Dun, dun, DUN. The west coast evil empire, Vancouver, slithered their way into the United Center Tuesday night, to try and end the Hawks regulation undefeated streak. Call me a jinx or whatever other colorful adjective you'd like to call me, but I'm going to let you all in on something. The Hawks will NOT go undefeated this season. This is OK, because that does not take anything away from the great (and sometimes lucky) hockey they have been playing. If you honestly thought that they could go 48-0, then you're just not sane.
Anyhow, if ever there was a night for the Hawks to be lacking manpower, this was it. With Crawford nursing what has been report as a concussion, and Seabrook icing his sore balls from the cup check he took the other night, they were ripe for the picking. I would hate for all these rainbows and unicorns to end against the Canucks, but it looked like divine intervention had the planets aligned. There was still a game to be played, but the story could have already been written for them.
The first period was a track meet from the word "GO". There were 4 breakaways, none of which were successful, and the only goal was a terrible dribbler by Vancouver. The Canucks actually out shot the Hawks 12-9, but the chances were closer story than the stats tell.
The second was slanted much more in the Hawks favor and they dominated Vancouver for 20 minutes. They scored three of goals to take a lead, and out shot the Canucks 16-6, but there was still an entire period to play. We all know that nothing is a lock in a Nucks/Hawks game.
The Hawks had a number of chances to close out the game, in the third period, but could not manage that insurance goal. This would bite them in the ass, in painful fashion. The Canucks scored 2 goals in the final three minutes of the game to send it into extra time. A game they allowed the Canucks back into with massive failed odd man breaks. The streak was intact, but the points were almost bittersweet.
The Hawks had chances in OT as well, but were still snake bitten by the Canucks goaltender. Plenty of chances to win this one in regulation and in extra time, out shooting the Canucks 43-32, but the Hawks nearly left thew extra point on the table.
- Shooter opened up the scoring for the Hawks on a play that could have been whistled for a too many men penalty. The Hawks got away with the infraction and Crazy 8s dropped it off to a wide open Shooter, who wound up and beat Schneider through the 5-hole. The Canucks were too busy crying about the missed call to bother playing defense.
- After screaming at the TV for a good 20 seconds while the Hawks failed to take advantage of a Canucks defender without on a stick as the Hawks were on a powerplay, Hossa finally blasted a half clapper over Schneider's blocker for a 2-1 Hawks lead, late in the second period.
- Hossa's second goal of the night was colossal and masterful. Hoss picked up the puck in the corner and took it hard to the crease. He could have dumped it off to Saad, who had position in front, but he carried it through the crease like a bull in a china shop and tucked it around Schneider's left leg. Highlight reel goal. 3-1 Hawks.
- I'm really going to miss watching Swedeberg blaze trails around defenders only to not finish. Speed is a dangerous skill that you can never have enough of. It's just too bad that they are going to have let him go when some idiot GM throws a bag of money at him.
- As a team, the Hawks were over 50% at the dots. Only Marcus Kruger dicked the dog with his 36%.
- Brookbank and Deuce together? That is enough to make me want to masturbate with a handful of broken glass, rather than watch Keith run around covering for Brookbank all night.
- I'm not really sure what is going on with the Hawks with letters. First, it was Deuce against the Sharks, then it was Toews flipping out against Thornton, and then Tuesday it was Shooter flipping out on Ballard. Some of the strangest reactions I've ever seen from the Hawks Captains.
- I'm not normally one to accuse the Canucks of diving, but they spent the third period falling all over themselves. As a hockey player, it's embarrassing to watch a professional team pull that kind of stupid shit. I agree with Eddie O, that a diving penalty should negate the original infraction. The Canucks would have to fold, because they wouldn't know how to function. Gutless little pieces of shit.
- Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa are a couple of smug ass clowns. I have no use for either of them. The ass hattery they pull game in and game out, is just asinine. Those are two guys I wouldn't mind seeing speared in the junk.
- Edler scored a long powerplay goal with with just under 3 minutes to go in the game, through screens from about 5 players. Emery was cheating to the wrong side to see around the Canucks player standing in his front porch and was beaten on the stick side. 3-2 Hawks.
- The Blackhawks choked on not 1; not 2; but three first period breakaways. Hossa, Bolland and Shooter all had 1-on-1 chances with Schneider but failed to capitalize. Two of those breakaways were on the same Hawks penalty kill. You have to cash in on at LEAST one of those. Looking ahead, just one of those scores would have avoided the Shootout drama.
- Weise took a cheap shot at Kruger, not by what could have been a clean hit, but because he left his feet. Dull-ig took exception, drawing the misconduct and the instigation penalty. Shocking, I know. How Weise got away with that is beyond me. He only got a fighting penalty on the play.
- The first Canucks goal was truly brutal. Daniel Sedin just drove up Emery's left side, and threw a backhand at the net. For some reason, Emery chose to use the one knee down method which left an opening right down through his 5-hole. Sedin hit him in the chest and it fell down through the hole and into the net like a soda machine gulping up a quarter. Awful goal.
- Jannik Hansen pulled a real douchebag move by elbowing Hossa in the back of the head as Hossa went for a head high puck. Hansen has no intention of playing the puck and SHOULD get a call from Brendan Shanaban. Such an asshole move for the member of a team that cried like a bunch of little sissy bitches when Deuce took out Sedin last year. Same fucking circumstance, except it was to the back of a defenseless player's head. Hossa never returned to the game, and you have to figure he's got yet another concussion. If Hossa has to miss time, there has to be a suspension for Hansen.
- Just as you might fear, with the goalie pulled, after two failed Oduya clearing chances, Asshat Kevin Bieksa let a 55 foot shot go that beat Emery again on the stick side to tie the game with under 2 minutes to play. Couldn't come from any bigger ball bag.
- El Capitan lost control of the puck
- Schroeder was stopped by Emery
- Crazy 8s was the lucky recipient of Schneider scoring on himself after a ref conference with Toronto confirmed the goal.
- Higgins took his time and beat Emery
- Shaw beat Schneider blazed in and beat Schneider.
- Emery snagged Kesler's attempt with his glove.