by Gatekeeper
Yell at Gatekeeper
After dispatching of the cowardly Predators on Sunday night, the Blackhawks enjoyed their Monday off and welcomed the Detoilet Redwings into the United Center for a, now rare, tilt with our whiny neighbors to the northeast. This fresh off the announcement that Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Corey Crawford and Duncan Keith were selected to play in the All-Star game.
Anyhow, back to subjects that matter, like the game versus the Wings. The Wings came in as a pretty broken team. They had eight players on the injured list, which wasn't going to lend them any help. Eight players nursing injuries or missing from any lineup is going to be an issue. They Mike Green and Justin Abdelkader in the lineup but Dylan Larkin was hurt mid-game and never returned. That said the Wings boasted some good young talent, but with young comes inexperience and, usually, mistakes. The Blackhawks, on the other hand, were still without Marcus Kruger, but the rest of the lineup was intact. Hawks vets Hossa and Campbell had a couple of career milestones on the horizon. Campbell needed 2 points for 500 career and Hossa needed 2 points for 600 career.
The first period was pretty tame for the entire first 10 minutes, including a lukewarm powerplay, but as soon as they hit that halfway point the flood gates opened. The Blackhawks scored two goals in the matter of twenty six seconds, before the Wings knew what hit them. When the horn sounded the Blackhawks had out shot the Redwings 16-7, and held a 2-0 lead. Not too shabby, right? Looks like the rout was on, right?
The second period ALMOST a complete and utter failure, with the Blackhawks blowing their 2-0 lead and then blowing their 3-2 lead. The only redeeming part of the period was the Kero goal. Everything else was a huge collapse. As I stated on the intarwebz machine, the Blackhawks are consistent at one thing, being inconsistent. Did I mention that the Blackhawks were out shot 20-11; in one period? So, yeah, that.
We got some kind of bastard child of the first and second periods in the final twenty minutes of regulation. We saw a team that resembled the first period Blackhawks with a 15-9 shot advantage. On the other hand, neither team scored and the Wings ended up squeezing the extra point out of the Blackhawks. The good part was that the Hawks were going into overtime with an almost entire powerplay carrying over, which played a big part in the game winner just under a minute into the overtime period.
- Brian Campbell scored the first Blackhawks goal, on the powerplay, halfway through the the opening period. Hossa controlled the puck long enough in traffic for Campbell to join the play, and then fed Campbell. It looked like Campbell's shot was going slightly wide, but hit Alexey Marchenko ever so slightly and redirected just enough to get past Mrazek. This goal got Soupy within one point of 500 for his career.
- Twenty six seconds after the Brian Campbell goal, Ryan Hartman got himself a partial break-a-way almost identical to Artem Anisimov's just a few moments earlier. Hartman wasn't able to beat Petr Mrazek, but Mrazek left a big fat rebound in the crease. "All you young hockey players out there just watch what Panik did, there". He went hard to the net and was able to jam the puck past Mrazek like a marshmallow through a keyhole.
- The Blackhawks were able to regain their lead with under two minutes remaining in the second. Ryan Hartman was able to control the puck real nicely and avoid an Abdel-Bickell hit long enough to send a long shot towards Mrazek, that was saved. The rebound fell between the feet of Tanner Kero, who was doing the dirty deed in front of the net, and Kero was eventually able to whack the rebound past the Wings goalie.
- Thirty eight seconds into overtime the Blackhawks led with their hot hands in Keith, Panarin, Kane and Anisimov. Duncan Keith blew a long clapper by Mrazek and it was game over.
- The Blackhawks powerplay was 2 for 6, which is just fine. Thirty percent is a good clip.
- #DickFuckingPanik had his 17th and 18th points of the season. Still on pace to get that 35 I predicted.
- The Artem Anisimov partial break-a-way in the first period was a joke. They need to just rename the city E-troit, because there D is nowhere to be found. Then you had the 2 quick goals just a few moments later. WOOF
- Just after the nine minute mark of the second period, the Wings tied up the game. This was following a negated powerplay just seconds in after Patrick Kane took a lazy high sticking penalty. Just as both penalties were up the Hawks were caught chasing the puck around and Tomas Tatar snapped a nice feed at the bottom of the circle past Crawford.
- Was Mike Green good at one point or was that just an optical illusion looking through Ovi color glasses?
- Not even two minutes into the second period, and the Blackhawks were picking the puck out of the back of their net. Andreas Athanasiou found a soft spot in the Hawks defense named Brian Campbell and Trevor van Riemsdyk. Athanasiou snapped a nice top shelf shot over Crawford's glove from the right circle, and things got a little more serious once again.
- In a late second period 4 on 4 situation that Brian Campbell coughed up, Trevor van Riemsdyk tried to emulate the Seabrook snow angel...at the fucking blue line. This left Crawford to defend a 2-on-0, which he did nicely.
- With nineteen seconds left in the second period the Blackhawks got a great front row seat of Drew Miller and Luke Glendening swatting at the puck half a dozen times, which eventually led to the tying goal, again. Brian Campbell and Trevor van Riemsdyk together are a total
- Corey Crawford's early third period turnover almost turned into an enormous disaster, but he was able to bail himself out, luckily. #Fatrick will be loving the highlights of that one.
- Justin Abdelkader taking a stupid offensive zone penalty with sixteen seconds remaining in regulation of a tie game was just classic. a classic fucking joke. Welcome back to the lineup, stupid ass, and thanks for the extra point.
- I like Mark Lazarus, I really do. He's a quirky and sometimes funny dude, but that stupid Pearl Jam Counter that he does is god damned annoying as the #HarmsHole, if not worse. That's saying a lot. Pearl Jam is highly over rated and the brakes need to be pumped on this band. I'm seriously starting to hate them because of the irrational love for them. Alice In Chains every day of the week. It's not even close. Layne Staley was just a junkie and died young. This is for Laz and the rest of the Squirrel Spam fanboys:
I'm going to start a #VanHalenCounter because David Lee Roth would knock Eddie Vedder out with his flaccid dong. They're my favorite alltime band, but I'm not dry humping the pressbox desk every time Ray Kramer plays a Van Halen song over the United Center speakers. Give it a fucking rest. Literally no one cares. - Speaking of "beat" writers, Laz proclaimed in the morning skate that Michal Rozsival was playing tonight. It magically disappeared, but other accounts picked it up though. Own your mistakes, Mark.
- For the second game in a row, the Kempny and Seabrook pairing was the best possession pair.
- The Blackhawks just stomped all over the Marchanko and Sheahan pairing.
- Drew Miller didn't fare thee well either, with a robust -14 corsi.
Left Wing - Center - Right Wing
Hinostroza - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Hartman - Kero - Panik
Desjardins - Rasmussen - Tootoo
Keith - Hjalmarsson
Kempny - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Campbell
