Isn't it just lovely to be at the mercy of the of the Asshat St. Louis Blues? Three games remaining and all three are against hated division rivals, who would love nothing but to play spoiler. Not only that, but two teams that have been thorns in the Blackhawks side since the old Norris division days. As fans, we can't complain too much, because they weren't even suppose to be in this position. It's really no ones fault, but their own. Anyway, let me step down off my soap box, and get to the game at hand.
The first period started off in GRAND fashion, with the Blues scoring before most of the UC had parked their asses in their seats. The rest of the period the Hawks held the advantage, but didn't manage to tie up the game, which has been all too familiar lately. The second period started off pretty bad with a St. Louis goal, but the Hawks answered with three of their own and the momentum going into the third. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Hawks are the WORST third period team in the league, because they blew ANOTHER third period lead, and were forced into another OT game. Not how you want to win, but an exciting one. Hawks
- Well, the Hawks took 28 minutes to finally score a goal, and even THAT was within question. Sharpie flipped a puck in front, off a rebound, and it went off Hoss's skate, the post, then Hoss's stick and then barely over the line. That was a lot of work for an "almost", or a "barely". After the game Ty Conklin cried like a little bitch with a skinned knee about this one, but I'll have a whole blog dedicated to that later.
- With Stromboli and Seabs jumping into the play, TomoKop picked up a loose puck in the crease, and deposited it past Conklin. This merely brought the Hawks back to even, but it gave the Hawks a much needed jolt in the ass.
- The comeback was complete with Nick Leddy's goal on a feed from Deuce and a gaggle of fourth line players in front of the net. That's more like it. You weren't crying about this one, were you TY?
- The Hawks out shot the Blues 28-10 through two periods but they only led by one. The worst thing that could have happened was that period ending. The Hawks ended up outshooting the Blues 39-24.
- Ben Smith didn't exactly light the UC on fire, but he didn't look out of place. He can't really do much worse than Brouwer has done lately, so hell, on with the experiment. He actually showed a little patience. At least he didn't play like his name was Marcus Kruger.
- El Capitan was pretty invisible all night but made his presence known in OT. He took a long feed from Deuce, immediately following Crow's big face save on the back end, and turned it into the game winner. I'm not sure what the St. Louis D-men were thinking, letting him skate freely, but I'd like to thank him.
- No real complaints in the faceoff department, with Toews, Johnson and Dowell all going over 50% and Frodo being the dog of the night, at 30%.
- Ty Conklin AGAIN? What do the Hawks have to do to get away from this guy?
- Oh...my...god! SEVENTEEN seconds into the game and the Hawks yield a GOD AWFUL goal. Great job leading the way, Hoss! Turning it over into the high slot, moments into the affair, works perfectly!
- Just over a minute into the second period, The Blues scored on the powerplay as TJ Oshie got in behind the Blackhawk defense and came in on a partial break-a-way. Mental mistakes have just been eating the Blackhawks up, and a late change by Hammer led to this break. 79 games weren't enough to learn how to change better?
- And while we're talking about 79 games of changes, seven men on the ice?
- For a team that is notoriously good on the powerplay, the Blackhawks are deplorable on the 5-on-3. It's almost embarrassingly painful to watch. It's like watching a High School football player try to score on his prom date, because he might never get the chance again. Forcing and Fumbling.
- Watching TJ Oshie crying like a little girl on the bench with his sore paw was HILARIOUS. If he's not made a mockery of for that one, there is no poetic justice. Simply because I crack up laughing every time I watch it, here you go:
- How's that Marcus Kruger working out for you, StanBo? You remember HIM, don't you? Maybe if he was here all year like you had "planned", he would have become great friends with John Scott, while sitting in the Press Box. Kind of like the movie "Twins"
- Chris Stewart absolutely BEASTED Mr. Norris trophy and his silly little step brother Nick Leddy, with his third period goal, to tie the game up at 3. If you get out hustled like that, you deserve a smack in the puss. Christ, Deuce, move your ass into his way, and I know the view is really good from that angle, but Nick Leddy needs to stop gazing lovingly into Deuce's eyes, and DO SOMETHING!
