Blackhawks at Avalanche4-3 OT Win Recap

"Birthday Song"

by Patrick Stankus

Unlike the Puckin Hostile crew who finished closed out 2015 with last night's New Year's Eve Eve episode, the Blackhawks closed out 2015 by taking on the Avalanche in Denver. In addition to tonight being New Year's Eve, it was also Corey Crawford's 31st birthday. Joel Quenneville rewarded Crawford by giving him the night off. Also getting the night off for the Blackhawks was the $4 million dollar man Bryan Bickell. Terrific, what a way to close out 2015.

As the puck dropped in Denver, it looked like the Hawks were suffering from Steve Konroyd's favorite excuse of the thin air being an issue. I like to put it as a sluggish start, just like they've had in Chicago before. Early on with TVR in the box, the Avs would get on the board first after a Carl Soderberg redirect to give them a 1-0 lead. After a failed power play by the Hawks, they would be able to tie the game before the opening frame would end. With 90 seconds remaining, Artem Anisimov would score to tie the game at one after the opening 20 minutes.

The second period was like night and day for the Hawks. The Hawks dominated play throughout, and it showed on the scoreboard. The opening five minutes saw the Hawks get goals from Andrew Desjardins, and on the power play from Patrick Kane, to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead. Midway through the second, Cody McLeod would cut the lead to 3-2 after a brutal goal from 50 ft out allowed by Darling. In the middle frame the Hawks would end up out shooting the Avs 17-5, but couldn't add anymore to their lead. After 40 minutes, the Hawks would lead the Avs 3-2.

Much like how the Hawks bounced back with a better effort in the second period, the Avs returned the favor in the third period. Early on, the Hawks were forced to kill off a Brent Seabrook penalty, which they did, but the Avs generated some momentum. After two failed power plays, the Avs cashed in immediately, off another soft goal allowed by Scott Darling. Erik Johnson beat Darling with a weak wrist shot from a bad angle to tie the game at three. In the remaining five minutes, the Avs would have a couple chances to win the game, but none would go in, and we'd head to overtime.

The overtime frame would feature some great chances for both teams, but the Hawks would benefit from an Avs penalty. With Iginla in the box, Jonathan Toews would bail out Scott Darling, and beat Varlamov from the goal mouth to close out 2015 with a win for the Blackhawks.

And before I go, a big thank you to all our readers and listeners. It means a lot to hear your feedback, and we really appreciate it folks! You guys are the best. Thanks for making 2015 a great year. Let's make 2016 even better. Happy New Year to all of you.

The Good

• The #AK72Line was on display tonight at both even strength and on the power play. Their first goal of the night came from Artem Anisimov in the first period. Their second goal of the night came by way of the power play in the second period by Patrick Kane. I'm glad the honeymoon with the #AK72Line isn't over.
• Phillip Danault continues to impress during this stint with the Hawks. Although he was robbed of his first career goal by Varlamov, Danault was very noticeable. This gives hope to all of us who have a bad hip at a relatively young age.
• Andrew Desjardins hot streak continued tonight. He added his third goal in two games.
• Speaking of Desjardins, it was nice to see balanced scoring tonight, aside from just the #AK72Line. In addition to Desjardins, Toews scored in OT to win it.
• The Hawks power play had two goals tonight. That unit is so feast or famine, its not even funny.
• Teuvo's pass on Desjardins goal was a thing of beauty. Just imagine how good Teravainen can be if the Hawks A. Give him real players to play with, and B. Develop him correctly.

The Bad

• Artemi Panarin had a bad turnover at the point on the second Blackhawks power play in the second period. To his credit, he showed nice hustle on the backcheck to breakup a Carl Soderberg breakaway.
• Remember how I said the Hawks power play was feast or famine? Yes, they had two goals tonight, but they also had six power play opportunities.
• I'm crediting Gate with this one. Rob SuckDeri is exactly that. A sucky hockey player. Tonight he barely managed to break a sweat in 6:52 of ice time, and getting destroyed twice.
• Yes, the Hawks won, but I can't be 100% satisfied with the win, since it came in overtime, and gave a point to a divisional opponent.
• The "well Scott Darling hasn't played in awhile" talk is a lame excuse for his performance tonight. You need to be ready to play when called upon. Even Sheldon Brookbank did that correctly in the 2013 Western Conference Final.

The Ugly

• Steve Fucking Konroyd. The guy makes vanilla ice cream look exciting. Not to mention he's a complete clown. I counted 5 times before the 2nd period started that he called Artem Anisimov "Artemi." And bloggers are what's wrong with the hockey world.
• Scott Darling tried his best to make sure I didn't make it to the year 2016. I just about damn near had a heart attack when he came out to the circles to play a loose puck in the first period. How many times do I have to say it? STAY IN THE FUCKING NET.
• Speaking of Darling, midway through the second period, he allowed a 50 ft wrist shot from Cody McLeod to beat him glove side. McLeod's degenerate father Kelly Chase must have been proud. Talk about WOOOOOF.
• See Erik Johnson's goal.
• See Bryan Bickell, but look in the press box for him.
• And finally, it appears Scott Darling's birthday present to Corey Crawford was giving Crawford the net back.

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 46

In this Puckin Hostile Shoutcast number 46, the Dmitri Nabokov episode, the Puckin Hostile clowns are back together for a year end "Airing of Grievances" episode, where Gate is seconds from either vomiting or crapping his pants for the entire 2 1/2 hours.

The group discuss the following:

-We end 2015 on a sober note. RIP Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead)
-Gate is introduced to NHL Network's Kelly Nash
-Fatrick gets lit up by a fat old mediocre face puncher
-Special segment for the second annual New Years Eve Eve Shoutcast
-The Hockey Press just wont go away
-World Junior Championships and over reacting
-Marcus Kruger has a serious injury, and Fatrick cries into his McRib
-Games vs Oilers, Sabres, Sharks, Stars, Hurricanes, and Quebec Coyotes
-Blackhawks roster moves including Philip Danault, David Rundblad and Erik Gustafsson
-Loyal listener questions from Matt Grunow
-Puckin Hostile Holiday Roadwatch bust
-And as always, an abundance of inappropriate references and jokes in very bad taste

You can find the episode on iTunes by following this link: iTunes

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 46 MP3 Direct Download
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Blackhawks at Arizona7-5 Win Recap

"Born To Lose"
(Click the Title, RIP LEMMY)
by Gatekeeper

For the last game of 2015, the Blackhawks traveled to sunny Arizona to face the lowly, but promising, Coyotes. The Blackhawks came off a pretty eventful day as far as they are concerned. They placed David Rundblad on waivers and called up defenseman Erik Gustafsson from Rockford. This was enough for all of us reasonable mammals to celebrate, but there was still danger of him coming back since no one claimed him off waivers. This was also the first time the Blackhawks faced their former team translator, Viktor Tikhonov, who was claimed on waivers by the Coyotes, who are actually serious about letting the poor kid actually play some hockey rather than eat all the bags of pretzels and peanuts in the press box.

The Hawks and Yotes opened up the game like the wild fucking west, Tuesday night. It started off pretty innocently but the powerplays began about five minute in, all hell then broke loose. The two team combined for power play goals on all of the first three, before the game was 10 minutes old. Sprinkle in an even strength goal and wrap this shit show up with a final minute powerplay goal and you have a 3-2 first period. The real laugher of this period was that the Blackhawks were out shot 12-5. WOOF

Understandably, the Yotes made a goalie switch for the second period, turning to a rookie named Louis Domingue. He thanked them by giving up a goal that was even worse than the one his opposing netminder gave up in the first period. The powerplays definitely slowed as far as production goes in the middle period as well. After the dust settled in this period, the Blackhawks had scored 2 goals on 17 shots while the Yotes were held scoreless on 14.

The third period can be best described as "sloppy" as far as the Blackhawks are concerned. Luckily for them, they were playing a team that was LITERALLY scoring on themselves. The Blackhawks went up 6-2 early on, but then proceeded to let the home team back in the game by giving up 3. When the game mercifully came to an end, the Blackhawks finished 2015 with a 7-5 win. All looks the same in the standings, right? Have a Happy New Year, everyone.

The Good

• The Blackhawks powerplay is just maddening. They look like total dogshit for the first half, so much so that Edzo was suggesting they play dump and chase the rest of the advantage after a Jonathan Toews live grenade to Teravainen led to a shorthanded 2-on-1. They turn right around the next shift and easily break the Coyotes defense which leads to Duncan Keith's powerplay goal.
• A minute after the Keith goal, the Blackhawks scored a second powerplay goal. This time from slumping Artem Anisimov. It was a pretty simple play that led to a long laser from the point, which Anisimov redirected in front.
• Stand down, everybody! Looks like all the Blackhawks ills are cured, guys. The biggest Hawks problem is fixed. The guy that was holding everybody back, Artemi Panarin, scored.
  Anyhow, Artemi Panarin, the pleasantly overachieving rookie that is 38 games into his NHL career, closed out the the final first period power play with a long snipe over Lindback, giving the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead.
• You know you are having a bad night when you give up a bouncing 50 foot wrist shot goal from Andrew Desjardins, two minutes into your night. Welcome to the game, Louis Domingue. It got worse.
• With just over 6 minutes remaining in the second period Andrew Shaw found Patrick Kane across the slot with a nice pinpoint pass, and Domingue had zero chance to get over in enough time to even attempt to stop Kane's shot. The Yotes are fucking awful. It should also be pointed out that the play was started by a nice keep-in and pass from Erik Gustafsson. No use for a guy like that on this team!
• Max Domi is a player. Kid has some serious talent. Let's all hope none of Shitstain Doan's repulsive sliminess rubs off on the kid.
• Erik Gustafsson was barely noticeable in 14:43 of time. He ended up with a plus 3, and an assist. Perfect for his spot. Just be serviceable. That he was, which is more than anyone can say for Rob Suck-deri.
• Hey, shit, Michael Rozival was alright too, eh? He matched his partner's +3, of course, in 13:23. That has to count for something right, Beetlejuice?
  

The Bad

• Zybanek Michalek tied the game for the Coyotes, at 2, with almost 8 minutes remaining in the FIRST FUCKING PERIOD. Dennis Rasmussen got caught running around in the Hawks zone, after he turned the puck over. Oliver Ekman-Larsson wound up behind the Blackhawks net with about half a day to find Michalek for a one timer past Crawford.
• Shitstain Doan got his second goal of the game with about 12:30 remaining in the third period, on the powerplay. There were about 4 asses in Crawford's grill, which MAY have been a contributing factor.
• Andrew Shaw had a breakaway from center ice, and you might have some idea how that ended. "Hands of Stone" fumbled the puck like a virgin with a bra strap, on prom night, after faking Domingue out.
• Connor Murphy brought the game back within 2 goals with seven minutes remaining in the game. Tobias Rieder hit Murphy with a pass across the high slot and Murphy used an Antoine Vermette screen to beat Crawford. With all the crazy goalie interference calls this year, Quenneville had to be hoping they would take a look when he called timeout after. Was enough to make you wonder.
• Shitstain Doan finished off the hat trick with 27 seconds remaining in the game, on the powerplay. When nothing mattered. The appropriate time for him to tie the franchise record for career goals, when no one else gave a rat's ass. Clearly the "fans" didn't because there was ONE fucking hat thrown on the ice. That's both insulting and pitiful. Throw your hats out there, you fucking jackals!
• The Blackhawks gave up 37 shots, and somehow managed to score 7 on only 28 of their own. Kick your own asses, 'Zona. Seriously...
  

The Ugly

• The third powerplay of the game, and first by Arizona, yielded a simply BRUTAL goal given up by Corey Crawford. Shitstain Doan was on the half boards and just flipped the puck lightly at the net. The puck bounced innocently in front of Crawford and took a sharp left on him. Ugly looking goal, but the puck bounces funny sometimes. I guess. He should have honestly pulled a Pudge Fisk and gotten his entire body in front of that puck. He gave it the "Ole", and it handcuffed him something fierce.
• Andrew Desjardins' second goal of the game came with about 5 minutes gone in the third. Teravainen found him in behind the the Yotes defense and hit him with a great pass. Desjardins got off a shot that Domingue saved, but Grossman plowed into the crease and put the puck into his own net. This was a game of Benny Hill style goals.
• Late in the third there was some incidental contact between Zybanek Michalek and Marian Hossa at the Hawks blue line. Unfortunately, Michalek's head made contact with Hossa's shoulder because Michalek was bent over reaching for the puck. Foley was completely mystified as to why Michalek laid face down on the ice for a good minute after the play, even after seeing the replay. The best he could come up with was "looks like there could have been some knee, to knee contact". At that moment, you were the dumbest person watch this game. Pull yourself together.
• Bryan Bickell is so utterly terrible that Quenneville limitted him to 6:47 of ice time. He still inexplicably managed to take a penalty and go -2. When the best thing Pat Foley can say about a $4 Million player is that he had 5 hits in his previous game, that is an atrocious player.
• While we're at it, I'm going to tell you something that none of you probably realized. Ryan Garbutt dressed and played. "Played" being a relative term, because he was on the ice for miniscule 5:50. Enough said.
• Dennis Rasmussen centered this immense and gaping black hole of a line, and his reward was 6:21 time on ice.
  

The Lineblender
Shaw - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Rasmussen - Garbutt
Teravainen - Danault - Desjardins

Keith - van Riemsdyk
Hjalmarsson - Seabrook
Rozsival - Gustafsson

Blackhawks vs. Hurricanes2-1 Loss Recap

"Verbeauty And The Beast"

by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks returned from the Christmas break on Sunday night to take on the Carolina Hurricanes at The UC on Sunday night. Also returning to the rink on Sunday was Marian Hossa who missed the last couple of games due to an upper body injury. With four days off between games, tonight's game had the makings of being one of those trap games, especially with the fact the Hurricanes played last night. Oh, should I also mention, tonight marked the return of Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom to Chicago?

When the puck dropped, the Hawks didn't look as sluggish as they could have been, but the Canes did have the extra jump to their step. As the period went on, both teams had a few quality chances, but neither could convert. With just over four minutes remaining in the period, Artem Anisimov had a great opportunity, but Eddie Lack denied him with a shoulder save. For the majority of the period, the Hawks fourth line was the best, but as the period wound down, the other lines started picked up the slack. As the horn sounded however, the game would be scoreless after 20 minutes.

As the second period got underway, it was mentioned that during the intermission the Hurricanes held a closed door meeting. Judging by the play early in the period, it didn't look like the meeting had much motivation for them. Just prior to the midway part of the game, Jonathan Toews had a great chance in front of Lack, but Lack made the save. A few seconds later, the Hawks would head to their first power play of the night, which would prove to be powerless. For the most part, this second period could have been brought to you by Serta because it damn could have put you to sleep. With 18 seconds remaining, Justin Faulk fired a wrist shot that beat Crawford five hole, and after two periods, the Canes would lead the Hawks 1-0.

The final 20 minutes of the game would be nothing short of frustration for the Hawks. They dominated the Canes in the shot department, out shooting them 19-9 in the third period. Despite that, it would be the Canes who would add to their lead. Off a lost face off in the defensive zone Victor Rask would increase the Canes lead to 2-0. Down the stretch, Corey Crawford came up big in net for the Hawks, keeping it a two goal game. In the final seconds, Brent Seabrook would score the lone, meaningless tally for the Hawks to cut the Canes lead to 2-1. With the final horn only seconds away, that would prove to be the final as the Hawks lost to the Canes on Sunday night.

The Good

• For the first 50 minutes of this game, Corey Crawford was the only reason the Hawks were even in the game. In the end he made 25 saves in the loss.
• The Hawks showed some fight in the final 10 minutes of the game, but it was too little too late. Frankly, I'm just stretching for something else to put in the good category.

The Bad

• In the first period, the referees missed two, too many men on the ice penalties on the Hurricanes. Pat and Eddie made sure you knew that "they weren't even close."
• The Hawks first power play of the night just might be the cure for my insomnia. Talk about vanilla.
• Thanks to a Hjalmarsson hooking penalty, and a Joakim Nordstrom embellishment penalty, we were treated to 4 on 4 for two minutes in the second period. It was riveting to say the least.
• Typical loss for the Blackhawks tonight, another time when they make a backup goalie look like an all star. Eddie Lack was peppered with 36 shots tonight, and probably deserved the shutout.
• Carolina blocked 21 shots tonight. That screams laziness to me on the Hawks part of finding open shooting lanes.
• In the first period, the fourth line was the best line for the Hawks. That's a hell of a way to open a game.

The Ugly

• Early in the second period WGN had a nice blackout of the game for about 30 seconds. I guess they must have blown a fuse while charging Dan Roan for the second intermission.
• How boring was the second period? Pat and Eddie talked about the Cubs off season signings and what kind of sandwiches they'd make out of the Christmas dinner leftovers while play was going on.
• The shitshow that was the second period, ended just as you'd expect with the Hawks allowing a goal in the final minute of the period. Terrific.
• I love Q's coaching of young players. Phillip Danault loses a face off draw in defensive zone, and Canes score. The result? Q benches Danault. God forbid a young player makes a mistake. Nothing says great coaching of young players by making them feel like they're walking on eggshells.
• Who else enjoyed seeing Rob Scuderi's ass stapled to the bench in the third period while Q tried to "generate offense." 
• What the fuck was the Kane-Shaw-Desjardins line in the third period?
• Man, Jeff Skinner would look awesome in a Blackhawks sweater. Maybe Eric Staal too. I wonder if those are 100% true rumors @TheHockeyPress is reporting on. Fuck off.
• Screw it, I'm gonna go back to my Twitter battle with Kelly Chase and other Blues fans. That was at least enjoyable.

Blackhawks at Dallas4-0 Shutout Loss Recap

"Merry F#%king Christmas"
by Gatekeeper

Here it is, Folks. The big one. The division leading, back-to-back off-season champion Dallas Stars. The Blackhawks rolled into Dallas with some bumps an bruises. Marian Hossa was out with an upper body injury, and the Hawks were still getting adjusted to the loss of 4th line center Marcus Kruger. The Stars had been whipping some NHL ass, coming into this one. Their record was 25-7-2 with 8 more points than our heroes, at 52. The Blackhawks road record was a paltry, almost putrid, 6-7-3. To drill things down even finer, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, and Patrick Kane had themselves a fine little points race going on. They were 1-2-3 coming into the game, and 1-2-4 in the entire league goals. For those looking for that narrative, the Blackhawks were to face former Hawks cup winners Patrick Sharp, Johnny Oduya and Antti Niemi, while the Stars were sure to get a tepid dose of Ryan Garbutt. Probably just enough to remember why they don't miss him.

The pace of the first period as everything we were hoping for, but the scoring chances left alot to be desired. The Blackhawks were given two powerplays, but couldn't muster more than 3 shots total. The Stars actually had the majority of the few scoring chances that were generated. If I told you that these two teams would combined for 10 shots in the period, you would have told me to shut the hell up.

The second period showed a little more promise than the first, for both teams. The Stars got their power play "even up" calls, and they took advantage on one of said power plays. Believe it or not, the Blackhawks actually out shot the Stars by a pretty decent margin, 14-8, but all it took was one for the Stars to take a lead. This game was starting to give one the feeling of one of those "former teammate bites the hand that fed him" games, with the way Antti Niemi was playing, and guess what?

The third period was a fucking abortion. The Stars scored eleven seconds in and ran away with the game. The Blackhawks managed THREE lousy fucking shots in the third period, and a total of 20 overall. That will win you exactly no games. Now we all have to munch on this shit sandwich for 5 days.

The Good

The Bad

• The two first period powerplays were just brutal. In fact, the Hawks gave up a pretty decent shorthanded chance to Jamie Benn, early on.
• Ryan Garbutt and Andrew Desjardins had a pretty good second period 2-on-1 chance with one little problem, it was Garbutt and Desjardins. Not so much Garbutt, because he was able to get a good shot off and produce a rebound for Desjardins, who then put it right into a prone Antti Niemi.
• Just eleven seconds into the third period, Patrick Sharp snuck in behind Duncan Keith and Jamie Benn was able to drop a pass in on Sharp's stick. After shooting on Crawford for years in practice, Sharp knew just where to deposit the puck. We miss you, Sharpie! Wish you didn't make so much damn cabbage.
• Rob Scuderi took a puck in the beak, in the third period. That required some stitches.
• Crawford was exposed pretty bad in this one, but it could have also been 6-0.

The Ugly

• I can only hope that Quenneville found some warmth in that cold dead heart of his, when he started the 4th line, and Ryan Garbutt against his former team.
• Halfway through the second period, Jason Spezza finally opened the scoring. Spezza worked a ice little one touch give-n-go with Patrick Sharp, and had Crawford dead to rights. Crawford actually covered the post pretty well, but the puck snuck through. I would have though that Spezza would have gone long side, but he didn't.
• Antoine Roussel is a flaccid penis with ears. I may only hate one player more, and that is Steve "The Pirate" Ott. Fuck both of those guys in the bung with a sizzling soldering iron.
• Just under three minutes after the Sharp goal, Colton Sceviour redirected a long Jordie Benn shot past Crawford, to give the Stars a 3-0 lead. Call me #TeamMiserable, but there is little chance you're going to come back against a team with this fire power, especially one that has scored the most 3rd period goals in the league.
• The Blackhawks had pretty much just given up by the time Mattias Janmark used Michal Rozsival like the pylon he is, and banked the puck off him into the Blackhawks net.
• The Blackhawks were shut out by the team ranked 17th in goals against. Let that sink in.
• Hello, Trevor van Riemsdyk! Here is YOUR -3 for Christmas.
• I'm so glad Brandon ManSHITTER dressed for 5:56. At this point the fact that he is actually paid a salary is fucking larceny. He should be forced to pay his way onto the rink like rat hockey players do. Can Q put an actual useful player on the ice, and knock this shit off?f
• Speaking of useless sacks of shit:
  

The Lineblender
Teravainen - Toews - Shaw
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Rasmussen - Mashinter
Desjardins - Danault - Garbutt

Keith - van Riemsdyk
Hjalmarsson - Seabrook
Rozsival - Scuderi

Blackhawks vs. Sharks4-3 OT Win Recap

"Who's The Boss"

by Patrick Stankus

On Sunday night, the Blackhawks hosted the San Jose Sharks in their final home game before the Christmas break. The Hawks were returning home from a visit to Buffalo on a Saturday afternoon snoozefest. Coach Q decided to ride the hot hand in net with Crawford, instead of playing local hero Scott Darling. Another curveball thrown at us late, was the late scratch of Marian Hossa with an upper body injury.

The scoring would be fast and furious in the first period. The Hawks would be the first to get on the scoreboard. The #AK72Line would strike first, with Artem Anisimov found a loose puck and hammered it home to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The lead would prove to be short lived for the Hawks. The Sharks would score on a breakaway 3 minutes later, and followed that up with a power play goal to take a 2-1 lead. Much like the Hawks lead, the Sharks lead would also prove to be short lived. Just under 2 minutes later, Patrick Kane would tie the game at 2, and that's where we'd stand after the opening 20 minutes.

In the second period, the scoring would calm down, but the scoring chances for both teams would be a plenty. The teams combined for a total of 25 shots in the second. Despite the Hawks having 13, it would be the Sharks that found the back of the net. With just over 5 minutes remaining in the period, Joel Pavelski would add his 16th goal of the season to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. As the horn sounded ending the second, the score would remain 3-2 in favor of the Sharks.

In the opening minutes of the third period, the Hawks would try to hand the Sharks the win with some sloppy play. The Hawks were forced to kill off back to back power plays after penalties by TVR and Patrick Kane. The penalty kill would come through, and the Hawks would gain some momentum from it. Right after the second kill, Andrew Shaw would score to tie the game at three. Down the stretch the Sharks had some quality chances, but Corey Crawford would stand tall and after 60 minutes, we'd head to overtime.

Without #TeamMiserable watching together, we'd actually get to see the 3 on 3 gimmick, unlike yesterday during the #PuckinHostileRoadWatch. As is the case, the 3 on 3 didn't last long. The Hawks would get a 2 on 1 featuring Kane and Toews, which meant it was good night, and drive home safely. Toews buried a shot, and sent the UC crowd home happy with a 4-3 win for the Hawks.

The Good

• After being crushed at the dot in the 1st period, the Hawks bounced back to win the face off battle 36-35.
• Normally allowing 3 goals isn't a great performance, but Corey Crawford was huge in net for the Hawks. In the end he made 33 saves, but his best was a glove save on Joonas Donskoi in the 3rd period.
• Artem Anisimov had a solid night. He was all over the place in the first period, and netted the Hawks opening goal.
• Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist, to go with a team high +4 on the night.
• Phillip Danault had an assist tonight. Its only been 2 games, but so far so good. No complaints thus far, as much as that pains me to say as a Marcus Kruger fan.
• It was good to see the PK bounce back and kill off both of the Sharks power plays in the 3rd period, after yielding a PPG in the 1st period.

The Bad

• Marian Hossa was a late scratch tonight due to an upper body injury. It also looks like he won't be available on Tuesday night when the Hawks visit Dallas.
• Hossa's late absence meant we were treated to 4:38 of The Manshitter, to go along with a fight and a -2 on the night.
• Duncan Keith's positioning on Donskoi's breakaway goal in the 1st period was flat out awful. I can only imagine the outrage if that was Rozsival instead of Keith.
• Just as we say we're impressed with Dennis Rasmussen, he gets rewarded by Q with 6:59 of ice time. Welcome to Mooseport, or as we say Q' Doghouse.

The Ugly

• The Hawks tried to piss this game away in the opening minutes of the 3rd period with back to back penalties. Talk about bad timing for that.
• Remember the hype of "Hertl Power" because of 1 game by Tomas Hertl? First of all, how dare you spin the Ninja Turtles like that, but secondly, that lazy change by him in OT is what lead to the Kane and Toews 2 on 1. On second thought, thank you Tomas Hertl for being an average player.
• The Hawks yielded double digit shot totals to the Sharks in all 3 periods tonight. You'd like to see them tighten up the defense a tad bit.
• Brent Burns, shave your fucking beard. God only knows what the fuck is living in it.

Blackhawks at Buffalo3-2 Shootout Win Recap

"The Great Pretender"

by Gatekeeper

Well, the Puckin Hostile Road Watch was a huge bust, and so was the game we watched. That is alright, because we all knew that doing a roadwatch on the Saturday before Christmas was an awful idea. Eh, big deal.

The Blackhawks came out in the first period and took a quick 1-0 lead, but then went into winter hibernation. Two straight Sabres goals put the Blackhawks in a hole which they eventually dug themselves out of very late in the game.

The game went to overtime, in a rare no 3-vs-3, because of powerplays each way. When the game finally hit the shootout, the Blackhawks first of the season, it played out exactly how you would have thought. Patrick Kane was the only scorer, and the Blackhawks took the extra point.

The Good

• Dennis Rasmussen might very well be a thing. He put the Blackhawks up in the first period with a power move around Evander "I'm the second best" Kane. Once he was in on Chad Johnson, he was able to lift a shot up and over Johnson's glove for a 1-0 lead. All looked like it was going to go the Hawks way. Not so much.
• You could not have scripted this result any better. Blackhawks and Sabres are tied with under 2 minutes to go and who scores on the 6-on-3 advantage? Patrick Fucking Kane. Because, of course. It took them FAR too long to score, also. According to stats, they are third in the league in powerplay scoring, but they take damn need 2 full minutes to score on a 6-on-3 advantage against a team who's PK is in the 20's. This 3rd in the league shit is going to come crashing down, soon.
• Phillip Danault had an alright debut. He played bout 11 and a half minutes. He was on the ice for the Franson goal, but that had nothing to do with him.

The Bad

• The Ryan O'Reilly goal was a result of a Blackhawks defensive crossup. O'Reilly gave the puck up to Sam Reinhart and both Blackhawks defenders just left O'Reilly alone. Reinhart found O'Reilly on the back door and Crawford had no chance.
• Two Sabres penalties on the same play was an absolute gift.

The Ugly

• This game was painfully boring. PAINFULLY
• As #Fatrick said, "Stunning, Gate and I are watching a game which there was no 3 on 3 OT, and game goes to a shootout. Blame #TeamMiserable"
• Ryan O'Reilly, Tyler Ennis, and Zemgus Girgensons all failed in the shootout. What about that Eichel kid?
• Speaking of Jack "The Greatest American Hero" Eichel. He played 18:55, or so I'm told.
  
• The Cody Franson goal was brutal. Crawford went behind the net to play it, the puck hopped over his stick and he just assumed that Andrew Desjardins was going to bail him out. He half assed it back into the net and Desjardins didn't help any. Franson had a pretty open net to hit, and he did.
• Thanks to everyone who showed up to the Roadwatch. All four of us. If I hear one more complaint of "when are you doing a roadwatch?", I'm pointing to this recap. At least it was people I actually like.

The Lineblender
Teravainen - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Rasmussen - Shaw
Garbutt - Danault - Desjardins

Keith - van Riemsdyk
Hjalmarsson - Seabrook
Rozsival - Scuderi

Blackhawks vs Oilers4-0 Shutout Win Recap

"You're Better Off Dead"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks were back at the United Center Thursday night to face the Oilers, after a pretty poor offensive effort against the Avalanche Tuesday night. That is, the Connor McClavicle-less Edmonton Oilers. The Kane point streak was finally over, and the circus surrounding it. Thank god.

The Blackhawks jumped out to a lead 1-0 in the first period and never looked back. They also out shot the Oilers 14-9 which set up some great momentum. Generally though, it was a pretty boring period.

The Second period has more action as far as shots, but the scoring was identical to the first. The Blackhawks added another goal, to take a 2-0 lead. The Oilers did, however, put in a better effort forth, getting out shot by only one, 15-16.

While the Oilers had the advantage in third period shots 9-7, the Blackhawks were able to make the most of their shots. The Blackhawks put the icing on a 4-0 shutout win with 2 late goals. All in all, this was a perfect game for the Blackhawks. Next up, the American Hero Jack Eichel and the Sabres in Buffalo, on Saturday.

The Good

• Jonathan Toews opened up the scoring for the game with six minutes remaining in the first period. Teuvo Teravainen started the play with a breakout from Hawks the half boards to Marian Hossa. Hossa then carried the puck into the zone 2-on-1 with Jonny Toews breaking. Hossa saucered a perfect pass to Toews across the slot for a one timer over Talbot's glove. Tell me again what is wrong with Teravainen playing left wing on that line?
• Just past the halfway point in the second period, Teuvo Tervainen gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead. Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa did some perfect forechecking deep in the Oilers zone and fed Teravainen for a quick one timer past Talbot.
• Tervavainen struck once again with about 4 minutes remaining in the game. Teuvo picked up a loose puck in the crease after a Hossa to Toews play, almost identical to the first goal of the game. This time, though, Talbot made he stop, but Teravainen poked the rebound into the net. How many times do we have to beg for Teravainen to play with skill players? THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS! STOP JERKING THE POOR KID AROUND!
• Artemi Panarin followed up the Tervainen goal with one of his own, closing out the Oilers. He was at the end of a really electric shift, where he was pulling his best Patrick Kane impression, skating around the zone unmolested. Brent Seabrook hit hi at the Oilers blue line and he was able to get a step on the pair of Eric Gryba and Andrej Sekera. Once he was clear, Panarin snapped a wrist shot past Talbot's glove. This kid is something else. Speaking of Patrick Kane, he got the secondary assist to extend....wait, we aren't doing this anymore?
• The first line was dominant for the first time this year. Three points a piece.
• Rob Scuderi didn't kill the Hawks, so I guess that's a bonus, eh?
• Ryan Garbutt was in for the Manshitter, thank god.
• After giving up one "legit" goal Tuesday night, the brick wall Crawford was back, earning his 3rd shutout in 4 games, and saving all 3 shots he faced. A new career high. He's dialed in.
• Rasmussen has really impressed me thus far. Nothing flashy, but enough skill
• I never get tired of hearing In Flames on the UC sound system.
  

The Bad

• I love Camo Talbot's Ghostbusters mask. Talbot, on the other hand, I'm not impressed with. Glorified backup that was sheltered behind a great starter in New York.
• You wouldn't guess, but the Blackhawks were actually under 50% at the dots. Rasmussen and Shaw were clowned, winning only 6 of 19.
• Marcus Kruger hurt himself in the second period and never returned.

The Ugly

• With about 6 minutes gone in the first period, Nik Hjalmarsson took a pretty harmless Justin Schultz shot to the inside of the left knee, but went down like a bag of bricks. He needed help to get off the ice and then had to go to the locker room. THAT would be a scary situation.
• Ryan Nugent-Hopkins still looks like he's 11 years old.
• Harms mentioned a Bickell for Nikitin swap of terrible contracts from underachieving players. I'm not so sure I'd be into that. Nikitin is pretty bad. He had 2 penalties and was out on the ice for 2 of the Hawks goals.

The Lineblender
Teravainen - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Rasmussen - Shaw
Garbutt - Kruger - Desjardins

Keith - van Riemsdyk
Hjalmarsson - Seabrook
Rozsival - Scuderi

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 45

In this Puckin Hostile Shoutcast number 45, the Karl Dykhuis episode, the Puckin Hostile clowns stay "hostful" style for a rare back to back week episode.

The group discuss the following:

-Stephen Burtch must be huffing compressed air cans
-Torts and Johansen butt heads in CBJ land
-Roenick's new podcast, and "playing the game"
-Patrick eats Chik-fil-a
-Trevor Daley trade for Rob Scuderi
-Pittsburgh fires their coach
-Patrick Kane Point streak mercifully comes to an end
-Creepy Dan Roan
-Games vs Nashville, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Colorado
-An actual listener submitted question.
-Looking back, Derek asks should they have traded Shaw rather than Versteeg?
-Puckin Hostile Holiday gathering / Roadwatch
-And as always, an abundance of inappropriate references and jokes in very bad taste.

You can find the episode on iTunes by following this link: iTunes

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 45 MP3 Direct Download
You can listen below on the Talkshoe player:


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Blackhawks vs. Avalanche3-0 Shutout Loss Recap

"Zero Hour"
by Patrick Stankus

The Colorado Avalanche came to town on Tuesday night to face the Blackhawks who were riding the wave of two straight shutout wins.  From the last time we talked, the Hawks made a tweak to the roster in acquiring D Rob Scuderi from the Penguins for D Trevor Daley. Much of the pregame talk was centered around how Rozsival 2.0 would fit on the Hawks blueline and that question was answered. On the third pairing with Rozsival. I know, we should all cringe at that.

From the drop of the puck, the Hawks looked like they were lacking that extra jump in their step. Despite having an early power play, the Hawks couldn't solve Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov. After having two power plays in the first period, the Avalanche would finally get on the board with just over five minutes remaining by way of a Matt Duchene goal that was redirected past Crawford. With the first 20 minutes in the books, the Hawks would trail 1-0.

The second period didn't get off to a great start for the Hawks. Just under two minutes into the period, after a nice passing play, Zach Redmond fired a wrister to put the Avs up 2-0. The Hawks would get a little better as the period went on, finally catching on to how Marian Hossa had been playing. Despite that, the Hawks could cut the Avs lead in half, and after two periods, the Avs would continue to lead 2-0.

The final 20 minutes featured both teams getting a chance on the power play, but neither could convert. The majority of the period saw both teams trade chances, but were to no avail. With time winding down, it was becoming clear that Patrick Kane's streak would come to an end. Which it did. The Avs would add an empty net goal late in the period to seal the 3-0 win over the Hawks.

The Good

• Marian Hossa was the best Blackhawk tonight. Watching him corkscrew Francois Beauchemin to the ice was hilarious. Hossa ended the night with a team high six shots, and for awhile looked like the other Hawks interested in playing.
• Corey Crawford had not a great game, but a good enough to win type game. Tonight he made 24 saves in the loss.
• The sloppy play of the Hawks resulted in the PK having to kill off four Avalanche power plays. Luckily they came through tonight.

The Bad

• Rob Scuderi was very Rob Scuderi, but not as ugly as Rob Scuderi in his Blackhawks debut. That pairing though of Scuderi and Rozsival is a disaster waiting to happen.
• I'd love to know who is paying the beat writers to write that Bickell has been great since returning to Chicago. He's been mediocre at best. Tonight a missed defensive assignment by him lead to the Avs second goal.
• Seeing Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla on the Avalanche makes even me feel old. Jesus Christ.
• I'll put this in the good category when I see it more consistently. Tonight every Blackhawk (even Artem Anisimov) was above 50% at the dot with the exception of Kruger. All in all they were 35-26 at the dot tonight.
• Patrick Kane's points streak came to an end at 26 games tonight. It was a hell of a run, but its over. Time to move on. I bet someone's parents wishes they made their kids study tonight.
  

The Ugly

• Seriously, how the hell is Ryan Garbutt not playing in favor of Brandon Mashinter? At the very least, Garbutt can give you more than five minutes of ice time. When the Manshitter goes back to Rockford, he can take Bickell back with him.
• The Hawks sloppy play resulted in them being shorthanded four times.
• Let us marvel in the fact that former Blackhawks 1st rounder Jack Skille is playing for the Avalanche. Somehow the Hawks thought he was better than Anze Kopitar. Sigh.
• The Hawks had 22 shots blocked tonight. Time to start moving those legs and finding open shooting lanes.

Blackhawks vs Canucks4-0 Shutout Win Recap

"Manshitter Kills Mankind"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks rode their red hot scoring leader and a Friday night shutout back at the United Center, to face the Vancouver Canucks Sunday night. The Blackhawks powerplay was also about as warm as the 65 degree December temperatures in Chicago, coming in ranked 5th in the league. Patrick Kane was looking to extend his point streak to 26 games.

Quite honestly, the first period was boring as all hell for this one. If not for a Blackhawks powerplay, there might not have been any scoring chances at all. There were only eight shots aside, and just the one Blackhawks powerplay goal.

The second period was a little more exciting, but not much. Thanks to a couple more powerplays each way, the goalies had to wake up long enough to make a couple of really nice saves. Patrick Kane had a more active period as well, getting a few grade A chances. The Canucks had 13 shots on net, to the Blackhawks 11.

The Third period was pretty much all Chicago. The Blackhawks scored 3 goals, including an open netter. The Canucks had a goal negated and were out shot 11-9, which led to a 4-0 final score and Corey Crawford's 4th shutout of the year. Nothing to complain about right there. Next up are the Colorado Avalanche and their hobo coach.

The Good

• The powerplay continued to gel, roughly half way through the first period. Duncan Keith took an Artemi Panarin pass from the corner, and used an Artem Anisimov screen to beat Ryan Miller. on a side note, league scoring leader Patrick Kane extended his point streak to 26 with a secondary assist.
• The Blackhawks took a 2-0 lead halfway through the third period after a nice breakout by the Blackhawks third line, Dennis Rasmussen made a touch pass to Bryan Bickell. Bickell had about 72 hours to size up Miller, but Miller got a piece of Bickell's shot but it was trickling towards the net. Rasmussen followed the play and poked it into the net.
• Corey Crawford got his second straight shutout, with 30 saves. Back to back shutouts are a rare thing for him, so enjoy it. He's done it twice this season, but only 3 times in his career.
• The Hawks were dominant at the dots, willing 64% of their draws.
• I cannot say enough about the Russians. Panarin and Anisimov have be outstanding.

The Bad

• I've gone from being a Bryan Bickell apologist to a Bryan Bickell detractor. He had several chances to bury the puck, or at least get a shot on net. He couldn't even get his big meat head mitts on the puck. Whatever they need to do to get rid of that contract needs to be done. I know he had the assist, and probably should have had the goal in the third period, but the rest of the game he looked awful.
• Rasmussen and the Manshitter played the least for the Blackhawks, but had a combined 3 points. Some nights Hockey is just plain stupid. If Rasmussen keeps this up, he may never see Rockford again, and with good reason.
• I challenge you to name more than 5 names on the Canucks roster. What a bunch of nobodies.

The Ugly

• That Pat Foley, "Henrik, where's Daniel? He's looking for Daniel." is so fucking annoying. So much so that it diverts my attention from the game. Knock that stupid shit off, Pat.
• How fucking embarrassing. After the Shaw empty netter, the Canucks then allowed The Manshitter to score his first NHL goal. I cannot express how terrible this is. There MIGHT only be one worse player in the league, and he goes by the name John Howard Scott.

The Lineblender
Teravainen - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Rasmussen - Shaw
Mashinter - Kruger - Desjardins

Keith - Hjalmarsson
van Riemsdyk - Seabrook
Daley - Rundblad

Blackhawks vs. Jets 2-0 Shutout Win Recap

"Top Gun II"

by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks returned home on Friday night to take on the Winnipeg Jets for the second time in five days. After a pathetic effort on Thursday night, the Hawks would be looking to bounce back, and frankly any kind of effort would be more than what they displayed in Nashville. The one thing the Hawks had going against them is the HUGE news of the day. Did you hear that the Cubs signed Jason Heyward? Oh my God! Why continue with this recap? No one is going to care. All that matters is the Cubs won the 2016 World Series on December 11, 2015. Alright enough of this boring ass baseball shit, onto more important things.

Right from the drop of the puck, the tone of the game would be set. Just over 3:30 into the game, the Jets took a penalty, and the feature of special teams was on. The Hawks wasted little time in cashing in on the power play. Jonathan Toews score just over a minute into the man advantage to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The rest of the period the teams would trade power play chances, with a total of three more penalties, but when the horn sounded, the score would still be 1-0 in favor of the Hawks.

The parade to the penalty box would continue in the second period. The Hawks would end up being shorthanded three times, with the Jets shorthanded two times. The lone goal of the period would come at the midway part of the game. While on the power play, Patrick Kane extended his points streak to 25 games with a power play goal. The remainder of the penalties would be killed off and after 40 minutes, the Hawks would lead the Jets 2-0.

In the third period, the penalties would tail off with the Hawks taking the lone penalty. For the majority of the period, the Jets had the momentum, but couldn't get a shot past Crawford. Actually that was it. Aside from an Andrew Shaw breakaway, I damn near fell asleep. In the end the Hawks would hang on for the 2-0 shutout win over the Jets.


The Good

• The Blackhawks power play ended the night 2 for 5. I'll take that after knowing how awful they can be at times.
• Patrick Kane extended his points streak to 25 games with a power play tally in the 2nd period.
• Jonathan Toews had the opening goal in the 1st period, and was 65% at the dot. For someone who has struggled for the majority of the season, there are no complaints with that line.
• The Hawks blocked 23 shots tonight. Can't complain when guys are willing to sacrifice themselves and block a shot.
• Unlike Thursday night, the effort for a full 60 minutes was there for the Hawks. It was a great bounce back performance.
• Corey Crawford recorded 25 save shutout tonight. That's back to back performances where he has been stellar.
• See what happens when the Puckin' Hostile Crew doesn't go to games when the Jets are in town? We will no longer attend games against the Jets.
• Trevor Daley "massively outperformed" Brent Seabrook tonight. Daley had 8:44 of ice time, while Seabrook had 25:09 of ice time. By all means Daley is the heart and soul of the Hawks defense. That's why he's out there at critical points of the game.

The Bad

• The Hawks took 5 penalties tonight. FIVE. Luckily the PK came through and killed off all five. Seriously how terrible is the Jets power play???
• Artem Anisimov was crushed at the dot again. Tonight he was 39%.
• If I wanted to nit pick, I'd say the Hawks could have been better in the third period. After Thursday's performance though, lets just enjoy this win.

The Ugly

• Dustin Byfuglien is a joke. If there is anyone out there who misses this gigantic marshmellow, go get checked for a concussion.
• Bryan Bickell's presence was felt again, mainly on the bench. He was a team low at 6:45 of ice time.
• Did you guys hear the Cubs signed Jason Heyward???!! Seriously enough. Its December.

Blackhawks at Nashville5-1 Loss Recap

"I'm Broken"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks first period was one of the worst in recent memory. They weren't able to even get a shot on net in the first 6 or 7 minutes of the game. The Blackhawks had about as many shots on net and the Predators had goals, midway through the period. It took 2 fights, 3 goals against, and 18 opposing shots for the initial twenty minutes to mercifully come to an end. Not a second too soon, because the Hawks were getting laughed out of Smashville at that point.

The second period was much more tolerable than the first. Not that it could have possibly been any worse. The Blackhawks were able to stop the bleeding, but weren't able to initiate any offense of their own. Shots on net swung completely back in the Blackhawks favor, 13-8, but there were no goals scored in the sandwich stanza.

The Blackhawks looked like they were actually interesting in the third period, but the problem was that they had already dug themselves a 0-3 hole. They ended up getting outscored 2-1 in the third even though they out shot the Preds for a second period in a row 16-8. The Preds jumped on a bad turnover and then scored a 100 foot empty net shorthanded goal. It was just one of those nights. What are ya going to do?

The Good

• I really hate the obligatory staged fights, but if Andrew Shaw wants to punch Barret Jackman's face, I can get on board. All this after the Hawks opened the game like a steaming pile of donkey dung.
• With about five minutes left in the third period, the Blackhawks were the fortunate recipients of a soft Pekka Rinne cover of the puck. Marcus Kruger bolted to follow up a long point shot on net, and Rinne was very nonchalant covering it. It laid loose in the crease and Kane was able to jam it into the net, extending his point streak.
• When Andrew Shaw is your most consistent player, pack it up.

The Bad

• With about 4 minutes left in the first period, Crag Smith and Viktor Arvidsson got in behind Trevor van Riemsdyk and Brent Seabrook. Darling made the initial save but the puck lay creeping towards the goal line and just squeaked over the line.
• While I didn't the the Shaw fight, Paul Gaustad trying to pick a fight at the end of the first period was stupid. Desjardins probably did a good thing taking Rozsival's place so they weren't short a defenseman to start the second, but what did this fight accomplish? Intermission momentum?
• Artemi Panarin left the game about midway through the second period. Luckily he was back for the third.
• Steve Konroyd went on about "If the Blackhawks could just tie this up", and that very second, Patrick Kane turned the puck over at the Hawks Blue line to noted embellisher James Neal. Neal led a 2-on-1 and took the shot himself, beating Darling.
• If it weren't for Anisimov getting his ass whipped at the dots, the rest of the Hawks centers were over 50%. Gaustad and Jarnkrok stick it up his ass, beating him 8 of 10.
• Patrick Kane played more than any Blackhawks player at 22:35. That should not happen, EVER.

The Ugly

• The Hawks couldn't possibly look any worse than they did in the first 6 minutes of the first period. They couldn't get the puck into the Preds one, much less get a shot off.
• After a stretch that bad, you'd be shocked if there was no goal given up right? Have no fear. James Neal Ended up 1-on-1 with Hjalmarsson, and was able to deke right through Hammer and get Darling moving left to right. Once Neal got Darling moving, the 5 hole was wide open for Neal to hit.
• Just 18 seconds after the Smith goal, Marcus Kruger took a defensive zone penalty. With one of their top killers in the box, the Blackhawks stood up for 19 whole seconds before Filip Forsberg gave the PERDS a 3-0 lead.
• Pekka Rinne is fucking terrible at playing the puck. His coach should be pleading with him to not play it.
• Surprise, Surprise. Barret Jackman had another "illegal check to the head" penalty. Guy is fucking garbage, and let me just mention how fucking hideously scary looking he is.
• James Neal with 2 goals. KILL ME

The Lineblender
Teravainen - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Rasmussen - Shaw
Desjardins - Kruger - Garbutt

Keith - Hjalmarsson
van Riemsdyk - Seabrook
Rundblad - Rozsival

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 44

In this Puckin Hostile Shoutcast number 44, the Patrick Poulin episode, the Puckin Hostile clowns go "hostful" style once again, after a three week long hiatus.

The group discuss the following:

-G8 returns to the roster after some down time
-Pat tries to rip off a HockeeNight.com gimmick
-Spears to the, nose, er ball bag
-John Scott for AllStar
-Terrible Stadium Series jerseys
-Washed up former Blackhawks, pre Stadium Series game roster
-Trevor Daley trade/injury
-Kero and Rasmussen
-Plenty of games
-Ryan Kesler is a chicken shit.
-Patrick Kane Point streak
-Puckin Hostile Holiday gathering / Roadwatch
-And as always, several inappropriate references and jokes in bad taste.

You can find the episode on iTunes by following this link: iTunes

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 44 MP3 Download
You can listen below on the Talkshoe player:


Get the Shoutcast on Soundcloud here:




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Blackhawks vs Predators4-1 Win Recap

"You Got No Right"

by Gatekeeper

After quite a hiatus, due to an unfortunate death in the family, I came back to some strange number numbers skating for the Blackhawks. Come big dopey looking guy wearing 29, and some other Swedish dude wearing 70. Not only that, but Trevor Daley was hurt, and Victor Tikhonov is now an Arizona Coyote. I cannot leave this place to #Fatrick for anything. All hell breaks loose. It was nice to be able to get my mind off all the chaos and back to something little more positive. I missed all of you, as well.

On to the game at hand versus the Nashville Predators.

The Blackhawks came out in the first period with a so/so effort. Getting out shot 12-9 at home, and giving up 3 breakaways isn't exactly what any coach is looking for. Lucky for the Hawks, they went into the intermission up one goal. I'll be damned if I can explain how that happened, because they certainly didn't deserve it. I guess this makes up for all those times they came away with no goals on 20 shots, in a period.

The second period was just much more of the shenanigans that went down in the first period. The Blackhawks were out shot convincingly once again, actually worse, 14-6. If you wrote up a game recap, and told me that the Blackhawks were out shot 26-15 in the first two period, I would tell you that they probably lost 3-1. Oddly enough the Hawks were up 2-1, thanks to a power play goal.

If nothing else, the Blackhawks were consistent. They were out shot in the third period as well, but out scored the Preds 2-0. Granted, one of the goals was and empty netter, but we'll take what we can get, right? Off to Smashville on Thursday.

The Good

• While he kind of seems all over the ice when he's out with Toews and Hossa, Teuvo Teravainen's skill set really lends well to the the other two. He actually has people that can comprehend his crazy passes. Playing with black holes like Garbutt or anyone in the bottom 6 cannot play at that level. They are, quite simply, overmatched.
• Almost exactly eleven minutes into the game Dennis Rasmussen redirected a long Andrew Shaw shot past Pekka Rinne for a 1-0 Blackhawks lead.
• Corey Crawford faced THREE breakaways in the first period alone, and stopped all three. Not too shabby for a guy that sucks. He was consistent all the way through, and the goal he gave up was not his fault at all.
• The two players you would least expect to contribute on a powerplay goal are Andrew Shaw and David Rundblad. Well if you predicted that, I'll give you some cash to go buy a lottery ticket. Better yet, it was during a cheap shot infraction from our favorite former Blues whipping boy, Barret Jackman. Anyhow, a pass from David Rundblad to Teuvo Teravainen was then saucered to Andrew Shaw for a pretty nice one timer.
• It took Teuvo Teravainen all of fourteen seconds in the third period to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead. He took the puck in all by himself, looked off the defender and snapped a no look laser over Rinne's blocker size. Most people with a brain bigger than a peanut have been screaming to let the kid play with some talent and guess what? He produces. Color me shocked. What fucking brain surgeon figured this out?

The Bad

• Almost exactly five minutes after the Shaw goal, the Preds Roman Josi made a beautiful play by turning some plug named Duncan Keith around like a top. and then fed Eric Nystrom on the back door, finally beating Crawford.
• I was really going to roast David Rundblad, and then he got the assist on the power play. He still sucks, but I'll lay off him slightly.
• Patrick Kane did dick-all for 58 minutes and extended his streak with an empty net goal. Sorry, but this was a mulligan even worse than the previous one.
• One for the beat writers pointed this out, but most PP time? David Rundblad. KILL ME #DED!

The Ugly

• It barely took two minutes before the pairing of Rozsival and Rundblad yielded a 2-on-1. Get well soon, Trevor Daley.
• Ryan Garbutt got a penalty while on the Blackhawks bench, yes, on the bench. Garbutt's loose stick clipped Viktor Arvidsson in the neck, as he skated by the Hawks bench. Careless and stupid.
• Bryan Bickell took exactly ONE game to return to Quenneville's doghouse. The only player to play less than Bickell was Dennis Rasmussen. This whole charade is getting pathetic. He might be the biggest bust in Blackhawks history. But, HEY, 3 #HITZ, right?
• Getting out shot 37-24. As the title indicated, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT.

The Lineblender
Teravainen - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Rasmussen - Shaw
Desjardins - Kruger - Garbutt

Keith - Hjalmarsson
van Riemsdyk - Seabrook
Rundblad - Rozsival

Blackhawks vs. Jets 3-1 Win Recap

"Stone Temple Pilots"

by Patrick Stankus

On Sunday afternoon the Blackhawks hosted the Winnipeg Jets at The UC in a rare 4pm start. Prior to the game, the Hawks made some news off the ice. After being placed on waivers by the Hawks on Saturday, Viktor Tikhonov was claimed by the Coyotes, thus clearing the way for the Hawks to recall Bryan Bickell from Rockford. What remains to be seen is the effect losing Tikhonov has on Artemi Panarin, but only time will tell.

The first period got underway with both teams looking a little sluggish at the start. That however changed as the period went on. Both teams saw several quality scoring chances in the period, but it was the Hawks that looked like they struck first. However after a video review, Marcus Kruger was determined to have done a distinct kicking motion at the puck, and the call was overturned. The Hawks however would not be denied. Later in the period, after a great shift by the fourth line, Marian Hossa found a bouncing puck off a rebound, and put it in the net to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. The period would end with the Jets getting a little testy. Bryan Bickell leveled Stay Puff Buff, who had his head down, and a scrum would follow. When the horn sounded though, it would be the Hawks who would take the lead into the dressing room at 1-0.

When the puck dropped in the second period, it was clear the Jets had fed off of the first period energy more than the Hawks. The Hawks looked like they sat back, and let the Jets run wild for a bit. Just over five minutes in, the Jets tied the game on a goal by Chris Thorburn that no one saw. For the most part the rest of the period was ho hum, with a couple of chances here and there. That changed late in the period when a scary incident involving Trevor Daley occurred. Daley fell head first into Chris Thorburn and was down on the ice for an extended period of time. A stretcher was brought out for Daley, but ultimately he left the ice with assistance from teammates. As time wound down, neither team would net another goal, and after 40 minutes the game was tied at one.

The third period got underway with a determined effort by the Toews line. That effort paid off 21 seconds into the period as Teravainen scored to put the Hawks ahead 2-1. During the third period, both teams would have opportunities on the power play, but neither could convert their opportunity. With Kane not registering a point, it looked as if his points streak would come to an end as time wound down. Then Winnipeg pulled Michael Hutchinson for the extra attacker and Kane found himself on the ice. Kane battled a loose puck to a wide open Artemi Panarin who netted the empty netter and extended Kane's streak to a franchise record 22 games. That empty netter would be the final goal scored and the Hawks would go on to defeat the Jets 3-1. Next up for the Hawks is a visit from the Nashville Predators to The UC on Tuesday night.

The Good

• Instead of whining about having his goal overturned, Kruger and the fourth line came back on their next shift, and set the tone for Hossa to score on the ensuing shift.
• As funny as it was to see Byfuglien treat Bickell like his bitch early in the game, it was very enjoyable to see Bickell get Byfuglien back. Towards the end of the first period, Bickell leveled Byfuglien after Byfuglien was caught with his head down. That's what happens when you skate with your head down.
• After being shit on by the broadcasters in the first two periods, Teuvo had a nice response of F-U by scoring 20 seconds into the third period. Hopefully this gets the gorilla off of his back.
• Patrick Kane extended his points streak to a franchise record 22 games with an assist on an Artemi Panarin empty net goal. Cheap way to extend a streak? Yes, but the Sedin twins do a lot of their work via the empty net too.
• Marcus Kruger was excellent tonight, in fact the entire fourth line was excellent tonight.
• Not often to I give credit to both goalies, but this afternoon Crawford, and Hutchinson were outstanding for their respective teams.
• The PK had a bounce back night, after a few rough outings of late. They had a solid night killing off both of the Jets power play chances.

The Bad

• Marcus Kruger thought he had scored in the first period. Unfortunately after video review, the WAR room in Toronto reversed the call of good goal on the ice because of a distinct kicking motion. Naturally the Twitter experts came out in full force to show their displeasure. Remember, the WAR room has a lot more looks at it than us. Even though he was being dragged down, Kruger leg did move forward. 9 times out of 10 that's going to be determined a distinct kicking motion. Get over it. This is coming from Kruger's biggest fan.
• The Blackhawks first power play of the game was fun as pulling out all of your teeth.
• Lots of people were confused after the Jets were awarded a goal after a stoppage for a tv timeout. Just as WGN went to break, the horn sounded in the background, which meant the WAR room was buzzing down for some reason. That reason was 45 seconds earlier, Chris Thorburn had redirected a Tobias Enstrom shot past Crawford, and was awarded a goal that no one saw. Funny how that works with an extra set of eyeballs.
• Aside from his hit on Byfuglien (which I enjoyed), Bryan Bickell was well, here ya go; -1, 7 hits, and a team low 7:03. But that element he brings to the bench is much needed.

The Ugly

• TVR took a puck to the knee or balls in the first period, and struggled to get off the ice following a stoppage. Thankfully towards the end of the first period TVR did return.
• Five minutes into the game, Andrew Desjardins took a lazy penalty. Clearly he's been hanging out with Andrew Shaw too much.
• I wish we had a "The Hilarious" section, because I'd put the sequence of an attempted hit by Bickell on Byfuglien in there. Not only did Bickell go flying after he made contact, but less than five seconds later Shaw tried his hand on Byfuglien, and Byfuglien sent him flying like a little bitch. Talk about comical.
• As much as we shit on Trevor Daley, he was involved in a scary scene in 2nd period that no one wants to see. Daley toe picked and fell head first into Chris Thorburn. Daley looked like he was in quite a bit of distress, and a stretcher was brought out for him. Ultimately he left the ice with assistance from Duncan Keith and trainer Mike Gapski. Daley did not return.
• The Hawks power play ended the night 0 for 3. None of the three opportunities produced any memorable moments.

Blackhawks at Senators 4-3 OT Loss Recap

"Now That's What I Call Hitz, Vol 81"

 by Patrick Stankus
On Thursday night, the Blackhawks traveled back to Canada for their one and only visit to Ottawa to take on the Senators. In the last two games, the Hawks have only one point to show for it, so they'll be looking to right the ship. Standing in their way is the #ChicagoNative Craig Anderson in net for the Senators.

When the puck dropped the Hawks looked like they had some extra wind that was in their sails. Unfortunately that wind didn't last long. Mike Hoffman one timed a puck past Corey Crawford to make it 1-0 Senators 90 seconds in. The Senators controlled play for the most part the rest of the way. Following a bad penalty by Marian Hossa, Bobby Ryan would score on the ensuing power play to make it a 2-0 game. Towards the end of the period the Hawks had a couple of good shifts, but in the end they produced nothing. After the opening period the Hawks would trail the Senators 2-0.

When the second period got underway, the Hawks were forced to kill off the remaining time of a late first period penalty by Andrew Shaw. Following that successful kill, the Hawks were rewarded with back to back penalties by Ottawa four seconds apart. On the 5 on 3, Patrick Kane would score to bring the Hawks within one. From that point on, the Hawks dominated play for the remaining time of the period. With just over 3 minutes remaining, Artemi Panarin clowned the Ottawa defense and fired a wrister past Anderson to tie the game at two. Despite getting a couple more chances in the final minutes, the game would remain tied at two after two.

As the third period started, the Senators were gifted with an infamous "Blackhawks too many men on the ice penalty." The Sens would waste little time in making the Hawks pay as Mark Stone cashed in after batting a puck out of midair to give the Sens a 3-2 lead. Just over six minutes into period, the Hawks had a chance on the power play, but couldn't convert. The #AK72Line show would continue later in the period. Patrick Kane fed Artem Anisimov with a no look pass from behind the net, and Anisimov hammered it home to tie the game at three. In the final seconds of the third period, the Sens had a great chance to end the game as time expired, but couldn't and the game would head to overtime. In the overtime Keith got caught in deep and turned the puck over to Erik Karlsson, and the race was on. Karlsson and Hoffman beat Kane up the ice and Hoffman fired a wrister on a 2 on 0 to win the game for the Senators 4-3 in overtime.

The Good

• Patrick Kane extended his points streak to 21 games, tying the franchise record for the Blackhawks, with a power play goal in the second period.
• Artemi Panarin's skating ability was on full display on his goal that tied the game. It was nice to see this outburst since he looks like he's been fighting it of late.
• Wasn't it nice to see the Hawks take advantage of a 5 on 3 power play?
• Just watch Anisimov's goal. That pass by Kane was a doozy.
• So in summary of the good tonight, it was basically the #AK72Line

The Bad

• Towards the end of the first period, Andrew Shaw took a bad roughing penalty. I know you're upset Hossa got hit, but time and place. Down two, late in period, and in offensive zone is not the place.
• If I have to watch any more 2 on 1s featuring Shaw and Garbutt, I'm going to throw up.
• For a defenseman that doesn't shoot a lot, Hjalmarsson being the shot leader (5) in a game where you have 38 shots is a problem.
• Marko Dano was the Hawk player who drew the short straw and had the least  amount of ice time at 8:25. I didn't think he was bad, but apparently someone behind the bench felt he was.
• Someone finally joined Jonathan Toews at being 50% or better at the dot tonight. Thank you Marcus Kruger.
• Corey Crawford had a meh kind of night. He wasn't terrible, but he certainly wasn't great either. 
• Hossa and Toews had breakaways tonight, but neither could convert their chances.

The Ugly

• Someone inform Marian Hossa that hitting is a part of the game. His retaliation penalty was brutal, and he needs to be smarter than that. It also led to the Senators increasing their lead to 2-0.
• The lengthy delay in the first period to fix a hole in the boards was annoyingly long. You'd think a team in Canada would have all the essential parts to fix it right away. I'd expect these kinds of delays in Arizona and Florida.
• The PK has hit the skids of late. Tonight they killed off two of the four power play opportunities for the Senators.
• If any other of the Hawks lines want to start scoring, it'd be nice. Who would have thought the 1st line left wing slot was a bigger hole than 2nd line center. At least with 2nd line center, the plug n' plays were working to an extent.
• And just for my buddy Gate, Marian Hossa had two hits tonight.

Blackhawks vs. Wild 2-1 Loss Recap

"YEO-delayheehoo"

by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks finally returned home to The UC on Tuesday after their marathon 6 game annual "Circus Trip." Waiting for the Hawks was the Minnesota Wild, fresh off another Mike Yeo f-bomb infused rant during practice yesterday. (I had no idea my brother had such a potty mouth.) The Hawks are coming off a game on Saturday, which saw them blow a 2 goal lead in the 3rd period in Los Angeles, so that should be enough motivation to not lay an egg in their return to Chicago.

As soon as the puck dropped it was quite obvious that one team was ready to go and one wasn't. Minnesota had the response Mike Yeo was looking for and came out with a lot of energy and intensity. The Wild didn't waste anytime in putting the puck in the back of the net, as it only took them just over 4 minutes to grab the lead. The Hawks would have a few chances here and there, but for the most part, they were outplayed by the Wild and were lucky to only trail by one after the opening 20 minutes.

As the second period got underway, the Hawks showed improvement following their effort in the first period. It didn't take Patrick Kane long to extend his points streak either. Five minutes into the period, Kane let a soft shot go that beat Devan Dubnyk on the power play to tie the game at one. The Hawks would have one more chance on the power play, but couldn't convert. The final 10 minutes of the period, the Hawks spent the majority of on the penalty kill. Luckily the PK came through all three times, and at the end of 40 minutes, the game was tied at one.

The third period was similar to the first period for the Hawks. The Hawks had some chances, but throughout the period and the game for that matter, it looked like the Hawks were missing that killer instinct. The Wild would capitalize on a lazy backcheck by the Hawks just past the midway point of the period. Mikael Granlund was stopped twice on a partial breakaway by Corey Crawford, but Ryan Suter beat all the Hawks to the front of the net, and hammered home a rebound on the 3rd try to put the Wild up 2-1. Despite a couple of opportunities with the extra attacker, the Hawks couldn't tie the game, and the Wild would hold on for the 2-1 win.

The Good

• Patrick Kane extended his points streak to 20 with a power play goal in the 2nd period. The streak is nice, but I think the power play goal is nicer. Speaking of nice, how about the stick lift by Keith to cause the turnover on the play?
• Corey Crawford played good enough to get the win tonight. Actually he probably deserved the win, as he made 34 saves.
• Marko Dano had a solid game. Q finally played him more than 10 minutes tonight. He also had a great chance to score in the 2nd period, but was robbed by Dubnyk.
• The PK had a great night. They killed off all four of Minnesota's power play opportunities, which included three straight in the second period.
• I'm stretching for more good because I don't want to be completely miserable, but I thought Jonathan Toews was good tonight. He was by far the best Hawks player in the first period.

The Bad

• The first home game after a long road trip is always a trap game. (Ask San Jose how that went over last Wednesday.) The Hawks were caught with a lackluster start, and were lucky to only yield one goal in the opening period.
• The Hawks had 22 shots blocked tonight. If you don't know what dragging your feet means, this should help you. 22 blocked shots means it was pretty clear the Hawks weren't skating and finding open shooting lanes.
• Because of the march to the box by the Hawks in the second period, the ice times were a jumbled mess tonight. But stick taps to The Manshitter who played 5 minutes more than us.
• For chance the Hawks were totally hammered at the dot tonight. It ended up being 34-28 in favor of the Wild.

The Ugly

• The Hawks took three penalties in the final 10 minutes of the second period. Talk about playing with fire.
• Ryan Suter's game winning goal was nothing but hot vomit in a garbage bag. Anytime a goal is scored on a 3rd rebound attempt, and by a defenseman, I'll call that a lazy backcheck.
• Despite his excellent stick lift on Kane's goal, Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson had rough nights. They both ended up tonight at -2.
• Anyone that wants to blame Michal Rozsival for the loss tonight can go to hell. Yes he took a penalty in the third period (which was a set pick play), but last I checked he wasn't on the ice for either of the Wild's two goals, nor was he one of the three that took a penalty in the cluster of back to back to back penalties in the third. Lay off the guy. He's been more than adequate since returning. I think all the sane Hawks fans are in agreement, we'd rather see him than that defensive zone disaster known as David Rundblad.
• After returning home for a game, the Hawks hit the road for a game on Thursday in Ottawa. Makes a lot of sense NHL schedule makers.