Blackhawks vs Blue Jackets5-1 Win Recap

"Invisible Enemy"

by Ray
Tweet to @Rayzer_14

Tonight marked the return of Artemi Panarin to the United Center for the first time since this summer's blockbuster trade for Brandon Saad. Both players had outstanding debuts for their teams as Panarin had 3 assists against the Islanders last night. Saad scored a hat trick in the Hawks blowout win against Pittsburgh.
Let's get right into it before the Hawks score any more first period goals.

Oh wow, ok. Guess that happened already. 1 minute 33 seconds in, in fact. Patrick Kane scores his second of the season on a great 3 on 2 rush. Good players find the open ice, great players finish off the play. He did both. Ryan Hartman initially wanted the pass to go to Nick Schmaltz but he was tied up by two Jackets defensemen and the puck found the wide open Kane's stick. He fired it above goalie Jonas Korpisalo's glove to give the Hawks an early 1-0 lead. That goal came at a cost though, as Schmaltz was pinned awkwardly between the defensemen and left the game. He attempted another shift during the period but it was unsuccessful. Plug in Q's lineblender, it starts early this year. Reports have it that Schmaltz has an upper body injury and will not travel during the road trip this week.

Lance Bouma kicked the crap out of Zac Dalpe in a scrap a few minutes later. Dalpe never stood a chance.

Hey look! A powerplay goal! After going 0-6 Thursday night, great puck movement and crashing the net led to Brandon Saad's 4th goal of the season as he banged home a rebound chance against his former team.

The Hawks seemed to have had most of the posession time in the first, however the shots would have indicated differently. 11 for Chicago, 9 for Columbus.

After an early Hawks penalty kill in the second period, the physical activity ramped up with some pretty solid hits. This of course prompted Foley and Konroyd to go on their first "MOAR HITZ" charade of the year. The leading hitter from Thursday? 5' 7" Alex DeBrincat... That might be the only thing that is remembered about him before he gets sent to Rockford next week. I will say though, I felt he was owed an assist on Sharp's goal Thursday. He wasn't initially, but apparently that was changed sometime Thursday or yesterday and he was given one. Right move.

Of course, as I was writing about "MOAR HITZ" sure enough, #DickFuckingPanik delivers a beautiful hit on Seth Jones deep in the Jackets zone to get the puck loose to Saad who sent a perfect pass to the Captain who nailed a rocket one timer off the post and in to make it 3-0 halfway through the Second.

Sure enough, 3 goal leads are the worst ever lead in hockey and 30 seconds after the Toews goal, Columbus strikes back with a little bit of luck. An attempted pass hits a sprawling Hartman and Sonny Milano taps in the puck while it is lying along the goal line to make it 3-1.

Two minutes later the three goal lead is restored thanks to Jan #RotoRutta 's first NHL goal. Nice recognition by both Kane and Rutta to find the open area with nearly all 10 players below the faceoff dots led to a pinball like, but still very easy goal to make it 4-1 Hawks.
Columbus woke up during the period and took over the shot lead 25-22.

The start of the third period wasn't exactly the smoothest for the Hawks as they gave up an early power play chance and allowed the first four shots on goal. Made for a little bit of a tense moment, but they fought through it and that was the end of the night for the Jackets.

The third was fairly uneventful after that with the exception of the glorious return of #DickFuckingPanik again to score his second of the year. He caught everyone sleeping after the faceoff in the offensive zone and fired it past Korpisalo for the final goal of the night. 5-1 Hawks Win.

Columbus wins the shot battle 33-29.


The Good

• The special teams. As I mentioned before, the poweplay finally got on the board after a rough start last time out. The penalty kill however looks so much better. They gave up the one goal vs the Pens Thursday, but it was a 4v3 situation and with that insane Penguins lineup it's almost a certain score. However before the Pen's scored, it looked like a start of a solid kill. Even without a decent penalty killer in Tanner Kero in the lineup tonight they killed both penalties. They're being much more aggressive on the puck, and that is something they need to do more of to have this success.
• Fast starts. This has been great to see. Kinda reminds me of 2013 a little bit where they just ran over the competition before they knew what happened. Keep this up.
• Kane and Saad. Look the fuck out, other NHL teams.
• Jan Rutta. I've been pretty impressed with how he has played. His decisions with the puck have been solid and he isn't afraid to make moves out there. Whether its pinching offensively or making a move in the defensive zone to avoid the forecheck, he's been effective out there. It was nice to see him in motion and involved in the play where he scored.
• Corey Crawford. He had another solid night in net. Wasn't challenged too much at times, but made the big saves when he needed to. Hey, Crawford haters. "WHERE'S YOUR DARLING NOW?"
• Edzo and the Blue Jackets Organization. During the first intermission, Pat Foley had Eddie Olczyk in the booth to talk about his health condition. If you haven't heard, Olczyk has been dealing with cancer treatments, and it was really encouraging to see him looking that well. It was also nice to hear how many times the Blue Jackets have contacted him during this time. Stick taps to you Jackets. Hang in there Edzo. We're thinking of you.

The Bad

• Jonas Korpisalo. Yikes, there were some bad rebounds by him tonight, but at least he wasn't Niemi bad. I know the Jackets were playing their second of back to back games and it's way early in the season, but after the way he played against the Hawks during the preseason, I would have maybe considered playing Bobrovski back to back, especially after a shutout. But hey, I'm not Jack Adams award winning coach Torts. What do I know?
• Zac Dalpe's punch riddled face. Ouch.
• Artemi Panarin. *crickets*. Ok he wasn't bad, but he was pretty invisible tonight at times. It's obvious that the Jackets powerplay will run through him. Which is a bit of a shame because there is a lot of talent on that team other than him.

The Ugly

• Michael Kempny's Puck Handling. Need I say more? There are sometimes where I cringe watching him in pressure situations in the D Zone. I was kinda hoping it would only be a year long nerves thing last year, but it still looks scary at times to me. Hopefully Ulf Samuelsson can help him get more comfortable handling the puck in those situations. We really don't need another Campoli moment.

See you guys in a few weeks when I recap Hawks-Preds. Thanks for reading and following along.
@Rayzer_14 on the Twitterz.

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PreseasonBlackhawks vs Blue Jackets3-2 Loss Recap

"Tempo of the Damned"
by Gatekeeper
Yell at Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks remained at home Saturday night to welcome in the same Columbus Blue Jackets team that they slaughtered on Tuesday night, in Columbus. Joel Quenneville rolled out much of the same lineup that he did on Thursday's thorough butt kicking of the Detroit Red Wings. Jonathan Toews, Alexander Fortin, Ville Pokka, and JF Berube all made their 2017/18 debuts for the Blackhawks in this 3rd preseason tilt.

The Blackhawks came out and surrendered a game opening goal late in the first period, but came back a few moments later and tied it right back up. This was all after the Hawks opened the with 8 straight shots on net. If not for a bouncing puck and a resulting bad turnover, the game would have easily been 1-0.

Then middle period started off just plain ugly. Two very stoppable shots ended up in the Blackhawks early on, and they were chasing a 2 goal deficit. The Blackhawks out shot their opponent once again, 18-7, but were staring down the barrel of a 3rd period come from behind effort.

The Blackhawks were able to cut the lead to one goal, with the goalie pulled, late in the third period, but that just wasn't enough. When all was said and done, they out shot the Jackets an incredible 54-21. Certainly good enough to generate enough offense to win the game. Who cares? It's preseason.


The Good

• Late in the first period, Patrick Sharp made a sneaky good flip pass to a breaking Artem Anisimov, who was then in all alone on Korpisalo. Anisimov made quick work of a low glove side shot and tied the game.
• Nick Schmaltz looked good once again. He had a slick behind the back pass that almost led to a Pat Kane goal. I was not a Schmaltz fan at all last season, and he's totally won me over. He was NOT good, however,m at the faceoff dots.
• I have no problems with John Hayden getting in a little preseason tussle. He handled himself very well, and I honestly think he brings more to the lineup than Tootoo, or Bouma.

The Bad

• Jean-Francois Berube, more on that later...
• Alexandre Fortin was reassigned to Rockford following the game, and rightfully so.

The Ugly

• Late in the first period, the golden child egregiously turned the puck over in his own end, whiffing twice and then just handing it over to the Blue Jackets Ryan Murray. Murray bore in on Berube, who was able to get a piece of the shot, but it popped up and over his shoulder and into the net.
• Early in the second period, JF Berube had a really rough stretch. First of all he had a rough time covering the left post after a shot banked off the end boards, and Lucas Selak somehow put it past him. His bad stretch didn't stop there, though. The next shot on net was a fairly weak backhand from Oliver Bjorkstrand that squirted between his legs for a 3-1 Lumbus lead.

The Lineblender
Left Wing - Center - Right Wing
Brandon Saad - Jonathan Toews - Richard Panik
Alex DeBrincat - Nick Schmaltz - Patrick Kane
Patrick Sharp - Artem Anisimov - John Hayden
Tomas Jurco - Tanner Kero - Alex Fortin

Duncan Keith - Jan Rutta
Michal Kempny - Brent Seabrook
Gustav Forsling - Ville Pokka

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PreSeason: Blackhawks at Columbus - 5-2 Win Recap

"Youth Gone Wild"

by Gatekeeper
Yell at Gatekeeper

Do you hear that faint sizzle in the background? That is the Blackhawks buzz getting warmed up. Tonight the Blackhawks officially kicked off game action with their first preseason tilt, in Columbus. If you looked at the roster they sent, you might be asking yourselves one important question:


Alas, there is still hockey, and it involves players wearing Blackhawks uniforms. That's about the best I can say about it. I'm not sure why they risked Joel Quenneville having an aneurysm with this lineup, but they rolled the dice.

Forget the period by period rehash. It's the preseason:

The Good

• The first Blackhawks goal was on a 2 man power-play by Cody Franson, and he later added an assist. I really like what Franson brings to this team. He's big, intimidating, confident, and experienced. He has a cannon for a shot and isn't shy about unleashing it. You can't say that I didn't warn you all about Franson when he's signed to an NHL deal and plays 70 games.
• Laurent Dauphin was the second Blackhawks player to get a goal, when Tomas Jurco was able to spring the puck loose from behind the net to Dauphin, who was completely wide open. Dauphin beat Korpisalo with a kind of feeble little backhand, but it was a goal. Not only did Dauphin score, but his prowess on the penalty kill was very noticeable, blocking several shots with no regard for his safety.
• Another impressive Blackhawks debut was from defenseman Jan Rutta. He looked comfortable and composed. He snuck in and activated on an early powerplay, and scored the third goal of the game. It wasn't a pretty goal at all, but it all looks the same on the scoreboard, I guess.
• Nick Schmaltz was the fourth Blackhawks goal scorer, just 38 seconds after Rutta's goal. I'm not sure what Korpisalo was doing, but Schmaltz beat him cleanly with a sneaky little snipe. This kid finally grew a set of coconuts this summer and came in with a swagger that he can actually backup.
• Vince Hinostroza threw his hat in the ring, and scored a 5th Hawks goal that actually stayed on the board. He took some silly penalties too, but with 17 total, who didn't?
• A guy who will never get a fair shot is Matthew Highmore, but he had a pretty good prospect camp,
  tournament and was noticeable in this game, as well. He could be a very useful mammal in Rockford, this year. He tied for the team lead with 3 shots on net.
• Anton Forsberg's composure and smooth movement really impressed me. He held the Jackets scoreless through the first two periods, until the Blackhawks lost interest. My first impressions are that he should be able to easily handle NHL talent. Thirty eight saves in your debut, on the road, is commendable. Preseason or not. We'll see what Glass and Berube show in coming games.

The Bad

• The enforcement of of rules that already existed, but are finally being called made for a total mess of a first period. There were 7 penalties in the first period alone, and one resulted in a Blackhawks powerplay goal. there were SEVENTEEN penalties called in this game. That is WAY too much.
• It took the Jackets until the third period to break the shutout, but they eventually did. Forsberg was late tracking a shot that went off the end boards and right to the stick of Seth Jones,
  and Jones beat him.
• I know it's really being picky, but getting out shot 40-26 is a little much.

The Ugly

• Lance Bouma ran his own goalie in his second shift of 2017-18. It's going to be a long season.
• The stupid goaltender inference rule came into play again when it looked like the Hawks had scored their fourth goal of the second period. Graham Knott definitely made contact with the Columbus goalie, but it really had nothing to do with the goal. Call it a pity, makeup call.
• Lumbus goalie Joonas Korpisalo was pretty brutal, giving up four second period goals, which should have been five. I'm not sure why they didn't replace him in the second, but it worked out in the Hawks favor. You think CBJ fans were looking to have Anton Forsberg back?

The Lineblender
Left Wing - Center - Right Wing
Dauphin - Schmaltz - Jurco
Miller - Kampf - Hayden
Bouma - Mitchell - Baun
Highmore - Knott - Hinostroza

Defense
Jokiharju - Stuart
Kempny - Rutta
Forsling - Franson

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Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets 3-1 Win Recap

"I Am The Walrus"

Patrick Norton
Tweet at Norton

After dismantling the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night, the Blackhawks returned to face off with former Central division member, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both teams had surpassed the century mark in the points column, so similarly to Wednesday night’s tilt, it wouldn’t be an easy one on paper. The Blue Jackets have a surging goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky, but credit must be given where credit is due: Coach John Tortorella. Torts was the finishing touch on the Jackets’ organization and they’ve taken off since his hiring. Meanwhile, the guy on the other bench has been pretty successful himself. Quenneville, lineblender and all, has the Blackhawks on the cusp of a franchise record in regular season wins. Sitting at forty-nine, the record is fifty-two set by the 2009-2010 squad, but only five games remain on the schedule.

Anyway, there was a game to be played. The first period started with a bang. An early penalty on Brandon Dubinsky for cross-checking Niklas Hjalmarsson gave the Blackhawks a powerplay twenty-eight seconds in. Four seconds into the PP, Artemi Panarin rifled home his twenty-seventh goal of the season with assists credited to Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The goal extended Panarin’s goal streak to three games. After minutes of back and forth end-to-end skating and physical play, Columbus finally broke through with Nick Foligno’s twenty-fifth of the season after the Blackhawks couldn’t exit the defensive zone. Then, just twenty seconds later, a hot pass from Kane to Hossa and the Demi God displaying great patience, the Blackhawks regained a one-goal advantage. The period ended with a minor scrum, but somehow the Blue Jackets walked away with the only penalty, this one to be served to begin the second period.

Okay, let me tell the truth. I fell asleep during intermission and missed from the 20:00 - 54:30 minute mark. Our official unofficial photoshopper, the honorable Governor William J. LePetomane let me know how the missed thirty-five minutes went. “He skated this way, then that guy skated that way…” Dynamite drop-in, Monte. That broadcast school has really paid off.

Let’s pick it back up with five to go in the third. With the Blackhawks grasping to their one-goal lead, the Blue Jackets were in desperation mode. Luckily for the Blackhawks, Columbus just couldn’t strike one past Crawford. The game clincher came when Kane added his third assist of the night for a Panarin empty-netter. Blackhawks win another against the superior Metropolitan division, 3-1.

The Good

• That’s FIFTY wins this season. It’s just the second time the Blackhawks have reached this feat in franchise history. With four games remaining, if the Hawks can pull off three more victories, it’ll be a franchise record. Also, one more point gained by the Hawks or lost by Minnesota clinches home ice throughout the Western Conference playoffs for the Blackhawks.
• Patrick Kane is on an absolute tear! Three assists tonight gives him fifty-three assists and eighty-seven points on the year. He’s second in the league and four points behind Connor McDavid for the #1 spot.
• Artemi Panarin is reaching for another scoring bonus. With two goals tonight, he has twenty-eight goals and seventy-one points on his sophomore season. That’s good enough for eleventh place, but if he can land himself in the top ten, he’ll pick up another bonus, similar to the one he made last season.
• #SlowlyDecliningJonathanToews added another assist and has put together a solid second half of the season after struggling in the points column until the All-Star Break.
• Corey Crawford picked up another victory while stopping thirty-two out of thirty-three shots faced. Nice to hopefully have Crawford back in a solid rhythm just in time for another playoff run.
• It was a spectacular night for the penalty kill. They kept momentum away from Columbus as the Jackets went 0/4 on the man-advantage.
• Meanwhile, the man-advantage for the Blackhawks brought their first goal in eleven powerplays. Panarin struck gold in the slot thirty seconds into game to give the Blackhawks the early edge.
• I took a great nap throughout the majority of tonight’s game. It was glorious.

The Bad

• I’m still waiting to see how many goals Gate gave up in his game tonight. I’d imagine it was a lot, but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. UPDATE: Five goals. Yikes!
• The turnover that led to Nick Foligno’s first period tally was unfortunate. Hjalmarsson’s skate blade dug into the ice and tripped him up.
• This game was pretty boring. So boring, I slept for half of it. What did this game need? #MOARGOALZ

The Ugly

• Columbus NEEDS to use the canon as their primary logo next season when teams are limited to two jerseys. The star thing they’re rocking now is far inferior to the coolest thing about that franchise.
• Classic Twitter falling head over heels for Brandon Saad on United Center ice. Sure, I miss him, too, but I’m satisfied with paying Artemi Panarin and having Richard Panik compliment Toews on the top line.
• This recap. Not the best, but it’s all I could do after watching twenty-five out of sixty minutes of gameplay. Nobody’s reading anyway. Big thanks to The Governor (The Governor) for his solid analysis of the other thirty-five minutes. He's not the best colorman in the league for nothing, folks!

The Greatest

• John Hayden played 9:08 tonight. He played less than all except one: Jordin Tootoo. #TemperExpectations #FutureHealthyScratch

Song Trivia: The song "I Am The Walrus" by the Beatles includes the line "I am the Eggman, I am the walrus." Until very recently, Eddie Olczyk believed the lyric was "breadman", not "eggman." If you ever hear him say "cuckoo cuchoo" after a Panarin goal, it's in reference to the Beatles song. So, while it's not a heavy metal tune, with Panarin netting two goals tonight, the title of tonight's recap fit too well. THE MORE YOU KNOW.

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Blackhawks at Blue Jackets3-2 Loss Recap

"I'm The Man In The Box"

 
by Patrick Stankus
Tweet to #Fatrick

The Blackhawks traveled to Nationwide Arena on Friday night, site of the first ever Puckin' Hostile Road Trip, and Derek's first taste of beer last season, to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Friday marked the beginning of 3 games in 4 nights for the Hawks, which will see them return home for an Original Six tilt with the Toronto Maple Leafs. First things first though, they have a game with the Blue Jackets to look forward to.

The Blackhawks came out of the gate with the infamous sleepwalking look to themselves. The Jackets dominated play, but luckily for the Hawks, their goalie was there to bail them out. Crawford made a handful of spectacular saves on Brandon Saad *sigh*, to keep the Jackets off the board. Halfway through the period, Columbus would get the game's first goal on the power play following a Michal Kempny penalty. As the horn sounded ending the period, the Hawks would only trail Columbus 1-0 despite yielding 17 shots.

In the second period, the Hawks came out with a bit more jump to their step, although that's not saying much when comparing it to the first period. Tyler Motte scored his first career goal just over two minutes in to tie the game. That lead was short-lived as the Hawks went back on the PK, and shockingly, Columbus was able to score another power play goal to put them up 2-1. The Jackets weren't done scoring in the period, as they added another with just over 5 minutes remaining to take a 3-1 lead into the dressing room after 40 minutes.

As the third period got underway, the Blackhawks looked like a completely different team. They put that sense of urgency to use and cut the Jackets lead to one. #DickFuckingPanik, who continues to look like Denis Savard, added his 5th goal of the young season. The Hawks mounted a ferocious attack at the Jackets net, but that was as close as they'd get as they fell to Columbus by the final score of 3-2. Its a quick turnaround for the Hawks as they face the Maple Leafs at home on Saturday night on Hockey Night In Canada. It should be fun to watch Auston Matthews skate circles around this defense and PK.

The Good

• Tyler Motte scored his first career goal. Congrats kid, but lets work on those PK skills now.
• How about #DickFuckingPanik? Panik increased his goal total to 5 on the year, and added an assist. But yes, he's completely useless. Excuse me while I smash my head against the wall. 
• You let the Columbus Blue Jackets  outwork you. Do you really think you're getting anymore in the good category Slackhawks?

The Bad

• I won't sugarcoat it. Marcus Kruger has to be better. He's been a step slow when it comes to getting into the shooting lanes on the PK, and its been costing the Hawks. This should be somewhat expected now that he's carrying that big bag of money on his back. I mean its not quite #ToewsMoney, but still.
• Marian Hossa missed tonight's game with a lower body injury. His ass better be back on Saturday. I won't be able to take this 7 defensemen shit anymore.
• The Hawks only had 9 blocks tonight. You guys might want to put yourselves in the shooting lanes a little more.
• Patrick Kane played nearly 29 minutes. That is not a joke. And its also a problem.
• Did you guys know Jordin Tootoo plays for the Blackhawks?

The Ugly

• Q was being Q with the lineup during the pregame. The question we all had was, "will Brian Campbell be in the lineup or not?" Well that question was answered when he was penciled in at left wing. My God, I cannot begin to tell you how much I fucking hate dressing 7 defensemen. Stop being cute with your lineups asshole. Be normal. Dress 12 forwards and 6 defensemen. Stop trying to be Patrick Roy. There's only room for one of those ballbags in the NHL. And give it time, Roy will be back. In the mean time Q, don't stoop to that level. You're better than that.
• For Christ's sake, the penalty kill is beyond awful. Its probably as bad as the pilot training in Russian aviation. Tonight the PK gave up goals on both of Columbus' power play chances. Keep it up boys.
• The power play was 0 for 4 tonight. Enough said. Special teams aren't so special right now.
• See Michal Kempny. The impressive meter is falling fast. Actually was it ever really impressive?
• Everyone's favorite scapegoat TvR left the game with an apparent arm injury. Its likely he'll be out for awhile. I'm guessing the time frame of the World Series, so he returns when the spotlight is back on hockey in the winter, and more people can bitch about him.
• I love when a team that hasn't played since Tuesday comes out flat, don't you? Nothing like giving up 17 shots in the first period.
• And just for all of you that hate him, enjoy this:
  

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Blackhawks at ColumbusRegular Season Finale5-4 OT Loss

"Cannon Fodder"

The Chicago Blackhawks travel to Ohio to finish the season off against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This game has been marked on the calendar for some time now as this game is the official Puckin Hostile Road Trip. 75% of the group will be in attendance but they make up 95% of the groups combined weight. The Hawks send a crew onto the ice lacking a few mainstay starters in Toews, Hossa, Anisimov, Shaw, Keith, and Hjalmarsson but welcome back the anchor of this teams season, Cory Crawford. 

The Hawks take little time getting on the board, 9 seconds in Panarin sets up a Kane one timer that's sent blazing over Bobrovsky's outstretched left pad. The next two goals would be a result of the previously mentioned Hawks. The effort put forth by the two would put the Hawks up 3 - 0 through one period of play.  At one point the Hawks had three goals on five shots; I can imagine this was a exciting period for the Puckin Hostile Road Trip crew. 

Shots: Blackhawks- 8 Blue Jackets- 10

The second period was nothing like the first, other than the fact that one team would score three goals and the other: zero. Hartnell, Calvert, and ex-Hawk Saad all score in the second tying up the game. The only explanation for this is the advanced analytical stat of score effect. With the Hawks only putting 5 shots on net they were on pace to barely hit 20. This frame was not so hot for the Road Trip Crew.

Shots: Blackhawks- 5 Blue Jackets- 8

The final frame, or what was supposed to be, looked hopeful for the home team early as Wennberg puts the Jackets up 4-3 a couple minutes in. But the Hawks weren't having it, in a push they managed to get 12 shots on net in the third, one of them finding its mark. Kruger would make a nice pass through traffic and set up Kane in front of the Jackets net, Kane cashes in and send this game to @patrick_stankus favourite, 3v3 overtime!

Shots: Blackhawks- 12 Blue Jackets- 6

A minute and half into bonus hockey Teravainen takes a very soft hooking penalty while trying to stop a break away. This would send the Jackets to their second power play of the night. Unlike the first they would cash in, Scott Hartnell standing in front of the net has a shot by Atkinson bounce off his pants and go past Crawford ending the game 5-4.

Shots: Blackhawks- 1 Blue Jackets- 1 

Total Shots Blackhawks- 26 Blue Jackets- 25

The Good:

• Kane and Panarin each net two goals continuing their hot streak, hopefully this continues into the playoffs;
• Crawford was back, he didn't look outstanding but it's nice to get him some ice time before playoffs; and
• As much as having Saad score against us stings, it's good seeing him be successful with the Jackets, his goal against the Hawks gave him 31 on the year, a career best.

The Bad

• Only having two players doing all the scoring and everyone else just looking lost will not cut it in the playoffs;
• 5 goals on 25 shots is not a great night for any NHL goalie; and
• The entire second period.

The Ugly

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Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets4-1 Win Recap

Saadurday Night

by Patrick Stankus

Following two straight losses on their recent trip out East, the Blackhawks returned home on Saturday night to face a familiar division foe in the Columbus Blue Jackets. Saturday also marked the return of Brandon Saad to the United Center for the first time since his trade to Lumbus. This was a matchup that featured offensive struggles of late for the Blackhawks, and season long defensive/goaltending struggles for the Jackets. All in all, it was setting up as one of those infamous "frustration" games for the Blackhawks.

Despite the distraction of another Chicago team playing catch on Saturday night, the Blackhawks game got underway as scheduled, much to the delight of puckheads. There wasn't much to get thrilled about earlier on. Andrew Desjardins had the best chance to put the Hawks ahead, but old Stone Hands couldn't convert. Other than a standing ovation for Brandon Saad during a tv timeout, the first period was a complete bore and the game would end up being scoreless after 20 minutes of play.

As the second period got underway, the play continued to be much of the same as the first period early on. The best chances for the Blackhawks in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd came from Kane and Panarin. As is the case when the Blackhawks face a backup goalie, both were denied following great saves by Curtis McElhinney. The final 10 minutes of the period would feature the Blackhawks we've become accustom to. Anisimov put the Hawks on the board first following a great pass from Panarin. The just 65 seconds after Anisimov's tally, Teravainen, this time on the power play, increased the Hawks lead to two. After 40 minutes of play, the Hawks would lead the Jackets 2-0.

As the third period got underway, it was quite clear the Blackhawks would carry over the momentum from the second into the third period. Marian Hossa would continue the scoring for the Hawks as he opened the 3rd period scoring on a great individual effort on the power play. The Blue Jackets however would break Corey Crawford's shutout bid, as a point shot from Jack Johnson beat Crawford with just under 4 minutes remaining. Patrick Kane would reluctantly add an empty netter, after he wanted to give up the puck to Panarin, to increase the Hawks lead to 4-1. The game wouldn't end without some frustration boiling over for the Blue Jackets. In a scrum in the corner, Mr. Tough Guy, Kerby Rychel punched Teravainen twice, only to them receive a mouthful of fists from TVR. When the horn finally sounded the Hawks handed the Blue Jackets their 6th straight loss en route to a 4-1 win.

The Good

• Not often do we give credit to others here, but Curtis McElhinney made two fantastic saves early in the second period. The first was a glove save on a Kane wrist shot, and second was a stoning of Panarin on a breakaway.
• The AK-72 line is really fun to watch when their passing is on. Tonight was another example with Panarin's dish to Anisimov.
• The Blackhawks dominated the final 10 minutes of the 2nd period. In total they out shot the Blue Jackets 15-3.
• Marian Hossa is a beast. His individual effort on his power play goal was remarkable to see. Its hard to say Hossa has lost a step after seeing that.
• Even though he didn't get the shutout Corey Crawford had a strong game in net, making 22 saves.
• The power play started off slow, but rebounded nicely to end the night 2 for 5. That's something to build off of.
• Vincent Hinostroza had a nice night in his NHL debut. He kept things simple, and had a few chances.
• Thank you TVR for jumping in and standing up for Teravainen after Rychel wanted to go after the Hawks enforcer.

The Bad

• The Blackhawks took two penalties in the first period. Thankfully the penalty kill bailed them out.
• For the first 30 minutes, this game was extremely painful to watch.
• Apparently Ryan Garbutt played tonight. I didn't hear his name once until that scrum in the final minute.

The Ugly

• This was the second straight game Desjardins had a golden opportunity to get on the scoreboard, but couldn't convert. I like his play as a role player, but when the team is struggling to score goals, you need to bury these opportunities.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets are not a good hockey team right now. I expected a lot more out of them, and its clear they are cracking under the pressure of elevated expectations.

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Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets5-2 Loss Recap

Columbus Day
by Patrick Stankus

On Friday night the Blackhawks returned home to the UC to face the once division rival Columbus Blue Jackets. With the Minnesota Wild breathing down their neck, taking two points from a non playoff team was crucial. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, the Jackets came ready to play, and caught the Hawks with their pants down.

Oh, how to sum up the start by the Blackhawks tonight. Words that come to mind are tire fire, train wreck, disaster, or, screw it, you should get the idea. The Hawks underestimated their opponent and they paid the price early and often in the first period. Despite goals by Saad and Toews, the Hawks yielded 4 goals to the Jackets, two of which were via the breakaway, and Q pulled Crawford to avoid the embarrassment that was sure to continue by the defense.

To say the Hawks were better in the second period isn't saying much considering how awful, just awful they were defensively in the first. With Lemont native Scott Darling in net, the Hawks found some energy, but couldn't solve Bobrovsky despite having 2 power plays. I know absolutely shocking the power play couldn't come through when needed. After two, the score remained 4-2 in favor of the Jackets.

The third period consisted of much of the same as the second period. The Hawks went 0 for 2 on the power play (sounds like a broken record), and couldn't get a puck past What About Bob. The only scoring in the period came by the way of an empty netter for the hat trick by Cam Atkinson. Yes folks it was that bad. Finally when the knife stopped twisting, the final ended up 5-2 in favor of the Jackets.

The Good
- Its hard to say there was anything positive tonight, but Johnny Oduya had a nice game. He had two assists, and was a +2 on the night along with Hjalmarsson. Considering the night the defense had, its shocking any of them had a night in the plus territory.
- While Crawford was not to blame for the debacle in the first period, he did get the hook, and Lemont native Scott Darling, came on in relief and stopped all 13 shots he faced. His highlight of the night was his save of a redirect off of Artem Anisimov's skate.
- For a change the Hawks won the battle at face off dot decisively 37-20.

The Bad
- Unfortunately for Blackhawks fans, we weren't able to see former Blackhawks 1st round pick Jack Skille, and Jeremy Morin saw limited time. So we'll have to wait until next year, hopefully, to see the Skorin' Line. But if the Skorin' Line is no more, we'll always have this Puckin' Hostile beauty of a photoshop by our own Derek Harms.
- Now that we're done shedding tears about the Skorin' Line, how about we shed some tears for having to watch Bryan Bickell skate around like he has no fucking clue on how to play hockey any more.
- Corey Crawford took the lost in net, but we all know who is responsible for that. The pathetic "defense" that was played in the first period.
- Apparently Pat Foley thinks that Antoine Vermette played for the Hawks the last time they played the Jackets in December. Sorry Pat, but #80's only two points with the Hawks came against San Jose, which is no where near Lumbus.
- I will NOT take the nickname of "That '80s Line." 1., lets come up with our own material, and not modify a Kings thing, and 2., That '80s Show was so bad it lasted one season. Then again, there might be something in common, since That '80s Line would probably only last one shift with the line blender that is behind the bench.

The Ugly
-Mr. Norris Trophy, Duncan Keith, had a horrendous night. Three turnovers by him in the first period ended up in the back of the Hawks net in the first period. Keith ended up the night a -3. Yuck. Oh, and can we stop acting like his shot in the 2nd period was so great? If it wasn't for a Columbus defenders leg, the shot would have been 10 feet wide.
- If you think Brent Seabrook was better, you'd be wrong. He was a -4 on the night. Double barf.
- The title of this recap is fitting, since in the first period, it looked like the Hawks defense was celebrating Columbus Day by taking the first period off.
- I'm shocked Lumbus could put up these offensive numbers without offensive powerhouse and former Blackhawk Rene Bourque in the lineup.
- The power play was just awesome tonight at 0 for 5.
- Oh, just look at all those chances the Jackets had in the first period. Did I even mention the numerous breakaways that the Hawks allowed?
- A loss like this is terrifying, because all signs point to a Michal Rozsival return to the lineup on Sunday.

  

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A Very Puckin' UglyRoad Trip To Lumbus

Greetings From Columbus

In the past 3 years, since I finally grew up and got a real job, its become a goal of mine to make a road trip for an out of town Blackhawks game. The inaugural trip saw me travel to Columbus, the next trip took me to Game 6 between the Blackhawks and Red Wings (which just so happened to fall on my birthday, and made it to and from Detroit in 15 1/2 hours), last year however I didn't make it to an out of town game. So in an attempt to rekindle the fun times of a Blackhawks road trip, I returned to old faithful, and paid a visit to Columbus again this past weekend. So without further ado, lets recap the Lumbus Road Trip Part II.

The unfortunate thing about this Lumbus road trip is, unlike my first visit, this game happened to be on a Saturday night, not an afternoon, so sightseeing was not an option. Thus there was no time to take the Dagwood challenge again (see Man V. Food, Columbus episode). For the record it totally kicked my ass, but in my defense I was severely hungover and in no mood to eat a 2 1/2 lb sandwich with a pound of fries.  This go around, I only made it to Columbus a little over an hour before the game, so it was literally check into the hotel, and shlep my ass over to Nationwide Arena.

My first impressions of walking over to the arena was, "holy shit, I traveled 360 miles for a road Blackhawks home game." However once I made it into the arena, it was quite obvious that there were more Blue Jackets fans (yes, they actually do exist) in attendance. I'd say it was 65% Hawks fans, but I'll give the Jackets fans credit, they were loud and fired back when the Lets Go Hawks chants started.


If you haven't been to Nationwide Arena, I highly recommend you visit there. The sight lines are fantastic, plus the selection of beer is absolutely phenomenal. Anytime you can drink Yuengling on tap and watch a hockey game, is a pretty sweet deal in my opinion. Did I mention how awesome the cannon is that they shoot off after the Blue Jackets score? IT IS THE BEST GOAL CELEBRATION IN THE NHL.

As the booze began to take effect, I took some notes of what was happening during the game;

• The chant of "Lets go Jackets" sounds a lot like "lets eat chocolates." Maybe that was the hungriness of a drunken idiot.
• There were several unexpected things I saw that I thought were noteworthy; 1. Michal Rozsival had an assist. 2. Jonathan Toews getting into a scrap. I'm calling it a scrap because he did drop the gloves. 3. Of course there would be a lengthy video review, because you all know how much I love instant replay. Replay is for the fans, not the refs. 4. Speaking of painstakingly long, how about that shootout? Watching paint dry would be more exciting in my mind.
• Perhaps though the biggest slap in the face was seeing Jack Skille score the Jackets first goal, and then the cherry on top with Morin scoring in the shootout. I'm guessing Morin let out a big fuck you to the man behind the Blackhawks bench after he scored.
• I managed to strike up a conversation with the Blue Jackets fan in front of me. Surprisingly, he was knowledgeable about hockey. After a Wisniewski turnover, he made have said, "you guys can have him back." Forgive me, the booze was talking and I said I'd take Wiz back on the Hawks any day.

How bad of a game was this to be in attendance for? I didn't even want to show my face.
Despite the Hawks losing in a shootout, thus "improving" my attendance record to 1-0-2 on the year, the trip was not all lost;

I got drunk off of an insane amount of Yuengling!

• I wandered the streets of Columbus between bar stops, and snapped a pic of the skyline. That is the actual skyline people. One giant Nationwide building.
• Something else I'm quite proud that I accomplished was finding edible pizza outside the city of Chicago. Shout out to OH Pizza and Brew for the pizza and fantastic pumpkin beer they have on tap.
• If you're a coffee drinker and haven't had Tim Hortons, do yourself a favor and try it. Its excellent. Plus it helped with the hangover.

Overall though, based on Jack fucking Skille scoring, Morin scoring in the shootout, Rozsival getting an assist (and someone I was with constantly suggesting Rozsival isn't that bad after seeing the assist), two long video reviews (one an overturned goal call against the Hawks, which was the correct call, and the aforementioned previously), and a piss pore shootout, this Columbus trip ranks at the bottom of my hockey road trips. That's saying a lot considering I've been to old UIC Flames hockey games, Rock Vegas, and Thrillwaukee for AHL hockey.

Peace out Columbus, you've got work to do before I come back next year.

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Blackhawks at Blue Jackets3-2 Shootout Loss Recap

"Bite the Hand That Feeds You"


Since Pat was IN Columbus and I was otherwise tied up, lets get right to the abbreviated highlights...

The Good

• Ben Smith is HOT. Not only he has been on the score sheet, but he's been getting serious quality chances.
• Almost half way through the game, the Blackhawks finally got on the board. Sharpie picked up a free puck in the Hawks zone, and led a 2-on-1, with Shaw, up the ice. Sharp picked his spot and snapped a shot past Bobrovsky with some serious precision. 1-1.
• While Crawford didn't stand out, he did enough in the shootout to win this game. One goal for in 9 attempts is pretty fucking bad.
• I love Hossa's shootout attempts. I don't care how boring they are.
• I have a similar play in the bad section late in the third a puck squirted through a pinching Hossa and ended up a 2-on-1. Seabrook ended up blocking the shot with a sliding play but, again, watching Hossa dig to get back is something all players should watch. He doesn't have to at his age, but he does.
• Marcus Kruger had a little emotion in him last night. He took exception to a couple of after the whistle plays. Good for him.
• On the bright side, the Hawks were good at the dots, winning 57%.

The Bad

• Just over four minutes into the game Marian Hossa knocked the puck out of Bobrovsky's glove and chipped the puck into the net. It was immediately waved off.
• Jack Skille scored the first legal goal of the game with about 2:30 left in the first period. Skille nd Erixon went down in the corner chasing a loose puck and Skille was able to get up, beating Erixon back to the front of the net. This was just in time to deflect a long Tyutin shot right past Crawford. The only thing worse would have been Skille tipping a long Wisniewski in.
• Saad had an early second period break-a-way, and Bobo was better.
• Out shooting a team 41-19 and losing in a shootout is a stolen win. Bobrovsky was amazing.
• With one second remaining on the Richards penalty that carried over from the second period, Kevin Connauton used a Matt Calvert screen and
• This could be in hte good and bad, but it started out bad. the early third period break-a-way that Seabrook gave up with a bad pass but then Hossa and Seabrook made nice defensive plays to stop the dangerous Ryan Johansen.
• Ben Smith tied the game in the third period. I'm not really sure what Kruger was tryinf to accomplish with no stick, but kicking the puck toward the net like a slide into third base but, luckily, Ben Smith got a stick on it. The goal eventually went to Smith after a LONG delay.

The Ugly

• Carcillo only played 5 minutes. Here we go with this shit again.
• Jeremy Morin and Jack Johnson were the only two Jackets to score in the 9 round shootout. Just peachy.
• The Blackhawks out shot the Jackets 15-3 in the first period, which should be in the "good" section, but one of those 3 shots ended up giving the Jackets a 1-0 lead.
• When you cant manage a shot on a 4-on-1, you have an issue.
• Check out Jonathan Toews going for a little snap-n-tickle with Brandon Dubinsky.
• I'm getting tired of bitching about Michal Rozsival. Can we be done with this clown already?
• The Blackhawks powerplay had a chance to take advantage of a very late Jeremy Morin penalty and failed.

The LineblenderSaad-Toews-Hossa
Kane-Richards-Versteeg
Carcillo-Shaw-Bickell
Nordstrom-Kruger-Smith

Keith-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson
Erixon-Roszival

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Blackhawks Week That Was - 3/7

3/4 - Blackhawks vs Avalanche
4-2 Loss

• Another game where the opposing goalie stole the show. Varlamov made 38 saves and kept the Avalanche alive long enough for the Hawks and Crawford to give up some marginal goals, at best.
  
• The bright spots were, of course, the Blackhawks goals. The fourth line continued to be under appreciated, and overlooked. Ben Smith and Brandon Bollig worked the corner hard, giving Smith a prime chance to blow the puck by Varlamov. The Toews goal was a beautiful passing play, on the powerplay. Toews, Kane, Keith and Sharp all touched the puck, zig-zagging through the Avs defense, with Sharp finally hitting Toews on the backdoor. That was it for great Hawks moments.
  
• Late in the third period, Saad made a rare youngster mistake by trying to walk through the Avs, as the last guy back. He had the puck picked off and Landeskog ended up with a partial break-a-way.
  
• Crawford only saw 20 shots and 3 went in. Not his finest performance, by a long shot, but the rest of the team around him wasn't all that impressive either.
  
• Duncan Keith had a gorgeous -3 hung around his neck, and Seabrook had himself a -2, so that tells you how the night went.
  
• Handzus was eaten alive at the dots, going only 5 of 15.
  
• HEY, ERIK JOHNSON! Remember that guy? One of the two guys picked AHEAD of Jonathan Toews? If you thought he was dead or retired, you're not the only one. He actually had 3 assists.
  
• It must be nice to be so stacked at Center. The Avs have Duchene, Stastny, MacKinnon, and O'Reilly. All could be in most team's top 6. Throw in Talbot, who would make a nice #3, and you have quite the logjam. Their issue is that they don't have any real stellar wings other than Landeskog.
  

Here are the video highlights: 3/6 - Blackhawks vs Blue Jackets
6-1 Win

• Bollig continued his point streak with the first goal of the game.
  
• The Blue Jackets goal was horrendous. The Hawks turned the puck over as the defense went for a change, leaving the Jackets 2-on-0 with only Crawford to beat. Somehow, somewhere, there are a group of meatballs screaming, "Fucking Crawford! Worst goalie in the league". Those people would be enormous assholes who should be forced to be Buffalo fans.
  
• The first Shaw goal was a great stretch pass from Brookbank, that put Shaw in on a partial break-a-way. Shaw finished with a little finesse and the Hawks never lost the lead. Shaw had himself a nice little night with 2 goals.
  
• The first Toews goal was completely set up by Brandon Saad, weaving right through the Jackets defense, and finally hitting Toews, who was standing wide open on the back door. This Saad kid might have a future. After a not so impressive debut, as Hossa's fill in on Tuesday, Saad was like a man possessed in this one.
  
• The Hawks were dominating at the faceoff dots as well. They won an incredible 69% of their draws, with Ben Smith and Handzus winning a combined 17 of 20.
  
• Keith and Seabrook rebounded from a less than stellar game against the Avs, with a +4 and +3 respectively.
  
• Brandon Dubinsky was credited with nine hits. NINE! Most stupid stat ever.
  

Here are the video highlights:

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Blackhawks at Columbus - SO Win Recap

"The Duellists"

The Blackhawks couldn't have a break, and a trip to Columbus at a better time. The NHL and media bukkake session regarding the Blackhawks and "The Streak" has now come to a screeching halt and, in fact, the NHL has almost done a 180. Even though the Blackhawks have had their struggles against the Jackets, they needed a break from the high flying teams. They did their best to make it interesting. Live from tropical Columbus Ohio, it's the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets.

The opening period could have lulled you to sleep. The Jackets out shot the Hawks by one, 11-10, but there were no goals on the board, going into the first intermission.

The second had all of the scoring, in regulation. The Hawks opened up a lead and promptly gave it up on a powerplay. The shots were again close, at 10-10, and the Hawks would once again take a tie game into the final period.

Neither team could decide the game in the final 20 minutes, even though the Hawks out shot the Jackets 13-3, which gave Columbus a little hope for overtime. The teams threw all defense out the window in the overtime period combining for 13 shots in the final 5 minutes. Again, both goalies stood tall and this game had to go to a shootout, which the Hawks finally won.

The Good

• Oduya grabbed a lead for the Hawks that would last les than a minute. The Hawks had a real nice rotation working and Crazy 8s finally found Oduya sneaking in on the back door. He snapped a shot past Bobrovsky, and it looked like the Hawks were ready to roll. The Jackets had other ideas.
• Both goalies were over .950 save percentage. You can't ask for more than that from your netminders. big comeback game for Crawford, after a rough weekend.
• El Capitan had 7 shots on net, which is exactly what you're looking for from your leader
• Dullig actually took time away from his pointless thuggery to get a sweet chance on Bobrovsky, and Bobo stoned him.

The Bad

• Shaw decided to get into the fight ridiculousness, hooking with with Matt Calvert. Snore.
• Kings castaway Jack Johnson took that Hawks lead off the board with a powerplay goal. El Capitan lost a rare faceoff, Hoss was late getting to his point, and Johnson just blazed a shot past Crawford. 1-1
• Bolland had a prime change in overtime and completely shit the bed. The net was wide open and Bobrovsky dove over, which left everything above 10 inches off the ice wide open. What does Bolland do? shoot it right into Bobrovsky's stick.
• The Hawks centers were barely serviceable at the dots. El Capitan was the only one over 50% at the dots.

The Ugly

• The final goalie interference penalty was brutal. He was clearly pushed into Bobrovsky, and gets roped into a penalty, in the final minutes of the game. Weak call, and unacceptable.

The Shootout

• Artem Anisimov roofed a backhander over Crawford
• El Capitan went with old trusty to beat Bobo 5-hole
• Crawford beat Ryan Johansen
• Kane clowned Bobrovsky for the eventual winner.
• Crawford poke checked Brassard

Here are the video highlights:

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Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets - OT Win Recap

"Blackjack-et"

After Thursday night's fairly dominating win in St. Louis, the Blackhawks were back home to face the sad sack Columbus Blue Jackets, Friday night. Despite the recent domination on the scoreboard, the games haven't been that out of hand. That being said, the Jackets were without their two top defenders and Brandon Dubinsky. Huge hits for that team. Ray Emery was starting in net for the Hawks after that double top secret "upper body injury" that forced him out of action in the game Thursday night. Live from the United Center in Chicago Illinois, it's the Blackhawks and the Blue Jackets.

The first period began with the Jackets having a little blue flame under their ass. They took a lead under a minute in, but the Hawks were able to battle back in the latter part of the period. Even though the Hawks were out shot 5-1 early, they were able to eventually even up the shots 7-7.

The second started off similar to the first as far as pressure goes, and the Hawks looked a bit on their heels. The Jackets took a lead, but soon surrendered two late goals to the Hawks, and giving them a lead going into the third. The late flurries actually left the Hawks out shooting Columbus 8-5 for the period.

In a rare Hawks event this year, they gave up a lead in the third period all while out shooting the Jackets 17-8 in the final 20 minutes of regulation. This one was going to extra time to decide who got the extra point.

Overtime saw the Hawks steal the extra point and the Daggar echoed throughout the UC. Next victim, Detroit on Sunday.

The Good

• The Hawks tied the game up with about 4 minutes to go in the first period. Even though it wasn't officially on the powerplay, the goal was scored one second after the powerplay expired. Stalberg found a free puck off Saad's skate and chipped it past Mason to put the Hawks on the board.
• Shooter tied the game up once again on an awful goal with 2:40 left in the second. He skated up the left wing and and threw the puck on net from the backhand. The puck hit Mason's left leg and ended up in the net. Terrible goal.
• A minute after the Shooter goal, Bickell played super man on an end to end rush. First of all, Bickell picked off a Tyutin cross ice, point to point, pass and then powered through, or over, Nikitin and raced in on Mason. He set himself and sent a lazer of a snapper past Mason to put the Hawks up 3-2. Finally using his powers for good.
• Tazer set up the game winner in overtime on a beautiful display of patience. He carried the puck up the left wing fighting through an Adrian Aucoin check along the neutral zone boards and holding the puck as long as he possibly could, until Seabrook caught up with the play. Aucoin was beaten again by Seabs on the way to the net and El Capitan hit him with only a gaping net in front of him. Game, Set, Match. Kudos to Aucoin for getting beaten twice in the same play. Gotta love Captain Healthy Scratch getting horsed.
• In the obligatory anticlimactic staged fight of the night, Sheldon Brookbank and Nick Foligno threw hooks in the first. Brookbank took the edge in the decision, but this was one of the rare times when a fight actually DID grab momentum for the Hawks.
• Stalberg was a plus 3 on the night, but if he had any finishing touch at all, he would have had a hat trick. He's also become the Versteeg of 2013, because he loves to turn the puck over in the neutral zone.
• All the Hawks centers, other than Kruger, were 50% or higher at the the dots. That suggestion of Sharp taking his faceoffs? I wasn't kidding. That needs to happen, sooner than later.

The Bad

• The Jackets tied the game up late on a Ryan Johansen. A bad giveaway in the Hawks zone was taken in on Razor. Johansen waited Emery out and beat him on the backhand. 3-3
• Nikita Nikitin took exception to a clean, but big, Carcillo hit on Fedor Tyutin and jumped Carcillo. He basically had his lunch handed to him, and took the extra two minutes for unsportsmanlike, as well. The Hawks blew that powerplay, which is another story altogether. How Nikitin gets an unsportsmanlike penalty but no instigator is beyond my comprehension.
• Carcillo and Hossa were minus 2, each, on the night.

The Ugly

• The Blue Jackets started much like the Hawks did the night before scoring a fairly weak goal just 30 seconds into the game. Dorsett got a step on Deuce and sent a deflected shot in on Emery, that he had problems handling. The rebound plopped down right in the slot for Prospal to put in the net.
• The second Jackets goal wasn't much better than the first. Artem Anisimov took a long shot from the point that went off Carcillo's skate and past Emery.
• Life could be so easy for all of us, Q. You could keep Saad with the talent on the first line, and you could leave Carcillo with the fourth line slugs where he belongs. Life can't be that easy can it? In a streak where there is little to critique, you have to give us something, don't you? As I said before, Carcillo was a -2 and Saad had an assist. What more does this kid have to do to cement a spot?

Here are the video highlights:

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Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets - SO Win Recap

"Lone Justice"

Now that the Blackhawks have broken the record for the best start in NHL history, the Blackhawks next goal was the most consecutive games with a point. The Hawks sat at 23 and the record was 35 by the '79-'80 Flyers. To overtake the second spot, they would need to pass 28. The Hawks welcomed the Blue Jackets into the United Center to be the next sacrificial lamb. The Jackets came in losing 7 out of their last 10 games and losing their last game to St. Louis, Saturday night. Live from the United Center in Chicago Illinois, it's the Blackhawks and the Blues.

The game didn't exactly open up how Chicago would have figured. Columbus came out with much more life than you would would expect for a team that played a close game the night before. Each team had 7 shots and there were no goals scored.

The second was just more of the same, with the Hawks slightly out shooting the Blue Jackets 14-13. The Hawks scored a late goal to take a 1-0 lead into the third period, which bodes well for the boys in red. We have been here before, and there is not nearly the reason for concern that there use to be.

The Jackets made an attempt to tie the game in the third period, with 8 shots to the Hawks 7, but they could not beat Hawks defense. Even though the Hawks faced a hot goalie, one goal was enough to take another 2 points. Next opponent, the Oilers, tomorrow night.

The Good

• Even though Bolland missed the game, it was nice to see Kruger get his due and move up with Kane and Sharp.
• Crawford was back in net for the Hawks, which was very good to see. Enough of that Emery for #1 bullshit. He quieted any meatballs by posting a 28 save shutout. No ill effects from his alleged concussion, apparently.
• Hossa had three great 1-on-0 chances, but couldn't dent the net. The second one was as a result of a complete dumb ass blind backhand pass attempt from former Blackhawk James Wisniewski. Glad he's wearing the other colors, now, aren't we?
• Just as Foley mentioned that there was no score, Bickell fed Andrew Shaw with a nice backhand pass for a 1-0 lead, late in the second period. Shaw had just come off the bench from a change and he made a bee line for the net. Bickell had just picked up the puck in the corner and must have heard Shaw yelling. It was a bang/bang play, and Mason had no chance to react.
• Toews, Shaw and Mayers all won 50% or more faceoffs. Kruger was his usual 40%.
• Considering he only gave up one goal, Steve Mason was really solid for the Jackets.
• Was nice to see Jesse Spencer, an actor from two of my favorite shows, Chicago Fire/House , shoot the puck between periods.

The Bad

• The Hawks caught a huge break in the closing minutes of the second period, on a Columbus powerplay. Vinny Prospal was sent in on a break-a-way, beat Crawford, but hit the crossbar.
• Carcillo and Mayers both had under 6 minutes of playing time, which barely made it worth them even dressing. I can't remember seeing Carcillo on the ice at all.
• Both teams were a combined 0-8 on the powerplay. With this being said, the Hawks were 5 for 5 on the penalty kill.

The Ugly

• The Hawks were victim to quite a few penalties, but none were worse that the extreme Olympic dive that Calvert against Hjalmarsson. He should have been the only one penalized, and ended up rewarded for his actions. Dumb ass.
• Wisniewski took exception to a Shaw crosscheck by spearing Shaw right in the twig-n-berries. The CSN crew showed Shaw on the bench and his face was as red as his jersey. His eyes looked a little glassy too. Cheap shot play by Wiener-niewski. Shaw followed up with a charging penalty on his very next shift.

Here are the video highlights:

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Blackhawks at Columbus - Win Recap

"Cheated"Four down and the Hawks were playing a team they had dominated all last year. Easy pickins for number 5, right? It would be very easy for the Blackhawks look past the lowly Blue Jackets and focus on their first shot this season at the Red Wings, Sunday, but this is a tougher team than last year's whipping boys. Their star power took a hit with the face of their franchise, Rick Nash, being sent to New York, but they ended up with a good deal of talent in return along with a little of that beloved "sandpaper". If they didn't take this one serious, they wouldn't be going back home to face the Wing still undefeated. Live from Columbus, it's the Blackhawks and the Blue Jackets...

The first period started off pretty heavily in favor of Columbus, and they even took 1-0 lead, but the Hawks finally woke up out of their haze and tied the game before the period ended. Considering the slow start the Hawks were only out shot 9-8 and carried momentum into the second.

The Hawks took a lead in the middle frame and were out shot again 9-8. They lucked out when Columbus looked to have tied the game, on the powerplay, but it was waved off. This should have been the inspiration they needed to pull away. It would take the last 20 minutes to see if they would do just that.

The third period seemed to be slanted in favor of Columbus, but the shots were 8-8. Both teams scored in the period, but the Hawks held off a late Columbus flurry to walk away with a hard fought 3-2 win. Next stop, back in the UC against Red Wings.

The Good

• Kane continued his red hot play, setting up Bolland for the game tying goal with 2 minutes remaining in the first. Crazy 8's blew by former Captain Healthy Scratch Adrian Aucoin, and drove in 1-on-1 with Steve Mason. Mason made the original save but the rebound was left sitting for Bolland to clean up. It must be nice to clean up after players like Kane and Sharp.
• Hjalmarsson helped give the Hawks a 2-0 lead about half way though the second period on a feed from Frolik. One-Trick-Bick worked to keep the puck in, and Frodo picked it up in the corner. He made the safe play by throwing it back to Hammer for a long shot. The puck was redirected by Bick and past Mason for a 2-1 lead. This was all after two enormous saves, by Crawford on Jackets shorthanded chances.
• MegaMayers was on the ice again, in place of Bollig, which is a good thing. Just too bad that he looked like Bambi on ice when he went after Jared Boll for hitting Kruger. Boll was able to get a few shots in and MegaMayers never even got his feet set after stepping on a lost glove, which led to him ending up on his ass quite quickly. He also only managed 4:44 of ice time with 7 minutes in the penalty box.
• As much as I want to grab Jamie Kompon's tall lanky ass, shake the shit out of him, and ask him what he's thinking regarding Shaw on the powerplay, he makes up for it by using Stunning Swede-berg on the man advantage. It's amazing that they could be so stupid about using his size and speed before this season.
• The Hawks ended up on the fortunate end of a gift with just over 6 minutes gone in the third period. Mark Letestu turned over the puck while breaking out at the Jackets blue line. Crazy 8's picked it off, and shoveled down low to El Capitan who was behind the play and wide open just feet in front of Steve Mason. Mason didn't stand a chance, 1-on-1 with one of the most dangers players in the game. 3-1 Hawks
• Hjalmarsson was a plus 3 for the game followed by Oduya and Crazy 8's with plus 2 each.
• Everyone, but Bolland, was over 50% at the dot. They could have achieved this with Sharp at the #2 slot, but they are winning and Crash Davis once said "Never fuck with a winning streak".
• Crawford was once again big. He bailed the Hawks out several times. While I'll refrain from proclaiming him back to form, He's certainly playing much better.

The Bad

• The Jackets took a 1-0 lead about halfway through the first on a mad scramble in the crease. Foligno drove to the net, and Crawford made the first save. Crawford then made a second save on Anisimov, and as he was laying on his stomach with his ass facing everyone else, Letestu chipped it into the net and the Hawks were left in a quick hole.
• I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what Shock-N-Shaw has been doing that makes him a better third line option than Kruger. Kruger is smarter, more responsible, and more talented overall. Kruger has just made more happen too. Furthermore, Shaw on the first powerplay unit is going to make me throw something heavy through my flat screen. It doesn't take a brilliant hockey mind to see that this silliness isn't benefiting anyone.
• After winning a faceoff deep in their zone the Hawks lost possession and a Dubinsky stuff attempt ended up loose in the crease. Anisimov chipped it up over Crawford and the Jackets were within one goal, with 2 minutes to play.
• Deuce was a minus 2 on the night for the team low. He played better than this, but it still looks pretty bad.
• Meatball central...The Hawks were outhit again 22-12 and won yet again. Shocking.

The Ugly

• The Blue Jackets came out with a clear agenda to pound the Hawks thtough the boards.
• The Jackets looked to have tied the game on the powerplay but they were called for bring in the crease, and the goal was waved off. I don't think anyone but the ref saw the play that way, but the Hawks will take it. The crowd continued to boo for a good couple of minutes after the play, and I can't blame them.
• A terrible holding the stick/unsportsmanlike conduct penalty looked like it was going to give the Jackets a 4 minute powerplay, but they proceeded to take 2 penalties of their own, which turned into a short 4-on-3 advantage for the Hawks. The whole ordeal was set off with El Capitan controlling the play and taking on 3 Columbus players, and getting tripped.
• I know we've only seen him for two games, but I really have no use for Brookbank. He looks slow and apparently wears skates full of lead laced concrete.
• Captain Healthy Scratch was a minus 3, for which I only have one thing to say:
  
• Bolland was absolutely cock whipped at the dots winning just 5 of 18.

Video highlights as promised:

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Blackhawks at Columbus - Win Recap

"At Dawn They Sleep"



Ah, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Oh, how Viktor Stalberg loves to hear your name. When they see #25 walking into the arena, they must have panic attacks. The Jackets have been playing "better", but "better" isn't exactly "good". They were 5-5-0 in their previous 10 games, but 1-4-0 in the previous 5. Goalie Steve Mason has apparently found his mojo, after just learning that goalie equipment can be tailored to his exactly specs. Makes you wonder what sport he was playing, because every kid has dreams of his own custom gear. Not only that, but whoever the Vaughn rep is for the Jackets needs to be hung, drawn and quartered. Colossal FAIL!

The Hawks came out on fire, for the third game in a row. Three Hawks goals in the first half of the first period, took any sliver of emotion out of the Jackets. Columbus actually out shot the Hawks 11-10 in the period, but it did little good. The second period was a snoozer with both teams combining for EIGHT shots. TOTAL. With the help of a few stupid Columbus penalties, the Hawks scored a couple of third period powerplay goals, but they couldn't hold on for the shutout. An easy 5-1 win will work, with a big game tonight.

The Good

• Shaw scored just over 4 minutes into the game, to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. This was another nice puck control shift by the third line of Bickell, Bolland and Shaw. Bickell pulled the puck out of the corner and literally hit Shaw in the leg, and the puck bounced into the net. This was Shaw's 10th goal overall, and 3rd in 2 games. The kid just keeps overachieving. He might be this year's Ben Smith, but lets ride this streak until the well goes dry.
• Two minutes after the Shaw goal, Sharpie scored a godawful goal along the goal line. 99 out of 100 times that puck goes wide or is saved. Pathetic effort by Mason, just fucking terrible. He needs to be a backup somewhere else next year.
• Seabrook put the Hawks up 3-0 with a 55 foot wrist shot from the Jackets blue line. I don't care what vile horseshit Edzo spews; it was a weak shot and Mason had time to get in the way. Maybe the bigger equipment didn't help.
• Sharpie opened up the third period with a quick one-timer powerplay goal, with under a minute gone. Pretty simple, and just the way you draw it up. Not a fuck was given by the Jackets, at that point.
• Hoss got his 900th NHL point on a powerplay when the Jackets decided to run to the ever dangerous Andrew Shaw and left some guy name Marian Hossa wide open in front of the net. As I said on twitter, The Hawks should have scored that powerplay goal, and sat the money guys, with the big game against Vancouver tonight. That powerplay was a result of Darryl Boyce planting Nick Leddy head first into the boards. In a 4-0 game, is that really necessary? Your team didn't give a fat rats ass for 43 minutes, and NOW it's necessary to check a guy from behind? Bush League! That's why I said run up the score. You can either take an ass kicking like men, or you can be made an example of. The second you pull a dangerous move like that, you should be made an example of.
• The Hawks were 2 for 3 on the powerplay. Even against a bad team, we'll take that number. Have to spank the bad teams before they can slap the good ones, right? Baby steps.

The Bad

• If I were coaching that god awful team, Steve Mason would have been on the fucking bench after Sharpie's terrible goal, but I guess they are just mailing it in, and don't want to bother with the effort.
• Overshadowed in the big win, the Hawks centers were anally probed at the dots. all were under 50% with Bolland taking three fingers at 31%. I'm surprised that there isn't more concern about this because, as opposed to the hit stats, this is an important figure come playoff time. If we ignore it, it's just not there, right?
• Speaking of hits, Los Meatballos, the Hawks were out hit 38-10. Tells the take of the game, doesn't it? I'd still like to have someone, anyone, tell me what qualifies as a "hit". I've watched players go out and throw two solid checks in a shift, and be credited with none for the game.
• Off night for Viktor Stalberg. Only one assist against his favorite team.

The Ugly

• I'm so tired of hearing how Brandon Bollig "knows his role". What is this, the WWE? Is the Rock standing in the ring telling people to "Know your role and SHUT your mouth" ? Bollig jumps on the ice and grabs the first cementhead that will dance. He just fights for the sake of fighting. There is absolutely no point to these scraps. If his role is to do something completely unrelated to what is going on in the game, he succeeds every time. Why don't they just have a full line brawl at the puck drop, like the Rangers and Devils? Get it all out of their system, so we can actually watch hockey being played.
• Leave it up to the deplorable Blue Jackets to fuck everything up, including Crawford's shutout. Fuck off! Seriously! Enjoy your first pick in June, shitheads!

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Blackhawks at Columbus - Win Recap

"Colossal Slump Buster"


With a weekend of matinee games on the agenda, the Hawks rolled into Columbus to face the Blue Jackets and a player they WON'T be acquiring, Rick Nash. Even though Columbus is warming up, they aren't a good team. Last in the NHL, and working with an interm head coach. Injuries and drama have crippled them. Before the other nights game, this was the game all Hawks fans were expecting the team to end their losing streak in. Lets just hope for 2 in a row, with a win in Ohio.

The Hawks came out slow and sloppy in the first period, yielding the lead on a bad turnover. They woke up and scored two of their own, outscoring the Jackets 11-10 in the opening period. The Jackets out shot the Hawks 14-12, in the middle period, but the Hawks out scored the Jackets 2-0 to take a 4-1 lead into the third. The third period was a joke. The Hawks scored two more goals to put the Blue Jackets to bed.

The Good

• El Capitan threw the team on his back and his balls on the table, going end to end and driving right around Jeff Carter to tie the game up at 1-1. Really no excuse to let a player go right around you like that, Mr. Carter, but we'll take that gift.
• Pick-to-Click Vik put the Hawks up 2-0 on a nice feed from One-Trick-Bick. Bickell out raced the Jackets defender and quickly found Stalberg wide open in front of the net. Stalberg one timed it on Mason, who was out of position in the first place, and it bounced up and flipped over the goaltender, into the net. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a Columbus fan, and watch this. Makes you appreciate the Hawks much more when you think of it that way, doesn't it?
• Kaner dished a sweet cross ice pass to a WIDE open Shooter, who took a tight angle one timer from Mason's right side, and beat him for a Blackhawks 3-1 lead. The Kane pass was the highlight of the play, threading the needle between two Columbus players right to Sharpie's tape. I don't know what the media or fans were thinking, suggesting trading Kane, but this is one of many examples why that is an asinine idea.
• Kane followed up his nice pass to Shooter, by using former Hawk James Wisniewski as a tool. Kane put his shot between his legs and beat Steve Mason for a 4-1 Blackhawks lead, ending Mason's afternoon in net. After he was pulled, CSN caught Steve Mason bitching at coach Todd Richards in a pretty animated manner. And people think we have goaltending problems in Chicago. OOOFA!
• Bruno and Dream Warrior hooked up with 5 minutes gone in the third, to expand the Hawks lead to 5-1. Bruno saucered a pass across to Kruger who was actually tied up. Kruger was still able to get a stick on the pass and chip it past York.
• Less than a minute after the Kruger goal, Lepisto scored his first Blackhawks goal, off the back of John Moore. When it rains, it pours. How did that one feel, Columbus? That was a guy that couldn't trip onto the ice, and he's putting the exclamation point on a home ice loss.
• Nick Leddy was set up by Kaner late in the second period, and skated right past three Jackets players. Leddy made a slick little move on York, but he didn't score. That play was a nice preview of what is to come with this kid. He's still green and wet behind the ears, but he's going to be a good player for this team.
• Nice to see Purple Hayes come out punching. Even though he didn't really get many shots in, he went toe to toe with MacKenzie. Welcome back, Kiddo.
• I have to completely honest. I haven't really missed Hammer. Lepisto's early turnover aside, him and Olsen have been alright. Might this show the Hawks that Hammer is expendable?
• Deuce was a plus 4 and had an assist on the day.

The Bad

• Sami Lepisto didn't make a good argument for more playing time by hitting the Blue Jackets Derrick Brassard right on the tape, at the Hawks blue line. Brassard took the gift and blew it past Crawford's glove for a 1-0 Jackets lead. There is really no excuse for that turnover. He wasn't pressured and had plenty time. I can't defend you on that one, Pistol.
• Not that it really means anything, but the Haws were outhit 29-7.
• Did Rick Nash even suit up? The guy was invisible. THAT'S a guy the Hawks definitely need.

The Ugly

• Derek Dorsett absolutely made my afternoon when he went after Big Slow, following the Lepisto goal, and Columbus time out. Dorsett looked like a toddler playing with his big Uncle John going straight for Scott after the puck was dropped. Dorsett got one shot in on Scott, and Scott proceeded to beat the SNOT out of him. I was crying because I was laughing so hard. There is NO way Scott could have made a bigger mockery of Dorsett. Beat the piss out of the guy, and then laugh at him and dress him down while he's tossed from the game. Watch it here, enjoy and laugh your ass off:
  
  

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