Blackhawks at Ducks4-0 Loss Recap

"While You Were Sleeping"

by Patrick Stankus
Send a McRib to #Fatrick

With the NHL regular season in the final forty-eight hours, the Blackhawks drew the short straw for NHL teams and had the awful task of closing out the season in Southern California. The first of the two games in California was tonight in Anaheim to take on the Ducks. In a meaningless game again for the Hawks, Joel Quenneville decided to give the night off to a few, or most of the key players. Which means were treated to an AHL lineup against a Ducks team that still had a division championship to try and clinch. While the majority of the Chicago era decided to call it a night early (I do not blame you), the Hawks still had a game to play. Well sort of.

The game didn't exactly start out ideal for the Ducks. Five seconds into the game they found themselves shorthanded after a delay of game penalty. Not surprising, the Hawks were still trying to find their legs, so the power play was nothing but a wasted opportunity. Later in the period, the Ducks made the most of their second power play of the period, with noted ballbag Corey Perry giving the Ducks a one goal lead. Thanks to a slash by Corey Perry on Ryan Hartman, the Hawks had one more chance on the power play, but nothing came of it, and they trailed by one after one.

In the second period, the Hawks lackluster effort was on full display early on. Less than two minutes in, the Hawks put themselves shorthanded by taking the ever so lazy, "too many men" penalty. Unlike the first period, the Hawks actually killed this penalty off and kept the deficit at one. Somehow the Hawks managed to pepper eighteen shots at the Ducks net, but could never sustain pressure in the zone. With just under three minutes remaining, the Ducks added another goal to give them a two goal lead after forty minutes.

With the Hawks trailing by two, they took to the ice to start the third looking like a team that was more interested in hanging out on the beach tomorrow, rather than play another twenty minutes of hockey. Actually who can blame them? Ryan Kesler scored early on to make it a three goal game, and from then on, it was merely counting the seconds left in the game. A few minutes later, things got a little chippy as Michal Rozsival took a punch to the face, and left the game. As the Hawks looked to end this scrimmage, the Ducks added another goal to make it a 4-0 lead. The Hawks had a couple of decent looks to try and end the shutout, but couldn't net one. When the horn finally sounded, the Ducks went on to win by that same four goal margin.

The Good

• You're kidding right?

The Bad

• The Ducks gift wrapped a power play five seconds into the game for the Hawks, and surprise, surprise, nothing came of it.
• Corey Crawford was hung out to dry most of the night. This isn't a knock on him, the defense was putrid. That was expected with this lineup.
• The Shitshow Petroleum Power Play was 0 for 3 tonight.
• Joel Quenneville decided to be an asshole and challenge for offside on the Ducks opening goal. Frankly it wasn't even close. I'm thinking he did it just to dick around with us bloggers who had to recap a game with a 9pm local start, and make the game longer.

The Ugly

• Every defenseman on the Hawks was a minus tonight. It was also fitting that Brian Campbell wore an "A" on his sweater tonight. I'm guessing the "A" was to sum up his season as for what its been, average, and not for leadership.
• Corey Perry's slash on Ryan Hartman caused us to all hold our breath. Luckily Hartman returned to the game.
• Hjalmarsson, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, and Toews all sat out tonight's game. Can you see the joy in recapping this game?
• Andrew Desjardins is now day-to-day with a lower body injury. Moving on......
• In the third period, Michal Rozsival took a suckerpunch to the chops that dropped him to the ground faster than Uncle Rozsival after his diabetes diagnosis. Rozsival didn't return.
• My reaction when I see that human disease bag Corey Perry score.....
  

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Blackhawks vs. Ducks 1-0 Loss Recap

"Let The Sun Never Blind Your Eyes"

by Patrick Stankus
Send a McRib to #Fatrick

After their second bye week in less than a month, okay maybe not an official bye, the Blackhawks returned to the ice Thursday night to face the Anaheim Ducks. The five day layoff was so long, it felt like it was five years, considering how things from five years ago surfaced due to the boredom amongst some fans. Coming into tonight's game, the Blackhawks were riding a seven game winning streak, that allowed them to catch the division leading Minnesota Wild. The long layoff between games wasn't the only potential doom facing the Blackhawks tonight. With Gate in attendance for the game, the #PuckinHostileCurse was staring the Blackhawks right in the face. Well, since Gate was at the game, Mr. Slurpee still in his powerless igloo, and Norton curled up in a ball in the corner crying over Kansas' loss this afternoon, you are all treated to a #FatCap for this one. Let's see if I actually remember how to write this things.

Any worries of a potential letdown by the Hawks following the extended break were put to rest early. The Hawks came out firing on all cylinders. They simply dominated the pace of the game, and kept the play in the Ducks end throughout the period. In the period, the Hawks had the benefit of two power plays, and tallied nineteen shots total. Despite the good start, the Hawks couldn't find the back of the net in the first period, and after twenty minutes the game was scoreless. Aside from the scoring chances by the Hawks, the highlight of the period was Ryan Getzlaf taking a page out of Ryan Kesler's book and fighting a guy who wasn't ready to fight. Nothing says "Mr. Tough Guy" like that.

In the second period, much of the story remained the same. The Hawks dominated stretches of play and clowned the Ducks defense. Even with the dominating play, you could sense the frustration was starting to set in. Late in the period, Marian Hossa hit the post, and while Tanner Kero started to celebrate, the Ducks came back the other way. Just like the hockey gods drew it up, the Ducks scored on the ensuing play, off the stick of Ebola Perry. Basically to sum up the second period for the Hawks, they threw everything but the kitchen sink at Jonathan Bernier, but couldn't get one past.

Facing a one goal deficit to start the third period, the Hawks once again came out of the intermission flying. They peppered the Ducks net with twelve shots, but once again, Jonathan Bernier had the answer to all of them. Late in the period, Edzo tried to fire up the meatballs by suggesting Bernier threw his stick across the crease to make a save on Panarin, but it was a stretch to say the least. Despite a flurry of chances in the waning minutes, the Hawks couldn't find the equalizer and were defeated by the Ducks 1-0. Next up for the Hawks is a quick turnaround, as they head to Joe Louis Arena for one final time to take on the Red Wings on Friday night.

The Good

• Corey Crawford was outstanding tonight. He made twenty-five saves in the loss. More impressive was his ability to stay sharp after the Hawks held the Ducks to two shots in the first period.
• Despite being terrible at the dot, Jonathan Toews had a pretty solid night. He led the Hawks with six shots on net.
• Johnny Oduya returned to the Hawks tonight, and its not shocking the defense as a whole had a solid night. They limited the Ducks to twenty-six shots, and blocked sixteen shots as a unit. I'll take that. 
• Speaking of the defense, its not surprising they had a good night while Michal Kempny sat his ass up in the press box...... where he belongs.

The Bad

• Ryan Getzlaf jumped #DickPanik and attempted to fight him in the first period. Knowing Panik, he probably told Mr. Baldy that Pearl Jam sucked and that's what set him off.
• Late in the second period, the Hawks thought they had taken the lead, but Marian Hossa's shot hit the post. As the Hawks were busy acting like they scored, Anaheim came back the other way and scored. Ah, yes, I love when you stop playing in the middle of a play.
• Jordin Tootoo's continued attempt to show off any fancy hockey skills near the net, warranted no more ice time for himself. Tonight he had a team low 7:22.
• Forty-three shots, and no goals for the Hawks tonight. A frustrating night at its finest.

The Ugly

• Its too bad Gate was at the game tonight and didn't here Pat Foley rave about how TVR has been a +9 over his last few games.
• The Blackhawks simply dominated play in the first period and ended up with nineteen shots on net. Despite those nineteen shots, and two power plays, at the end of the period, the Hawks were left with nothing to show for it.
• During the intermission, our favorite analysis #DrKonroyd decided to shit on Tomas Jurco saying he needed to "prove himself" and "show a little more." Perhaps Steve forgot Jurco is coming off an injury, and still adapting to a new system. I'll cut him a little slack. Its not like the Hawks gave up the farm for Jurco.
• The Hawks got crushed at the dot tonight, 59% to 41%. Noticeably bad was Jonathan Toews at 37%.
• Its bad enough that the Hawks lost to the Ducks, but its even worse than that disease carrying fleabag Corey Perry had to score the loan goal of the game.
• Oh Ryan Kesler, somethings never change apparently.

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Blackhawks at Anaheim3-2 Win Recap

"Good Mourning, Black Friday"

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks had 2 games to pull out an over .500 record for this last Circus trip, and the first of which was against the Anaheim Ducks for a Black Friday matinee game. They were riding a 2-3 record on the trip, and haven't looked looked well at all. The Ducks haven't really been all that impressive, themselves. They came into the game 9-7-4 which put them at 7th in the conference. This is a team the Blackhawks needed to beat, and beat them fairly easily if they wanted to end this trip on a good note.

oh, right. They were going to have to do so without Jonathan Toews. Swell.

The Blackhawks first half of the first period can be best described with one word; Tryptophan. The Hawks were out shot 8-3 and looked off. Of course they immediately come back from the mid period TV timeout to take a 1-0 lead. That still doesn't take away from the bad Rozsival penalty and slow start.

The second period was a much better result for the road team. The Blackhawks came out and out shot the home team 5-3 in the opening half of the period, while taking a 2-0 lead. Of course, they proceeded to get out shot 9-3 for the remainder of the middle frame. There were goals each way which gave the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead going into the third period.

With a 2 goal Blackhawks lead, the Ducks tried to mount a comeback, but it was not to be. The Ducks out shot the Blackhawks 15-10 for a 36-25 total, but the Blackhawks held on for a 3-2 win, without their captain, no less. After this long trip, the Hawks will take it.

The Good

• Immediately following the mid-period TV timeout, Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov worked a 2-on-1 that was sloppy as Thanksgiving gravy, but still ended up in the net. Kane and Anisimov tried a give-n-go, but the pass back to Kane was intercepted. Kane was still able to somehow get the puck to Gibson, who made the save, but he was stuck in the prone position. The puck flipped and bounced between Gibson's legs and Anisimov pitchforked it over the goal line like Fatrick stabbing at the turkey last night, but knowing Fatrick, it was a Thanksgiving McRib.
• The Blackhawks powerplay gave them a 2-0 about seven minutes into the second period. Noted turd face, Kevin Bieksa, took a penalty and the Blackhawks were able to set up in the Ducks zone. Kane was open on the right side and Brent Seabrook fed him for a one time clapper. The shot seemed like there was a little taken off but beat John Gibson, anyway.
• With 4:20 left in the second period, a Marcus Kruger's forecheck ended up right on the stick of Hartman, and Hartman blew the puck by Gibson's glove hand for a 3-0 Blackhawks lead.
• This was a Corey Crawford win. He saved 34 of 36, and stood tall when the Ducks were pressuring hard.
• Ryan Hartman was also out there making himself useful again, drawing a late second period penalty. He's winning my praise, and I'm liking it. Might have to grab myself a Hartman player shirt.
• It was really pretty nostalgic to hear Foley calling the name "Manson", again. Brought me back to 1988.

The Bad

• As I stated earlier, the Hawks were without Jonny Toews after hurting himself in the second period Wednesday night.
• Ten seconds after the Hartman goal, the Ducks took the faceoff and broke the Hawks shutout. Nick Ritchie used Brent Seabrook as a screen, and surprised Corey Crawford. I realize that Crawford had a good distance to pick that puck up, but those are hard to find, especially with Seabrook wearing black pants. That was 100% the screen, rather than a Crawford gaffe.
• I'm not sure if he's still nursing anything, but Tyler Motte has been invisible since returning to the lineup. Totally invisible. I didn't even realize he was playing until late in the second period.
• Antoine Vermette came into the game winning a NHL leading 66% of his faceoffs. It's wonderful how the Blackhawks coach drove him out of town 2 seasons ago, so that there was no chance to get him to come back as a solid depth center this summer. No need for anything like that, for a team that only has 2 centers that can win faceoffs.

The Ugly

• The Blackhawks started Michal Rozsival over Kempny for the second game in a row. I'm not really sure what this accomplishes other than frustrating a player you're going to be depending on in April.
• Those burnt orange Ducks jerseys are terrible. I think they design team is color blind, or headed up by Harms.
• How about Getzlaf and Perry, eh? The goal-less wonder twins.
• Playing the role of Brandon Bollig tonight was Jordin Tootoo, with a game low 4:17 of TOI.
• With 5 minutes gone in the third period, the Ducks looked to have cut the lead to 1 goal, but Ondrej Kase had it go off his glove, then off his skate and into the net. The call on the ice was no goal, and the replay confirmed that.
• Four minutess after the Ducks thought they cut the Blackhawks lead, they actually did cut the lead to one goal. Seabrook, Campbell and Crawford got all turned around, and Jakob Silfverberg was able to pick up a loose puck to wrap around.
• I have to know how John Gibson was an NHL all-star last year. He gives up a metric shit ton of rebounds. There is no way that there were no more deserving goalies in the Pacific. He might have a good future, but right now he's raw.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Blackhawks were awful at the faceoff dots. They lost a ridiculous 73%. That is unacceptable for any opponent.
• Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen were +29 and +25 in overall Corsi. I'm not even sure how that is possible. That's a complete ass whooping.
• The only Hawks players with positive Corsi were Vinny Hinostroza and Ryan Hartman.

The Lineblender
Left Wing - Center - Right Wing
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Hartman - Hinostroza - Hossa
Motte - Scmaltz - Panik
Rasmussen - Kruger - Tootoo

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Campbell - Seabrook
Forsling - Rozsival

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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

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Blackhawks at Ducks 3-2 OT Win Recap

"Hot Tub Slime Machine"

by Patrick Stankus

On Friday afternoon the Blackhawks started their southern California portion of the Circus Trip with a visit to the pond in Anaheim. The Hawks were coming off an impressive with in the bay area on Wednesday night over the Sharks and looked to carry that momentum to So. Cal for the back to back this weekend. This also marked the Hawks first trip to Anaheim since winning the Campbell Bowl last season, how's that for a Game 7 memory Anaheim?

The first period got off to a disastrous start for Hawks. Patrick Kane turned the puck over just inside the Ducks zone, which led to an Anaheim 2-0 and Andrew Cogliano scored to put the Ducks up 1-0 just a minute into the game. It didn't get much better for the Hawks. Throughout the period, the Hawks coughed up the puck numerous times, but Crawford was there to bail them out. After two lifeless power plays that generated 1 shot, the Hawks found their legs towards the end of the period, but couldn't get the puck past Gibson, and trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes.

After the lackluster showing in the 1st period, the Hawks looked like a team that got their ass chewed out during the intermission. They came out with more energy and were able to generate a few more chances. The Hawks seemed to turn the momentum in their favor after a power play in which they had several good looks, but didn't score. All that momentum was killed though after Andrew Shaw took a soft, but correct slashing penalty. The Ducks were able to cash in just as that power play ended as Chris Stewart beat Crawford with a knuckleball to increase the Ducks lead to 2-0. As time wound down, Kane was able to get a breakaway, but Gibson stoned him and after 40 minutes the Ducks retained their 2-0 lead.

The third period got underway with the Hawks being shorthanded for the first 1:52 for a carry over penalty of Niklas Hjalmarsson from the 2nd period. The Hawks penalty kill came through and was able to kill off the penalty. The majority of the 3rd period was a snoozefest with whistle after whistle. That however changed in the final 2 minutes of the game. With Crawford pulled, the Hawks were able to score two goals in just over a minute to tie the game at 2 and send the game to overtime. The overtime frame would take just under two minutes for the Hawks to complete the improbable comeback. Brent Seabrook set up Artem Anisimov for the game winner, giving the Hawks a 3-2 win. Holy shit, I gotta get out of this business.

The Good

• Much like the game in Calgary where the Hawks had no business earning a point in the OT loss, today the Hawks had no business earning 2 points for the OT win. The Hawks can thank their goaltending for those 3 points. Much like Darling in Calgary, Corey Crawford kept the Hawks in the game today when they had no business whatsoever.
• The final two minutes were pretty exciting wouldn't you say?
• Patrick Kane extended his points streak to 18 games, and tied the record for longest streak for a U.S. born player with an assist on Duncan Keith's game tying goal.
• Quietly today Brent Seabrook had 3 assists, for that, I'll forget his ill timed hit of Kesler that in part led to Chris Stewart's goal.
• Marian Hossa's opening goal for the Hawks was on the power play. I think I'll go wet my pants.
• Artem Anisimov has turned into quite the 2nd line center for the Hawks. Too bad it came at the expense of a 1st line left wing. Because that hole is still humongous.

The Bad

• Just as the Hawks generated some momentum following a better power play in 2nd period, Andrew Shaw takes his usual selfish, careless penalty to kill the momentum.
• The Hawks 1st two power plays that were essentially back to back yielded one fucking shot. With this amount of talent, that's beyond pathetic.
• Just when Kero and Kruger seemed to be developing some chemistry, Q decides to scratch Kero with Teuvo returning, but keeps The Manshitter in the lineup. I give up on trying to figure out this guy's "coaching" or developing of young players.

The Ugly

• 4pm local time start in Chicago + orange Ducks jersey + screaming of the National Anthem = the hat trick of shit to start this game.
• As good as Patrick Kane has been playing, his turnover on Cogliano's goal cannot happen. I don't care how good of a player you are.
• The first period was full of turnovers, and sloppy play by the Hawks. They're lucky their goalie was able to bail them out.
• Ryan Kesler is a fucking tool. Late in the first period, he and Toews got into a scuffle, in which Toews dropped his gloves, and Kesler waited until the linesmen jumped in before dropping his gloves. If you're gonna fight, fight. Then again different jersey, same old Kesler we know from his Vancouver days.
• There was a whole lotta suck on Anaheim's 2nd goal. A bad change, coupled with Seabrook going for a big hit on Kesler, led to a 3 on 1, and Anaheim increasing their lead to 2.
• The Hawks were hammered at the dot this afternoon 43-31.
• A big F-U to the people who made Ryan Kesler the 3rd star of the game.

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Blackhawks vs Ducks1-0 OT Win Recap

"Long Walk Home"


by Patrick Stankus

On Monday the Blackhawks welcomed the struggling, soon to be formally led by Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Ducks to the United Center to conclude the Blackhawks 4 game home stand. Through 7 games, the Ducks have only scored 6 goals. To say Bruce Boudreau is on the hot seat is an understatement. Would this turn out to be Boudreau's final game behind the bench for the Ducks? Only time will tell.

The first period can be summed up pretty easy. It was about as enjoyable as watching two teams playing catch. Not did both teams lack energy, but the crowd was extremely flat, giving the Hawks nothing to feed off of. The best scoring chance for the Hawks occurred in the waning seconds of the first, but Ryan Garbutt couldn't connect on a bouncing puck, and as the horn sounded the game would be scoreless after one.

The start to the second period was by far more exciting than the entire first period combined. In the opening minutes, Corey Perry had the best scoring opportunity of the game, beating Crawford with a wrist shot, but ultimately drew the iron to keep the game scoreless. Other than that, the highlight of the period was Frederik Andersen playing the puck in the trapezoid (dumb rule), and Ryan Garbutt made contact with him, thus resulting in Clayton Stoner dropping the gloves with him. Other than that, the second period can be summed up with a giant yawn.

The snoozefest of a game carried on, into the third period with not much to get excited about, until Frederik Andersen did what every goalie has done at least twice in their careers. (Listen to next Shoutcast, Gate and I will tell our stories.) With Panarin wide open in the slot, and one timing the puck, Andersen pushed off his left post off its moorings, thus the referee's waving off the goal. After the Ducks dominated play in the first 15 minutes, the Hawks finally came on strong the final 5 minutes, but couldn't get one past Andersen, and the game would go into overtime scoreless.

As was the case on Saturday, the overtime joke of 3 on 3 wouldn't last long. Jonathan Toews beat Ryan Getzlaf along the boards, and fired a wide open twisted wrister top shelf and beat Andersen to give the Blackhawks 1-0 overtime win.

The Good

• Corey Crawford was outstanding tonight. For the second consecutive game, Crawford recorded a shutout, this time registering 39 saves.
• Sticking with the last game theme, Jonathan Toews recorded the game winning goal. Too bad it occurred in overtime. You'd like to see Toews score a goal, you know in 5 on 5 play. Still it was a hell of a shot.
• Once again Ryan Garbutt was a noticeable force out there. This kind of scares me, because its Ryan Garbutt we're talking about.
• On defense, Viktor Svedberg had another solid night that is worth noting. Isn't it nice when players are given a chance to develop without the threat of being sent to Rockford looming over their head?

The Bad

• The first period was flat out boring. No energy whatsoever. The Blackhawks came out flat, but lucky Crawford was on his game, to make the saves when needed.
• The Hawks dodged a couple of bullets in the first period. Corey Crawford took a shot, after an offsides whistle, up high from Sami Vatanen, but was able to continue. TVR also took a slapper off his foot and was clearly in pain, but like Crawford was able to continue on.
• Apparently Tikhonov is Russian for Bickell. Who knew?
• The Blackhawks had two power plays tonight. Anyone notice them? I sure as hell didn't.
• The no goal call on Panarin was the right call. Bitch and moan all you want, but if your all important replay system was so awesome, that call would be deemed reviewable. Its not, therefore supporting my opinion that replay is a flawed system and should be dropped altogether.

The Ugly

• The ticky tack penalties in the first period were quite annoying. The Hawks benefited by receiving one power play as a result, but you wouldn't notice based on the play during it.
• David Rundblad is a Chinese fire drill on defense. How in the hell Bowman extended this guy absolutely baffles me.
• Against a bigger team up the middle, the Hawks struggled at the dot tonight 34-24. That's going to have to change.
• The power outage has now taken over the Blackhawks offense after reeking havoc on the Cubs last week. Maybe a 1st line LW would help. Who knows though.
• I will miss Bruce Boudreau. Just follow the McRib sauce to see where he lands next.

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at AnaheimGAME 75-3 Win Recap

"Domination"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks headed to sunny SoCal for an intense game 7, Saturday evening. The Ducks held the home ice advantage, but the Blackhawks had the momentum, after an emotional win in Chicago, in game 6. This one had the entire Chicago area in knots for 3 days.

The Blackhawks could not have had a better first period. While they were out shot by the Ducks 8-6, the Blackhawks led the scoring 2-0. No better way to calm nerves and get comfortable on the road than taking a 2 goal lead. The Blackhawks also led in faceoff wins 11-5. The hardest part would be too keep this up and hold the lead for 40 more mins.

The Blackhawks started the second period the same way they did in the first. They were out shot 18-10 but, once again, out scored the Ducks. This time it was by a 2-1 margin. With this, the Blackhawks had to hold on to a 3 goal lead for 20 minutes and they were back in the Stanley Cup final for the 3rd time in 6 years.

The Blackhawks came out and did exactly what they needed to, in the third period. They were out shot 12-10 once again, and were out scores 2-1, but held on. The Blackhawks are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for the third time in 6 years. This looks pretty damn good.


The Good

• The Blackhawks started the game chasing the Ducks around their zone, and after only 2:19, a long Niklas Hjalmarsson rebound was slammed home by Jonathan Toews for a 1-0 lead. Great way to calm some nerves on the road. The Ducks Beauchemin gave Toews far too much room to scoop up the fat rebound and let him score.
• Just over halfway through the first period, Jonathan Toews stuck the knife in just a little further on the powerplay. He circled high in hte Ducks zone and let a long wrist shot go through an Andrew Shaw screen, beating Andersen, and giving the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead.
• Just over a minute into the second period, the Ducks got sloppy in their own zone and the Blackhawks were given a loose puck low in the Ducks zone. Patrick Kane reached the puck first and chipped it to a wide open Saad on the back door, who had the entire net to hit. 3-0
• Marian Hossa jumped into the mix on a late second period odd man rush. Brad Richards got a great shot on Andersen but the rebound was there for Hossa. Hossa was not able to control with his stick, but it hit his skate and went into hte net. The goal was reviewed and it was determined that there was no distinct kicking motion. 4-0
• A few minutes after the Perry goal, Marian Hossa drew a penalty on a beautiful defensive play. Brent Seabrook took the puck at the point and drove a long shot through Andersen, to take back the 3 goal lead. No problem. 5-2
• Crawford gave up one bad goal, but it wasn't awful. He saved 35 of 38 shots and kept the game from ever getting close.
• When the going got tough, the big boys stepped up. Toews had 2 goals, and Kane had 3 apples.
• I'm still perfectly fine with the Rundblad/Cumiskey duo. They only played 13 minutes, and did not kill the team.
• The time on ice for the d-men was spread around nicely. Keith led (27:51), but not by a wide margin.

The Bad

• The Ducks got away with yet another Too Many Men penalty. I didn't make much of an issue about the supposed missed Too Many Men call earlier in the series but the Hawks seem to get called for it ALL the time. It's getting silly.
• Patrick Maroon and Corey Perry got together to cut the Blackhawks lead to 4-3, with about 8 minutes remaining. The Hawks got a little lazy, letting Perry sneak in behind them. Getzlaf pushed the puck to Maroon and Maroon drove to the net, hitting Perry on the back door.
• Richards missing the open net with about a minute to go was pretty hilarious.
• With 41 seconds remaining, the Ducks were able to score a late PP goal, after Johnny Oduya took a delay of game penalty. Whatever.
• Bryan Bickell only played 4:22 and no shifts in the 3rd period. Marcus Kruger didn't play ate in the game either. I have to think the Kruger one was an injury, but not sure about Bickell.
• I said all along that I didn't trust Freddy Andersen, and in the end I was right. He's a spot filler.
• All those #HITZ sure did hurt the Blackhawks, eh?

The Ugly

• After Brandon Saad drew a penalty on a shorthanded partial breakaway, the Ducks and Hawks played 4 on 4. Ryan Kesler caught Crawford napping at a tight angle and beat him high from a tight angle. 4-1
• Pierre McGuire started yapping about pullling the goalie with over 5 minutes left. hat isn't going to accomplish anything but giving up an empty netter. God damn morons. Boudreau pulled him at 3:15, which is still excessive, but much more reasonable.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Hjalmarsson
Cumiskey-Seabrook
Oduya-Rundblad

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs DucksGame 65-2 Win Recap

"War Is All We Know"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks were back home, at the United Center, to face the Ducks for game 6, Wednesday night. The Ducks were coming off an overtime win which put them in position to close the series out Wednesday. The Blackhawks were starting to look like they were at the end of their life span, and desperate measures were in full effect. David Rundblad was in the lineup for Kimmo Timonen which was an ever so slight upgrade. On to the game...

The first was a lot like most Blackhawks periods in these playoffs. They started out fast and furious but petered out towards the end. The Duck led in shots 10-6, but no shots ended up in the net. The later the game went without the Hawks taking a lead, the more tense Hawks fans got.

The second period was quite the period for the Blackhawks. They led in shots 13-9 and out scored the Ducks 3-1. There was still plenty of time to go, but the Blackhawks finally looked like the team we knew they were. Funny what happens when you ice 18 players that can actually skate AND play.

The third period was surely tense. The Blackhawks were out shot by a large margin, 13-4, but they were able out score the Ducks 2-1. That was the game. This "bend but not break" defense seems to be working. Bring on game 7 in California.

Since I recapped all the series wins, thus far, I'll see you all Saturday night.

The Good

• Early on the Blackhawks powerplay looked better than it has, but still no success. There was a lot of quick passing, which is what I have been screaming for all year. Quick, short passes to open up lanes.
• The Hawks won the first 14 faceoffs of the game en route to a 15-4 advantage after 20 minutes and were 33-17 for the game. 66% is fine by me.
• Bryan Bickell actually looked like he gave a shit. Nice of you to join the playoffs, ya dopey Gorilla. He had 3 hits in one shift and 5 total. How does that even happen?
• Half way through the second period, Brandon Saad got a step on Hampus Lindholm and ended up on a partial breakaway. The future very wealthy man beat Andersen five hole, and the Blackhawks had a 1-0 lead.
• Two minutes and eighteen seconds after the Saad goal, the Blackhawks smelled blood. Duncan Keith held the puck and faked what seemed like 5 shots, drawing all the attention. Hossa slid out to an open spot on Andersen's back side, and Keith hit him with a pass and he had a wide open net. 2-0 Blackhawks
• A minute and seventeen seconds after the Hossa goal, Patrick Kane put a magical stick handling clinic on the Duck defense and ended up beating Andersen for a 3-0 Blackhawks lead.
• Duncan Keith was playing some next level hockey. He was actively involved in all of the first three second period goals.
• Late in the third period Andrew Shaw did some Andrew Shaw shit scoring the final 2 goals of the game. One was an empty netter, but the 4th goal was a hard nosed Andrew Shaw goal that held off some serious Ducks pressure.
• Cumiskey and Rundblad didn't kill the Hawks. Stick with it. They only played a total of 13 minutes, but at least they can both function.

The Bad

• Shortly after the Kane goal, Brad Richards took a lazy hooking penalty. I'm sure you know how this story ends. Right after the faceoff, that Kruger couldn't win, the long shot from Cam Fowler knuckled its way to the stick of Patrick Maroon and he directed into the net past Crawford. TERRIBLE time to take a penalty.
• Maroon, Getzlaf and Perry all minus 3. #Clutch

The Ugly

• Not even two minutes into the game, the Blackhawks had already taken a "Too Many Men" penalty. You have to be kidding me. Of all the bitching Quenneville must do, how does this not get resolved?
• Just a couple of minutes into the third period Clayton Stoner cut the lead to 1, when Silfverberg interfered with Corey Crawford's glove so he couldn't stop the shot. Of course, they called Desjardins for goalie interference just over a minute later.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Hjalmarsson
Cumiskey-Seabrook
Oduya-Rundblad

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at Ducks5-4 Game 5 OT Loss Recap

Tilt-A-Whirl
by Patrick Stankus

On Monday night, the Blackhawks and Ducks saw their series shift back to Anaheim for Game 5 of the Western Conference Final. Once again, both teams were faced with the task of a quick turnaround following a marathon multi overtime game. Everyone has been asking when the Blackhawks would break due to the long minutes their top 4 defensemen have been logging along with the punishing hits the Ducks have been laying on the Hawks. Would Game 5 start to show signs of the breakdown, or would the Hawks shrug it off again, and defy hockey 101?

The Blackhawks came out on their first shift with some jump to their step and lots of pressure, but couldn't generate a shot on goal. That would be a theme in the period for the Blackhawks. The Ducks would shake off that opening shift by the Hawks, and unload a flurry of goals just past the 5 minute mark of the first period. After failing to win a board battle, the puck found its way to the point, and Cam Fowler fired a slap shot that beat Crawford, who was battling traffic in front. Then just 32 seconds later, Kyle Cumiskey couldn't clear the puck, and a point shot was redirect by Kesler, past Crawford to give the Ducks a quick 2-0 lead. With just over 5 minutes remaining in the period, off a face off win a point shot by Vatanen beat Crawford after Desjardins made a weak attempt to block the shot. The Ducks scoring was one problem for the Hawks, but the other problem was the fact they didn't register their first shot on goal until 5 minutes were remaining in the period. As the horn sounded, the colossal shit show of a period ended with the Hawks facing a 3-0 deficit.

The start of the second period featured a complete 180 in the play. Unlike the first period, the Blackhawks came out with a spirited attack and it paid off early. Teuvo Teravainen was able to beat Andersen with a wrist shot just over a minute into the period to cut the Ducks lead to 3-1. Throughout much of the first half of the period, the Blackhawks dominated the play and held the Ducks shot less. The Hawks momentum started to wane a little bit as they took their dreaded too many men on the ice penalty to give the Ducks a power play. Luckily for the Hawks, they were able to kill the penalty off. Any momentum the Ducks had from their power play opportunity didn't last long. The Hawks simply dominated play in the 2nd period, and it was quite obvious that the Ducks were trying to survive with a 3-1 lead till the intermission. With the Ducks sitting back, Teuvo Teravainen decided to clown the Ducks defense, and fed Brent Seabrook with a nifty pass to cut the Ducks lead to 3-2 with 25 seconds remaining in the period. That late goal from Seabrook would end the scoring for the period, and as the horn sounded the score would be 3-2 in favor of the Ducks.

The third period picked up right where it left off for the Hawks. They simply dominated the play and to say the Ducks were on their heels would be an understatement. The Hawks were handed an opportunity early on to tie the game thanks to a holding penalty by Clayton Stoner. With just over 5 minutes remaining, Patrick Sharp failed to get a puck out along the boards, and it resulted in a tic tac toe type passing play that led to a Patrick Maroon to give the Ducks a 4-2 lead. With their backs against the wall, Jonathan Toews scored not once, but twice in the final two minutes of their period to tie the game at 4. With the game tied at 4, the final 38 seconds featured both teams with a chance to score, but neither could and we would head to overtime.

Unlike the previous overtime games, this one would not take long. It shouldn't come as a surprise either based on how the 3rd period ended. Bryan Bickell decided to do his best Duncan Keith impression and fired a dump in "attempt" right into a Ducks' defenseman's shin pads, which put Ryan Kesler in a two on one. Kesler shot the puck low on Crawford and the rebound was kicked out to a wide open Matt Beleskey and he ended the game just 45 seconds into overtime to give the Ducks a 5-4 win, and 3-2 lead in the series.

The Good
- The bounce back by the Blackhawks after that dumpster fire of a 1st period was another reason why you can't count out a team led by Jonathan Toews. They got one goal early in the 2nd period and it gave them some confidence. They kept building on it and building on it, and frankly the Ducks didn't have an answer for it.
- After the Ducks made it 4-2 it seemed like the game was over, but Jonathan Toews scored two goals in 1:12 in the final minutes of the third to tie the game. Remember when people were complaining about him? Well tonight he showed you why he is a leader.
- Teuvo Teravainen was excellent tonight. He had a sweet pass to Seabrook that led to the Hawks first goal, and also had the Hawks opening goal. In addition to the score sheet he was noticeable on the ice generating chances.
- The Hawks penalty kill came through when needed tonight. They killed off both of the Ducks chances at times when the Ducks looked like they could build some momentum.

The Bad
- None of the 1st period goals by the Ducks were the result of bad goaltending by Corey Crawford. The 1st one was the result of traffic (3 players) in front of Crawford, the 2nd Kyle Cumiskey couldn't clear the puck and a point shot ended up being redirected past Crawford, and the 3rd was a lazy, pansy ass attempt at a shot block by Desjardins.
- Speaking of goaltending, Frederik Andersen certainly looked average at best tonight. The Teravainen goal, and Toews 2nd goal were woof to say the least.
- The Hawks were dominated at the dot tonight, 41-23. One of those faceoff losses led to the Ducks third goal. The importance of a defensive zone draw can't be underestimated.

The Ugly
- Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, are so magnified at this time of the year. How many times do you recall the old ESPN days and hearing Gary Thorne say "giveaway, shot, SCORE!!!"? I remember those like it was yesterday. Tonight, two of the Ducks goals resulted in turnovers. On the second Ducks goal, Cumiskey couldn't clear the puck, and on the Ducks fourth goal, Sharp tried to get too cute after a pass from Timonen. Keep it simply. Fancy plays bite you in the ass this time of the season.
- Speaking of turnovers, this one deserves its own bullet mark. What the hell was Bryan Bickell thinking in overtime? Your team is trying to make a chance, and you decide to fire the puck in on a slap shot, let alone right into a defenders shin pads. Just a ridiculous play by someone who should know better.
- If Teravainen and Vermette haven't given Q the middle finger salute yet, they should.
- Not surprising either, but the power play went 0 for 2. Its either feast or famine with this bunch.
- That 1st period by the Hawks was embarrassing to say the least. They didn't register their first shot until the 15 minute mark of the period and ended the period with 3 shots.

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs DucksGame 4 Double OT5-4 Win Recap

"Loose Change"

by Gatekeeper

On a beautiful Chicago Memorial Day Saturday, the sun was out, the smells of grilled meat perforated the air and the Blackhawks were at the United Center to attempt to avenge their disappointing loss to the Ducks in game 3. Quenneville pulled his head out of his ass long enough to ice a reasonable lineup, and fans were eyeing up some revenge. The Blackhawks were either heading back to California down 3-1 or tied 2-2. They held their own fate in their hands.

The Blackhawks opened up the first period on fire, which is something we've seen plenty of times with mixed results. The led the shot total 14-6, and the score 1-0. This was a really good start, but one goal would never be enough to go the distance.

The second period did not go as well for the Blackhawks. The shots and score were almost the polar opposite of the first period. The Ducks led 13-6 in shots and 1-0 in score, to set up quite a third period. Nothing was coming easy in this series.

The third period lived up to the hype. The Blackhawks took an early 3-1 lead and promptly gave up 3 goals in 37 seconds to surrender the lead. Shots were 13-13. They fought back to tie the game back up, but were not able to win it in regulation.

The first OT wasn't how the Blackhawks would have liked, but they made it out without surrendering the game winning goal. Even though they had an OT powerplay they were only able to manage 5 shots to the Ducks 17.

Even though the Blackhawks didn't get much pressure in the second OT, they were able to eventually pull out the win. They're going back to Anaheim tied at 2 games.

The Good

• The Hawks were all over the Ducks the entire first 10 minutes of the game. They didn't get any goals but controlled the play.
• Late in the first period, while killing a terrible Brent Seabrook, Brandon Saad took advantage of a pick by the official, and found himself in alone on a shorthanded breakaway. He fought off a diving defender and bet Andersen stick side. Saad ended up with 3 points. Stan Bowman is going to pay dearly for this kid.
• Forklift at Hockeenight started #CoreyPerryFacts during the first period, and the entire Blackhawks twitterverse joined in. Good times.
• Johnny Oduya got beat by Andrew Cogliano and was able to make a successful last second diving attempt to knock the puck away. Excellent play.
• Jonathan Toews grabbed the lead back early in the third period on excellent plays by Duncan Keith, Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa. First of all, Keith was able to make a difficult play to keep the puck in the zone. Even though Keith made a bad pass to Saad, he was able to kick the puck to Hossa. Hossa was left wide open, but couldn't get his shot through. The rebound landed back on his stick and he passed across to a wide open Toews. Toews waited out Andersen and roofed the puck from a bad angle.
• About halfway though the third period, the Toews/Hossa/Saad line stepped up big once again. They controlled the puck down low and it was eventually worked around into the slot, where Seabrook stepped up and unloaded a cannon past Andersen.
• Not to be denied, after the Blackhawks gave up a 3-1 to go down 4-3, a Blackhawks powerplay resulted in Patrick Kane tying the game back up. Who would have thought that a powerplay lineup change would result in success?
• I've come to the realization that Cumiskey is definitely the best choice for a #5. Rundblad plain fucked himself, and Timonen is terrible in every way. I watched Timonen's gap increase every time he faced a rush. By the time OT hit, he was backing into Crawford.
• The game winner was nothing special. Sharp found Vermette in the slot and his shot was blocked. The puck hit him in the chest and dropped to his stick. Andersen committed to the initial shot and left the entire net for Vermette to hit.
• Contrary to what some may thinks, none of the goals were solely on Corey Crawford's shoulders. He ended up with 47 saves and has now been unscored upon in almost 5 overtime periods. Hate him all you want, but he's been pretty clutch.
• No shock that the Blackhawks were dominant at the faceoff dots. Toews and Vermette were both over 65%, and the team was at 55%.

The Bad

• Brad Richards had an uncontested change late in the first, on a nice saucer feed from Bickell, and could not figure out what he wanted to do with the puck. Eventually, he was too close to do anything, and really didn't get much of a shot off.
• Late in the second period, The Ducks were able to tie the game after they had about 3 minutes of solid pressure. It was only a matter of time before the puck ended up in the back of the net.
• Teravainen hit Patrick Sharp in the end of the first OT for a breakaway and was not able to beat Andersen.
• Vermette and Bickell ended up playing the least of all forwards. Chateau Bow Wow.

The Ugly

• Almost half way through the first period, Duncan Keith sent a suicide pass to Hjalmarsson who was way too blase and Corey Perry picked it off Hammer's stick. Crawford bailed Hjalmarsson out big time.
• Anaheim scored 3 goals in 37 seconds right after the Seabrook goal. All the plays were bad coverage or terrible turnovers. I'm not even going to break each one down, but they were all terrible. Vermette and Timonen fucked themselves on one, Keith let Corey Perry in behind him for two chances on another, and Ryan Kesler was left wide open to one time the puck through Crawford.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Timonen-Cumiskey

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks vs. Ducks 2-1Game 3 Loss Recap

Man In The Box
by Patrick Stankus


Just 42 hours or so after their marathon Game 2 ended, the Blackhawks and Ducks found themselves back on the ice for Game 3 of their series. With the series shifting to Chicago, a lot of emphasis was placed on the importance of the matchups and the advantage shifting towards the Hawks. And as luck would so have it, we were treated to a lineup surprise from Quenneville which we'll get to a little later on.

As the game got underway, it was pretty apparent that the Ducks were doing their best to hand this game to the Hawks on a silver platter. The sloppy, careless play by the Ducks gave the Hawks two power play opportunities in the first 10 minutes of the game. However, what is one of the worst kept secrets, the 1st power play was lifeless, while the second one was negated by a Marian Hossa holding penalty just after a minute of power play time. After pissing away the power play chances, the Ducks used theirs to their advantage and cashed in on a Patrick Maroon redirect past Crawford to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Just a couple minutes later, the Ducks would again find themselves in the penalty box as Jakob Silfverberg took a 4 minute high sticking penalty. Unable to capitalize on any of these opportunities, the Hawks handed some momentum to the Ducks. With just under a minute remaining in the period, Patrick Kane made an appearance and beat Andersen with a sick backhander to tie the game at one. After 20 minutes of play, that's where we'd stand on the scoreboard.

The second period appeared to get underway with the Blackhawks hitting the snooze button on the intermission horn. Anaheim dominated the play early on in the period, but were unable to get a puck past Crawford to increase their lead. As the period went on, the Hawks seemed to find their legs, and at least looked to be drawing even with the Ducks. One thing was clear, both teams looked like they were laboring from fatigue. Unlike the first period, the play in the second period wasn't as sloppy, and that showed up on the scoresheet as no penalties were called. Just when it looked like the game would head into the 2nd intermission tied, Simon Despres one-timed a shot from the left circle that beat Crawford to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead after two periods.

As was the case with the first period, the third period saw sloppy play dictate the play of the game early on. Just past the 5 minute mark, the Blackhawks were handed another power play chance, but as was the case with the first four, couldn't generate anything. For the most part of the third period, the Hawks had dominated the play and had the Ducks on their heels, but Andersen stood on his head down the stretch, not to mention, stopped Patrick Kane on a mini breakaway with 8 seconds left to preserve a 2-1 win for the Ducks, and give them a 2-1 lead in the series.

The Good
- Frederik Andersen was fantastic for the Ducks in net. In all he stopped 27 of 28 shots, flashing the leather several times.
- Patrick Kane had the lone Hawks goal, but despite that he had a fairly good game. He was generating chances, which for Patrick Kane is key, and had a bit of jump to his step. Hopefully Kane can build on this game for Game 4 on Saturday.
- Jonathan Toews was the only Hawks center interested in winning draws tonight. In the end he was 78% at the dot.

The Bad
- In their one opportunity to kill off a penalty, the penalty kill wasn't able to come through when needed. At least they weren't as bad as that other group of special teamers.
- Shaw (36%), Richards (25%), and Desjardins (31%) all struggled at the dot. You can figure out why I put Shaw first on this list.
- The Ducks blocked 27 shots tonight. Its nice to know the Hawks were finding the open shooting lanes.
- Patrick Kane was hit hard into the boards, and was slow to get up. It caused everyone to hold their breath for a moment or two.

The Ugly
- WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT LINEUP???!!! In what world does this appeal to you? Lets scratch Vermette and Teravainen in favor of Versteeg and Nordstrom. I think I have a concussion from banging my head off the wall.
- Andrew Shaw has been effective as a winger on the 4th line, so what the hell, lets move him to center, where everyone knows, he struggles. Bravo.
- Lets pull Corey Crawford with two minutes remaining, and use KRIS VERSTEEG as the extra attacker. I literally could not stop laughing when I saw this.
- No one on the "4th line" had more than 9:20 of ice time, and that was Desjardins.
- Oh what a night for the power play. Talk about a momentum killer. At the end of the night the power play was a stellar 0 for 5. To modify a line from Major League; And for the Blackhawks 5 power plays and one shot. That's all they got? One goddamn shot?!
- Pray to God it doesn't happen, but you know its coming.........The return of Gorilla Salad.

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at DucksGame 2 Triple OT3-2 Win Recap

"Hero Of The Day"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks continued their sunny west coast vacation Tuesday night in Anaheim, facing the Ducks for game two of the Western Conference Final. The Hawks were coming off a disappointing 4-1 loss Sunday afternoon, even though they out played the Ducks in just about every way. The Blackhawks made a slight lineup adjustment, adding Kyle Cumiskey to the mix, but the rest was intact. All the Hawks had to do was split in Anaheim, and they would be back in prime position, or come home down 0-2 and listen to the entire league masturbate all over Ryan Kesler for another couple of days.

The Blackhawks looked like world beaters in the first half of the first period, taking a 2-0 lead on two powerplay goals. Shortly after, the Blackhawks lost momentum and spent the second half of the period chasing the Ducks around. The shots were in favor of the Hawks 12-7, but most of those were early. By the end of the period, Quenneville needed to actually use his timeout to slow the Ducks down.

Once again, the Blackhawks came out rested and sharp in the beginning of the second period, but quickly lost steam. By the end of the period, the Ducks had tied the game and the Blackhawks were again running around. The Ducks out shot the Blackhawks pretty handily 19-7. Let's blame it on the long change.

The third period was much more positive for the Blackhawks. The Hawks out shot the Ducks 9-8 and had several long stretches of pressure, with led to quality scoring chances. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, none of those led to the winning goal. On to OT in Anaheim.

The first OT was exactly what you would expect for a Western Conference Final. Big plays, some defense, and an intense atmosphere. Play was about as even as we would expect, as well. The Ducks held a small shot advantage 9-8. On to OT number 2.

If 2 overtimes weren't enough for you, the Blackhawks and Ducks felt the same way. Overtime number 2 was the same as the first, and the Blackhawks seemed to have won the game, but the goal was correctly overturned. Shots were 14-14 and either team could have legitly won. 12:30 on a school night? No problem. Lets play 3.

It became official in the 3rd overtime, that this game was the longest game in Chicago Blackhawks history. It felt like it. With about 4 minutes remaining, the Blackhawks finally won it on a dirty goal. They pulled out a huge win in the longest game in their history on Stan Mikita's birthday.

The Good

• Wasn't more than 40 seconds into the game, and the wonderful Ryan Kelser left Jonathan Toews wide open in front of the Ducks net to size up his goalie.
• Just over 2 minutes into the first period, while working on the powerplay, Andrew Shaw tipped a long Duncan Keith shot past Andersen.
• Shortly after the Shaw goal, dick bag Clayton Stoner took a stupid penalty and did his best to earn another. The Blackhawks wasted little time driving the puck to the net and Marian Hossa was able to get enough on a dribbling puck to get a 2-0 lead.
• I love what Andrew Shaw brings to the Hawks as a 4th line wing. That said, I hate the kid when he's playing anywhere else.
• The PK was amazing, especially in overtime.
• Shaw and Vermette had grade A chances in the overtimes but Andersen was better.
• It took until the end of the third overtime, but Marcus Kruger was the hero. Brent Seabrook, who was my pick to win it, let a long shot go that Andersen stopped, but a rebound dropped right in the crease for Kruger to sweep in for the winner.
• Overshadowed in all of this is Corey Crawford, who made a career best 60 save. SIX-TY
• Duncan Keith was ON THE ICE for nine seconds short of 50 minutes. That is insane.

The Bad

• This Kesler/Toews storyline is growing tired. It's not nearly as dominating as the media makes it out to be.
• Late in the second period, Duncan Keith left Corey Perry in front of Crawford to deflect a Getzlaf shot into the net. Nothing Crawford could really do. That's fine, Duncs, just stand there and watch your goalie struggle with that screen.
• Right after the Perry goal, Keith took bad crosschecking penalty. The Penalty Kill was able to bail him out, though.
• The Ducks hit THREE posts in overtime. Talk about heart attacks.
• To all the assholes that proclaimed the series over because of one fairly close loss Sunday:
  
• I was officially worried every time I saw either Cumiskey or Timonen on the ice in the overtimes. They scare the shit out of me.

The Ugly

• Around the halfway point of the first period, the Ducks caught the "slower than Rozsival with a broken ankle" Kimmo Timonen pinching in the Ducks zone. Once the Ducks got into the Hawks zone they just threw the puck at the net, which turned out to be a pretty good play. The puck deflected off not one; not two; but three players and into the net.
• I am officially off the Kimmo Timonen train. At this point the rotting corpse of Kim Johansson would be a better option.
• The Blackhawks were able to get a 5-on-3 advantage early in the third period but could not capitalize.
• Marcus Kruger's third period penalty was just plain stupid. Five minutes remaining in a 2-2 game and takes a dumb penalty like that. To make matters worse, Hjalmarsson took a lazy tripping penalty in the first OT, which didn't do much for blood pressure.
• Brian Engblom is a fucking idiot. Some of the things he says are completely asinine. He said that Bryan Bickell had made several great plays in the series. Bryan Bickell has been IN-VIS-I-BLE. Moron.
• The Blackhawks seemed to have won the game in the second OT when Andrew Shaw "head butted" the puck into the net, but the officials and the war room correctly called the goal illegal. I give Shaw credit, though. He gave it his all, and until yesterday, I didn't even realize that headers were illegal. Not specifically headers, but deliberately directing the puck into the net with any part of the body other than the stick.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Hossa
Bickell-Richards-Kane
Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp
Shaw-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Timonen-Cumiskey

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PLAYOFFS: Blackhawks at Ducks4-1 Game 1 Loss Recap

LEGOLAND
by Patrick Stankus

After a 10 day layoff, the Blackhawks finally got back to work in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Sunday afternoon. For the third straight year, the Hawks faced a team from southern California in the Western Conference Finals, however this time it is the Anaheim Ducks. Heading into the series, both teams were faced with extended layoffs from their previous series' as the Hawks wrapped up their last series with the Wild in 4 games, and the Ducks in 5 games over the Flames. Would rust be a factor, or would the added rest help both teams? Only time will tell.

Once the 2pm start finally got underway, more like 2:20pm, the Hawks came out using their speed to their advantage. It worked early on as noted dickbag Corey Perry took a lazy, dumb, slashing penalty on Patrick Kane just over a minute in. The Hawks had a chance to silence the Ducks crowd by scoring an early goal, but even with a 10 day break, the power play was the same old song and dance. Later in the period off a Ryan Getzlaf turnover, Patrick Kane had Frederik Andersen down and out, but Andersen made a desperation stick save to deny Kane. Just prior to the midway point of the period, Anaheim would strike first. Following a stumble at the blueline by David Rundblad, the Ducks would get in the zone, and as Rundblad was getting into position in front of the net, he was hit from behind, resulting in a screen of Corey Crawford as a shot from the point by Hampus Lindholm was coming in and beat Crawford. As the period wore on, the Hawks were dominating the Ducks, but still couldn't beat Andersen, and faced a 1-0 deficit after the 1st period.

Early in the second period, it appeared that the Ducks had found their legs, and had a bit more jump to their step. Just under 5 minutes into the period, David Rundblad had a weak clearing attempt that failed to clear the zone, and as is always the case, Kyle Palmieri of the Ducks found the back of the net, to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead early in the second. As bad as Rundblad was early in this game, he did make a nice play to deny a Ducks wraparound to keep the score at 2-0. Midway through the period, the Hawks were forced to kill off a Niklas Hjalmarsson tripping penalty, in which the PK did come through. In the final minute of the second, Brad Richards picked off a Francois Beauchemin clearing attempt, and beat Andersen to cut the Ducks lead in half. As the horn sounded, the score would be 2-1 in favor of the Ducks.

As the third period began, the Hawks were riding the momentum of the late second period goal by Brad Richards. Instead of weathering that storm, the Ducks tried to hand the Hawks the game by taking two penalties in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the period. To no one's surprise, the Hawks power play couldn't come through when the team needed it. Two failed power play changes later, and the Ducks had all the momentum and jump to their step the rest of the way. Just past the 12 minute mark, Nate Thompson hammered home a rebound from an Andrew Cogliano shot to put the Ducks up 3-1. The Hawks never really mounted any type of urgency down the stretch, and Anaheim was able to capitalize and add an empty netter to give them a Game 1 win by the score of 4-1.

The Annoying
- The chants of "Crawford, Crawford, Crawford" are just plain annoying. We heard it in Minnesota, so very original Ducks fans. Oh and if this is your way of showing Jets fans that you have a very, very, very small passionate fanbase, after their chants of "Katy Perry" towards Corey Perry, that's weak sauce.
- Apparently EVERY national hockey writer is not aware that the Hawks have been rolling with 4 1/2 defensemen all post season long. Good God, find something else to bring up.

The Good
- I really don't have any complaints about how the Hawks started this game. For a team with a 10 day layoff, they didn't look out of whack, until they were on the power play. Which that should surprise none of us. The failure though to score when they had the Ducks on their heels in the 1st period is what cost them the game.
- Old Man River, Brad Richards, had a nice pick off of a Beauchemin clearing attempt, which resulted in him scoring late in the 2nd period, and gave the Hawks a glimmer of hope.
- It pains me to say it, but Frederik Andersen was excellent for the Ducks.

The Bad
- David Rundblad certainly didn't have a game to remember. Early on he found himself on the ice for the Ducks first two goals. The first wasn't all on him, but he did have a fumble at the blueline that allowed the Ducks to enter the zone. However on that same goal, its a fair question to ask "what the hell was Duncan Keith doing?" The second goal was a result of an extremely weak clearing attempt that was intercepted and found its way into the back of the Hawks net. Not a good start for your first playoff game. He did though have a nice play that broke up a Ducks wraparound in the 2nd period.
- Speaking of Duncan Keith, if were such a stat happy generation, than his -3 today should be pointed out.
- Corey Crawford wasn't bad, but he certainly wasn't great. You can't really fault him on the goals, but the third one was a glorious rebound he kicked out.

The Ugly
- The power play was just awful. It was a complete momentum killer for the Hawks. All in all, the PP ended the day 0 for 3.
- Seriously, you can't tell me at this point, you don't think Kyle Cumiskey is a better option than Kimmo Timonen. What is the point of dressing someone to only play them 5:15? At least Cumiskey could eat up some minutes.
- The Hawks had 16 shots in the first period, but had nothing to show for it at the end of the period. Point to that when you want to start talking about how this game was lost.
- I am convinced that the sight of Corey Perry's face is what causes people to vomit on the rides at Disneyland.

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Blackhawks at Ducks 4-1 Win Recap

Duck Nasty

by Patrick Stankus

The Blackhawks annual Disney on Ice, Ice Show road trip continued Friday night with the Hawks paying a visit to Disneyland, or if you want to be specific, Anaheim. If you listened to last night's Puckin Hostile Shoutcast, you would have heard me claim several times, that I could see the Ducks drubbing the Hawks. Luckily for the Hawks, the complete opposite happened, as it was the Hawks who were the dominate team on the ice.

Heading into the game, the Blackhawks the pleasure of waiting for the Ducks in Anaheim, as the Ducks had played (if you want to say they did) in San Jose on Thursday night. As the game got underway, it was pretty clear that the Hawks had more energy, but it was the Ducks who were throwing their weight around. Despite the hitting, the Hawks managed to get the scoring started. Patrick Kane had an opportunity to shoot the puck, but made what could be argued the "one too many pass" to El Captain. El Captain made the most of the extra pass as he buried to give the Hawks the 1-0 lead after one.

The second period saw the Hawks continue to dominate, out shooting the Ducks 14-7. Duncan Keith recorded his 400th career point on his 7th goal of the season. Later in the period Patrick Kane added another tally, on a wicked wrist shot. Despite having three power plays in the period and being unable to cash in on any, the Hawks found themselves up 3-0 after two periods.

As the third period went on, the Ducks seemed to get more and more energy. This was evident as Corey Perry managed to strip the puck from Hossa in the neutral zone, glide a pass past a sprawling Brent Seabrook to Richard Rakell who put it home to cut the Hawks lead to 3-1. That however was as close as the Ducks would get. Patrick Sharp added his 4th assist of the night as he caused a turnover along the boards, and centered the puck to a wide open Patrick Kane, who redirect the puck in, to give the Hawks a 4-1 lead for good. Next up for the Hawks is a short flight up to Northern California and San Jose for a Saturday night tilt. Rumor has it, we might have a Gatekeeper sighting on the recap for that game, as he could be back from his vacation with Kim Johnsson to the Swedish cabin on top of the Globe Arena.

The Good
- Corey Crawford was excellent in net. He made several key saves to kill any momentum the Ducks tried to get going in the 2nd period.
- It was nice to hear Pat Foley point out what EVERYONE with hockey knowledge already knew. The Johnny Oduya/Michal Rozsival pairing is horrendous.
- Duncan Keith reached a milestone in his career as he recorded his 400th career point.
- Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp had stellar performances. Kane had 2 goals, 1 assist, and a +4, while Sharp had 4 assists and was a +4.
- Speaking of Sharp, on his 4th assist, he had a great stick lift, that resulted in a turnover, and his centering pass to Kane was right on the mark.
- Who didn't enjoy watching Duncan Keith clown Corey Perry?

The Bad
- Brent Seabrook had a rough night, as in being pumled with hits. I guess the Ducks still haven't gotten over his "hit" or a I say it "Corey Perry falling into a hit" from a few years back.
- The powerless power play 0 for 3, which all three power plays came in the 2nd period, a time when the Hawks could have put the game away earlier.
- In keeping with the special teams, the Hawks managed to take two bad back to back 3rd period penalties, one of which saw the Ducks score on.

The Ugly
- We'll revert back to last night's shoutcast for the ugly. My prediction of the outcome of this game was as attractive as Buzz's girlfriend, wuff.
- The Ducks learned a valuable lesson these last two games, never let Bruce Boudreau coach on an empty stomach.

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Blackhawks at Anaheim 4-1 Win Recap

                       Coward The Ducks

                    

On what has become a somewhat of a tradition now, the Blackhawks continued their circus road trip Friday afternoon in the mump infested arena known as the Honda Center. Just as we were all about to come out of our Thanksgiving food coma, we got another special treat, as Steve Konroyd's coma inducing voice was doing the color commentary. The end result, the tv went on mute, and the radio was turned on.

The first period, the Hawks looked like the old Hawks we know. They were skating circles around the Ducks, and completely dominating. Brad Richards opened the scoring on a 2 on 1, firing a wrister past Frederik Andersen. Later in the period, Andrew Shaw added another tally on a redirect from a Duncan Keith slap pass, to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. Late in the period however, Anaheim was able to cut the lead in half, for a 2-1 score after 1.

The Blackhawks passing display continued in the second period. This time it was a result of effort by Brad Richards, one handed knocking the puck behind the net to Versteeg, who in turn threw a no look pass to Patrick Kane in the slot, to increase the lead to 3-1. The Hawks had another chance to increase the lead, but Marian Hossa was robbed by Andersen.

The story of the third period belonged to Frederik Andersen. He robbed  Kane on the backhand, and made numerous saves that kept the Ducks in the game. As the time wound down, Kane added an empty netter to give the Hawks a 4-1 win in Anaheim.


The Good

- We'll have to wait a few days, but if the Hawks come out of this visit to Anaheim without the mumps, then this was a complete win for the Hawks.
- Despite the goal the quickly followed, who didn't enjoy seeing Hjalmarsson absolutely destroy Ryan Kesler? That's what you get for skating with your head down.
- The passes that led to the first 3 Hawks goals were fantastic. Seabrook had about a 90 ft. outlet pass to Richards, while Carcillo, yes Gorilla Salad, has a behind the back pass to Duncan Keith, and finally the effort from Richards and Versteeg on Kane's goal.
- Corey Crawford was excellent again for the Hawks. That's beginning to sound like a broken record, which is a good sound.
- The work of the "4th line" shouldn't go unnoticed. Once again, Nordstrom, Kruger, and Smith were superb.
- Speaking of the lines, the line blender seems to have found a nice combo of Kane, Richards, and Versteeg. That line is on fire right now.


The Bad

- Watching Rozsival be beat to a loose puck as the 1st period was winding down, was another sign of how many steps the guy has lost. Luckily for the Hawks it didn't bite them in the ass.
- Seeing Hossa skate off without laboring after taking an ugly cross check by Corey Perry to the ribs, was somewhat of a positive. Still, it wasn't good.
- Why do I always get the recaps when the power play is a complete shit show? Today was no exception. 0 for 5, including a failed opportunity on a condensed 5 minute to 3 minute major power play.


The Ugly

- As much as I enjoyed the hit on Kesler, I didn't care for every Blackhawk on the ice admiring the hit, allowing a wide open Ducks defenseman the opportunity to tip in a loose puck.
- Kyle Palmieri's hit on Johnny Oduya was brutal, plain and simple. Its the exact type of hit the league wants to get rid of. And in case you're wondering this hit was a lot different than the one on Kane the other night. The main difference is the route, how long Palmieri had Oduya lined up, and the fact he never let up. It was a dirty hit. But we did get a Boudreau face out of it, so that is the only positive out of it.
- When you look up the word "dickhead" in the dictionary, a picture of Corey Perry should show up.

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Blackhawks vs Ducks1-0 Shutout Loss Recap

Die, Die, Die, My Darling


The red hot Anaheim Ducks came to Chicago to face the Blackhawks, Tuesday night. In sort of a surprise move, the Blackhawks decided to give Scott Darling his second start in a row against Ducks rookie John Gibson, which I was vehemently against. How would it work out...

The first period was fairly slow and methodical, but it really didn't yield many chances for either team. The Blackhawks threw 9 shots at the net and the Ducks took 10, but there wasn't many quality chances, overall. This was probably fortunate for both rookie goaltenders.

The second was just a continuation of the first period, with a slightly less methodical pace, but the same result. The Blackhawks ended up with 11 shots on net, and the Ducks had 9, for a total of 20 shots for both teams.

And the third period was dominated by the Blackhawks, out shooting the Ducks 18-4, but it was the Ducks who took advantage of a huge Hawks mistake to score the only goal of the game.

The Good

• About halfway through the second, Saad muscled his way into a partial breakaway, and not only got a shot off, but got a few whack at a rebound. The play was a great display of his pure strength.
• John Gibson made a helluva save on Toews early in the third period that will be shown on highlights for quite a while. Solid play. I really like this Gibson kid.
• Scott Darling played pretty well, and rightfully deserved a shutout. I'm still not anointing him the new starter, or even the new backup, but he's given the Hawks some hope in the system. That's where this should sit for the moment.
• Jeremy Morin was the best Blackhawks player on the ice for the entire game. If this doesn't earn him a longer look from Quenneville, the world is not right. And the world is rarely right in this fan base. All that said, he the only players to play less than him were Tim Jackman and Emerson Etem.
• The Blackhawks were absolutely dominant at the faceoff dots, winning 61% of their draws. Kesler was just worked, winning only 7 of 22 draws.
• Did Corey Perry or Ryan Getzlaf even play, because I sure didn't notice them. Perry, especially, was held in check pretty well by the Hawks defense.
• It was nice to see Bickell with some speed, going end to end, but he needs to finish.

The Bad

• The Hawks powerplay, in general, failed them once again. This time, they had a full 2 minute 6-on-4 and could barely get shots to the net. That is a scenario when there should be an easy slam dunk somewhere.
• Dany Heatley, oh how the mighty have fallen.
• The amount of Hawk defensemen's shots that are blocked is seriously alarming. According to the official scorer, the Blackhawks defensive corp had 9 blocked. I would challenge that, and say they had at least a dozen blocked.

The Ugly

• The embellishment call against Andrew Shaw in the first period was brutal. He WAS hit in the face, and anyone who gets hit in the face with the shaft of a stick will throw their head back.
• The Blackhawks second powerplay unit failed Scott Darling, once again, with about 8 minutes remaining in the game. Seabrook got handcuffed with a bouncing drop pass at the Ducks blue line after dropping to his knees to stop prevent the puck from leaving the zone and blew a tire, not once, but twice. The puck rolled away and Devante Smith-Pelly was off to the races. Darling got a piece of Smith-Pelly's shot as Saad raced back and tried to get a stick on him, but it trickled through Darling's legs and into the net. Not on Darling at all.

The Lineblender
Bickell-Toews-Hossa
Kane-Shaw-Saad
Sharp-Richards-Versteeg
Morin-Kruger-Smith

Keith-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
van Reimsdyk-Roszival

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Blackhawks Week That Was - 2/7

2/1 - Blackhawks at San Jose
2-1 Shootout Loss

• Blaming Corey Crawford for this loss, is idiotic. He held one of the more powerful teams in the West to just one goal in 65 minutes and had 38 saves. For those that are slow, that's a .974 save percentage. How anyone can complain about that is beyond my comprehension. Shootouts are stupid.
  
• The Pavelski goal was a marvel of physics. You can't expect Crawford to expect Pevelski to roof that shot from 5 feet, with two defenders all over him.
  
• Scoring a powerplay goal after giving up shorthanded goal kind of renders both irrelevant.
  
• The Hawks were "OK" at the dots, but Toews was a paltry 6 of 19 (32%). Since he takes a majority of the draws, it's safe to say he drags the rest of the team down with him.
  
• The Sharks' Mike Brown only played 9 shifts and allegedly had 4 hits. I call shenanigans.
  

Here are the video highlights: 2/3 - Blackhawks at LA Kings 5-3 Win

• I'm not really sure what go into the Kings, but they were extra "Blues-y" in this game. The game started off with Drew Dough-Boy charging Patrick Sharp from behind, and the shenanigans just continued from there. In one shift, I watched Matt Greene cross check and punch Versteeg in the small of the back at least half a dozed times, putting him on the ice for at least half of those. Are we condoning this, NHL, because it wasn't exactly behind the play.
  
• The big story of this game was that Patrick Kane lost his grandfather shortly before the game began, and he did what great athletes do; he took care of business. Two goals and an assist, are more than anyone should ask for from a young man who just lost an important figure in his life. We can all return to poking fun at the phenom later, because our hearts should all go out to him right now. We're lucky to have a player like this in Chicago, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a complete moron.
  
• Bryan Bickell returned to the lineup and sunk a 2 foot putt, on a 3-on-1 feed from Pat Kane. Quenneville still had him on a short leash though, with only 8:10.
  
• The win will overshadow the fact that the Hawks were terrible at the faceoff dots. Toews only won 5 of 24 faceoffs. FIVE OF TWENTY FOUR! That's two games in a row that El Capitan was dicked at the dot
  
• I wouldn't call any of the goaltender stupendous, but it was servicable. Quick had a few really nice saves, and Crawford did as well. The Hawks were actually outshot 34-30, so you can call this a Crawford win.
  
• The Kings line of Williams/Richards/Brown was a combined -6. Woof! So much for running around the ice like a bunch of coked up henchmen.
  

Here are the video highlights: 2/5 - Blackhawks at Anaheim 2-0 Shutout Win

• This is exactly what Corey Crawford needed going into the Olympics. With the haters piling on, he was able to quiet them with just one performance.
  
• The Hossa goal was an extremely impressive example of patience. He waited Hiller out for what seemed like 3 days, and tucked it around the goalie. We are so lucky to have talent like this, because he isn't flashy, but he is just so good.
  
• How Hampus Lindholm got the third star, with Hossa having a part in both Hawks goals, is beyond me. Stars of the game are stupid.
  
• Andrew Shaw was pretty much stuck on stupid. His second penalty was just stupid. A kneeing penalty against everyone's favorite 100 year old Fin, Teemu Selanne. This is probably why he played less than only Bryan Bickell.
  

Here are the video highlights: 2/7 - Blackhawks at Phoenix 2-0 Shutout Loss

• New acquisition Peter Regan opened his first Blackhawks game at #2 center. Of course this was without Patrick Kane, who was with his family in Buffalo for the funeral of his Grandfather, but it's still not a bad place to be.
  
• What can you really say about a team that is shut out? Both Coyotes goals were on the power play which were as a result of stupid Blackhawks penalties. Bollig opened the game with a dumb slew foot of Shane Doan, and later Brandon Saad was a little less than vigilant about avoiding Mike Smith as he plowed through the crease. Michael Rozsival followed up the Saad penalty with an additional 2 minutes for yapping at the officials.
  
• The team had no jump. Whether it was the Olympic break or the loss of Kane, the Blackhawks were not on top of their game.
  
• I don't want to harp on the officiating, but I'm going to. The Officials called Bryan Bickell for picking up a teammate's perfectly fine stick and using it, and later on missed a call that would have negated the second Coyotes goal.
  
• After Bollig's dumbs penalty led to the very early Coyotes lead, he was basically stapled to the bench, playing only 5:22. Rozsival, on the other hand, took a stupid penalty, and was rewarded with a team high 30 shifts.
  

Here are the video highlights:

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