Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 51 (Trade Deadline)

In this special 51st Puckin Hostile Shoutcast, the Brian Campbell Episode, the Hostile team talk about the Trade Deadline moves in Chicago, and around the league.

The group discuss the following:

-The Andrew Ladd trade
-The Tomas Fleischmann / Dale Weise trade
-The Christian Ehrhoff trade.
-The Drew MacIntyre trade.
-The Tim Jackman trade.
-Several of the notable NHL trades.
-As always, an abundance of inappropriate references and jokes in incredibly bad taste.

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

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 51 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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Puckin Hostile 2016 Trade Ticker

All the Blackhawks trades from Thursday, and Friday are as follows:

• Blackhawks acquired Left Wing Andrew Ladd, Jay Harrison and Matt Fraser from Winnipeg for Marko Dano, this year's 1st round pick, and a conditional pick. The Jets also retained 36% of Ladd's salary
• Blackhawks acquired defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for defenseman Rob Scuderi.
• The Blackhawks acquired 31 year old Left Wing Tomas Fleischmann and 27 year old Right Wing Dale Weise from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Phillip Danault and a 2nd round pick in the 2018. Montreal retains 30% of both salaries.

When/if the Blackhawks make any trades on deadline day, they will be listed below:

• Blackhawks‬ acquire for goaltender Drew MacIntyre from ‪‎Hurricanes‬ for defenseman Dennis Robertson.

Blackhawks vs. Capitals 3-2 Win Recap

"Back In Time"

 
by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks returned to the ice on Sunday morning, yes morning, with some new faces as they took on the Washington Capitals. Andrew Ladd and Tomas Fleischmann both found their selves in the line up on Sunday, while Christian Ehrhoff enjoyed his first game with the Blackhawks in the press box, and Dale Weise, well we're still looking for Dale Weise. Sunday's game was also being billed as a potential "Stanley Cup Final preview" for the national audience. I would not be disappointed if that proved to be true.

Once the puck dropped, it didn't take long for the Blackhawks to dig themselves a hole. Andrew Desjardins put the Blackhawks shorthanded five minutes into the game by taking a high sticking. The Capitals wasted little in making the Hawks pay as Marcus Johansson opened the scoring. The Hawks though were able to answer right back. Patrick Kane responded just 31 seconds later to tie the game at 1. As the period wound down, both teams would have abbreviated power play chances, that neither could score on, and after one the game was tied at 1.

The second period saw the Blackhawks simply dominate the Capitals. The Hawks peppered Holtby with 14 shots, while benefiting from two power play chances in the middle frame. On the defensive, the Hawks held the Caps to just four shots in the period, but Crawford make a great save on one of the chances. As the period drew to a close, Jonathan Toews, while on the power play, would give the Hawks a 2-1 lead off a play set up by the skill of Teravainen. When the horn sounded ending the period, that's how score would remain with the Hawks on top 2-1.

The final 20 minutes got underway with both teams having quality chances. The Hawks however would find the iron twice that could have put the game away early on. As the period went on, the play turned a bit chippy and sloppy by both teams, with six penalties being called in the 3rd period. Just past the midway point of the period, Dennis Rasmussen would find himself all alone in the slot, and hammer home a loose puck kicked to him by #DickPanik from the corner to increase the Hawks lead to 3-1. After the Hawks took two penalties in the span of just over a minute, the Caps responded with a goal of their own to cut the Hawks lead to 3-2. The Hawks would kill off the remaining time of the last penalty, and withstand a flurry of an attack as the seconds wound down. The Hawks would go onto defeat the Capitals 3-2 in what was just a good old hockey game. If you didn't enjoy that, I apologize.


The Good

• Can we all sit back and enjoy that pass play from Teuvo on Toews' goal again. See this is what happens when Teuvo plays with NHL caliber players. It will be interesting to see what happens when Fleischmann and Weise join him on the 3rd line.
• Speaking of great plays. I will gladly take plays like the one by #DickPanik any day of the week that led to Rasmussen's goal. #DickPanik hustled to negate an icing calls, and then had the heads up play to kick the puck from the corner to a wide open Rasmussen who buried it. Goes to show how hard work pays off.
• Andrew Ladd had an assist in his return to Chicago, but I thought Tomas Fleischmann was very solid his debut as well. Neither looked out of place, which could be a good sign of things to come.
• For a change the Hawks dominated the Caps at the dot. This afternoon they won the faceoff battle 31-20.
• The #AK72Line opened the scoring with a goal by Kane, but it was nice to see balanced scoring. Toews added a power play goal, and the hustle of the #DickPanik led to a goal by the fourth line.
• While he was shaky at the start, Rozsival rebounded nicely to have a good game by Rozsival standards. In the end he was a +2, and was credited with a shot, four shot blocks, and five hits.

The Bad

• The first period saw the Blackhawks yield 17 shots to the Capitals. Not exactly the finest way to start a game.
• Andrew Desjardins had a glorious toe drag that led to a great backhand chance, but he nailed the post. The announcers would lead you to believe it was a spectacular save by Holtby, but we all know it was more of good old stone hands Desjardins not being able to finish.
• Evgeny Kuznetsov is a hell of a player, and that was a heads up play to bank the puck off of Crawford, but that is a terrible goal for Crawford to give up. Its a lazy play by a goalie when he can't cover the post like that.
• Sloppy, careless play nearly did in the Hawks in the final five minutes of the game. The Hawks took two penalties, which saw the Caps score and cut the Hawks lead to 3-2.

The Ugly

• These 11:30 am starts can go to hell. I guess it could be worse. We could be America's Hat and have this be a 9:30 am start.
• The Hawks took a total of five penalties today, two of which the Caps scored on. To say the penalty kill is struggling right now is an understatement. Dear Marcus Kruger, hurry up in your recovery.
• The Hawks yielded 30 shots to the Caps, 17 alone came in the first period. While the Hawks had 23 shots, and nine of those were from the first and third periods combined.
• It looks like someone built a wall around Dale Weise and he won't be here for about a week due to visa issues. That's just swell.

BLACKHAWKS TRADE NEWSDon't Hassle the Ehrhoff

For the first time in a long time, this loudmouth has no complaints. At least directed at the Blackhawks management, that is.

Blackhawks General Manager Stan Bowman spent Thursday night and most of Friday making this Blackhawks team CONSIDERABLY better than it was Wednesday night. I touched on Thursday's deal for one of my favorite former Blackhawks, Andrew Ladd, but Bowman was not done, by a long shot. In fact, he still may not be done. There are rumors that he may be able to still unload Bryan Bickell before Monday's trade deadline. I digress, though. There are two pretty surprising deals that Bowman made yesterday afternoon / evening.

The Hawks acquired defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for defenseman Rob Scuderi.

This deal came about late in the afternoon and when first reported, anyone with half a brain said, "There is no way in hell that Bowman got someone to take that greasy slug off our hands, this must be fake". But, alas, it was true. Stan Bowman was able to pull some kind of Jedi mind trick shit on Kings GM Dean Lombardi and was able to to get him to willingly take #BlobSuckderi, one half of the infamous #Scrozsival duo.


The deal is even more juicy, even though giving him away for free would have been completely reasonable. In return, The Blackhawks took back a bit of thorn in Lombardi's side, Christian Ehrhoff. The caveat of the trade was the salary retention jockeying both teams played. Blackhawks retaining %50 of Scuderi's already reduced salary from Pittsburgh, and The Kings retaining %15 of Ehrhoff's salary.

The numbers shake out to the Blackhawks and Kings each being on the hook for a prorated $1.25 million for Scuderi over the remainder this season, and full 50/50 next season. The Blackhawks will get a $225K (prorated) discount on Ehrhoff's $1.275 Million for the remainder of this season, and he will become a free agent on July 1st. If Ehrhoff remains in Rockford, the Blackhawks cap hit will be $325K, which was much better than what they were paying to bury that useless sack of Scuderi shit. Ehrhoff could and probably should play with the NHL team, as well. He brings the same kind of offensive boost that Daley did, for a fraction of the price. This might require the Blackhawks to put Kruger on LTIR or move someone like Mashinter down, but seriously, so what?

Hats off to Bowman for whittling down the Trevor Daley salary from $3.3 Million into a $325K buried cap hit. That took some maneuvering.

One thing I need people to STOP proclaiming right this fucking second, is the "Patrick Sharp, and Stephen Johns turned into Christian Ehrhoff" bullshit.


Patrick Sharp and Stephen Johns turned into cap space to keep Brent Seabrook with this team. Pick on Seabrook's game all you'd like but without him on this team, there is an enormous, probably unfillable, hole on defense. Period. Knock that asinine shit off. It's not relevant. Be smarter than that, and stop getting sucked in by the asshole chicken little meatballs.

Plowing ahead...

Stan Bowman wasn't done for this busy Friday, though. Reports were flying around that Bowman was still working his fingers to the bone, and casting his evil wizardry on more moves. Later in the evening it was announced that the Hawks had made their 3rd deal in roughly 24 hours:

The Blackhawks acquired 31 year old Left Wing Tomas Fleischmann and 27 year old Right Wing Dale Weise from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Phillip Danault and a 2nd round pick in the 2018.

Well, tickle my balls and call me Skippy.

This one was a little out of the wheelhouse of my expectations, as it probably was with most others. The Blackhawks lost a fairly promising rookie, but lets call a spade a spade here. Phillip Danault is, and will be, a 3rd or 4th line center, at best. Bottom six players are a dime a dozen.

The Blackhawks still have Dennis Rasmussen, after some kid named Teuvo Teravainen to play center. Vince Hinostroza and Tanner Kero also sit in Rockford with some NHL experience. Oh, and Markus Kruger will possibly be "zoom zooming" back in the playoffs. If not, they have some additional cabbage to give him a raise and re-sign him this summer, now. This paltry ransom is not something to be weeping into your Cheerios about, people. The Blackhawks were able to acquire six players, on expiring contracts, that significantly upgraded their depth for this year's Cup run. If things don't work out, any of these players can be replaced this summer through the free agent market cheaply.

The Canadiens retained 30% of both player's salaries which shake down to prorated salaries of $750K for Tomas Fleischmann and $717,500 for Weise. This is purely speculation, but I'm assuming that both will fill in some holes on the 3rd line, now centered by Teravainen, which is a pretty significant upgrade in skill and experience. Left in all this are Andrew Shaw and Richard Panik, who will move down the lineup, as well. Rasmussen can remain on the fourth line with any combination of Shaw/Fleischmann and Desjardins/Mashinter/Panik. This amount of talent is a remarkable feat for Stan Bowman to pull this off in 24 hours.

Lastly, Saturday it was announced that Jiri Sekac was claimed by the Phoenix/Arizona/Las Vegas Coyotes, so that $925K comes off the books. This is really a nothing deal, and really helps the organization dump some dead weight that would have spent the remainder of the season on Rockford anyhow. Keep an eye out, because they still may be in the market to dump Bickell in Toronto with an albatross for albatross deal.

Right now, the next 4 months look bright for Blackhawks fans thanks to Stan Bowman, folks. Lets dance with The Hoff:

The Ladd Before Time

Hopefully we'll be seeing much more of this
The Blackhawks dropped a bombshell last night, just 30 minutes before game time. Stan Bowman had traded the unspectacular Marko Dano, this year's 1st round pick, and a conditional pick to the Winnipeg Jets for former Blackhawk Left Wing Andrew Ladd, Jay Harrison and Matt Fraser. The Jets also retained 36% of Ladd's salary, to boot.

A vast majority of the the intarwebz fans were completely stoked, as was I. I loved Andrew Ladd, and was seriously bummed when he was traded in the summer of 2010. It stung me. He was a perfect depth guy, still young, physical, and experienced. This was just proven to be true when the Thrashers/Jets made him their captain. Bringing in the current captain of any NHL team for a playoff run is a pretty big deal. Bringing one in who knows the organization, and has fit with them before is that much more important. I love this deal for a multitude of reasons. The first of which is that the Blackhawks only gave up a player that was struggling mightily in this organization, and a draft pick they would have most likely blown somehow, anyway.

Lets be honest, here, the recent crop of Blackhawks first rounders aren't exactly lighting the league on fire with their production. The one who is providing the most NHL production, Kevin Hayes, walked away from the organization for a compensation pick. The second most productive player, Teuvo Teravainen, has the meatball coalition trying to ship him out of town because he's not a top scorer playing on a third line with two other defensive players; at 21 years old mind you.

Since 2008 the Blackhawks have selected Kyle Beach, Dylan Olsen, Kevin Hayes, Mark NcNeill, Phillip Danault, Teuvo Teravainen, Ryan Hartman, and Nick Schmaltz. Forgive me if I'm not gutted by losing another chance at the next Kyle Beach or Dylan Olsen. The rest are depth players that have all been overshadowed by one specific free agent signing that was plugged right in and has produced without years of teeth gnashing and beging, Artemi Panarin. It's pretty clear that the Hawks don't need to rely on 1st round picks to flourish, nor should they. They have very little patience, and by the time these players are NHL ready at all, they have moved on to other players.

Look at it this way, the highest pick they have had, since 08, was at #11, and they snagged Blackhawks / Rockford legend Kyle Beach (and ultimately The Manshitter). The next highest picks were Mark McNeill, at 18 in 2011, and Teuvo Tervainen at 18 in 2012. Teravainen should have been long gone by the time the Hawks picked, and fell in their lap. Schmaltz looks like he may develop into a solid player, but the Quenneville effect could easily turn him into the next Marko Dano if he doesn't make a positive impression right away. I'm sorry, folks, I'm not trading what might be the last serious run Stanley Cup we see in Chicago for a while, for the next Nick Schmaltz. Stan Bowman could find some kid in the KHL that gives you what some unspectacular late first rounder probably will, and probably faster. This all makes that first round pick, in regards to the Blackhawks organization, a wash.

Lets dive deeper, shall we? The Blackhawks lost this year's second round pick as compensation for Kimmo Timonen last season, so they don't have a pick until round 3. You know how many Blackhawks have become productive NHL players in rounds 3-7 since 2008? SEVERAL:

Ben Smith, 6th/169 in 2008
Markus Kruger, 5th/149 in 2009
Joakim Nordstrom, 3rd/90 in 2010
Klas Dahlbeck, 3rd/79 in 2011
Andrew Shaw, 5th/139 in 2011

The Hawks also have players like Vince Hinostroza, Garrett Ross, Tyler Motte, Radovan Bondra, and Roy Radke that have been raising some interest, from the later rounds. More production than they have gotten out of the first round, that's for sure.

The moral of the story is that you should not fall in love with the romance of a 1st round draft pick, if you're a Blackhawks fan. They are virtually picking in the second round at the position they normally pick from, anyway. They can easily recoup a 2nd round pick at the draft for something like the rights to Andrew Shaw, who has probably priced himself out of the Blackhawks range, anyway. Maybe they could recoup picks for Bryan Bickell, since Toronto has hoarded about 30 picks in the July draft through various moves.

Back to Marko Dano. Does he have potential? YES! Was he over hyped, because we all wanted a young phenom to replace the one we lost? YES! He was handed a winning lottery ticket and fumbled it down the storm drain. He got a late start in camp, didn't really impress when he did come back, was very underwhelming when he was called back up, and really wasn't lighting the AHL on fire either. At best, right now, Marko Dano is a theory rather than a legend. We have all seen what Joel Quenneville does with a young player that thrives on his reputation. Marko Dano earned nothing. This is not to say that Dano won't turn into a legit NHL player in Winnipeg, but it was looking more and more like the very strict Blackhawks stlye wasn't a good fit for him. I wish him well. If the Blackhawks win the cup, or even if they don't, their chances are better TODAY of repeating in June, with Andrew Ladd over Marko Dano. That is fact.

Believe it or not, the Blackhawks acquired two other players as well. Coming to Chicago, or more specifically Rockford, are 33 year old defenseman Jay Harrison, and 25 year old Left Wing Matt Fraser.

He is not related to Colin Fraser, #Fatrick, so throw a bucket of cold water on your boner.

Harrison can play in a pinch but won't, unless there is an emergency. Both are free agents on July 1st, Harrison being a UFA and Fraser an RFA. The Jets were just unloading expiring contracts, here. Andrew Ladd, of course, will be an UFA on July 1st as well, and it's hard to imaging the Blackhawks could find enough cap room for him. If Bowman can find room, I would be thoroughly shocked. If they are having another parade in late June, WHO CARES?

Blackhawks vs Predators3-1 Loss Recap

"The Mercenary"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks returned home, Thursday, while still licking their wounds as a result of a thorough thrashing in Minnesota, Sunday afternoon. They got some good new during the time off, when it was announced that Michal Rozsival would not have any sort of additional punishment following the "hit" on Jason Zucker that resulted in a 5 minute major penalty and game misconduct for Rozsival. Correct call by the NHL. Anyhow, Neither team came in particularly hot. Both won only 5 of their past 10, and were looking for some momentum. This had all the makings of a complete and utter snoozefest. of course the Blackhawks announced a blockbuster deal just minutes before puck drop. The Hawks acquired Andrew Ladd, Matt Fraser and defenseman Jay Harrison from the Jets in for Marko Dano, 1st round pick and a conditional pick in 2018.

As we all tried to keep our enormous boners in our pants, after hearing the Ladd deal, there was still a game to be played. The action back and forth was pretty entertaining, or so I heard. I was too busy telling meatball idiots how good the trade was. Kill me. Kill. Me. Now.

The Blackhawks had a majority of the shots 13-9, and had a very mediocre powerplay. The Preds had pressure too, but both goalies were totally on point. I'm not even going to try and tell you that I was able to use this game as anything more than background noise while I basked in the glow of Andrew Ladd.

The entire internet finally gathered themselves and paid attention to the second period, and it was a good thing. Both teams got on the board, first the Blackhawks and then the #PERDS a couple of minutes later. Shots were again in favor of the Blackhawks 16-13. Kind of high for a game involving these two teams, but this was a good sign for the Blackhawks

The third period was more like the first, except for the score. The shots were dead even at 10, but the #PERDS scored a late goal to go up, and then finished the Blackhawks 3-1. Can't kill my Andrew Ladd buzz #PERDS, so...


The Good

• Jonathan Toews had a MONSTER first period. Unfortunately, it earned the Hawks no goals.
• It took 26 minutes for either team to take a lead, and Brent Seabrook was the trigger man. Jiri Sekac used his large frame to control the puck behind the #PERDS net long enough for Seabrook to sneak into the soft spot in the slot. Sekac put it right in the wheelhouse and Seabrook drilled it home. Sekac's first point as a Blackhawk after spending some time in the doghouse.
• Pekka Rinne was just vintage Pekka Rinne, which was outstanding.
• Gustafsson made his return to the lineup. I'll put it in the good section because he wasn't necessarily "bad". He was alright and didn't kill the Hawks.
• Jiri Sekac played a great game. He seemed to be everywhere on the ice. He was so good that Quenneville moved him up with Toews and Shaw, while dropping Panik down to the 4th line

The Bad

• Just a couple of minutes after Seabrook gave the Blackhawks the lead, Viktor Arvidsson picked a whacky bounce off the boards behind the Blackhawks net and was able to chip the puck up and over Crawford's leg. Originally, the officials were confused as to whether it was a goal or not, but quickly figured out that it was in the net.
• Mike Fisher set up Calle Jarnkrok for the go ahead goal with 1:51 remaining in the game. Fisher out worked Hjalmarsson and Keith deep in the Hawks zone, dished to Jarnkrok, and Jarnkrok one timed it high over Crawford.
• Salomaki ended up with the empty net goal. Blah.
• Hawks were on the negative side of faceoffs.
• Andrew Shaw's late second period breakaway. Had 5-hole all day long and completely "yipped" it.
• Shea Weber missed the game with a lower body injury. That is never going to be good for the #PERDS

The Ugly

• Midway through the first period, Dennis Rasmussen had almost a full 4x6 and missed the net entirely. OY VEY!
• I have to know what is up with Trevor van Riemsdyk. He just looks bad. Really bad.
• #HockeyStarMikeFisher had two assists, which will tell you how the night went.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The possession was heavily in the Blackhawks favor. The #AK72 line were each all up over 15 on the plus side of 5v5 Corsi.
• Hjalmarsson was a minus 10 5v5 Corsi, which looks pretty god damn bad.
• Seabrook and Gustafsson have been taking a ton of heat but they were both in double digits for 5v5 Corsi

The Lineblender
Shaw - Toews - Panik
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Rasmussen - Teravainen - Desjardins
Mashinter - Danault - Sekac

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Rozsival

Puckin Hostile ShoutcastEpisode 50

In this big 50th Puckin Hostile Shoutcast, the Corey Crawford Episode, the team celebrate this momentous occasion with a new addition to the crew.

The group discuss the following:

-#Fatrick skips a work function for the fans, and might end up working at Kenny Rogers Roasters.
-An epic Hostile Hall-of-Fame listener email
-A Hossa injury
-Trade deadline speculation and Andrew Shaw's future as a Blackhawk
-The stadium series game shellacking
-The alumni game
-Other games vs the Stars, Ducks, Leafs, and NY Rangers
-The Puckin Hostile Drink-a-long game is born.
-More @UncleRozsival talk
-#Meatfest
-Some listener questions
-As always, an abundance of inappropriate references and jokes in incredibly bad taste.

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

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 50 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"


For all your custom jersey needs visit Black and Tan Sports at:
http://www.facebook.com/BlackAndTanSports

Fatrick's Shoutcast Starter Kit!

by AtomiC FrosteR

I ordered something off the Puckin Hostile store and it showed up today just in time!




It's the #Fatrick shoutcast starter kit.




This is exciting, let's see what's inside!




A Puckin Hostile t-shirt, but the logo looks pink and the twitter address is spelled wrong. What can I do with this?




Perfect!




A six pack of Molson Canadian, and it's cold! How'd they do that?!




Ah yes, Lunchables. At least it's turkey.




Hockey cards, 8 packs in the box and our boy on the front!




Timbits!




"SOFT SERVE ICE-CREAM PARTNER!" How did the ice-cream stay solid all the way from Chicago?




....Paper plates, uh thanks?




The box's contents, thanks Stankus I feel fully prepped now for the Shoutcast. Keep an eye out for my Amazon review.

Stadium SeriesBlackhawks at Minnesota6-1 Loss Recap

"Swing On This"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks played their, now annual, outdoor Stadium series game in Minnesota's TCF Bank Stadium, Sunday afternoon. With snow falling and all the hoopla going on, once again the festivities overshadowed a somewhat controversial game. There were quite a few questionable moments in this one.

The first period went about as bad as you could imagine for the team in white. The Blackhawks went down 0-2 early and took 3 penalties in the first 20 minutes. None of this was a good sign for the Hawks. They were out shot 11-9, and carried that third penalty kill into the middle period.

The second period was no better than the first. The Blackhawks came out flat again, and gave up two goals on twelve shots. They weren't able to manage any goals on their own eleven shots. The fire just wasn't there.

The Blackhawks came out with a different goalie in the third period but the results weren't any better. The Blackhawks gave up two more goals and eventually broke the shutout. Big fucking deal. They got their candy asses kicked 6-1 and embarrassed on national TV.

But we're all told not to worry because this doesn't matter, so we'll just act like this didn't happen.

The Good

• It took 3/4 of the game and 5 goals against for Patrick Kane to finally break the shutout. No one cared.
• It's well known that I love black equipment, but Corey Crawford's gear was perfectly coordinated. I ripped the jerseys but with the black helmets the Hawks looked really fucking slick.

The Bad

• It didnt take the Wild long to take a 1-0 lead. Ryan Carter got in behind Seabrook and van Riemsdyk, after Andres Shaw decided it was a brilliant play to shoot the puck into the gut of a Wild defender. Seabrook was severely out of position when he tried to sneak in on the back door and van Riemsdyk was left to fend for himself. Carter didn't score on the breakaway or even the rebound, but Matt Dumba was there to scoop up the loose puck and shovel it past Crawford, just three and a half minutes in.
• About 4 minutes after the Dumba goal, Thomas Vanek deflected a long Jason Pominville point shot past Corey Crawford, on the powerplay for a 2-0 Wild lead.
• Nino Niederreiter put the Wild up 3-0 bout 2:30 into the second period. The Blackhawks just got completely out worked and the lineblender duo of van Riemsdyk and Keith looked as confused as ever.
• Jason Pominville gave the Wild a 4-0 lead midway through the second period through a Trevor van Riemsdyk screen. Once again the Blackhawks were standing around and not doing much to help their goaltender.
• Ryan Carter made Scott Darling's welcome a sour one. Darling made the original save and Svedgroot wasn't able to tie Carter up soon enough to stop him from finishing.
  

The Ugly

• The Jonathan Toews penalty for whatever they claimed the contact was on Dubnyk, while going around the net, was a fucking awful call. It was normal hockey play, and Dubnyk did his best Mike Smith impression.
  
• Even the empty net goal that the Wild scored was a complete shit show. Kane was the last guy back and put the puck right on the stick of Eric Haula, who had a free ride from center ice. Just to add insult to injury, Kane dragged Haula down before he could score which was an automatic goal, even though the puck never when in the net.
  
  While I'm on it, could we fucking knock off this "pulling the goalie with a ridiculous amount of time remaining" crap, Joel? It's fucking DUMB. Quit taking ideas from the homeless bum in Colorado, because he's clearly not good.
  
• The team should be embarrassed that Crawford was chased from the game, because he deserved a much better fate.
• The call on Michal Rozsival for simply going for the puck was completely ridiculous. The puck was there, and Zucker went down, so Rozsival gets a call. Again, a hockey play that they fucked up. It shouldn't have been a penalty at all, much less a game misconduct. It's unfortunate that Zucker hit his head on the ice, but that's not Rozsival's fault.
  
• Just too many Blackhawks defensemen standing around watching the Wild skate around with the puck.
• The Hawks powerplay was pretty glaringly unimpressive. It has to be pretty bad if Viktor Svedberg is out there.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Niklas Hjalmarsson was the best Hawks possession player, because someone had to be.
• Seemed like every Blackhawks shot was blocked and apparently it was. Blocked shots were 15-1 even strength, and 20-6 overall in favor of the Wild. How does that even fucking happen?
  

The Lineblender
Shaw - Toews - Panik
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Desjardins - Danault - Teravainen
Mashinter - Rasmussen - Hinostroza

Keith - Hjalmarsson
van Riemsdyk - Seabrook
Rozsival - Svedberg

Blackhawks at Rangers5-3 Win Recap

"Lesson Learned"

by Patrick Stankus

The New York Rangers welcomed the Blackhawks to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, in a rematch of the opening night of the season. The Hawks were embarking on a trip out east that also includes a stop at the White House on Thursday afternoon to finally cap off their 2014-15 Stanley Cup winning season. The other story following the Hawks is, tonight marks the final game before they head outdoors and take on the Wild on Sunday in the Coors Light Stadium Series. Wait, for that new "Puckin' Hostile Drinking Game" that @AtomicFroster came up with, DRINK every time you hear about that outdoor game.

In what hasn't always been the case of late, the game got off to a nice start and featured a lot of pace early on. The Hawks wasted little time in getting on the board first. Andrew Desjardins redirected a Teuvo Teravainen pass from the corner to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead 3 and a half minutes in. As the period went on, the Rangers would find an extra jump to their step, and out shot the Hawks 10-6 in the period, despite the Hawks getting a late power play. After the opening 20 minutes, the Hawks would lead the Rangers 1-0.

When the second period got underway, it appeared early on that the Rangers had tied the game, until Coach Q decided to challenge for goalie interference. Much to the shock of everyone, the call of a good goal was overturned, and the Hawks remained on top 1-0. Midway through the period, Artemi Panarin, while on the power play, would increase the Hawks lead to 2-0, with his 20th goal of the season. The 2 goal lead wouldn't last long, as just under 4 minutes later, Kevin Hayes redirected a pass from the corner, past Crawford, to cut the Hawks lead to 2-1. Late in the period, the Rangers would go on the power play, but with time winding down, they couldn't tie the game in the second period.

The puck dropped on the third period with the Rangers still on a power play as a result of a late second period penalty by Vincent Hinostroza. In the first 3 minutes of the period, the Rangers would make Hinostroza pay, and score twice, to give them a 3-2 lead. The momentum of the game would change midway through the third period, thanks to an ill-timed penalty by former Hawk Viktor Stalberg. Andrew Shaw scored on the ensuing power play after a sweet pass from Teravainen from the corner to tie the game. From then on it was the Breadman's show. Artemi Panarin, took over, and added 2 goals down the stretch, 1 of which was on the power play, and completed the hat trick to give the Hawks a 5-3 win over the Rangers.

The Good

• So this Artemi Panarin guy is pretty good at hockey. I think Gate and I swung and missed when we said calm down and give it some time before we come to a conclusion on how good he really is. I think we can all agree, Breadman is pretty fucking good. (Now do you understand the title)
• Tonight we saw what Teuvo Teravainen is capable of when it comes to his hockey sense. His two passes that lead to the Desjardins and Shaw goals, were about as perfect as they can come.
• The power play was alright tonight. They were 3 of 4 with the man advantage. Smart money is them looking like a bad set of clown shoes on Sunday.
• Speaking of the power play, how timely were they tonight? The Rangers took two penalties in the third, and both times the Hawks made them pay. This is exactly what you want to see; them capitalizing on other teams' mistakes.
• Corey Crawford had a good, not spectacular night in net. It was one of those games where he just went about his business and made the saves when needed. In the end he made 31 saves on 34 shots.
• Artem Anisimov didn't register a point, but he was a factor all night. Its amazing how great the #AK72Line has clicked all season long.

The Bad

• Michal Rozsival was in the right place when Kevin Hayes cut the Hawks lead in half. Problem was, Rozsival, much like a blind old dog, was oblivious to the fact that Hayes was behind him, and stood there like a statue. Regardless it was a perfect pass by Lindberg, but you'd at least like to see Rozsival move like a bubble hockey player on that play.
• Late in the second period, #BartlettNativeVinnieHinostroza took a bad high sticking penalty that resulted in a double minor because it drew blood. Plays like this get you riding I-90 back to Rockford.
• Viktor Stalberg is still a horrible hockey player. But thanks for taking that penalty in the third period. Its much appreciated.
• Has anyone seen Jiri Sekac?

The Ugly

• I don't care that Q won his coach's challenge for goalie interference, replay, challenges, whatever the hell you want to call them can all go to hell.
• I touched on this in the bad, but Hinostroza shall be/will be on I-90 heading back to Rockford after his late second period penalty. The Rangers managed  to score twice on the double minor. How does the doghouse smell Vinnie?
• Keith Yandle apparently attended Joe Thornton's school of "How To Become An NHL Jackass" after seeing his hack on Panarin following Panarin's empty netter. Here's to ya Keith.
  

Blackhawks vs Maple Leafs7-2 Win Recap

"From The Pinnacle To The Pit"

by Gatekeeper

Title is a shout out to Grammy winning band "GHOST"

The Blackhawks returned to the ice, Monday night, after a disappointing and costly loss Saturday night, to the Anaheim Schmucks. Marian Hossa was hurt late in Saturday's game after a hip check went awry and he tumbled into the boards awkwardly. The early prognosis was "hopefully no more than 2 weeks", so he was thrown on IR and young #BartlettNativeVinceHinostroza was called up from Rockford to fill the roster spot. Hinostroza was slated to play on the 4th line with Dennis Rasmussen and Brandon Mashinter, so good luck producing there, kid. Swedish rookie Viktor "Svedgroot" Svedberg was also slated to play his second game in a row, while Erik Gustafsson took a seat in Q's doghouse.

The first period went well, or the Blackhawks, in just about every way. They took a lead just over two minutes in and added to that lead before heading into the first break. The Hawks shot advantage was 16-11, which was more than enough to build a good lead against this band of boobs. Good thing for the lead, because the Hawks started to lose interest in the second period.

The second period had a promising start, but then quickly turned into a flurry of shots in the Hawks end, also thanks to some Blackhawks penalties. The Leafs surrendered a powerplay goal early on, but then went on the attack, firing 15 shots on the Hawks goalie. The home team was only able to manage 5 measly shots, themselves, but this wouldn't matter when the Blackhawks came out in the third period.

The third period turned into the wild fucking west. Blazing Saddles style. These two team threw defense out the window and combined for SIX third period goals, for a total of NINE goals. Yes....


After the shutout was wasted, the game pretty much just turned into a bunch of players staring at the clock. No one wanted to be out on that ice anymore. The shots were 11-11, but it was clear the game was over before the period even began. This Toronto team is absolute dogshit.

Next up, the Blackhawks had to Washington to hang with the Prez once again.

The Good

• Of all the unlikely players to grab a 1-0 lead for the Blackhawks, The Manshitter would be perched atop that list. Yet, that was the case. Just two minutes and thirty three seconds into the game Mashinter stole a Leafs pass in the neutral zone and, get this, LED A RUSH over the Leafs blue line, with the Moose. Mashinter used Rasmussen as a decoy and snapped a Bickell-esque wrist shot over Optimus Reim's glove.
• Just past the 10 minutes mark of the first period, The Blackhawks jumped on the Leafs once again. This time on the powerplay. A long Duncan Keith shot made it through the the muck in front of the net and hit Andrew Shaw square in the dupa. The puck bounced around off Patrick Kane and Shaw before Shaw shovelled it between his own legs and into the net. It was originally thought that Toews got the goal, but after several replays, it was clear that Shaw got the goal.
• Two minutes into the second period, the forecheck of Andrew Shaw led to a Blackhawks powerplay. They wasted no time as the hot shooter, Brent Seabrook blasted a laser past the glove of Optimus Reim for a 3-0 Blackhawks lead.
• The Blackhawks seemed to have a knack for early period scoring in this one. An early Michael Grabner penalty put the Hawks back on the powerplay and they cashed in, again. This time around it was a feed from Patrick Kane to his favorite target, Artemi Panarin. After drawing the attention, he saucered a pass to Panarin who was in on Reimer, one-on-one. Not a chance.
• A few minutes after the assist on the Panarin goal, Artem Anisimov was able to lead Patrick Kane
• Thanks to a couple of sloppy penalties, the Blackhawks were able to send their "bum slayer" powerplay unit out on the ice and Teuvo Teravainen got a one timer set on a platter, and buried it.
• Just after the second powerplay expired, Jonathan Toews then set up a wide open Viktor #Svedgroot for a one timer right in the sweet spot. Nice defense, Toronto. All that elite coaching is doing you well.
• Where do you start and end? Patrick Kane had 4 points, once again. Andrew Shaw had 3 points. Duncan Keith had 3 points. Scott Darling had 35 saves. All good.
• The diving save Scott Darling made in the second period was outstanding. Mind you, he had to make that save because he was slow getting over and was out of position, but damn that looked good.
  

  Darling glove save pic.twitter.com/IssO0DwSUo

  — Stephanie (@myregularface) February 16, 2016

The Bad

• Artemi Panarin lost control of his stick late in the second period and sat in the box for four minutes as a reward. Lucking the Leafs suck and couldn't muster much pressure at all.
• Vince Hinostroza might be the only Blackhawks player not to score tonight.

The Ugly

• A minute or so after the Kane goal, the Manshitter was in on a 2-on-1. He had a gaping net, similar to when #Fatrick played net, and everyone in the place was already celebrating the goal. So easy that even a caveman could do it, right? Except for the fact that is was Manshitter. He hit the post.
  
• With about 8 minutes remaining Mark Arcobello picked up a PA Parenteau rebound and beat Darling to ruin the shutout. Whatever.
  
• Just to show they had really stopped caring, they let former Blackhawk PA Parenteau score on the powerplay to make it 7-2.
  
• The Leafs, they're fucking awful.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• #Fatrick will love this one because the Leafs dominated in just about every 5-vs-5 enhanced stat category, down to faceoffs, but got fucking SAAA-MOKED
• Every Blackhawks player had negative even strength Corsi. Let's let #Fatrick savor this one.
  
  

The Lineblender
Panik - Toews - Shaw
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Desjardins - Danault - Teravainen
Manshinter - Rasmussen - Hinostroza

Keith - Hjalmarsson
van Riemsdyk - Seabrook
Svedberg - Rozsival

Blackhawks vs Ducks3-2 OT Loss

"One For The Ditch"
(Gate's pick from a good Canadian metal band)

By Puckin’ Hostile’s Canadian Correspondent Atomic Froster

With the Blackhawks being 0-2 at the UC in the month of February, Coach Q hoped #72 returning to the line-up would give the Hawks the boost they needed to put them over the top against the Ducks. It won’t be easy—the Ducks will bring their ‘A’ game after last year’s stinging defeat by the Hawks at the Western Conference Final.

Period 1:
The first period started out slowly with each team going through a feeling out process to find the pace of the game. The Hawks had a few chances early but could not cash in. Twelve minutes into the period the first penalty is called; Rozsival goes to the box for hooking. The Ducks put pressure on early but Crawford stands tall and the PKers do the rest—penalty killed, no damage done. Anaheim carries the momentum of their PP and finishes the period with the majority of the scoring chances.

Shots: Ducks, 13; Hawks, 7.

Period 2:
Five minutes into the second period, pressure by the first line leads to the Hawks first PP of the game, albeit a terrible one – zero shots on goal recorded. The teams trade a few solid chances through the first half of period 2. At the fourteen minute mark, Crawford stretches out to make two huge pad saves. The play moves to the other end with Hossa pursuing the puck. He is hip-checked by Lindholm and goes awkwardly into the end boards; the training staff rushes the ice and aids Hossa in leaving to the locker room. The Hawks regroup after this scary scene and Panik goes hard to the net drawing a hooking call. Early in the PP Seabs blasts one from the top of the circle and Gibson spits out a huge rebound; Seabs capitalizes on the opportunity and hammers it home from the dot, #88 and #2 credited with helpers. Sekac goes to the box at 18:30 for elbowing but the Hawks close the period holding onto the lead.

Shots: Ducks, 10; Hawks, 10.

Period 3:
The third period starts with a change in net for the Ducks: Anderson is in and an announcement that Hossa will not return. The Hawks kill the last 30 seconds of the Sekac minor. Perry and Panarin trade interference and slashing calls and both go to the box to create a 4 on 4. The Ducks Silfverberg takes advantage and scores after a scramble in front of the net. The Hawks try to carry the puck into the offensive end but Anaheim picks up the puck and dumps it in. They successfully recover and Getzlaf sets up Perron to put the Ducks one up on the Hawks. Seabrook evens the score 12 minutes in with his second goal of the game. The Blackhawks weather the storm with the Ducks controlling the gameplay for the remainder of the period, pushing this game into, Puckin’ Hostile’s own, Patrick Stankus’ favourite – 3 on 3 overtime.

Shots: Ducks, 18; Hawks, 5.

Overtime:
With a breakaway, Kane gets the Hawks best chance in OT but holds the puck too long and misses the net. Shortly after the Hawks take a penalty for too many men as a tired Seabrook glides to the bench. With the 4 on 3 advantage, Ryan Getzlaf scores the game winner 30 seconds into the penalty. Ducks win.

Shots: Ducks, 3; Hawks, 1.

Total Shots: Ducks, 44; Hawks, 23.


The Good

• Seabrook has a career high 10 goals so far this year (previous high 9);
• Panarin reunites with Kane;
• Zero coaches challenges; and
• Corey Crawford looks back to his old self.

The Bad

• Hawks now 0-2-1 at the UC in February;
• Tying Dallas in points; and
• Seabs was the only one to show up for the Hawks Power Play.

The Ugly

• Hossa’s injury, with his history, has potential for him to miss a significant number of games;
• Being outshot 44-23 – it’s a miracle the Hawks squeaked out a point; and
• With the hits being 52-26 in favour of Anaheim it may be true that the Blackhawks are, indeed, human.

The AtomicFroster #PHDrinkAlongI thought it might be fun to try to involve you the Puckin Hostile follower by asking for your ideas for the podcast drinking game. Tweet out your suggestions using the hashtag #PHDrinkAlong. I have included a few of my own to get started. If I get enough I will put together a proper set of rules.

1. A wrestling sound bite is played – one drink
2. Fatrick talks about his first love, the Mc Rib – one drink
3. Travel down the “Harms hole” – one drink
4. Seinfeld reference – one drink
5. Someone say fuck ‘em – one drink
6. The rare event that Derek does a photo shop – finish your drink

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
van Riemsdyk - Seabrook
Rozival - Svedberg

Blackhawks vs Stars4-2 Loss Recap

"Down in a Hole"

by Gatekeeper

After the big news Thursday afternoon, regarding the 2017 NHL coming to Chicago, the Blackhawks had to face the pesky Dallas Stars. This came on the heels of a bring and uninspired 2-0 loss to the Sharks two night previous. This would be the first regular season back in Chicago for Blackhawks Stanley Cup vets Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya which definitely strike up some old feelings. This was all, of course, irrelevant because the Stars had already been awarded the 2016 Stanley Cup after their 4-0 shutout win the day before Christmas, which had the Chicken Little brigade crying doom and gloom.

The first period didn't help the matters any, either. The Blackhawks came out and gave up not one; not two; not THREE; but FOUR first period goals to dig themselves a huge grave. Two of said goals were on the powerplay. Not much more really needs to be said. The Blackhawks were out shot but not like you might expect with a 0-4 hole, 18-12. Now two more excruciating periods. That's what we get for allowing Stankus to go to a game.

Scott Darling came out in net for the second period, as one might have predicted. Not only that, but Quenneville pulled the old lineblender and fired it up on the "liquify" setting. Neither event did much to help the Blackhawks, as they went into the second intermission still down 0-4. The shots were 12-12 but the Hawks still looked off.

The Blackhawks actually looked like they cared about what was going on, or what wasn't going on, when they came out. The Hawks almost immediately put a goal on the board, and followed it up with another one before the period was half over. Amazingly, the Blackhawks out shot the Stars 21-2 in the final period, but none of that would be enough. You simply cannot spot most any team 4 goals and expect to make that up.

The Good

• It took almost 41 minutes for something good to happen for the Blackhawks, but just 32 seconds into the third period Duncan Keith took a long point shot that deflected off two Stars players and past Kari Lehtonen. Life.
• With 12 minutes remaining in the third Patrick Kane got the Blackhawks back within 2 goals. The faceoff was won by Jon Toews right to the stick of Kane, who sent a shot through about 5 players and over Kari Lehtonen. Looks like the Blackhawks actually cared whether the game was even interesting or not. Go figure.
• Fatrick's biggest fan in Lemont will be happy to hear that Scott Darling came in and stopped all 14 shots he faced, looking much better in the process. This, of course, was 4 less shots than Corey Crawford faced in the first period alone. Hey, small wins, right?

The Bad

• With barely 10 minutes gone in first period, the Stars took a 2-0 lead on a 4-on-4 situation, after Travis Moen and Brandon Manshitter took their personal grooming discussion to the penalty box. Teuvo Teravainen looked to put in a less than stellar effort into his back check with ended up leading to young defensive sensation John Klingberg banking a backhand shot off the inside of Nik Hjalmarsson's leg and through Corey Crawford's legs.
• The Stars followed up that goal with another first period goal to take a 3-0 lead before the Blackhawks even made it to the first intermission. Once again Patrick Eaves was the goal scorer.
• The Stars weren't done yet. Patrick Eaves finished up his first period hat trick on the powerplay with under 30 seconds to go in the first period. Hjalmarsson and Keith weren't able to tied up Eaves after a rebound came off Crawford's pads.
• Artemi Panarin missed his second straight game, with an illness, and no one was able to fill that hole successfully. Get well soon, Kiddo.
• Corey Crawford wasn't exactly sharp at all, not that anyone helped him. When the Hawks needed him to be their best player, he was about as good as the rest of his teammates. That just wasn't going to be good enough.

The Ugly

• Just a couple of minutes into the game, with the always stellar Blob Suckderi on the ice, Patrick Eaves sat in behind the Hawks defenses and roofed a shot over Crawford from a tight angle. The fact that he was able to hit the small space over Crawford's shoulder, on a one timer, from that angle has to be a little impressive.
• After the first period, the geniuses on twitter were yapping at the beat writers about what bust Teuvo Teravainen is. Shut up. The guy plays with offensively anorexic linemates and you expect him, at 21, to carry theses players. Get the hell out of here.
• Blackhawks were 0-2 on the power play and the Stars were 2-2. That's the game, folks.
• Can we please throw Blob Suckderi into the sea? We've seen way too much of this worthless pylon.
• I don't care what they thought they knew, the Boston Bruins are dumb as all hell for trading Tyler Seguin. The guy is a bonafide "star". See what I did there?

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Despite being shielded, Trevor van Riemsdyk was eaten alive with a -7 Corsi.
• Duncan Keith was pretty bad i nthe first period, but rebounded for a team leading +8 Corsi, with his goal.
• Fourth line? Not good. Rasmussen and Manshitter were pretty heavily under water, while each playing under 10 minutes.

And to my friend Selina, in Dallas, you're awesome as hell but:

The Lineblender
Shaw - Toews - Hossa
Panik - Anisimov - Kane
Desjardins - Danault - Teravainen
Mashinter - Rasmussen - Sekac

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
Scuderi - van Riemsdyk

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 49

In this Puckin Hostile Shoutcast number 49, the Michael Leighton Episode, the Puckin Hostile stooges plow ahead, just short of their 50th shoutcast. Gate talks about almost accidentally killing himself. Good times.

The group discuss the following:

-The All-Star game skills competition and festivities. (Pat hates fun)
-John Scott players tribune article
-The Wideman suspension and appeal
-Byfuglien sings extension, what does that mean for Ladd?
-OTT and TOR blockbuster trade.
-Hawks in another Stadium Series game
-Stupid Hawks trade rumors
-Games vs Avalanche, Coyotes, Stars, and Sharks
-Stan Bowman's drafting skills
-NHL.tv lauch is a disaster
-The writers are bailed out by fans/readers once again.
-And as always, an abundance of inappropriate references and jokes in incredibly bad taste like
-aaaaand Uncle Rozsival talk...

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

Puckin Hostile Shoutcast - Episode 49 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. Sharks2-0 Shutout Loss Recap

"Rotten Apple"

by Patrick Stankus

Tonight the Blackhawks returned home to The UC after a three game, post All-Star break road trip, to take on the San Jose Sharks. The Hawks were thrown a bit of a curveball, as Artemi Panarin was forced to miss this game due to an illness. Panarin wasn't the only late scratch tonight. Gate was supposed to recap tonight's game, but an upper body injury prevented him from typing tonight. I know you are all happy to have me recap a game between the two teams that made Jeremy Roenick most famous. You know the teams that saw JR score his 1st NHL goal, and his 500th career goal. Shit, no wonder why Gate pulled out of this recap. Before I get to the game, shameless plug, listen to the Roenick Life Podcast, its grrrrrrrrrreat. Alright, enough rambling, onto the game.

The first period got underway just as you'd expect from the Hawks in their first home game in some time. The Hawks were guilty of showcasing that famous "one too many passes" play style, but as the period went on, they simplified their game. Brandon Mashinter thought he had given the Hawks the lead late in the period, but after a coach's challenge by the Sharks, the call was overturned and the game remained scoreless. The Hawks would out shoot the Sharks 10-8, while also having two power plays in the first, but couldn't crack the back of the net. As the horn sounded ending the first period, the game would be scoreless.

In the second period, the Hawks would lack the same intensity they had in the first period. The Sharks pounced on the Hawks lazy approach, and dominated play for the first 15 minutes of the period. Midway through the period, the Sharks would capitalize on a Niklas Hjalmarsson slashing penalty, and gave themselves a 1-0 lead with a power play goal. In the final 5 minutes of the period, the Hawks would finally show some life, but couldn't tie the game. After 40 minutes of play, the Hawks would trail the Sharks 1-0.

As the third period got underway, the tone of the play was about as exciting as smashing your head against a wall. The Sharks clamped down on the Hawks, and made life difficult for them. The Hawks could rarely muster any sustained pressure, only generating a few one and done chances throughout the period. In the final two minutes with the Hawks net empty, the Sharks added another tally to seal a 2-0 win in Chicago.


The Good

• Michal Rozsival had himself quite the opening 10 minutes tonight. Rozsival had two great defensive plays, one in which broke up a Sharks 4 on 2 attempt, and also drew a penalty, giving the Hawks the first power play of the game. Overall Rozsival was actually really good. And if Michal Rozsival is your best player, well, you're fucked.
• Corey Crawford was again, Corey Crawford. Unlike Bickell, repeating Crawford's play in recaps is fun. Tonight he was good when called upon. He stopped 26 of 27 shots, and I hate to use the cliche, but he was good enough to win tonight.
• The Hawks dominated at the face off dot tonight, 33-22. I'm really stretching for things now.
• Anything else? No really anything else?

The Bad

• The second period was boring as hell. A lot of that was thanks to the Hawks playing like they didn't give a shit for the majority of the period. As a result it felt like it was the longest 20 minutes of my life.
• The power play was 0 for 3 tonight. Feast or famine with that bunch. Tonight nothing stuck out from any of the three power play chances.
• Safe to say the honeymoon with the #AK72Line isn't over. Tonight the lines were a jumbled mess that couldn't get any sustained pressure. Please get healthy Breadman.
• If there is one honeymoon that should be over, its the one with Phillip Danault. He's not Kruger's replacement, he's a poor man's Marcus Kruger. 
• Bryan Bickell was in the house tonight, at least in calendar form being sold behind Section 114 at The UC.

The Ugly

• The Breadman was moldy tonight, and missed the game due to an illness.
• The coach's challenge for goalie interference is getting out of hand. Again tonight, the Hawks had a goal overturned due to "goalie interference." Give me a break. Simply breathing on a goalie isn't goalie interference. Go back to the old skate in the crease rule if we want ZERO contact with the goalie. Just make sure you enforce it correctly.
  
• Of course Jumbo Jackass Joe Thornton would score an empty netter to make it 2-0. I can't stand that piece of shit.
• Jiri Sekac played tonight for the Hawks. Apparently he had 4 shots too. I don't remember any of them. He's starting to tap dance down jackass alley that leads to Tim Erixon's house.
• Since general soreness is a topic of discussion today because of the Bulls "star" player, I wouldn't be surprised if @UncleRozsival follows the lead by Derrick Rose, and calls in sick to work tomorrow due to general soreness after seeing how well Rozsival played tonight.

Blackhawks at Stars5-1 Win Recap

"2 Fast 2 Furious"

by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks visited Dallas on Saturday night, looking to end their 3 game, post All-Star break road trip on a positive note. The Hawks were coming off an ugly overtime win in the desert on Thursday night. Tonight's matchup featured the top 2 teams in the Central Division, and some familiar faces now in Dallas green.

Once the puck the scoring would not be far behind. The Hawks got on the board first, just 34 seconds courtesy of a bomb by Brent Seabrook on the power play. After lull in scoring for about 15 minutes, the scoring would return in bunches over the final 5 minutes of the period. TVR would find a loose puck at the bottom of the circle, and hammer it past Niemi to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. Just under 90 seconds later, Tyler Seguin would cut the Hawks lead in half with a rebound goal just outside the crease. Not happy with their lead being cut in half, the Hawks would respond a little over a minute later. Jonathan Toews lead a great rush up the ice shorthanded, Hossa followed up Toews' shot and was rewarded with a juicy rebound off of Niemi's pads. Hossa buried the puck past Niemi to make it a 3-1 game when the first period came to an end.

The second period would be a lot like the first period. It was filled with end to end action, but also featured a little more goaltending than the first. Corey Crawford absolutely stood on his head while the Hawks killed off back to back penalties midway through the period. As if Crawford stoning them wasn't bad enough, Artem, (not Artemi, Mr. Konroyd) Anisimov would add salt to the wound and score shorthanded on the second Stars power play. Later in the period, the #AK72Line struck, with a snipe by Patrick Kane to make a 5-1 game after 40 minutes.

The final 20 minutes of the game would prove to be a lot quieter than the opening two periods. The Hawks killed off an early third period penalty, and would basically be on cruise control the rest of the way. The highlight of the period would be the crowd breaking out a "Corey, Corey, Corey" chant in the final minutes of the game. When the final horn sounded, the Hawks would thrash the Stars by the final of 5-1.


The Good

• Corey fucking Crawford. Lets revisit that sequence of saves he made in the second period while the Stars were on the power play. Seriously, if there are any Crawford haters left, they can all go to hell. In the end he made 36 saves on the night.
• How important are face offs? See the Hawks opening goal. Anisimov wins the draw, Seabrook lets one go from the point, and into the back of the net it goes. To make it even better, it was on the power play.
• Artem Anisimov had himself a nice little night. Anisimov had a goal (shorthanded) and 3 assists on the night. The honeymoon is still going strong with the #AK72Line.
• The Hawks PK units were on their game tonight. They killed off 6, yes 6 Dallas power plays.
• After being dominated at the dot on Thursday, the Hawks responded by winning the faceoff battle 33-24.
• On the backend, TVR and Hjalmarsson both had solid games. They also had 2 points a piece tonight.
• Remember when Marian Hossa was struggling? Yeah I don't miss that time.
• A power play goal, 2 shorthanded goals, and the PK goes 6 for 6. I'd say the Hawks special teams had a good night.

The Bad

• Jonathan Toews took a hooking penalty off of a face off draw just two seconds into the Hawks second power play of the night. Thanks for that Captain Serious.
• This one is just for @UncleRozsival , the Hawks took 6 penalties tonight. Most notably was the one Rozsival took in the third period. All I can say is fucking Rozsival.

The Ugly

• The Stars defense and goaltending is, well, not good to put it politely.
• Lets ask Antti Niemi what he thought of the Blackhawks fans chanting "Corey, Corey, Corey" in Dallas, during the third period.
• The Blackhawks did Antti Niemi's receding hairline no favors tonight. The Hawks chased Niemi after the first period in which he yielded 3 goals on 11 shots. We're still counting the rebounds he was kicking out.

Blackhawks at Arizona5-4 OT Win Recap

"Frizzle Fly"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks took their traveling road show to Arizona, Thursday night to face the Coyotes. Maybe we should call them the Glendale Coyotes, or the Seattle Coyotes since they are basically the team that no one wants. They are also the team that suspiciously discarded All-Star MVP John Scott right when this whole ordeal began, so screw them. The Blackhawks won on and overtime goal by Jonathan Toews, and there were several bizarre events, like Michal Rozsival scoring a goal.

Unfortunately, however, schedule conflicts left us unable to give a full recap but here are the highlights:


I promise to make this up to you all somehow, but we have a guest recapper, who was EVER so kind to put this together. Let us put our hands together for the extremely generous, and beautiful @StaceySarasin who did a great job of throwing something together without my asking. This one might have a future.

The Good

• Captain Clutch's 5th OT goal gives Hawks two points and keeps them on top of the Western Conference.
• Strong game for Crawford with his 30th win this season. Stopped 24 shots (although it seemed like way more). He had some spectacular saves, especially in OT. Must be all the Mac n Cheese he's been brewing up.
• Panarin with 3 assists, leads rookies with 50 points.
• Rozsival with a GOAL, yes a goal! First for him since December 2014! Way to go Old Man Rozy.

The Bad

• Penalties, penalties, penalties. First there was Coach Q's unsportsmanlike conduct penalty (served by Panik) which lead to a Coyote goal by OEL that gave Arizona (or Phoenix, as Pat Boyle insists on calling them) the lead.
• Next there was the double minor against Shaw for charging and roughing. Panik reported to the box once again to serve time on the roughing penalty. Might be a new useful way to use Panik. Wish I was a fly on the wall to hear the conversation between Panik and Shawzy.
• Other penalties included one to Keith for holding but Toews scored a shorthanded goal. Danault for tripping and even Hossa got into the penalty mix for slashing but was offset by Doan's crosscheck penalty early in the third. Too much PK for my liking.

The Ugly

• Isn't it obvious....Inexperienced ref makes unbelievably bad call after reviewing Hossa's goal in the first which lead to Coach Q's head nearly exploding! Can you say aneurism? Ref may need a tissue after that yelling match.
• Although there were many cheering Hawks fans in attendance at the Gila River Arena, could we please stop Howler from howling? How annoying is that to hear?! Almost as annoying as the Ducks quacking.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Gustafsson - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Rozsival

Blackhawks at Avalanche2-1 Win Recap

"Get Born Again"

by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks returned to action on Tuesday night, starting the unofficial second half on the season after the All-Star break in Denver. Waiting for their arrival was the Colorado Avalanche. The last time these two teams met in Denver, was on New Year's Eve, which saw Scott Darling try and hand the Avs a win with some shaky goaltending. Tonight would be a different story, as Corey Crawford would be the one in net for the Hawks.

Once the puck dropped, any worries of an All-Star break hangover were put to rest. Just under three minutes in, #DickPanik to give the Hawks the early lead. A little over four minutes later, Artemi Panarin, increased the Hawks lead to 2-0 with his 18th goal of the season. That two goal lead would prove to be short lived. The Avs answered back at the midway mark of the period to cut the Hawks lead in half. Despite out shooting the Avs 14-6, that would be all the Hawks could muster, and took a 2-1 lead into the intermission.

The second frame would see the Hawks domination continue. The shots would favor the Hawks 15-2 in the period. The Hawks would also benefit from having two power plays, but those were nothing to brag about. The power play struggled with their entries, and were unable to generate anything. After simply dominating the play, the Hawks couldn't add to their lead, and the game remained 2-1 after 40 minutes.

The third period was a lot more evenly matched, and saw the Avs throw everything but the kitchen sink at Corey Crawford early in the period. Crawford stood his ground, and kept the Avs off the scoreboard after a furious goal mouth scramble in the opening minutes of the period. In the end, the Avs out shot the Hawks 15-13 in the period, but the Hawks weathered the storm, and went onto win by the final of 2-1.

The Good

• When he doesn't oversleep, and miss part of the morning skate, Richard Panik is turning out to be a nice depth addition to the lineup. Tonight, #DickPanik had the Hawks opening goal, and was noticeable throughout the game.
• Corey Crawford wasn't tested much in the first 40 minutes of the game, but when Avs came with a charge in the third period, Crawford was there to say no. In the third period alone he saw 15 shots, nearly double the amount he saw in the first and second periods.
• The PK came through in the first period when needed. The Hawks took two penalties in the opening period, but the PK was able to kill off both of the Avs chances.
• It wasn't an #AK72Line goal, but the Breadman struck again with his 18th of the season.
• The first two periods, saw the Hawks simply dominate play. This was a welcome change from what it has been in the past in the thin air of Denver.
• Viktor Svedberg had a nice, solid game in his return to the Blackhawks. In addition to playing smart defensively, he also chipped in with an assist on the #DickPanik's goal.

The Bad

• Even though the PK bailed them out, the Hawks did take two penalties in the first period. Not exactly an ideal way to start a game after you get an early goal.
• Its about time the Hawks look for a new backup color analyst when Edzo isn't around. Steve Konroyd is flat out boring to listen to. 
• Jonathan Toews was suspended for tonight's game. Frankly I don't have a problem with it. Yes, he was sick before the All-Star break, but if going to an All-Star Game is what some players dream of (see John Scott), then punishment to the stars who choose to sit it out, is fine by me. It was one game. Deal with it.

The Ugly

• The Hawks went 0 for 3 on the power play tonight, and none were spectacular by any means. Its pretty embarrassing when you can't enter the zone cleanly in the first 1:10 of a power play with this group.
• I've seen hobos that look cleaner than Patrick Roy. Seriously, get rid of that disgusting beard, iron your shirt, and straighten your damn tie.