by guest recapper @ChiSox_History
Our men of the Indian Head dress came into Wednesday night’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers losing their last three. An unofficial poll of a small number(1) of Blackhawks fans (me), was excited about the Chicago debut of Flyers rookie sensation, and rising Calder candidate Shayne Gostisbehere. The Union college alum and NCAA champion has been the talk of the NHL since his arrival in Philly.
After a long afternoon of looking for the Flyers hotel, your writer decided to head over to the United Center and cheer on the Ghost Bear, er I mean Black Hawks. The United Center was abuzz with the looming Calder Trophy showdown between Gostisbehre and our very own Breadman, Artemi Panarin.
Despite several (unsuccessful) attempts to enter the Flyers dressing room prior to puck drop, I decided to take my seat and enjoy the game. Early in the game, Jonathan Toews hooked the Ghost Bear and put the Hawks on the PK early in the game. As luck would have it, Hossa scored on a short handed goal after taking advantage of Gostisbehre’s broken stick and had a break away to put the Hawks up 1-0. Anisimov and Hjalmarsson tallied assists on the goal. Clearly a bittersweet moment for those of us (me), rooting for Ghost.
The lead was short lived, however, when Ryan White scored on the power play after the Breadman climbed on Brandon Manning’s back and got called for interference. Overall, the Hawks sloppy play in the First lead to 2 penalties and several missed scoring opportunities after taking a 1-0 lead. The Hawks went into the locker room tied at one, although they were not without their chances. Toews had a wide open net with Neuvirth diving across the net but hit the post.
The second saw the Flyers out shoot the Hawks 17-10. Both teams tallied a goal. The Captain scored at the 4:58 mark when he found the puck at the doorstep and roofed it over Neuvirth’s glove. Kane got the assist to put him at 90 points, and almost a sure lock for the Art Ross trophy. Again, the hawks could not extend the lead and let the Flyers sneak back into this one when Wayne Simmons took advantage of a hawks turnover in the Philly end, and eventually found Giroux for a rush into the Hawks zone where he fed a trailing Brayden Schenn who then beat our very own Lemont Native.
Sadly enough, this game ended as a result of a bad bounce. Caveman Radko Dudas took a shot from the right point which redirected after hitting defenseman Christian Ehrhoff’s stick and bouncing over Darling’s glove and giving the Flyers the eventual game winning goal.
The Flyers were able to survive a late period rush from hawks when they pulled Darling for the 6th attacker. After passing up several prime opportunities, Neuvirth fought offer a handful of shots to close the door and give the Flyers the victory. In the end, Gostisbehere finished with 20:25 minutes of ice team, 3 shots and a minus 1, for this broken stick fiasco in the 1st. With his rookie campaign almost over, great things are ahead for the speedy and lanky defenseman from Florida.
The Hawks dropped yet another game in March. According to the interwebs, these games don’t count so there’s nothing to worry about. The contrary view is that the Hawks 5v5 play this year has not been as good as years past, and the only thing keeping them alive is stellar goalie play and an above average powerplay. Without a massively outperforming defenseman, there is concern about an early playoff exit. This core is battle tested, close knit, and at times, well coached. It’s not over until its over, if you allow me to mix sports metaphors.
Fleischmann - Toews - Kane
Panarin - Anisimov - Hossa
Ladd - Teravainen - Shaw
Mashinter - Desjardins - Weise
Keith - Hjalmarsson
Ehrhoff - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Rozsival
