"Wash. Rinse. Repeat."
By a disappointed Patrick Norton
It’s been a wild week as a Hawks fan. So many big moves to discuss, where do I begin? I can’t believe Stan Bowman actually listened to the fans and traded Jonathan Toews. It was a no-brainer to deal Corey Crawford, but to package Toews and Brent Seabrook was a bit of a surprise. Can’t wait for Mike Smith, Antoine Vermette and Anthony Duclair to arrive in Chicago. Only if we could orchestrate a Hossa for Sharp swap to give us the best odds for the Stanley Cup. Ohp, sorry. I thought this was my piece for @TheHockeyPress.
The only notable storyline coming into this game was Scott Darling receiving the start over Corey Crawford. Thanks a lot, Coach Wizzo. The next shoutcast will be three hours of Gate rants trying to shut up the meatballs who think Crawford is the equivalent of second-stint-Nikolai-Khabibulin. Sure, a little rest can’t help the struggling goaltender, but too many fans are going to see this as a long term thing. No, folks. We’ll see Crow right out of the gate after the All-Star break.
I’m going to go against the rules and tell you the first period shot totals before I tell you what happened. 18-8, Blackhawks. The Hawks had a little pep in their step to begin tonight’s action, but Thrashers...ahem, excuse me, Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck had the Blackhawks seemingly solved early. Leading in the shot department 9-2, #DickFuckingPanik was guilty of goaltender interference and headed to the box for two minutes. In a decent kill, the Blackhawks PK curse eventually continued with just fifteen ticks of the Jets’ man advantage remaining, as Patrik Laine had the puck on a platter after a sweet dish down low from Bryan Little. Then, on the ensuing shift… boy, have we heard that a lot… a Jacob Trouba shot from the blue line ricocheted off of stationary defenseman Brian Campbell and while heading for a gaping net, Shawn Matthias tapped it in for good measure. Shortly after, momentum shifted back to the home team. Duncan Keith took a ripper with Anisimov providing a screen and the rocket hit the back of the net cleanly. With the deficit cut in half, the Blackhawks brought a bit of that momentum into the break.
The Hawks stayed sharp in the second. Nick Schmaltz bounced off of the side boards and picked his corner short side past Hellebuyck to tie the game four minutes into the frame. The energy remained with the Blackhawks. A solid penalty kill added to the drive and with just over three minutes remaining in period number two, Tanner Kero put the home team ahead for the first time in the night. After a relatively busy first period, the defense tightened up, the offense regained their focus and Scott Darling came through with a few slick saves and the Blackhawks had a one goal lead heading into the third period.
The third period began with a little 4-on-4 action, but nothing was doing. Every offensive rush for the Hawks seemed to be in the transition off of a mistake by a Winnipeg player. Nothing was sustained and the Blackhawks quickly fell in danger of turtling back into their shell, similar to the gameplan they instilled against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. Luckily, the Jets jetsed and struggled to have a clean possession. Darling was lofted a few pucks in the first ten minutes, but the defense did an excellent job of keeping the Jets from the middle of the ice and preventing solid opportunities. I had written up to this point with 4:47 left in the third before I took my dog for a quick walk during the commercial break. Forrest, my mutt, had to take a dump, so when I came back, the score was 4-3. What the f***? Anyways, the recap of the final five minutes can be found in “The Ugly.” Tonight’s final, 5-3.
The Good
- I know that there’s a chance that Nick Schmaltz is a prick in the locker room, but his second chance with the team has been an overall success. He had a decent portion of ice time, especially in the offensive zone. His defense was underrated, though. A few good poke checks here and there paired with his early second period goal lands him in “The Good” tonight.
- Duncan Keith finally had a classic Keith two-way game. He’s not declining, but he’s focusing too much on aspects that don’t include turnovers and adequate defense. Keith played a solid game in the back end and he added his eighty-eighth career goal. He perfectly balanced what he’s done in the past and what he’s been working towards this season.
- He didn’t tack on any points, but Jonathan Toews continued his undervalued ways tonight. Shutdown defense and some playmaking in the offensive zone proved that the centerman may be on his way out of the slump he’s dealt with throughout this season. Okay? So, shut up!
- Boy, Marcus Kruger was missed, eh?
God dammit. Nevermind. F*** this. For the second game in a row, the Blackhawks have unraveled in the third period. Wow. And if Fatrick hadn’t taken the game on Tuesday, I would’ve been responsible for both shitcaps.
LET’S HIT THE RESTART BUTTON
The Good
- F***in’ nothin'.
The Bad
- Me. I was supposed to be announcing a high school basketball game tonight, but I took a nap and missed my alarm. Now I’m in Quenneville’s doghouse.
The Ugly
- Where do I begin? Every freakin’ goal is followed up by another quick tally by the opposition. It’s a gosh darn recurring theme now and if they plan on finding any success in April, they’re going to have to get that shored up. Ridiculous and unacceptable. If you have two eyes, you’d be able to see the deficiency this team possesses at the blue line. You want to know why Crawford’s numbers are down since his appendectomy? Look right at the guys in front of him. We touched on this on Episode 74 of the shoutcast, but the Blackhawks have three decent d-men on a given night. And so help me God, if they f*** up, whoever is in net is screwed. Sure, Crow’s let by a few softies, but tonight was wash-rinse-repeat with #BlackhawksSaviorScottDarling between the pipes. Why in the world is Trevor van Riemsdyk in the NHL, let alone on the ice in the third period of a one goal game? I’m perplexed and would seriously like an explanation. Same thing with Kempny. I know that Gate’s in charge around here, but Kempny’s continual playing time has been hard to defend since scoring a couple goals early in the month. Rozsival was unable to play tonight, but Christ Almighty, I want to barf while saying this, but I would’ve rather seen Rozsival, Rundblad, Nick Boynton or Kimmo Timonen out there. The defense really took another L tonight. Two points down the drain. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Duncan Keith can’t babysit everybody on the ice. Hold your own, God dammit.
- Thank you, Nick Schmaltz and Tanner Kero for scoring in the bottom-six. Everyone else on the offense, quit lookin’ through your fly and get your head out of your ass. I don’t understand how the Blackhawks have sixty-five points heading into the break when their offense has been shoddy at best and their defense has been a tire fire for fifty-one games.
- Steve Konroyd, are you serious? You think Scott Darling might want the game winner back? Did you get hit in the head recently? Hopefully it isn’t a death sentence.
- Pat Boyle, you’re questioning the effort in the third period when they’ve been outscored 7-0 in the frame over the course of two games. And you’re QUESTIONING the effort? Dude, open your eyes and say it with some gusto. Yeah, they’ve been giving up in the third period. It’s ridiculous, dude. Don’t think you need Dr. Konroyd and the Mayor of CTE to be making sure for you.
- Down by one, Patrick Roy… oh, that was Joel Quenneville? Anyways, Coach Wizzo pulled Darling for the empty net with 2:34 left in the third down by one. How do you think that worked out? The Hawks lost by two, instead.
- The same mistakes made on Tuesday were made tonight. New night, same crap. Clean it up or else this poor play with be 2017’s death sentence.
- Perfect, the All-Star Break. Reward the crappy play of late with a nice week long bye week. Hopefully Toews doesn’t get “sick” and have to sit out next Tuesday’s game against San Jose.
Sorry for my incoherent rambling, but this is a crappy product on the ice right now. Anybody who watched tonight’s game deserves their time back. I wouldn’t put the Blackhawks on the same pedestal as the Bulls, but if you’re a fan of both teams, this month has been far from roses and lilies. I’m going to bed hoping to fall off my bed and hit my head hard enough to forget tonight’s performance. I’m aware that tonight’s title is not metal-related, but it fits tonight’s action a bit too well.
