Puckin Hostile ShoutcastEpisode " The Great 48"

In this Puckin Hostile Shoutcast number 48, the GATEKEEPER Episode, the Puckin Hostile stooges are back after Gate put his red in Bridgestone Arena. They are joined by a SURPRISE guest, from the Great White North aka America's hat, @AtomicFroster

The group discuss the following:

-The Denna Liang Situation
-Brian McGrattan getting KO'd
-John Scott will, in fact, play in the All-Star game
-50 goals put up in the KHL All-Star circus
-Torts gets whacked by his own player
-Blackhawks 12 game winning streak
-Games vs the Canadiens, Leafs, #PERDS, Lightning, Panthers, Blues and Hurricanes
-All-Star Break mercifully begins, after the Blackhawks lay a few turds
-Blackhawks trade Ryan Garbutt for Jiri Sekac
-Mark McNeill makes his NHL debut
-#BlobSuckderi, and #DickPanik
-Bowman extended 3 more years
-More loyal listener questions (Thank you, Everyone)
-And as always, an abundance of inappropriate references and jokes in incredibly bad taste like
-#Fatrick's OTHER girlfriend (not to be confused with his Brasilian mail order twitter girlfiend):

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

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 48 MP3 Direct Download
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Music by "The Bloodline"

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Blackhawks at Carolina5-0 Shutout Loss Recap

"No Excuses"

by Gatekeeper

With the All-Star break looming, the Blackhawks headed to Raleigh North Carolina to face former Rockford Ice Hogs coach Bill Peters and former Blackhawks players Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom with the Hurricanes. The Hawks seemed back on track, after a boring, yet important, 2-0 shutout Sunday night. This was also the debut of former first round draft pick Mark McNeill, with the Blackhawks. Nothing says, "set up for success" like being relegated to the fourth line with offensive juggernauts like Dennis Rasmussen and #DickPanik. I'm sure he'll really make the most of his handful of minutes, though.


The Blackhawks were not mentally present in the first period of this game, whatsoever. They had an early chance but then proceeded to give up 16 shots and 3 goals in a matter of about 13 minutes. The Blackhawks managed a measly 5 shots, and none of which were "grade A". Clearly this team was looking forward to 7 days off for the Allstar break, and it didn't bode well for the final two periods.

As expected the Blackhawks came out with a different goalie in net, but the same dogshit play. The porous defense continued with the Blackhawks giving up two more goals on ten shots. They managed a few more shots on net, but really none were serious scoring chances in this period either.

Eh fuck it, the Hawks didn't care, and neither do I. Let's wrap this shit up. I've already wasted more effort than this team gave.


The Blackhawks came out in the third period without their captain and still without any fucks given. They were dreaming about their flights home, or to somewhere sunny. Shots were 15-11 in favor of Carolina, and not a single Blackhawks player other than poor Scott Darling looked like he cared. On to the break. Clearly we all need it. Shoutcast tomorrow, Sweathogs.

The Good

• I was going to find something good, but you know what? Screw it...
  
• Actually, fuck that, you're not getting off that easy. Hey meatballs, The Blackhawks out hit another team. How's that work out, slobbering chimps?

The Bad

• It took the Canes less than 3 minutes to take the lead. Crawford left a fat rebound on a long Elias Lindholm shot that looked to be slightly deflected on the way to the net. Future Blackhawk Jeff Skinner was standing on the doorstep and swept the puck into the net.
• With just under seven minutes remaining, the Canes took a 2-0 lead. Once again, it was a double deflection shot from Riley Nash that eluded Corey Crawford. Play was a complete Shanghai Fire Drill in the Hawks end for about a full minute previous to this one, so I don't think anyone was surprised.
• Just two minutes after the Nash goal, Kris Versteeg and John-Michael Liles caught #GusBus getting a little greedy and raced in on Brent Seabrook. Versteeg set the plate for Liles, who didn't get a lot on the shot, but the changeup was enough to get through Crawford.
• Just past the halfway point of the second period, the Blackhawks were bitten by yet another familiar face. Joakim Nordstrom. He found the puck in front of the net and had a helluva time controlling it. Once he spun and shot Scott Darling had committed to his left, and Nordstrom shot left.
• Poor Mark McNeill has to file this one away in the memory bank for his first NHL game.

The Ugly

• When the Blackhawks came out of the locker room in the second period, Scott Darling was in the net. This was absolutely no reflection on Crawford. He had little chance on the three goals given up.
• When your best offensive chance is by Richard Panik and Dennis Rasmussen and it comes over halfway through the game, you're in fucking trouble.
• thirty three seconds after the Nordstrom goal, Quennville trotted out the old fucking nag, and it cost him. Blob Suckderi got caught covering not a single fucking person but Scott Darling, leaving Riley Nash wide open to beat Darling on the back side.
• Pat Foley was on the sauce early, calling Scott Darling "Corey Crawford" a few times. I really couldn't blame him because I was wishing that I was boozing.
• The Hawks won only 20 of 62 faceoffs for a whopping 32%.
• Jonathan Toews didn't come out of the locker room for the third period, which just goes to show you the Blackhawks intensity in this one. I would assume this was just rest due to some kind of illness that Olczyk mentioned. No use burning your captain out in the third period of a blowout that the Blackhawks had zero interest in.
• I brought this up on twitter but maybe if Quenneville's relief players weren't 50 years old, or useless face punchers the Hawks could rotate more effectively in these stretches, eh? Ya think? Na, fuck all that noise. MOAR HITZ!

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Even though Anisimov was a minus 3, the #AK72 line led the Blackhawks in possession which means they just took as many or more shots than they gave up.
• Keith, and Toews didn't have great possession nights, which is why it was probably good that Toews sat the third period.
• Blob Suckderi had good corsi numbers but #Fatrick's favorite, the eye test, tells you that he sucks at hockey.
• Riley Nash, Jay McClement, Ron Hainsey, Justin Faulk, Eric Staal and Chris Terry were all over double digits in Corsi. OOOFA

The Lineblender
Shaw - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Desjardins - Danault - Teravainen
Panik - Rasmussen - McNeill

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Scuderi

Blackhawks vs. Blues2-0 Shutout Win Recap

"Black Gives Way To Blue"

by Patrick Stankus

With Gate still attempting to get back from Nashville, the Blackhawks decided the show must go on, and on Sunday night they played hosts to the St. Louis Blues. The Blackhawks were looking to bounce back from a rough trip to Florida where they lost both games to Tampa Bay and Florida. With the Blues in town, it should be safe to say the Hawks should have more effort, and energy tonight, something they lacked in those Florida games.

Once the puck dropped, all eyes would be on the Blackhawks to see if they could put an end to the recent trend of sluggish starts. Early on, that trend continued, as the Hawks could only muster two shots in the opening eight minutes. That would be the story of the first period. Corey Crawford bailed out the Hawks, and kept the game scoreless while the offense did a little more than us that were watching the game.

The second period was much better for the Blackhawks, not that it could get much worse. Overall, the play in second was still boring. That was the case until the #AK72Line got the Blackhawks on the boards, by way of an Artemi Panarin snipe. In the end, the Blackhawks turned the table on the Blues, and out shot them by an 11-6 margin in the period, and took the one goal lead into the second intermission.

The final twenty minutes got underway, the same way the second period ended, with the Hawks in control. Early on, the Hawks got the game's first power play of the game, and wasted little time in making the most of it. Andrew Shaw redirected a Marian Hossa bomb right in front of the net, past Elliott to increase the Hawks lead to 2-0. Down the stretch the Blues had some chances to put a dent in the Hawks lead, but ultimately could not. As a result, Corey Crawford recorded his league leading 7th shutout, with the Blackhawks 2-0 win over the Blues.

Gate returns to the recap world on Tuesday, and will take you to the NHL All-Star break.

The Good

• Corey Crawford once again was the only Blackhawk to show up in the first period. Crawford withstood a flurry of shots, 12 in total, by the Blues.
• As the game went on, the Blackhawks got significantly better. That not saying much though, because anything was better than that lifeless opening frame tonight. This trend cannot continue for much longer.
• Whatever language barrier there is between Kane and Panarin, I hope it doesn't change, because its not bothering them. Once again, the #AK72Line put on a show, with a beauty of a pass by Kane to Panarin for the game's opening goal.
• The power play got back on track tonight, with Andrew Shaw tallying a power play goal in the third period. This was nice to see after a couple of rough games for the units in Florida.
• The Hawks allowed 12 shots to the Blues in the first period, but after that, the defense clamped down, and limited the Blues to 13 shots the rest of the way.
• You like your fancy stats, well, I like my block shots stat. Tonight the Hawks were willing to pay the price, and get in the shooting lanes, and blocked 22 shots. Grab some ice packs fellas.
• As mentioned earlier, Corey Crawford had a huge opening period for the Hawks. In the end he was able to stop all 25 shots he faced, and recorded his 7th shutout.
• Midway through the third period, the PK came through and killed off a bad Artemi Panarin penalty.

The Bad

• The #GusBus got a little too cute with a backhand pass in his own zone that wound up going on net, instead of going to Seabrook. The turnover resulted in giving the Blues sustained pressure for the rest of the shift, when it really didn't need to happen.
• Artemi Panarin can't take a penalty like he did in the third period. That was a perfect opportunity for the Blues to get back in the game.
• On Shaw's goal, you saw how important face off wins are. Tonight the Hawks were beaten at the dot 31-26. Still some work to do there.

The Ugly

• Same old broken record showed up again for the Blackhawks tonight. Slow start, which sees them only record three shots in the opening ten minutes. Do that really miss Ryan Garbutt when it comes to starting a hockey game?
• Tonight was David Backes' 700th career game with the Blues. Someone should tell him to wakey, wakey, because he was un-fucking-noticeable tonight.
• Steve Konroyd dipped his toe into the advanced stats water during the first intermission. If this isn't enough to kill this sick fade/obsession with these fancy numbers, then I don't know what is. Remember when our parents joined Facebook? It killed Facebook. My prediction is Konroyd kills the slobbering love affair with fancy stats by the end of March.

Blackhawks at Panthers4-0 Shutout Loss Recap

"Got Me Wrong"
by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks finished their quick trip through Florida on Friday night by visiting the Panthers in Miami. The Hawks were coming in off a 2-1 loss on Thursday night in Tampa, which ended their 12 game win streak. The two trips that I usually pencil in as losses before the season starts are the Western Canada swing, and the Florida swing. After Thursday's showing, the Florida swing got off to the start I had expected, but how bad could it get in Miami?

Once the puck dropped, it was quite clear this game could go right down the shitter really fast. Just over a minute, Andrew Shaw took a hooking penalty, and our worst nightmares were coming true.  After the Hawks killed off the penalty, it was all down hill. The Panthers rang up three goals in the final 10 minutes of the period to go up 3-0 after the opening frame. You can debate that two of those three goals were soft. Oh, and that third goal, well don't we all enjoy seeing a weak, short side shot go in with 2.1 seconds remaining?

The smoldering tire fire that was the Blackhawks continued right where it left off in the first period. The lack of energy, and overall pace was very apparent. The looks that the Hawks did have were a lot of one and done chances on Roberto Luongo. The highlight of the game came by way of Rob Suckderi in the second period. Suckderi turned a puck over on a weak clearing attempt, and Aaron Ekblad picked up the loose puck and beat Scott Darling cleanly on the glove side with a snap shot to make it 4-0. But by all means, blame Rozsival for that one. After two periods of play, the Hawks would trail the Panthers 4-0.

The third period was much like this summary of this recap was, a hurry up to get it over. The Hawks did end up out shooting the Panthers 12-9, so you can go wet your pants if you want some sort of positive vibe. Mercifully the horn ending the game sounded shortly after 9pm Chicago time, with the Hawks falling 4-0 to the Panthers. All that was missing from this shit show trip to South Florida was a trip to Las Vegas as a reward for shitty play. Then again, Gate is supposed to go to Nashville tomorrow, so maybe we'll count that a reward, for sitting through this game.


The Good

• The Blackhawks only travel to Florida once a year.
• You're kidding if you thought anything else would go in "The Good" category.

The Bad

• Tonight was nothing more than a waste of our time.
• Jiri Sekac made his debut. No seriously, he did.
• The Hawks took a page of out #DickPanik 's book, and overslept to miss the start of the game.
• The Power Play was 0 for 2 tonight, and 0 for 5 in the two games in Florida. Why do people like going to Florida again?
• If you wanted to see former Blackhawks Dave Bolland, Brandon Pirri, and Dylan Olsen, you had to look up. Like, way up in the press box.
• The Blackhawks are now 0-2-0 in the post Ryan Garbutt era. Who would have thought?

The Ugly

• Three of the four goals Scott Darling yielded tonight were on the short side. I'd argue all three were stoppable. Its a good thing Corey Crawford has been lights out, because Scott Darling is a fragile goalie with a lack of confidence right now.
• As good as the #AK72Line has been this year, tonight they really stunk up the show. 72, 15, and 88 were all -2 on the night.
• If you had Dennis Rasmussen being the best Blackhawk at the dot tonight, at 75%, please go collect your winnings.
• After the first period, wasn't it nice to watch the Hawks just try and get the game over as quick as possible?
• The #GusBus looked like he had some sort of engine problem, or a flat tire tonight.
• There was a whole lot of suck on Aaron Ekblad's goal that made it 4-0. Take your pick, the back turnover by Suckderi, or the fact the puck beat Darling cleanly on the glove. BARF.
• With just under 9 minutes, and down four, Quenneville thought it'd be funny to pull Scott Darling for the extra attacker. This Patrick Roy bullshit needs to stop.
• Towards the end of the game we were treated to a now famous #AccordingToKonroyd moment. Tonight's moment was his textbook excuse of the Blackhawks being tired because they had played 12 games in 20 days. SHUT THE HELL UP STEVE. The Hawks were awful, NO EXCUSES.
• Whatever honeymoon there was with the 12 game win streak should be over now, and be nothing but an afterthought.

Blackhawks at Tampa Bay2-1 Loss Recap

"The Thing That Should Not Be"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks returned to sunny Tampa for the first time, Thursday night, to face their Stanley Cup Final foe from last spring. The Blackhawks came in with a whole bunch of news. First of all, they announced that they had traded Ryan Garbutt to Anaheim for Jiri Sekac, which should be a really good move. Following that news, Joel Quenneville announced that forward Richard Panik was going to be scratched because he overslept for the morning skate. Just perfect, when the team is riding a twelve game winning streak. Kind of gave you the feeling that they were doomed in this one before they even took the ice.

The first period was one of those period that are very misleading. The Blackhawks and Bolts were tied at one after the initial twenty minutes, but the Blackhawks grossly out shot 13-4, with two of those four shots coming in the last ten seconds of the period. There was no way they were going to maintain the lead with play that poor. Something had to change.

The second period was even worse for the Blackhawks. They came out and laid yet another egg. The Lightning out shot the Blackhawks once again 10-5, giving the Blackhawks a paltry total of nine shots for the first forty minutes. The Lightning also broke the deadlock after two generous powerplays in the final five minutes. The screwy lineup was looking like it effecting the Hawks energy for certain.

The third period didn't get any better for the Blackhawks. They came out of the locker room and just didn't have what it took to compete. The Lightning led in shots, for the third straight period, 10-9 and kept the Blackhawks off the board for the 59th straight minute. This was going to happen, eventually. I would rather see them play this bad on the road than see them piss themselves at home.

Anyhow, No time to pout, with the Blackhawks back in action tomorrow in Sunrise Florida against Uncle Dale Tallon's Panthers.

The Good

• Forty three seconds into the game, the temporary line of Kane-Anisimov-Rasmussen grabbed the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead. Rasmussen set up a rush over the blue line and dished off to Kane. Kane hit a wide open Anisimov, almost identical to his goal against Nashville. Just that quick, the Blackhawks were on their way. This was Hawks' first official shot of the game.
• Corey Crawford gave the Blackhawks a chance in this game. If not for his play, the Hawks would have lost 4 or 5 to 1. He deserved a better fate, but these games will happen

The Bad

• The Lightning tied up the game about half way through the first period on a long deflection. Viktor Hedman took a long point shot that looked as though it was going well wide. Anton Stralman was standing about three feet to Crawford's left and redirected the puck past him.
• Late in the second period, the Lightning were the fortunate recipients of back to back powerplays, to Patrick Kane no less, and finally cashed in late on the second one. You got the feeling that all the Bolts pressure was going to finally lead to something. Nikita Kucherov snapped a shot high over Crawford's glove after about 5 straight minutes of pressure.
• The Hawks faceoff number were putrid. They only won 16 of 48 faceoffs for a whopping 33%.
• Clearly the Blackhawks trading a 4th line player, who barely saw the ice lately, was the reason that the other 18 players looked like shit.
  

The Ugly

• How the fuck do you keep 2 Russian Nikitas (Kucherov/Nesterov), both wearing numbers in the 80's, straight? I defy you.
• The asshole Lightning fans kept booing Teuvo Teravainen because, I guess, they don't know the difference between a 6 and an 8. Stupid senile shitheads.
• I'm really sick and fucking tired of looking up and seeing the fourth line and third defensive pair all out o nthe ice together. You cannot let this happen. I don't care what you need to do.
• The makeshift line of Suckderi/Rasmussen/Mashinter was fucking awful. I never want to see this again without being put to death immediately after.
• As I mentioned before, which the Blackhawks down a forward due to the Ryan Garbutt trade, #DickPanik overslept through the morning skate and was punished by Quenneville. Not the best way to impress your brand new future Hall of Fame coach.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The Shaw/Toews/Hossa line was worked pretty bad in possession, but you can adjust that for their high number of defensive zone starts.
• The #AK72 line, on the other hand, led the Blackhawks in positive possession numbers.
• Steven Stamkos is just floating out there. For a guy that's supposed to be such a dominating player, I noticed him on the ice twice. He was also one of the worst possession player for the Bolts despite favorable zone starts. Call me Mr. Miserable but here is my hot take. The team that gives Stamkos the max deal this summer is going to end up regretting it, in short order. He is a very good, but hardly great. I'll take Ovi, Toews, Kane, and Kopitar over Stamkos any day. He slays Eastern conference bums all season and then disappears in the playoffs, which is why Toronto will be perfect for him.
  

The Lineblender
Shaw - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Desjardins - Danault - Teravainen
Scuderi - Rasmussen - Mashinter

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Rozsival

Blackhawks at Nashville 4-1 Win Recap

"Second Honeymoon"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks strutted into the Bridgestone Arena Tuesday night despite the #PERDS best efforts to keep them and their fans out of their Hillbilly hoedown. They can't fill their own building, but Chicago money isn't good enough for them. Fuck em. They aren't good enough for Hawks fans to grace their arena. I'll be sure to piss on the ice when I'm there Saturday to see Tool and Primus.

The first period was generally as generic and boring as most of the music produced out of Nashville in the last two decades. That is, until the final 21 seconds, when the Blackhawks opened up the scoring. The shots slightly favored the #PERDS 12-10, but the scoreboard told the tale.

The second period brought considerably more action to the game, which was a very good thing for the Blackhawks. They took a 2-0 lead shortly into the period, and then traded goals with the #PERDS, within a minute of each other, before heading into the second intermission. The Hawks even led the middle period in shots 12-11. Nothing to complain about here. Time to bring home a win, boys.

That is exactly what the Hawks did in the third. They weathered a furious Nashville storm and were out shot 16-5, but the Blackhawks scored the only goal of the period to leave Trashville with their 12th straight win, and a 4-1 win.

The Good

• With 21 seconds left in the first period, the #AK72 line jumped on a bad bounce and put on a little passing show. Kane tapped to Panarin, who dished to Anisimov. Anisimov tucked the puck around All Star Goalie Pekka Rinne for a 1-0 Blackhawks lead.
• Just a couple of minutes into the second period #DickPanik put the Blackhawks p 2-0 with a fairly weak shot. But then again, it must have been a good goal because it was against an All Star goalie, right?
• Sixty seconds after the #PERDS goal the Blackhawks Artemi Panarin found Patrick Kane in behind the Nashville defense and sent him in on a break-a-way. Kane did "Kane Things", and the Blackhawks were back up by two goals. This was not 20 seconds after the Nashville crowd made themselves look immensely stupid by chanting Crawford's name. Touche, dumb shits.
• Corey Crawford saved 38 of 39 shots and was, once again, outstanding. My only worry is that he is peaking too early. I hope that isn't the case, because he is absolutely en fuego.

The Bad

• The Blackhawks turned around and gave up the shutout just 25 seconds after the #DickPanik goal. They weren't able to get the puck out cleanly from their zone after Quenneville rewarded the 4th line and keep them out there after the Panik goal. That blew up in their face because Suckderi was out there as well. This is something he should know better than to allow.
• Dennis Rasmussen had the least time on ice for the Blackhawks at 7:57.

The Ugly

• The powerplays for both teams were a combined 0-5.
• The Blackhawks were pretty awful at the faceoff dots, as well, losing 56%. Artem Anisimov was worst on the team winning only 6 of 17.
• Nothing more to complain about. 12th straight. Win on the road. One goal against. Against the whiney little bitches in Trashville? I'm taking it.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Keith and Hjalmarsson were skinned and eaten alive in possession numbers even though they were each +2, which had a lot to do with the 3rd period spent mostly in the Blackhawks end.
• The Desjardins/Danault/Teravainen line led the Blackhawks in Corsi.
• The world is right when a defensive pair containing Barret Jackman is the opponent's worst in puck possession.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Scuderi

Blackhawks vs Canadiens5-2 Win Recap

"11th Hour"

by Gatekeeper

The weather in Chicago was frightful but the Blackhawks play was Africa hot, as of late. The Blackhawks came into Sunday night's game riding a 10 game winning streak, and sitting atop the Central division. Patrick Kane came in hot as well, getting his first regular season hat trick against Toronto, on Friday. The Canadiens, on the other hand, came in 1-3-1 in their last 5 and 3-6-1 in their last 10. Even better yet, they are the team responsible for keeping #AllStarJohn Scott out of the All-Star game, since they traded for him and buried him in the AHL. Eat a dick, Mark Bergevin. Can't you find an ounce of compassion to put just a little fun into that piece of shit All-Star garbage? Anyway, on to this frosty Sunday evening tilt with the Montreal Canadiens.

The Blackhawks started the first period in promising form, but that was quickly snuffed out. The Blackhawks scored in the first couple of minutes of the game, but the Habs came right back and tied the game. All that aside the Blackhawks also led in shots 10-6 as well. After the initial two goals, the game kind of settled in.

The second period was more promising than the first. The Blackhawks built a 2 goal lead after a slow start, and out shot the Canadiens once again, this time 14-10. The Canadiens put themselves in quite a hole, heading into the final twenty minutes.

The Canadiens tried to make the game interesting, cutting the Blackhawks lead to just one goal. As has been typical for the Hawks during this streak, they came almost immediately back which put the game away. The Hawks were out shot for the first time in the game, but they made their shots count. This was all good enough to extend the Hawks winning streak to 11 games.

The Good

• It only took two minutes and forty seconds for the Blackhawks to take a 1-0 lead and it was two of the least expected player that were in the middle of the play. Gustafsson made a really nice play a the Habs blue line and deked a Habs forward and was in with Richard Panik. Gus fed Panik with a saucer, and Panik one timed it past Scrivens for the lead.
• Late in the second period, the Blackhawks took a 2-1 lead during a short powerplay. Marian Hossa led the rush and sent a difficult pass to Kane. Kane had to spin to receive the pass, and because of that could not get a shot off. He dished back to Jonathan Toews. Toews was not able to control either, but kicked the puck just past the far post to a circling Marian Hossa. Hossa was able to scoop up the puck and wrap it around the post. Toews got credit for the goal, but I didn't see it that way.
• With under a minute left in the second period, the Blackhawks used a little help from the referee. A negated icing thanks to a hustling Andrew Shaw turned into Jonathan Toews circling from behind the net and reaching around Scrivens to tuck the puck into the net.
• Artemi Panarin extended his honeymoon just over a minute after the Habs cut the lead to 1 goal. He chipped and chased the puck into the Canadiens zone, and dumped the puck off to a foolishly wide open Patrick Kane. Kane just one timed the puck past Scrivens and the lead was back to two goals.
• Corey Crawford played yet another solid game, stopping 27 of 29 shots including one highlight reel toe save.
• The Hawks 4th line was all over 9 minutes, which is much better than we have seen with Bickell playing there.
• The Blackhawks won 55% of their faceoffs.
• Erik Gustafsson made his triumphant return. Everybody hop aboard the #GusBus.
  

The Bad

• Four minutes after the Panik goal, the Canadiens tied the game. Jeff Petry was given about a day and a half to walk in and size up Corey Crawford. Crawford made the save but the Hawks defense was sloppy cleaning up the rebound. Lars Eller scooped up the puck and beat Crawford.
• In the third period, the Canadiens took advantage of a Trevor van Riemsdyk delay of game penalty and cut the Blackhawks lead to just one goal, briefly. Corey Crawford made a couple of saves, but eventually Max Pacioretty was able to out muscle Niklas Hjalmarsson and direct the puck into the net.

The Ugly

• As we've become accustomed to the Blackhawks gave up a shorthanded breakaway on their first powerplay and then had it negated with a penalty of their own.
• With this loss, the Canadiens have lost 16 of 20 games for the first time since 1940
• Bryan Stinkell was sent to Rockford before the game, after clearing waivers.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson had a rough possession night a worst on the Hawk.
• Best possession defensemen were Trevor van Riemsdyk and Michal Rozsival, of course they had very few defensive zone starts, so that certainly helped. At forward Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin led the Blackhawks.
• Alex Galchenyuk got completely worked, for the Habs.
• Max Pacioretty led all players on the ice with a +12 corsi.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
Rozsival - van Riemsdyk

Blackhawks at Maple Leafs 4-1 Win Recap

"The Mountie"

by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks traveled to Toronto on Friday night to take on the Maple Leafs in the second of a brief back to back Canadian road trip. The Hawks came into Toronto off what can only be described as a goalie win in Montreal on Thursday night. After bailing the Hawks out, Corey Crawford earned the night off, and it was #LemontNativeScottDarling taking to the net for the Hawks. We all know what happened last time I recapped a game in which Darling was in net. Safe to say, it couldn't get much worse than that.

The game got off to a sloppy start for the Hawks. Patrick Kane took a high sticking penalty just over three minutes in, but luckily the PK killed it off. As for Kane, we might hear from him again in this recap. Andrew Shaw thought he had tallied the game's opening goal in the first period, but Leafs coach Mike Babcock challenged a potential offsides call against Marian Hossa. After a review, it was determined Hossa was offside, and the goal was taken away. The rest of the period was so good that we'll just move onto the second period.

The second period was simply the #AK72Line show. The tandem of Kane, Anisimov, and Panarin were on full display at even strength and on the power play. Kane opened the scoring just past the midway point of the game, after picking up a loose puck in the goal mouth, and put the Hawks up 1-0. Kane and the #AK72Line weren't done yet. A little over four minutes later, Kane fired a wrister on the power play from the bottom of the circle past Reimer to increase the Hawks lead to 2-0. The Hawks pretty much dominated play in the second period, thanks in part to the careless play of the Maple Leafs that resulted in four penalties. When the period ended, the Hawks would out shoot the Leafs 11-8, en route to their two goal performance in the period.

After a late second period penalty by Nazem Kadri, Roman Polak followed that up by taking a cross checking penalty 12 seconds into the third period. The Hawks wasted little time in making the Leafs pay. Just nine seconds after the Polak penalty, Artemi Panarin scored on the 5 on 3 to give the Hawks a 3-0 lead. Just under four minutes into the period the Leafs would get one back. Morgan Rielly used all the time and space that was given to him and fired a puck past Scott Darling to pull the Leafs within two. Despite getting two power plays later in the period, that's as close as the Leafs would get. Patrick Kane added an empty netter to record the hat trick, and give the Hawks a 4-1 win in Toronto.
 

The Good

• Patrick Kane had himself a bit of a night. In addition to the hat trick, he also assisted on Panarin's goal for a four point night.
• Speaking of Kane and Panarin. That #AK72Line is pretty good. I'm glad someone got to see in person that honeymoon is still going strong.
• The power play went 2 for 6 tonight. We can thank the shitty Leafs for those late Christmas presents.
• Andrew Shaw and Andrew Desjardins continue to be more than adequate. Both had solid games tonight. Enjoy this while it lasts. We all know how quick these two can crash back to Earth.
• Scott Darling had a nice bounce back game for me to recap. He saved 28 of 29 shots faced, and made a couple real nice saves.
• The Leafs had three power plays, two of which came in the third where they had a chance to get back in the game. Fortunately for the Hawks the penalty kill came through when needed.

The Bad

• Two penalties by the Hawks right after the Leafs scored to cut the lead to two. Nothing like trying to hand a team a game on a silver platter. Luckily the Leafs tried to capitalize with paper plates instead.
• I wanted more hats on the ice for Kane's hat trick. That's a tradition that is fun, and never gets old.
• My God the Leafs are a feast or famine team. I pray for you Mike Babcock.

The Ugly

• I enjoyed the outrage of the overturned Andrew Shaw goal. All I hear when it comes to replay is "we want to get the calls correct." Well I know from the one angle you saw it looked like Hossa's skate was on the ice, but sorry the NHL has a lot more looks than us. Plus on the one look you can see Hossa's skate come in contact after he crosses the blueline, thus making his skate airborne, not on the line like you want to believe. So stop criticizing the 4 inch tablets the linesemen use because Greg Wyshynski wants you to, Toronto is also watching the play. And most importantly, you wanted more replay, so deal with an overturned call.
• If someone can explain to me what the fuck Rob Suckderi was doing on Morgan Rielly's goal, I'd love to hear it. I'm still trying to figure it out, and its almost 1:30 am.
• Speaking of great defense. How much longer before Jake Gardiner is considered a swing and a miss. He was flat out awful for the Leafs tonight.
• Fuck it, I've had Uverse problems all night, so my apologies for this slow posting recap. I'm ending the recap here before it goes out again.

Blackhawks at Montreal2-1 Win Recap

"Devil's Son"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks headed to the birthplace of Corey Crawford, Thursday night, to face the historic Canadiens. Before the game, the Blackhawks announced that Erik Gustafsson was injured at the morning skate and Artem Anisimov hopped a flight from Chicago to make the game. This meant that the #Scrozsival monster was going to grace us with their presence. Just swell.

The first period went quite well for the Blackhawks as they came out with some energy. After a few solid chances both ways the Blackhawks traded goals with the Habs, before taking the lead back. They also out shot the Canadiens 12-11 before the period horn sounded.

To the naked eye, the Blackhawks were in deep trouble for most of the second period. If you just read the box score, it told a different story, though. The Hawks were only out shot 12-11 but it certainly didn't feel that way. Just before the period ended, I mentioned that it was one of those "just a matter of time" moments, before the Habs tied the game. Luckily the Canadiens ran out of time.

The third period was even worse for the Blackhawks, but their goalie was unbeatable. The Canadiens peppered the Blackhawks with 17 third period shots, and not a single one ended up in the net. How the Blackhawks managed 10 themselves is a miracle. It seemed like the entire period was in the Hawks end. After weathering the storm, the Blackhawks walked away and headed to Toronto with a hard fought 2-1 win, Joel Quenneville's 783 regular season win, a 9 game winning streak, and a tie for first place in the division.

The Good

• Halfway through the first period, Andrew Shaw used his recently found offensive game to set up Jonathan Toews for a back door goal. Shaw lost a defender on the half boards and made a bull rush towards the net. He tried to take a shot that Michael Condon bit on, but Shaw never got the shot off. Shaw instead dumped the puck off to Jonny Toews, who found a wide open cage in front of him.
• A few moments after the Canadiens goal, Ryan FartButt grabbed the lead back for the Blackhawks. The play was a fairly harmless one, with FartButt finding a loose puck at the half boards, and just unleashing a clapper that surprised Condon.
• Corey Crawford. Plain and simple. The hometown kid came back and made 39 saves. The series of saves he made in the second period were insane.
• The Hawks were over 55% at the dots. Only Anisimov was under water.
• In a game with a lot of action, there were only 2 minor penalties.

The Bad

• Just a few moments after the Toews goal, Paul Bryon scored a goal by going hard to the net. Byron drove the net and David Desharnais threw the puck towards him, from a tight angle. The puck hit Byron in the leg and ended up in the net.
• As previously mentioned, rookie Erik Gustafsson missed the game with a lower body injury that he got in the morning skate. Hopefully this won't last long.

The Ugly

• After having the luxury of #GusBus for a while, seeing the #Scrozsival pairing out on the ice is panic inducing. Every time they are on the ice together, the Blackhawks seem to get pinned in their own end.
• During a third period penalty kill, Marian Hossa took a Galchenyuk follow though right in the grill. He went down and didn't get up until the trainer brought a towel out. Clearly he was in some distress. Like the Terminator that he is, he only missed a couple of shifts and was right back out on the ice.
• The Blackhawks defensemen did their goalie NO favors, and he bailed them out SEVERAL times in huge fashion.

The #Fatsy Stats

• Not Patrick Kane's best game. He was second worst in Corsi, behind The Great Suckderi
• That said, the Toews line was solid in possession numbers.
• Subban was up near the top of Canadiens players in possession, as you might expect.
• Montreal led in just about ever possession category, which just goes to show how important Corey Crawford was in this one.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
van Riemsdyk - Seabrook
Rozsival - Scuderi

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 47

In this Puckin Hostile Shoutcast number 47, the Great Suckderi episode, the Puckin Hostile team are back for their first episode of 2016. Gate is back to clean up the mess of McRib boxes that #Fatrick left all over the office while Gate was in sunny CoCal.

The group discuss the following:

-We usher in 2016 with a Blackhawks 8 game win streak, and several boring games.
-G8's air travel nightmare.
-#Fatrick needs anger management.
-#TRADEZ
-World Junior Championships end with yet another American disappointment, but not as disappointing as Canada.
-Games vs Sabres, Predators, Senators, as well as two each vs the Penguins and Avalanche.
-Blackhawks roster moves including a Blackhawks trade, David Rundblad to Europe.
-Another listener question from Matt Grunow, and a new question from "Catch ItAll".
-As always, an abundance of inappropriate references and jokes in very bad taste
-AND, We spend way too much time talking about the growing weight problem with NHL coaches.

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

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 47 MP3 Direct Download
You can listen below on the Talkshoe player:


Get the Shoutcast on Soundcloud here:


Also, Please check out and share the Puckin Hostile Stanley Cup Highlight video:


Music by "The Bloodline"

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Blackhawks vs Predators3-2 Win Recap

"Wanna be in LA"
by Gatekeeper

After spending 5 days in warm, sunny Anaheim Ducks country and after spending 9 hours in a plane for a trip that should have taken 3 1/2, what is my reward? The Nashville Predators. Nothing better than coming back to recap a game that has the high likelihood of a low score to cheer you up.

That said, the Blackhawks "welcomed" the spineless Predators organization into the United Center Tuesday night. This would be the first time that the Hawks have faces newly acquired Ryan Johansen in a #PERDS uniform, after they sent former 1st round pick Seth Jones to #LOLumbus for Johansen. Now we all get to see just how fat an out of shape he really is. In a late surprise, just before the game, Artem Anisimov was scratched with an illness, so Richard Panik made his Hawks debut.

The open to the game was pretty sloppy. The Hawks gave up a few really good chances and they had quite a few less than impressive clearing chances. The Blackhawks sure didn't make things any easier by taking three straight penalties, after their own fruitless powerplay, early on. Luckily, the Blackhawks were able to grab a last minute flukey goal, and go into the first intermission up 1-0. The Blackhawks amazingly out shot the Preds 11-10.

The Blackhawks definitely capitalized on their chances in the second period, putting 2 more goals on the board. Two goals on only SIX shots, that is. Not exactly what you would expect to hear in a game facing "All-Star" goalie Pekka Rinne. The Preds, on the other hand, struggled to get one goal on TWENTY shots. The one goal they did manage to score was pretty flukey. We'll take it.

The third period was more of a lockdown period for the Blackhawks and they were out shot once again 13-6. The only goal scored was a very late Preds goal, and just for good measure they added a little drama in the final seconds. As it has been for most of the season, Corey Crawford held them in the game. Next up, a tilt against former Blackhawks player and front office member, Marc Bergevin and his Montreal Canadiens.

The Good

• With Anisimov out, Teuvo Teravainen took his spot between Kane and Panarin. So we got to see the "Kanes of 1000 Nations" line. The Finnish Kane, the Russian Kane and the Real American Kane.
• With under a minute remaining in the first period. Andrew Shaw picked up a loose puck to Rinne's right and just threw the puck back at Rinne as Rinne was scrambling to get back in the crease. It hit Rinne on the inside of the left leg and dribbled into the net.
• The rag tag combination of Rasmussen, Hossa, and Shaw put the Blackhawks up 2-0, early in the second period. Hoss made a great play at the Preds blue line to turn the rush back in the Preds direction. Rasmussen dropped to Hossa, who got a shot through the defender. Rinne slid out of his net and the rebound laid in front of a gaping net, that Andrew Shaw swept into the net, in pretty unspectacular fashion.
• The Blackhawks started to pull away slightly past the halfway point of the second period, with a pretty Patrick Kane / Brent Seabrook give-n-go goal. Seabrook tee'd up from the ladies tee and sent a heavy cannon past Rinne. An NHL player with a chance like that SHOULD score on a look like that at least 75% of the time.
• Let's all enjoy Andrew Shaw while we can, because he is going to be shoved down our throats for the next couple of weeks, after the last couple of performances he's had.
• Marian Hossa celebrated his 37th birthday with assists on both Shaw goals.
• Joel Quenneville got his 782nd career regular season win, tying Al Arbour. That's pretty damn good.
• I find myself very satisfied with the Hawks top 5 defensemen. The Scrozsival two headed monster has been adequate as well. I think the Hawks are finally onto something, after trying to fit that square Rundblad peg into the round hole for half the season.

The Bad

• Some of the penalty calls were serious head scratchers, both ways. At least they were consistent. I won't complain too much because at least they stuck to the bar they set for both teams.
• The Preds got a late powerplay because of a Brent Seabrook holding infraction. Corey Crawford made several nice saves, but the Preds eventually cut the Blackhawks lead to one goal with Forsberg bunting a waist high puck past Crawford.
• Richard Panik made his debut and was invisible. I can see the Richard Panik phase passing quickly but did we really expect much more, for the smoldering career of Jeremy Morin?
• Scuderi was pretty bad in puck possession, as well, and his zone starts were much more even.

The Ugly

• Eighteen seconds after the Seabrook goal skidmark Mike Ribeiro got a bit of a gift goal. He picked up the puck behind the net and took it towards the crease. Crawford cheated a little and went down early. Ribeiro just jammed the puck into Crawford and it somehow popped up, off Crawford and into the net. Bad goal, but whatever.
• According to the "high on acid" official scorer, Mr. Carrie Underwood led the Preds with 7 hits. In what bizarro universe, may I ask, did this happen?
• How is that Cody Hodgson deal working out for you, Smashville? He had a minus 4 Corsi in just over 10 minutes.
• Speaking of bad nights, let's all take a gander at The Manshitter. A minus TEN Corsi, and was out there for a goal against. Granted his offensive zone starts were almost nil but c'mon. Seriously, Bryan Bickell is worse than this guy?
• Speaking of the huge orange boat anchor named Bryan Bickell, he was was scratched; again. This has gotten thoroughly embarrassing. Do something, ANYTHING.

The Lineblender
Shaw - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Teravainen - Kane
Panik - Danault - Desjardins
Garbutt - Rasmussen - Mashinter

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Scuderi

Blackhawks vs. Avalanche 6-3 Win Recap

"Skille Competition"

 
by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks continued their home stand on Sunday night, as they played host to a divisional foe in the Colorado Avalanche. This marked the second time the Hawks had faced the Avs in the last 10 days, after they defeated them in overtime on New Year's Eve. Some of the pregame rumblings that make the most news were Bryan Bickell bitching about his lack of playing time. Tonight he would see as much ice time as all of us, as he would be a healthy scratch for this contest.

The first period started out slow, especially for the Blackhawks, who finally got their first shot on net just after the six minute mark. The Hawks seemed to wake up after Niklas Hjalmarsson had a terrible giveaway in his own zone, but luckily the Avs couldn't capitalize on. The fourth line would get the Hawks on the board first, as The Manshitter found some loose change in front of the net, and put the puck past Varlamov. In the final five minutes of the period, the #AK72Line would strike to increase the Hawks lead to 2-0. The Hawks would have a couple more chances as time wound down, but they couldn't add to the lead, and it would remain 2-0 after the opening frame.

As uneventful the first period was, the second period ended up being the opposite. Marian Hossa got the scoring going just over 90 seconds into the middle stanza to increase the Hawks lead to 3-0. That lead would prove to be short lived however. Just under four minutes later, Matt Duchene would get the Avs on the scoreboard to cut the lead to 3-1. Following Duchene's goal, the momentum turned in favor of the Avs, and they didn't waste time cashing in on it. Four minutes after his first goal, Matt Duchene added his second to slash the Hawks lead to 3-2. In the second half of the period, the Hawks would receive the game's first power play, and made sure to put a stop to the Avs momentum. Patrick Kane scored his second of the game to put the Hawks on top 4-2. That would also spell the end for Semyon Varlamov, as Kane's goal would chase him from the net. The scoring explosion in the second period would continue as Jonathan Toews blasted a slapper past Calvin Pickard to make it 5-2. That wouldn't be the last of the scoring. Late in the period, Marian Hossa added his second of the night to increase the lead to 6-2. Whew, its ok to catch your breath now, as that would be the score at the end of two periods.

The third period had a lot to live up to after that second period. As expected, the pace of the game slowed down, despite the Hawks opening up the period on the power play. After killing off the penalty, the Avs found some momentum, but thanks to the play of Corey Crawford, couldn't cut the Hawks lead. With 11 minutes remaining, Patrick Roy decided to be Mr. Asshole, and pulled Calvin Pickard for the extra attacker while down four goals. For the love of hockey's sake, the gimmick didn't work. After the Hawks killed off a Rasmussen penalty for interference, Roy continued to play musical goalies, and put Pickard back in. With just under five minutes remaining, Nathan MacKinnon fired a wrister past Crawford to cut the Hawks lead to 6-3. With the Avs net empty, the Hawks tried desperately to get Hossa the hat trick, but it was to no avail, and went onto win by the final of 6-3.

The Good

• Brandon Mashinter scored. That is not a typo. To follow that opening goal, he also had a breakaway in the 1st period as well. If he would have buried that breakaway goal, Bryan Bickell may have never seen the ice again in Chicago.
• The #AK72Line had another Harlem Globetrotter-esk shift in the first period, in which the puck found the back of the net. This time it was a Kane twisted wrister.
• Much like the Brandon Mashinter line, this is not a typo either. Marian Hossa got the monkey off his back, and scored a goal for the first time in almost forever. An honorable mention goes to Hammer for the sweet setup. If one wasn't good enough for you, Hossa added a second goal late in the second period. I still say the Hawks got the Hossa over Havlat thing right.
• Whatever problem the Hawks had facing Semyon Varlamov, they've seemed to solve it now. Tonight Varlamov yielded four goals before being replaced.
• Whether its even strength or on the power play, that #AK72Line is a fun, fun line to watch. See Kane's second goal of the night.
• Six goals in the second period. How's that for the "Make The Nets Bigger" crowd??
• That paragraph on the second period was long enough, but Corey Crawford was HUGE in net during that period for the Hawks. He made a great post to post save on a 2 on 1, which was followed by Hossa's second goal of the night. Normally you see the big save lead to a goal happen in the playoffs. That was not the case tonight.
• Tazer's goal was an absolute bomb, and a perfectly placed shot. Just a thing of beauty.
• Wasn't it nice to see the balanced scoring tonight??? Finally.
• Corey Crawford stopped 34 of 37 shots. By all means though, go ahead and criticize that you select few haters.
• Thankfully Gate will be back on Tuesday, we know you all missed him.

The Bad

• Niklas Hjalmarsson just about gave everyone a heart attack with a terrible giveaway in the Hawks zone in the 1st period. Luckily for Hammer, Nathan MacKinnon fanned on a pass, and everyone was able to get back in position before it became a problem.
• After Marian Hossa's goal early in the second period, the Hawks were guilty of taking their foot off the gas. After Hossa made it 3-0, Matt Duchene himself made it 3-2 in a matter of four minutes.
• I'm stretching here, but the Hawks were a little sloppy early in the third period, and took two penalties. With a big lead like they had, you'd like them to not take penalties like that, and give the opposing team the opportunity to get back in the game.

The Ugly

• Here's the definition of "sluggish start." - Not registering a shot in the opening six minutes of a game.
• Matt Duchene's second goal was a product of a pair of tired defensemen stuck on the ice. Its made even worse when that tired pair is already the slow tandem of TVR and Rozsival.
• Patrick Roy and his coaching are a complete joke. His musical goalie act is tiring. And the pulling of the goalie with 11 minutes to go, well Mr. Roy, here's to ya.
  

Blackhawks vs. Sabres 3-1 Win Recap

"Heat Of The Moment"

 
by Patrick Stankus

With Gate in Anaheim Ducks country this weekend, he entrusted me with the keys to Puckin' Hostile, which meant I drew the short straw to recap a game against the Buffalo Sabres. After seeing how entertaining the first matchup of these two teams was, I was simply doing cartwheels all day in excitement. Screw it, this is a game against a boring Eastern Conference team, lets just get right to the game.

The first period actually wasn't that bad when comparing it to the last matchup of these two. Throughout the period both teams would trade chances, but a lot of them were the famous one and done chances. Both teams would end up in double digits for shots, as they would have 11 each in the first period. Late in the period, Niklas Hjalmarsson would put the Hawks on the scoreboard first with his second of the year with just over minute remaining in the period. With little time on the clock left, the Hawks would end up taking the one goal lead into the first intermission.

Whatever excitement there was in the first period, the second period sucked the life out of me. The Hawks would pepper Chad Johnson with 19 shots, but none of them would find the back of the net. Midway through the period, the Hawks were forced to kill off a Hjalmarsson slashing penalty, which they did, to maintain their one goal lead. Corey Crawford kept me from completely falling asleep as he made a few nice glove saves throughout the period. When the horn mercifully sounded, the Hawks would continue to lead 1-0.

Finally in the third period, The UC awoke from the slumber they had been in for the first 40 minutes of play. The offense finally got going just after the midway mark of the third period. However it was the Sabres who would get on the board first in the third period. Ryan O'Reilly fired a wrist shot that beat Corey Crawford to tie the game at one. The tie would prove to be short lived, as Phillip Danault took advantage of the space given to him and blew a twisted wrister top shelf past Chad Johnson to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead. Jonathan Toews would add an empty netter late to seal the 3-1 win over the Sabres.
The Good

• Artemi Panarin answered one of my questions I have about him. In the second period, he was in a spirited battle in front of the goal crease with Zach Bogosian. Despite the size difference, Panarin didn't back down after the first cross check he received. He simply gave one back to Bogosian, and the battle was on. It reminded me a lot of this.
  
• Panarin again showed in the third period some of that heart and toughness again. This time he came to the aid of Patrick Kane in a post whistle scrum.
• Corey Crawford came up large again for the Hawks. If there are still any doubters out there, I simply don't know what else you are looking for from a goalie.
• Phillip Danault scored his first career NHL goal, which proved to be a thing of beauty and the game winning goal. Danault continues to impress game after game. I know, I've already set aside money for a (insert new NHL team here) Marcus Kruger jersey for next season. I'm aware its a business folks. I'm not really pissed off about it. It happens, you move on. And if anything, Danault gives me and everyone else on the brink of 30 that needs hip surgery some hope.
• The PK was called upon twice tonight, and both times they delivered.
• Erik Gustafsson had a solid night as well. He assisted on Hammer's opening goal, and was effective on the power play too.
• 3 of the 4 lines played really well tonight. Its hard to say the fourth line actually played tonight. I actually feel bad for Moose, as he stuck centering two ECHL caliber players in Garbutt and Bickell.

The Bad

• The shot totals for the Hawks tonight were; 11, 19, and 15 for a total of 45. A lot of those chances were only one and done. You'd like to see them get a little more traffic, and more net front presence when the pucks are getting through like that.
• Speaking of shots, who else thought after a scoreless second period in which the Hawks had 19 shots, that we were headed for one of those famous 45+ shots on goal, but end up losing nights?
• I'm going to let Danault enjoy his night, I won't point out his one negative that I saw tonight. Enjoy your first NHL goal kid.
• Garbutt and Bickell continue to dress for 5 minutes a night. This is really tiresome.

The Ugly

• The first 50 minutes of this game were B-O-R-I-N-G. Bigger nets wouldn't have made this game more exciting. It was a victim of boring Eastern Conference hockey.
• Good luck on Sunday to Evander Kane with his return to Winnipeg. You're gonna need it.

Blackhawks vs Penguins3-1 Win Recap

"Clouds Over California"

by Gatekeeper

I'm not exactly just how to top the overtime period that was played Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. "Sudden Death" style shootout?

Scratch that...

I don't want to tempt fate after Cheer the Anthem's recent interaction with ISIS. I'm not even joking, either. Just click that link.

ANY-WHO, The Blackhawks dragged the carcasses of the Pittsburgh Penguins back with them Wednesday night to play the ass end of a home-and-home. No doubt the Penguins were going to be fired up, after missing several wide open chances the previous night. Sidney Crosby was going to be out to prove that his all-star snub was just that. I'm sure the Blackhawks were absolutely thrilled about that on WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY NIGHT.

The Blackhawks came out and played like we all hoped they would, out shooting the Pens 9-3 in the first half of the period. This isn't to say that there weren't scoring chances, either. There were plenty of defensive lapses, but most were by the Penguins. The Blackhawks finally took a lead late in the period. The final shot total was pretty embarrassing for Pittsburgh at 15-3, but they were luckily only down 1-0.

The Blackhawks held the momentum for the beginning of the second period as well, with the help of a powerplay. This didn't stop the Penguins from taking advantage of their powerplay and tying the game up. The second was certainly a more boring period than the first and the shots were much more even than the first, with the Blackhawks leading 10-8.

The third period looked like it was shaping up to be a real woofer, with the Blackhawks grossly out shooting the Pens but still locked in a tie game. Artemi Panarin took care off all that. Throw in an empty netter and the Blackhawks have themselves a season best 5 game winning streak.

This sucker is off to California....

The Good

• Artemi Panarin picked up where he left off Tuesday night, giving the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead, his 14th goal, with about 4 minutes remaining in the first period. The #AK72 line held the puck in the Pens zone for almost a full minute where the Pens never even touched the puck. Eventually Panarin circled the zone and made a very Kane-esque play with a nice deke to shed a defender, and cut to the net. Once he cut to the net, he had Fleury dead to rights.
• Panarin made it 2-1 with eleven minutes remaining in regulation. It was a simple 50/50 faceoff that Panarin just stepped over to and snapped through the legs of Pens defenseman Brian Dumoulin, beating Marc-Andre Fleury to the glove side.
• Teuvo Teravainen was able to get one of his easiest NHL goals, an empty netter, when Ben Lovejoy basically handed the puck to Teravainen on a silver platter.
• Scott Darling only had to make a handful of tough saves, but he made them, saving 17 overall.
• Across the ice, Marc-Andre Frenchy had himself a helluva game too. He saved 34 of 36 and deserved a better fate.
• With the way Panarin played the Blackhawks #AK72 line had some cartoonish Corsi numbers, which was the complete opposite of last night in Pittsburgh, but same result.
• The Hawks not only dominated in possession, but they won 53% of faceoffs, too, with Danault winning 8 of 11.

The Bad

• Patric Hornqvist is an annoying little punk, who probably needs to have his teeth put down his god damned throat.
• Jonathan Toews was not at all happy with Kris Letang trying to take a shot at Artemi Panarin very late in the game. And Letang wonders why everyone tries to ring his fucking bell.
  

The Ugly

• After a failed Blackhawks powerplay that was partly negated by a Jonathan Toews high sticking call, the Penguins were able to take advantage of their own powerplay. Phil Kessel set up Evgeni Malkin for a long one timer that seemed to beat Scott Darling pretty cleanly. Hornqvist WAS in front screening Darling, but Darling has 6 inches on Hornqvist, so you'd like to think he could see over the little skid mark.
• No one on the 4th line could manager over 6:30. The Hawks NEED more from these three and Quenneville needs to put them out on the ice more.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Rozsival

Blackhawks at Penguins3-2 OT Win Recap

"The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh"
by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks took to the road on Tuesday night to pay a visit to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. Tuesday marked the beginning of a home and home, back to back against the Penguins. It also marked a rematch of the 1995 Stanley Cup Final in which no one won, in addition to the 1992 Stanley Cup Final which saw the Penguins sweep the Blackhawks. As if that wasn't enough with the storylines, Tuesday's game also saw the Blackhawks face their former "analytics darling Trevor Daley."

The first period started out slow, but as the period went on, the pace of the game picked up. After a few minutes of getting the legs going the scoring chances picked. Both goalies were on their game, making key saves in the period, especially Crawford. With just under 5 minutes remaining, the Hawks would go on the power play, but nothing would come of it. After 20 minutes, both teams would end up with 7 shots each, but the game would be scoreless.

After the puck dropped for the second period, it seemed for some reason the Hawks took their foot off the gas, and nearly got caught because of it. The Penguins dominated play early on, and it looked a lot worse do to the sloppy play and turnovers by the Hawks. Just prior to the midway mark of the game though, the #AK72Line would bail the Hawks out. Kane and Panarin would be in on a two on one, and Panarin buried it to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. After that goal however, the Penguins would continue to keep the pressure on the Hawks. The Hawks would catch another break late in the period, after a Brent Seabrook slapper hit Jonathan Toews in the back and trickled past Fleury to increase the Hawks lead to 2-0. Thanks to a huge period from Corey Crawford in net, the score would stay that way after 40 minutes.

The third period continued right where the second period for the Penguins. The Hawks were able to muster a handful of shots early, but couldn't add to their lead. Just over 5 minutes into the period, the Penguins would cut the Hawks lead in half after a perfectly placed wrist shot by Crosby. With the Penguins continuing to dominate play, you could sense a goal was coming for Pittsburgh. After a lost defensive zone draw by Anisimov, Kris Letang fired a wrister past Crawford to tie the game at two. As time wound down, neither team would be able to break the tie, and we'd head to overtime.

I'll go with the popular opinion that the overtime was exciting, but I'm not on board. Both team would have countless chances to end the game, but both goalies stood tall for all goalies in saying 3 on 3 is ridiculous. Nevertheless, Panarin would end the shenanigans with a twisted wrister, and send the Hawks home with a 3-2 overtime win.

The Good

• Niklas Hjalmarsson made a great play in the first period to break up a prime scoring opportunity for the Penguins. Hammer tied up the stick of Phil Kessel and prevented him from getting to a loose hamburger and avoided a penalty.
• Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin in on a two on one. Need I say more? Yes, I do. #AK72Line
• Its never a bad idea to shoot the puck on net. Brent Seabrook's slap shot late in the second period, that hit Jonathan Toews was more evidence that its not complicated. Pucks on net, and traffic in front. Its hockey's version of peanut butter and jelly. They just go together.
• Artemi Panarin had two goals tonight, including the game winner. I'm glad the honeymoon with him and the #AK72Line is over.
• Corey Crawford stood on his head tonight, despite allowing two goals. Anyone who disagrees, well then I give up on explaining what good goaltending is.

The Bad

• Yes the Blackhawks scored two goals and capitalized on their chances in the second period, but overall they were severely outplayed in the middle stanza. They can thank their goaler for bailing them out.
• Seriously, how bad was the second period? The Hawks yielded 14 shots to the Penguins.
• The Hawks lost the faceoff battle 28-22. (See ugly on Anisimov's lost draw)
• Phil Kessel was a -2 tonight. On the positive side, he might have dropped a few pounds after skating around for 22 minutes.
• Apparently Bryan Bickell played tonight. He was on the ice for 5:39 tonight, and had his presence felt with one hit. TALK ABOUT USELESS.

The Ugly

• These 6 o'clock starts absolutely suck when you're trying to get home from work.
• Late in the third period, Artem Anisimov lost a defensive zone draw, and Kris Letang tied the game. I don't recall if Anisimov got the Danault treatment for losing a defensive zone draw that led to a goal.
• For the most part, the Penguins out played the Blackhawks for the majority of the game. Thankfully Corey Crawford was on his game, and gave the Hawks the chance to win the game.
• As exciting as that 3 on 3 overtime was to people, it should have never gotten to overtime. Need I remind you the Hawks blew a 2-0 lead in the third period?
• Jonathan Toews left the game in overtime. I'm sure that won't go in the "3 on 3 overtime is soooooo exciting" category. According to Q's post game press conference, Toews is fine, but still. Just wait until a star player is lost for the season from an injury as a result of the pace of 3 on 3. I'm sure that will change some people's opinion on it.
• Trevor Daley clearly #MassivelyOutperformed Brent Seabrook tonight. By that I mean he had nearly 6 minutes less of ice time than Seabrook. Two less assists than Seabrook. Two less blocks than Seabrook. And 1:14 less of power play ice time than Seabrook. If that doesn't scream #MassivelyOutperforming, than I don't know what does.

Blackhawks vs Senators3-0 Shutout Win Recap

"Sober And Irrelevant"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks took on the Ottawa Senators for their first game of 2016, Sunday night at the United Center. Previous to the game, it was announced that David Rundblad had basically played his last game in the Hawks organization, and was sent to Switzerland to play for the ZSC Lions. The Blackhawks also honored Patrick Kane and his point streak with a video montage on the scoreboard, before the game. This, of course, dredged up some stale feelings. All this while everyone sauntered by, and possibly took pictures with, a huge Bobby Hull statue on the way in the building. Tell me all about your outrage, intarwebz!

By the way, the reason that this isn't a #Fatrick recap is that no one was going to be throwing McDonalds burgers on the ice. Call it a hunger strike, which means he'll be good until the end of Duncan Keith's contract.

Forgive me if I wasn't at all impressed with the first period of this tilt. The scoring was sparse, rather non-existant, and the shots weren't far behind. Both teams got a shot at the powerplay, and neither could manage to get their act together long enough to accomplish anything of substance. The shots were only 7-6 in favor of the Blackhawks. There was literally nothing more to report.

The Blackhawks made sure that the second period was SLIGHTLY better than the first, scoring the first goal of the game in this frame. Other than that goal, you could count the number of total quality scoring chances on one hand. The Hawks led in shots 11-9, but if you count a couple of post shots, the Sens would have tied that total.

The third period was much more of the same muck but the Blackhawks were able to get some breathing room. The period was so exciting that the Blackhawks announced a trade, smack dab in the middle. The Hawks scored their second of the game and added an empty netter towards the end. On to Pittsburgh......

The Good

• It took nearly half the game to get any sort of pulse in this game. Duncan Keith gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead on a long half clapper that #ParkRidgeNativeCraigAnderson should have probably stopped. Marian Hossa set a nice screen that most assuredly had some bearing on the play.
• Artem Anisimov gave the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead, six minutes into the third period after a Patrick Kane feed to Michal Rozsival led to a nice tight angle shot on Anderson that was saved. The rebound plopped down at the feet of Artem Anisimov who just poked it into the net.
• Andrew Desjardins scored his 4th goal in 3 games, albeit an empty netter. Congrats to the big guy.
• Sorry, but I'm an Erik Gustafsson fanboy. I love that he can step right in and play second pair with Seabrook and not be a downgrade.
• Corey Crawford saved all 26 shots he faced for his league leading 6th shutout. Crawford haters are all but extinct right now.
• Too bad the honeymoon is over with that #AK72 line. They were only tops in possession numbers. Bums.
• Poor Jeremy Morin was finally given his reprieve, getting sent to Toronto for Richard Panik. That's how eventful this game was. They had enough time to initiate a trade.

The Bad

• I know they were on the ice for the Anisimov goal, but the pair of Trevor van Riemsdyk and Michal Rozsival are pretty fucking slow. You might say, "But, Gate, they can't be any slower than Scrozsival". I would agree, but they aren't far behind.
• How do you watch that game, credit the Sens with SIXTY hits, and Mark Borowiecki alone with 11? Fucking christ that stat is terrible.

The Ugly

• The first period. The second period. The third period.
• The line of Stinkell - Rasmussen - Fartbutt averaged 8:30 TOI and did nothing.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Rozsival