Blackhawks at Florida - SO Win Recap

"Steal Panthers"



After coming off a barnburner Monday, which was probably the most intense regular season game I've seen since last season's closing game, our Blackhawks began the annual "Fathers Trip" on sunny South F-L-A. No need to act like we weren't familiar with half their roster and their GM. Skille, Versteeg, Kopecky and Campbell all dressed for the game. Florida sat at 6-4-1 coming into this contest, which isn't too bad, considering they are the Winnipeg Jets of the states. This one was sure to bring out the bad blood from the players that were on the Hawks "discard" pile. It was going to be interesting to see how the currents Hawks treat someone like Skille and Versteeg. Jacob Markstrom, the player that pushed Alex Salak out of the organization, started in net for the Panthers. All that aside, this is the fist game in quite a while that they were without the services of Duncan Keith, as he sat out with an injury.

The opening period went the Hawks way, with the good guys scoring on one of their seven shots, but game up far too many shots themselves. As luck would have it, they were able to keep the puck out of their net, though. The second period was much better in terms of Hawks momentum, and they virtually made up all of the shot differential, and each team was able to put up a goal. In the third, the Hawks blew their one goal lead late and neither team was able to score in the OT frame, so it took a shootout for the Hawks to win this one.

The Good

• Nice to see the Hawks open up the scoring on a team, in road game, no less. Bruno got a steal deep in the Panthers zone and Tazer jumped into the play. Bruno fumbled a bit and fed El Capitan, who was falling down. He still got a stick on it and directed it into the net. Just how they drew it up, eh Edzo?
• I'm beginning to become a big fan of MegaMayers and his fighting prowess. He took a big hit at the Hawk blue line from Matt Bradley, and before Car Bomb could come to his assistance, Mayers had already gotten up and begun to pummel Bradley. He takes no shit, and I like this. A LOT. Keeps Car Bomb from doing dumb things, which is good for everyone.
• Watching Frodo pick Skillington's pocket in the Hawks zone, and seeing Skillington take a bad penalty on Frodo later in the game both made me snicker. Win-Hawks, hands down.
• The goal that put the Hawks up 2-0 in the second was a thing of beauty. Kaner led the rush in the zone and waited; and waited; and waited. He waited for Bruno to clear the slot and hit Boss 81 on the back door, who one timed it past Markstrom. Hoss and Kane are just men among boys. And when I say the back door, I mean the "back, back, back, back" door. I didn't think he had anything to shoot at, yet it ended up in the net.
• Great close up of Car Bomb saying "Fuck", after missing his great chance in the second period, where he split 3 Panthers and was almost 1-on-1 with Markstrom.
• Frodo seemed to be inspired by his former team, and was the Blackhawk that was most involved in the Panther's zone, in the third period. He's still snake bitten, but it's not stopping him from trying.
• All things considered, they didn't look bad, missing their top D-man. Officer Seabrook had a bit of a mean streak with his hetero lifemate watching the game from the cheap seats. He painfully punished the Panthers forwards a few time, both during the play and after whistles.

The Bad

• Frank the Tank and Pistol struggled a little bit, early on. A bad turnover on the back end, set up a couple of great chances. Frank the Tank only played four shifts in the 3rd period, but three shifts in OT, and Pistol only played three shifts in the 3rd, but two in OT. Punishment for earlier gaffes?
• Looks like Pick-to-Click Vik was channeling his inner Versteeg when he turned it over late in the second before hitting the Panthers blue line. It resulted in a good chance coming back, and Edzo was sure to point that out.
• The Panthers were able to cut the lead in half with under 2 minutes left in the second period. The Panthers money line was able to pull some zigging and zagging, and Weiss ended up with the puck on his stick, and put it past Crawford. Hearing Versteeg with the assist made me cringe.
• The Panthers tied up the game with 2 minutes to go in regulation, as Seabrook was left alone with two Panthers players, and one of them scored the equalizer. The Hawks weren't able to get the puck out of the zone, after a big Crawford save. It was dumped in by Kulikov, and tipped past Crawford by Jovo-Cop, who for some odd reason was standing in front of the Hawks net. I'm not really sure what O'Donnell thought he was doing, but he left his partner to thwart two defenders all by his lonesome.
• That Sharpie OT break-a-way would have been money. Let's not forget to point out the beautiful pass Hammer gave him. It's not often Hammer gets lauded for his offense, so here it is.
• Dineen, why you no Versteeg in shootout? I would have liked to see that.

The Ugly

• The powerplay took a step backwards last night, but I'll cut them some slack when they only got one to work with.
• 43 shots is just FAR too many shots to me giving up in ANY game. Luckily, Crawford was on fire for the night.
• Incredi-Bolly got faceraped at the dot again, going 9-25.

The Shootout

• Crawford was better than Kopecky
• Toews was bested by Markstrom
• Goc couldn't put it past Crawford
• Markstrom beat Bolland
• Fleischmann was stopped by Crawford
• Kaner was the money man, and beat Markstrom for the win

Here are your video highlights:

The Things I Get Myself Into...

Yesterday afternoon, I was unfortunately suckered into beating my head against a wall, 140 characters at a time, through Twatter. I have maintained that while Twatter can be useful for things like promoting business and media, it's basically the gutter of human existence. It's either people bitching about their inconsequential lives, or people holding incredibly narcissistic and passive aggressive conversations for the whole world to see. But, I digress...

I have to say that if the major problem in the Blackhawks world is our forth line winger, life isn't so bad. Let's be honest here. The reason I got suckered into this ordeal is one particular theory, "Common Sense". I'll be the first to tell you that while I'm sarcastic, stubborn, and cocky, I've been known to change my stance from time to time, because of said common sense. I can't possibly see every scenario, and solution; no one can. This is not one of those situations, and again, if you could care less about the Blackhawks fourth line winger that plays 3-6 minutes a game, feel free to ditch this thing, right here...

Still with me? Onward, Satan's Soldiers. The situation in question involves the subject of Rostislav "Rosty" Olesz vs John "Big Slow" Scott. Forgive me; I was baited; It was on my train ride home; There was an earthquake; A great flood; Locusts; IT WASN'T MY FAULT!

That was your last chance to bail on me, so for the three readers I have left, let's continue. I am going to lay out some FACTS, here, before I even get started:

• Olesz is faster, and more talented overall than Scott, by a pretty large margin.
• Olesz has 132 points in 351 NHL games, at 26 years old. John Scott has 4 points in 115 NHL games, at 29 years old.
• Preseason or not, he scored the first goal of the year for the Hawks.
• Olesz has had injuries in the past, and is coming off a blown out knee, but appears to be healthy. If he's not healthy, the LTIR is the place for him.
• Scott is tremendously limited, physically. He can tenderize faces, and that is all.
• Once Mayers, CarBomb, Lepisto and O'Donnell were signed, it effectively took any role Scott had, and rendered him useless.

I'm not going to name names, because that's irrelevant, but a person or two sparked up a "conversation" that basically started as, "The Hawks can work around John Scott, but there is no way to work around Olesz, because he is void of any hockey talent". Not quite in those words, because you can't fit that much sarcasm into 140 characters, but you get the gist of it. You might imagine how I responded to THAT revelation. There were theories floated, but when it came down to simple business and common sense, there is no way around the fact that the Blackhawks need to play Olesz. Why, you ask? I was hoping you'd never ask:

Theory 1:Send Olesz to Rockford/Siberia
Result:FAIL
First of all, he would need to pass through waivers for Rockford, and surely would. Second, The Blackhawks as an organization, are eating $5.625 million for Cristobal Huet to NOT play anywhere in North America. Which, in and of itself, is a very bitter pill to swallow for any company. If you add Olesz's $3.125 million, and the team, AS AN ORGANIZATION, would be dishing out almost $9 million for 2 players to NOT play for their team. Remember, This does not reflect on the salary cap at all, but you're asking a business to hemorrhage millions MORE than they already are. While Huet was in a critical position, and needed to be moved for cap reasons, Olesz does/is not. He can be hidden on the forth line, and they have enough cap room to maneuver, if needed.

Theory 2:Buy out his contract
Result:FAIL
You can only buy out a players contract during the designated period of time, which is usually between June 15th and June 30th. I don't need to remind anyone what the date is today. Pull out all your trust-dusty contract buyout calculators, but none of it can be done until June of 2012.

Theory 3:Trade Olesz
Result:FAIL
In a perfect world, Stan Bowman could sell that rust bucket to some ignorant kid, but no one is buying that set of wheels without taking on another, equally as obnoxious, overpriced contract in return. If you know of someone that will, PLEASE e-mail Stan and let him know.

Nothing else is possible. End of story. This team is stuck with him for the season. Might as well play him, and see if we can't squeeze some lemonade out of this lemon.

Blackhawks vs. Predators - Win Recap

"If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It"



Monday's game was going to prove to be much more difficult than the Saturday tilt with Columbus, even though for the first 2 two period, Columbus kept up with the Blackhawks. Nashville, as we all know so well, is a hard hitting defensive squad with a top notch netminder, in Pekka Rinne. On defense, it doesn't come much better than Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, who is the nephew of former Blackhawk defenseman Gary Suter. Offensively, the Preds aren't really much to sneeze at. Dave Legwand is leading the team, and former team scoring leader Patrick Hornqvist has had a slow start, with only 2 goals. This was, most likely, going to a defensive game, but anything can happen on Halloween, as we saw.

The Hawks wasted no time giving the Preds a lead with under a minute gone in the game, and the Hawks were able to tie it up with under a minute left in the first. Considering all the chances, this was not the boring Hawks/Preds game we were use to. The second period was a little less successful for the Hawks. The gave up two goals and were only able to answer one. Third period, one goal, Same ol song and dance. The Hawks were able to take the lead, and then relinquish that lead in the third but they dominated the period. All that got this game to overtime where the Hawks pulled out a dramatic win. Happy Halloween, Chicago!

The Good

• The Hawks finally got some sustained powerplay pressure early in the first and were moving the puck fast and furious, but they couldn't finish. It still looks like a failure on the score sheet, so they need to not only move the puck, but hit the back of the net. This is not going to do. I can't hate on the powerplay, even though they went 0-fer forever. They moved the puck and got plenty of huge chances, but Pekka Rinne is just inhuman. The Hawks would have scored at least 3 more goals, had it not been for Rinne. He's simply a bad ass, and as much as I love Crawford, if the Hawks could get Rinne, DO IT. He's a franchise player.
• The Hawks got on the scoreboard in the first period with under a minute left in play. Sharpie and Hoss dug the puck loose in the corner and Kaner played a little give-n-go with Shooter. Once Kaner got it on his stick in he slot, just to the left of the net, he ripped it 5-hole on Rinne. 1-1.
• Three-Times-a-Leddy was able to tie the game back up for the Hawks with 8 minutes left in the second period. Patty Kane reversed the puck around the net after a Leddy dump in, and fed it back to an activated Leddy, in the same general area that Kaner scored, who put a half back swing shot through Rinne. It helped a little that the Preds Smith was interfering with his own netminder, as Sharpie stood safely outside the crease watching. No denying this Leddy kid can play in the opponent's end.
• The Preds Shea Weber made a beautiful play on a Shooter/Kaner 2-on-1, that resulted in them not even getting a shot off. Those are two GRADE A players he stuffed, there. That guy is a STUD! Plain and simple.
• The Hawks opened the third period like they were HUNGRY for a goal, but like their powerplay chances, they weren't able to finish until Kaner tied it up, with 5 minutes gone in the frame.
• Speaking of Kaner's second goal, The Hawks tied up the game ONCE AGAIN in the third, when Shooter, Hoss, and Kaner worked a 3-on-3 to perfection and Kaner took advantage of Rinne's rare poor positioning, by beating him between the blocker and his ribs.
• As absolutely stellar as Rinne was in the third period, Crawford made a HELL of a save on the Tootoo breakaway. That could have ended ALL Hawks momentum, and now that I've brought it up, Brent? Sami? Could ONE of you keep an eye on that Tutu guy? I have to blame Seabrook on that one, since Pistol took the shot that was blocked.
• One-Trick-Bick did exactly what he does, on a great feed by Frodo to put the Hawks up for the first time in the game with 7 minutes left in the game. Frodo fought through two players to control the puck and hang on to it long enough for Bick to curl around in the slot. Fro put it right on Bick's stick, and he lasered one of his patented long setup, wrist shots into the back of the Preds cage.
• For all those bagging on Pick-to-Click Vik, he shut their collective mouths; for a second night. In OT, he shot into overdrive and took advantage of his stellar speed rushing up the right side of the ice. Once he got deep in the zone, he cut across the middle similar to the goal he scored the other night, but let the shot go much sooner and beat Rinne low glove side. Game; Set; MATCH! I realize this guy is a tweener, but I don't get all the hate on him. He MIGHT be the fastest guy on the team, and he's willing to muck it up, if need be. Three goals in two games, and could have easily had another had he hit the net on his break-a-way. That's not too shabby. Not to mention, word on the street is that while practicing shootouts he was MONEY. He's a decent role player.

The Bad

• It certainly didn't take long for the Hawks to give up a lead. Less than a minute in, Crawford went behind the net to play a dump in attempt, and it took a silly bounce off the boards between his legs. The puck came out to a Preds player along the boards who threw it at the net, and the rebound off the side of the net was easily poke in by Hornqvist. It doesn't get much easier than that.
• The Hawks are losing track of guys coming out of the penalty box FAR too often. In the heat of the game it's going to happen once in a great while, but this is really getting silly. This time it was Seabrook and Leddy. Wake up fellas, this is the big leagues. I'm quite sure everyone on the bench was yelling about it.
• The Preds went ahead of the Hawks, again, almost midway through the second period as Bruno, Frank the Tank, and Sami Pistol all got misty eyed by the puck carrier, Erat. Erat then dished it to a late driving Craig Smith, who cleanly beat Crawford. That is what a sniper SHOULD do when he's one on one with a goalie that is not set, and trying to move across his crease. Shame on those three Hawks, though.
• I'm quite certain that Shooter is wearing a hole in the boards to the left of the net, because he unloaded at least half a dozen shots in the first half of the game that hit that precise spot. Could we move the net over a foot or so? Anyone?
• Well, you can't really expect an IF on a 5-on-3, rather a WHEN, unless you're the Blackhawks, that is. Anyway, the Preds scored on a 5-on-3 advantage when Shooter took a dumb interference penalty in the offensive zone, and Bolly was the unfortunate party to airmail a clearing attempt into the crowd. Patrick Hornqvist took nice feed and beat Crawford on a long snapper. The breaks just weren't going the Hawks way, at this point. Each time they clawed back, the Preds would answer.
• Just a minute and a half after the Hawks took the lead, in the third period, the Preds took advantage of a makeshift 4th line. Tootoo took a bad angle shot was banked off Crawford's pads, and shot directly out into the slot area. The rebound squirted just past Seabrook, and MegaMayers conveniently floated past the puck, as well. Legwand jumped on the free puck and fired it past Crawford. That's a SLOPPY goal to give up when you have momentum.
• This was a VERY interesting night for faceoffs, and here is why. Cappy Serious put on a clinic, going 20-for-25, MegaMayers went 5-for-5, Sharpie went 4-for-4, and Bolly went a very average 9-for-19. BUT, Kane and Kruger got mushroom stamped at the dot, going a collective 3-for-14 (21%). That would be enough to tell me that Mayers and Sharpie should be taking the draws, when they are playing on the same lines as Kane and Kruger.
• That being said, I'm officially claiming that Kruger looks like an NHL player. I'm not saying he looks like a GREAT one, but "of NHL caliber". He is making quicker decisions with the puck, and definitely moving around better. He has even dished the puck fairly well, and absorbed a hit or two.

The Ugly

• This could be INFINITELY HUGE, but if the Hawks lose Deuce, because of the injury he sustained, for an extended period of time, this could make things VERY interesting. Even when he's bad, his speed is invaluable. He didn't see the ice after the 8:01 mark of the second period, so it must be semi-serious.
• I've beaten this to DEATH, and even I'M tired of it, but this Big Slow ordeal not only boggles my mind, but boggles EVERYONE'S minds. He had one shift each period for a total of 2:45. Now, I get that they like his cheap rather large tuchus on the roster for the occasional slugfest. I can accept that, and he's a cheap alternative for that. What I cannot understand or accept is that you have a WELL paid Rosty Olesz dressed in a suit, watching this guy do NOTHING. Let me remind EVERYONE why Big Slow was brought here. TO FIGHT! He has yet to do that, not that he could catch an opposing play to accomplish that, even if he was allowed to carry a lasso. He had a prime chance to absolutely blaze a Nashville defender behind the Preds net, last night, and barely smooched the guy. Jiminy Christmas, he might as well blast the guy into next week, because that is ALL a John Scott has the ability to do. Make it worth it, you big goon! While I'm on the subject of those two clowns, what is the problem with Olesz? I mean REALLY. I have to know. Some beat writer needs to earn his money, and flat out ask Joel Quenneville, "What the fuck is wrong with Rosty Olesz?". TELL US! As stupid as Florida was, you don't give a guy that is apparently THAT bad, over $3 million a year. According to what they have given us, this guy isn't even an NHL quality player on ANY level. He's done NOTHING on the ice to tell me that he is any less deserving than Big Slow. Really, just put him out there. Let him cut his own throat. SHOW ME what is so undesirable. It's the fucking forth line, for fucks sakes, they barely play anyway. Rosty Olesz scoring the first goal of the preseason is 10x more than I've seen Big Slow do.

Here are your video highlights:

Blackhawks vs Blue Jackets - Win Recap

"To Be, or Not To Be"



Nothing better, after a boring uninspired road loss, than coming home and playing what might be the coldest team in the NHL. The Hawks should thank the schedule making gods for that one, because they were in need of an easy game. It's well documented that the Jackets started off horribly. The Hawks on the other hand, got off to their best start in 40 years. Leave it up to them to completely shit the bed in Carolina, just as the media brought this fact up. I call a jinx! There were big changes in the lineup with Big Show playing for a suspended Car Bomb, Lepisto playing for O'Donnell, and Razor playing in net.

The Hawks opened up the scoring quickly, but the Jackets weren't far behind. Things were starting to look like they were falling apart when the Hawks were able to get a late shorthanded goal to go up 2-1 at the end of the first period. The Jackets were the only team to score in the second and the Hawks blew some powerplay time. Can the Hawks EVER carry a big lead into the third? THe Hawks opened it up in the third period, which was nice, for a change. They came away with a 5-2 win, and outshot Columbus 38-29.

The Good

• Marcus Kruger opened up the Hawks night on a big MegaMayers slapshot rebound that just laid in front of the rookie Columbus netminder, York. Kruger went hard to the net, and ended up with an easy tap in goal.
• FINALLY, some excitement for the crowd, when Frolik fed Bolly for shorthanded break-a-way goal late in the first. The play would have resulted in a penalty shot but the continuation resulted in a goal, with Bolly wearing a Clitsome backpack for the last 15 feet.
• Pick-to-Click Vik put the Hawks up 3-2 on a 4-on-4 situation, following the negated Sharp goal. He picked up the puck at the blue line and turned on the after burners heading up the boards, and then cutting to the middle. He got York to open up the 5-hole, and ripped it into the back of the net. SHOCKING, a goal that couldn't be negated.
• Less than two minutes later Bruno was able to lug the puck from behind the net, and send a backhand across the crease to Stalberg who scored his second goal of the night. I, for one, am glad to see him hit the net, because he was looking good in the preseason, until he got hurt, and he has some speed that the Hawks could really use. He just missed his hat trick goal later, when he missed the net on a break-a-way.
• I can't ever remember seeing 2 disallowed goals in one game, but this one had FOUR. After 3 Hawks disallowed goals, Columbus ended up having one of their own...wait for it...ON THE POWERPLAY
• I usually don't say much about empty netters, but Frodo absorbed a hit from Rick Nash, who was being a real dick all night, and poked it into the net with one hand. I usually like Nash, but in this case, he was a real dumb shit.

The Bad

• Vinny Prospal answered the Hawks first goal, by taking advantage of the forth line. Kruger must have been dreaming of his goal, when he let Prospal sit on the back door all by himself. That quick start didn't last long.
• In the first half of the game two of the most well behaved players took a total of three bad penalties. I'm not really sure what was up their asses, but that shit needs to be nipped in the bud. Tazer and Bolland cannot be spending that kind of time in the box.
• In one of the strangest plays I've ever seen, Sharpie put a laser of a slapshot off the post and the Hawks thought they scored, but the play continued, and worked it's way around again. The Hawks got another chance that Kaner high sticked into the net. So they needed TWO video replays on one play. In all fairness, the war room in Toronto got both right, and actually, so did the on ice officials.
• The Jackets second goal was started off by Hammer, in comical fashion. He blew a tire at the Hawks blue line similar to the way Deuce did a few games ago, and allowed a 2-on-1 break. Razor wasn't able to control the rebound on the play, and the defense wasn't much help so the puck squirted out to the side of the net, and Derek MacKenzie was able to put the puck in the open net.
• To make matters worse on the powerplay, Sharpie was able to score AGAIN, but Bickell took a high sticking penalty that ended up a second disallowed goal. Just how many times are they going to shoot themselves in the foot?
• Not the hat trick we had hoped for, but for the THIRD time in the game, the Hawks had a goal waved off when Bolland was called for kicking the puck in the net, you guessed it, ON THE POWERPLAY
• Five penalties for the Hawks is just FAR too much. STOP IT!

The Ugly

• Before the game it was announced that Car Bomb was suspended for 2 games following the "tie up" from the previous game. I call bullshit on that one, but that's a whole different subject.
• The near misses aside, the Hawks powerplay is still painfully fucking repulsive.
• As much as I cursed the intermission interview of Frodo, Kruger made him sound like James Earl Jones. Quit interviewing players that struggle to speak english, PLEASE! It's uncomfortable to listen to, and I'm certain it's stressful for them, as well. We can do without.
• Big show...three shifts...1:44...one goal against. If ANYONE tries to claim that's better than what Rusty Olesz can provide, they are full of shit. If Olesz IS that bad, he doesn't belong on ANY NHL roster, or men's league roster, for that matter.

Here are your video highlights:

Blackhawks at Carolina - Loss Recap

"Hurricane Cam"


This is the first and last the Hawks will see of the Carolina Hurricanes this season, barring a Canes/Hawks Cup final. This was a curious matchup, because even though the Canes were only 3-3-3, they have completely owned the Blackhawks in Carolina since, get this, 1998!. Overall, the Canes have gone 8-1-3 overall against our boys in white. Not so hot. The people to watch in this game are, of course, Goalie Cam "Wardo" Ward, Former Blackhawk Tuomo Ruutu, Rookie of the Year Jeff Skinner, and the oddly -9 Eric Staal. Ward is a VERY good goalie, Ruutu was on a 2 game goal scoring streak, Skinner picked up where he left off last year gathering 10 points in 9 games, and while Staal had 5 points coming in, he also carried the previously mentioned minus 9.

The Hawks opened the first period with a dominant shift but shortly gave up a bad goal that took the wind out of their sails, and they spent most of the rest of the period chasing the puck in their own zone and killing a powerplay. The second was pretty much more of the same, with the Hawks blowing two powerplay chances, and giving up a dozen shots for a second period in a row. One goal game, going into the third. This has been a pattern. The Canes opened up the the game in the third with two goals, and the Hawks ended up losing this one 3-0 with very little momentum.


The Good

• The Hawks managed to pull off a textbook double minor penalty kill with little resistance, late in the first. Kane was sent to the box and the penalty kill ate up a good portion of time right when the Hawks were getting their momentum back.
• Crawford found his footings and shook off his early jitters, with a HUGE glove save on Jeff Skinner, and then a break-a-way and then on the resulting penalty shot by sniper Eric Staal.
• Early in the first period Quenneville split up Deuce and Leddy, and put Frank the Tank out there with Deuce. I can get on board with that, and it makes more sense. I'd prefer Seabrook or Hammer, but if it has to be Tank, then so be it.
• Frank the Tank FINALLY brought that physical aspect we'd heard so much about, since last trade deadline. The defining moment was when he dumped the 6'4" Carolina Captain on his dupa with a great open ice hit deep in the Hawks zone.
• It's really hard to root against a player I like so much, so if the Hawks have to get shut out, let Cam Ward be the goalie.

The Bad

• Not a good start for the Hawks after having a majority of the pressure, a lost faceoff by Marcus Kruger led to a long point shot that went off Leddy's skate and in the net. Eddie pointed out the faceoff loss, and it was a pretty clean loss. If you ask me, and I'm sure you didn't; Mayers should have taken that draw.
• The boards in Carolina sounded like Lars Ulrich's drums on the St. Anger album. A bunch of garbage can lids. Ping, Ping, Ping, Ping. Foley's mic switch wasn't working and you could clearly hear him ask to have the mic behind the net turned down because it was "ridiculous".
• After the Hawks early pressure, and the Canes goal, the Canes proceeded to ride the Hawks like a wild pigs. The Hawks couldn't win a faceoff, and they couldn't even get the puck out of the zone. Not how you want to play a first period, on the road, down by a goal.
• You things are bad when Mr. Automatic-on-break-a-ways can't even get a really good shot off.
• The Canes Tlusty put the Canes up 3-0 after a 2-on-1 break that saw the combination of Leddy and Lurch get throttled. Leddy did his best to slow the play up, but Lurch still wasn't able to get back fast enough to help out.
• Bolly and Kaner were donkey punched at the faceoff dot with Kaner going 1-8 and Bolland going 6-16.

The Ugly

• I'm not sure just WHAT the holy hell Crawford was doing in the opening half of first period, but he was all OVER the place, and he looked confused on almost every shot.
• The Hawks powerplay has reached epically embarrassing proportions. 25th in the league and falling faster every game. Not only that, but they gave up a horrible shorthanded break-a-way against that resulted in Seabrook getting called for an infraction which turned into a penalty shot.
• After yet ANOTHER failed powerplay in the third, Brandon Sutter picked a puck out od Seabrook's feet, right in front of the box, and raced in on a break-a-way. I'm pretty sure you know how THIS chapter ends...2-0

Here are your video highlights:

What We've Learned Thus Far

Now that we are roughly 10% through the season it's safe to say that there are a few things that we're finding out about our beloved team. Some of which none of us could have guessed. Here are just a few:

All this talk of summers off, and Deuce getting a plethora of rest was just smoke blown up our collective asses. He's pretty much started off right where he left off in April. Brain farts and shooting directly into defenders. What's the next step, a lobotomy? Of course he has his flashes of brilliance, but we need more than flashes from a former Norris Trophy winning player. The first order of business should be getting him as far away from Nick Leddy as possible. There is a reason Soupie and Deuce never played together, and this should stand for Leddy and Keith. They both serve the same general purpose, so they cancel each other out, when together. Can we fix this, PLEASE?

If you would have told me that MegaMayers would be the most valuable fighter on the team, over Car Bomb and Big Slow, I would have laughed, or cried. YET, it is to be. The Thunderdome has done a textbook job of protecting his teammates, and has also thrown in a little offense. This may not keep up, but he's turned out to be one of the most important acquisitions of this offseason. This begs to ask the question of just WHAT they are going to do with Big Slow, but that's for another point.



Andrew Brunette has good hands, and a nose for the net, but that's it. When the game turns into a track meet, as quite a few of the Hawks games do, he is rendered completely useless. I'm not sure what they can really DO with him, but he may end up a healthy scratch in the near future. He has talent and leadership, but he's a square peg on a team full of round holes.





Frank the Tank Montador is apparently a slow starter. His preseason was atrocious and it led him to be played at 4th line winger for a game. That's not a promotion, people. Since the season started and he had gotten progressively better. He's going to pan out. His current partner, is another story.






Lurch O'Donnell is hanging on by a thin thread. He hasn't hurt the team, much, but his slow footwork is going to be exposed more and more. For all the time Sami Lepisto got in the preseason, it's kind of pointless to sit him in the press box for the first 8 games in favor of the old dog. Maybe O-D will step things up and start planing opponents on their tuchuses, but right now, he's just barely treading water. I like the idea of bringing him in, but he's more suited for the #7 spot.



Yes, Sami Lepisto is still employed by the Chicago Blackhawks, and he doesn't have some contagious disease other than being Finnish. I KEED, I KEED. Maybe we put him to work, guys? Just a thought.







Dan Carcillo really isn't the man we all thought he was. When he almost got into a fracas in his first shift of the training camp festival, we all thought to ourselves, "HERE he goes. The circus begins". We couldn't have been more wrong. He's been composed, and a model teammate. Yes, I'm still talking about Dan Carcillo. No, Mr. Hyde to speak of, yet. In fact he's almost been, shall I say, charming? If he can keep this up, I'd love for them to keep him around after this season. This has the makings of a hero story in this town.


Bolland is the guy we thought he was, in the playoffs last season. He's been THE shutdown guy, while anchoring the 3rd line and adding in some offense on the second PP unit. Sure beats his invisibility trick that he pulled last season.







Kaner is a beast no matter where you put him. He's been slightly below average on the defensive side of the rink, but he was that way at wing. Outside of the Hawks zone, he's been MASTERFUL. He has singlehandedly put to rest all questions about the #2 center slot. Consider it filled with balls of steel.






No worries of a sophomore slump with Crawford. He's here to stay, and he's going to continue to be solid, yet unspectacular. That, folks, is absolutely fine by me.








Razor will be just fine, as a backup. For the 20 games we'll need him, he's serviceable. He's not going to steal any games for the Hawks, but he's also not going to shit-the-bed each time he's in net. Maybe just a skid mark or two. Quenneville knows better than to throw him in there against Vancouver, but he can play some of the games like Columbus. I still like Salak better as a player, but they'd rather that Salak plays more than once every two weeks, and I can get on board with that.



Lucky Number 7 is quietly becoming the most important defender on the team. With Deuce playing like a puppy with two new toys, Seabrook just performs and intimidates. Argue with me all you'd like, but you don't see him constantly turning the puck over and repeatedly aiming for opposing players OTHER than the goalie. Let me remind you just how many times those blocked Duncan Keith shots have turned into odd man breaks coming back the Blackhawks way. Seabrook is big, surprisingly mobile, can control the puck, can jump into the play, and lets not leave out his hockey IQ. He's a poor man's Shea Weber. Let's be thankful he's here for a while.

As much as people fall all over themselves about players like Ben Smith, Jeremy Morin, Brandon Pirri, and Brandon Saad there just isn't room for them on the Blackhawks. PERIOD. Get mad and start pounding away at the keyboard, but tell me just WHERE those guys play. Unless Brunette gets shipped off somewhere, the Toews and Sharp line isn't changing. Hossa/Kane/Car Bomb isn't getting mixed up anytime soon. None of those players can play better than Bickell or Frolik on the shutdown line. What do you have left? 8 minutes a game on the forth line? I'd rather see the kids get major minutes in Rockford or Saginaw and have Stalberg/Olesz/Mayers/Kruger waste away on the forth line. None of those kids will benefit from being scratched and watching from the bench most of the game. This leaves the Hawks with plenty of leverage, should they entertain a trade. I, for one, would have loved to see David Booth here instead of Vancouver.

So, that is where things stand, at this point. The Hawks are 5-1-2 and currently in first place. Things aren't bad at all, and that's an improvement from last year.

Blackhawks vs Ducks - SO Win Recap

"Breaker 1-9, this is the Rubber Duck"


"Stop hitting yourself"

Two days removed from a disappointing SO loss to those pesky Avalanche Kids and the Ducks fly into town. The Ducks were struggling a little bit and one of their top snipers, Ryan Getzlaf, was ice cold, until last game. Goalie Jonas Hiller has had his ups and downs, as well. Hawks forward Dan Carcillo announced pregame that he was going "Duck Hunting", so this was sure to be an interesting affair.

The first period of last nights game was PAINFULLY boring. The Ducks really did their job holding the Hawks scoreless, even though they had 11 shots on net. The Hawks defense was solid, as well, allowing just 5 shots. The Ducks opened up the second with a quick goal and closed the period with a goal, with the Hawks scoring one of their own between. As dominating as the Hawks were, in shots, in the first period, the Ducks were more dominant in the second and it showed on the scoreboard. In the third period the Hawks were able to tie up the game, but the Hawks were going to have to decide this one in extra time and the Hawks were FINALLY able to outlast the Ducks in the shootout. I guess those shootouts in practice worked, eh?

The Good

• The line of 13-88-81 was back in sync, again. CarBomb had a few excellent passes, and the other two are, well, beasts.
• You have to love MegaMayers. The guy is tough as nails and loves to look out for his teammates. He had another fight that didn't amount to much more than each guy getting to second base, but it's the principle. For all the poorly timed Big Slow fights last year, Jammer has made up for them, with well timed protection. We all thought this was where CarBomb was going to come in, but we were ALL clearly wrong.
• Boss 81 put the Hawks on a board taking a Savardian Spin-o-Rama, blind backhand pass from Kaner and tapping it into a gaping net. All you young hockey players, and for that matter, all you mens league allstars at home...DON'T DO THAT! Kaner is a professional that does it properly. For every time Kaner does that, there are 20,000 beer league heroes that will try that, and fail MISERABLY. Keep the showboating to the pros, people. That being said, the play by Kaner, Hoss, and CarBomb driving straight to the net, was excellent.
• Shooter tied up the game on another Kaner backhand pass, in the third. Kaner set the play up by grabbing the puck and acting as though he was going to take it to the net. Instead, he dished it to Shooter, who leaned onto a one timer with a little top cheddar, that may have grazed the hair on El Capitan's ass on the way by.
• People can expel themselves all over Deuce, but Seabrook is the real MVP on the back end. For all the glory that the other guys get, Seabrook quietly anchors that whole unit. He'll never get the recognition he deserves, but some of us see it and I'm sure the coaches do.
• I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to have a solid goalie, like Crawford, in net from the start of the season. For the first time in what is probably 3 seasons, I don't find myself holding my breath when the opponent gets a chance.
• Tazer put a head fake on Beauchemin that almost broke the defenseman's ankles, in overtime. You won't see it on the highlight reel, because he didn't score, but the move alone should get him on the nightly highlights. He put the shake-n-bake on and took it to the net, but shot it over the net.
• First Dick the Bruiser and George the Animal Steele references this season, CHECK!

The Bad

• The Ducks were the first to get on the board, after a late 1st period penalty that rolled over into the second. About a minute in, Corey Fairy fed Getzlaf with a beautiful tape to tape pass that caught Crawford in a vulnerable position. Crawford seemed to tip himself off really early, and Getzlaf roofed it over his glove. The play, itself, looked like it was in slow motion, from A to Z.
• How we're going into a full year of Deuce shooting into opposing sets of shin pads is beyond me. After, say, 90-some games, wouldn't you think you'd learn? Change your angle, fake a fucking shot.
• The Ageless Teemu Selanne put the Ducks up 2-1 on a foolish turnover by Kaner deep in his own zone. This type of play is exactly why we were all worried, when the idea of Kaner at center came up. He had PLENTY of time to make another pass but forced it to Deuce, who was standing practically IN the bench door of the Ducks. The pass was intercepted by Selanne who pushed it to Koivu, and it ended back up on Selanne's stick, and he did what he's done SO many times before. Not only did Kane turn it over, but he failed to pick up Selanne on the back end of the give-and-go. He really could have snuffed it out. It'll take time for him to get use to this defensive responsibility. I understand that Kaner has been valuable at center, but these are the kind of face-palms that you're prone to get, from time to time.
• Sooooo, maybe Frodo's snakebitten streak isn't really over yet.
• All of the Hawks centers, except Bolly, were over 50% at the dot with Tazer leading at 70%. Bolly took it in the behind all night, going only 8 for 20.
• We may never see a Hawks powerplay goal, again, at this rate. It's like watching someone try to play piano with their elbows.

The Ugly

• Holy CHRIST ON A CRACKER, don't let Frolik do the between period interviews with that nasally accent. Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh-Uhhhhhh-Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh. We can't POSSIBLY understand a damn thing he's mumbling. I love him as a player, but let him do his work on the rink.
• Mustafa, and Lurch had an AWFUL exchange that led to Lurch taking a delay of game infraction. The puck popped up on Montador and he whacked it in the air. It bounced around and ended up in the crease, and then between the legs of about 7 players. When it FINALLY ended up on a stick, it was Lurch, who airmailed it. "You raaaaaaaaaaang?". Luckily, they were able to kill off the powerplay.
• Corey Fairy is a decent player but someone needs to explain to me how in the hell he managed 50 goals last year and got the MVP. He's NOT that good, and it had to be a fluke. But, GOD DAMN he's annoying
• Leave it up to the broadcast team to point out that the Hawks were the least penalized team in the game while coming off a zero penalty affair, AND, then leave it up to the Hawks to proceed with a walk of shame to the box all night. 10 minutes in penalties, minus MegaMayers little kerfuffle/back seat makeout session.

The Shootout

• Fairy couldn't beat Crawford
• El Capitan beat Hiller on a new move...finally.
• Selanne roofed it on Crawford
• Bolly was stopped by Hiller
• Getzlaf was shut down by Crawford
• Kaner won it 5-Hole on Hiller

Here are your video highlights: