hilarious all in one big Christmas package. This collection of tone deaf athletes, in bad Christmas sweaters, is simply priceless.



If you didn't hurt yourself laughing at that, you have no sense of humor. Since everyone else is breaking it down, why not...


Bolland ALMOST comes off as a slow adult, here. What would the Sedin sisters think? How he keeps from laughing is beyond me, and the badly timed two finger cha-cha thing is the bees-knees!


That's a lot of handsomeness there, folks. From the stretched out turtleneck to the deliberate snapping, he's still the senior panty dropper on this team. Flash then that million dollar smile, Shooter! Superstar!


Bick might not have many moves on the ice, but he has quite the snappy act going, with those suspenders. At least he spared all of us and put his fucking teeth in before he filmed this. Nothing like a big hillbilly looking gap toothed grin in Christmas suspenders. Too close to "Deliverance".


Duncs, that sweater vest is EXQUISITE! Apparently, Deuce's singing voice wasn't something they wanted to torture us with, or he just couldn't manage to spit out the one line he needed recite. So, they just gave us a sweater vest and a dope smile. "Hey mumbles, Just don't speak, PLEASE don't speak"


I guess they just dragged Seabs out of the weight room to fill in for someone else, because not only is he missing HIS snappy sweater, but he does NOT look happy to be partaking in this parody. No smile, hands on hips. Me Seabrook, No Likie, Make Brent Mad!


Hoss has clearly never heard "Holy Hight", in English, and one might argue that he's obviously never heard it in his native tongue, either. Lots of phlegm for the big guy, and the dopey grin is worth the price of admission.


I almost didn't realize who this was. At least, he can spit out his own name, even if it IS off key and out of time. I'm certain he's young enough to still BELIEVE in Santa, so don't tell him, you'll break the poor boy's heart.


Big Slow absolutely steals this whole video. For as little skill as he has ON the ice, his Christmas dance is JAMMING! Good rhythm, big smile, great attire, and EPIC spin at the end. If only the editing could be done without him SHOUTING "JOHN SCOTT!" at us. It's a little disturbing. I have faith in you Big Poppa!


MY personal favorite, right behind the big man. Frolik Navidad! I want to meet the person in their marketing department that threw out, "FROLIK NAVIDAD". That person deserves a huge raise. That great hockey smile, that little boy bowl cut, that brilliant sweater, and who can forget those caterpillars above his eyes? ::Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, Frolik Navidad:: EVERYBODY NOW!


Kaner, you big ham! We can't have a parody video without that patented Kaner Shuffle. "Ok, so Kaner, throw us a Fozie spin-n-point, every day I'm shufflin, and spit out your line as monotone as possible. CUT! PERFECT!"


Hammer, you sexy Swede, you. didn't recognize you without a look of pain on your face. This time the look of pain is ALL US! Nice little gay sleigh ride hand thing (you had a pony as a little Swede, didn't you?), and queue up the horrible Swedish accent...NAILED IT!


AHHH! A MONSTER!
Holy christ, that's a scary sight. Father time, you have a face for radio! The way they photoshopped out the bolts on your neck, and green skin tone, is amazing. "Arrrrrrr, Ar, Ar, Ar, Arrrrrrr, Ar, Ar, Ar".


Last, but not least, El Capitan. Give us Serious...not your usual serious, ACT serious. What's wrong with your eyes, kid? You look like Sloth. Whatever, wrap this Christmas atrocity up, folks, it'll never see the light of day. WHOOPS!

Blackhawks vs. Canadiens - Win Recap

"The Princess and the Frogs"



With no time to sit and stew on Tuesday night's loss to the Penguins, the Hawks were back home to face the Montreal Canadiens on home ice. The Habs are quite the opposite of the Pens. They have trouble scoring and try to rely on their defense/goaltender. In the goaltender arena the Hawks were on the lucky side because they faced Peter Budaj instead of Carey Price. Montreal was also in the news recendtly because they fired Jacques Martin and temporarily replaced him with former Blackhawk for a minute, Randy Cunneyworth. To add to the circus, they told the press that they weren't hiring a fulltime coach that doesn't speak french, which Randy doesn't. Thanks for playing Randy.

The first periods was highly uninspiring. There wasn't much action and there was almost no hitting either. The teams went into the break tied 0-0. The second was a little better, with the Hawks scoring 2 goals, and the Habs managing one of their own. There was certainly more action, and a little chaos. The third opened up for the Hawks with a game icing goal, and then 2 completely worthless goals. Anyhow, the Hawks go into the XXX-mas break leading the league with a 22-9-4 record.

The Good

• Brandon Pirri's first game back with the Hawks was a good one. He didn't stand out, but he played with Sharp and Hossa, and didn't look out of place or tense. In fact, he opened up his first shift with a big hit I personally think he looks more comfortable out there than Morin or Smith ever did. This kid is going to be really good. Quenneville had no problem putting him out there for the PP and PK, and he showed some great composure with the puck. He was 10-18 at the dot, which is pretty good. I really like this kid.
• Bruno tied the game up about halfway through the second. He dug the puck out from behind the net and put it through the crease. It hit Subban's leg and headed towards the net, some think it may have grazed Tazer's stick on the way, but the goal was given to Bruno. 1-1
• Shooter followed up the Bruno goal, 37 seconds later, going in on a 2-on-1 with Pirri and beating Budaj on another shot that looked to go off his own defenseman. Before I could compose my thoughts on the Brunette goal, I was trying to gather in the handsomeness that is Shooter.
• When Stalberg wants to, his speed is lethal.
• Pick-to-Click-Vik scored his second goal, in 2 games, off a feed from Bickell to blow the game open. Bickell pulled his "one stride, and rip off a wrist shot that takes 3 days", that whizzed over the net. He had the right presence of mind to chase the puck down and throw it out in the slot where Stalberg was waiting. Vik let'r loose and it was 3-1 Hawks.
• Jonny Tazer thought to have closed out the Habs night with an empty netter, but the Hawks weren't done. Obviously, the Habs WERE done.
• Bickell was pretty much given free reign with Vik to score one of the most worthless goals you'll see this year. Could have come for a more worthless player.
• Great return for Crawford, and his outstretched goal stick save should be a candidate for save of the year.
• The Hawks held the Habs to just one goal on 22 shots. That's all we can really ask for.

The Bad

• With Lurch playing on the third pairing, him and Frank the Tank couldn't seem to figure out who was going to play the puck, because neither seemed to want to, early on. Still, when you have 6 generally competent defensemen out on the ice, the game seems much more complete. Consider this bloggers vote for Big Slow to be moved to forward, for good, if he must play. He'll hurt the team much less there and if he wants to fight, it's much easier to fill in a 4th line wing than it is a 3rd pair defenseman.
• Frodo was whistled for goaltender interference in the second, but what I don't understand is why. The two players were tied up and they bumped, but Budaj was out of the crease. You can't TOUCH a goalie? Frodo didn't do anything but bump into a guy that was in his way. If it was in the crease, I get it, but this wasn't. Anyway, Kostitsyn eventually tipped a long shot from the boards into the net for a 1-0 Habs lead. ::snore::
• Stromboli was a -2 in 17 minutes in his return to the UC. How's that contract working out for you, Camps?

The Ugly

• In this season of giving, I'm giving you this special present, and forever annointing Frodo, Frolik Navidad:
  

Here are your video highlights: