Blackhawks at Rangers 2-1 Win Recap

"As Long As We've Got Each Other"

 
by Patrick Stankus
Tweet to #Fatrick

As you know by now, my recap titles this year are a tribute to Alice In Chains, but tonight we honor a legend. During tonight's game, it was announced that actor Alan Thicke died. As someone who grew up watching Growing Pains during the early 90's as well as the reruns, Thicke was one of my favorite actors. So before you tell me "too soon" with the title, its a tribute to Thicke and his legacy. RIP Jason Seaver.

The Blackhawks began a three game road trip on Tuesday night to take on the New York Rangers, in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Tuesday's game also marked the second time the two teams have played each other in the last four days, thanks to the NHL schedule makers. The Hawks were looking to get some sort of payback after the Rangers defeated the Hawks 1-0 in Chicago on Friday night. Leading up to the game, the Hawks got some good news as Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook made their returns to the lineup.

In what was hopefully a sign of things to come, Jonathan Toews managed to win the opening faceoff of the game, something that hasn't been easy in his absence. In the opening minutes of the game, you could tell the Hawks had a bit of jump to their step, unlike in recent games. As the period went on, the Hawks had numerous chances, some of very good quality, but Antti Raanta was there to stop them all. At the other end of the ice, Scott Darling only had seven, one and done, shots thrown at him by the Rangers, and managed to stop them all. Despite dictating the pace of the game for most of the period, the Hawks would skate into the intermission scoreless after one period.

The second period of the game was nothing short of exciting. Both teams had countless chances, that also featured end to end action. After being dominated by the Rangers early in the period, the Hawks were able to get on the board first, thanks to an unlikely goal by none other than everyone's second favorite scapegoat TVR. However despite the goal, the Rangers momentum didn't break. Just under three minutes later, the Rangers managed to get the equalizer to tie the game at one. Late in the period, Scott Darling made a big save, to keep the game tied at one. Not surprising, after that save, the Hawks rode the momentum down the rink, and Artem Anisimov was able to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead after two periods.

While starts have been much of the story this season for the Hawks, tonight was a different story. In the third period, the Rangers absolutely dominated play throughout the twenty minutes. Unfortunately for the Rangers, the Scott Darling Show was in full effect in the third. Time after time, Darling came up with some spectacular saves to preserve the Hawks one goal lead. While the Hawks had their chances, they weren't able to add to their lead, and their goalie bailed them out. As time wound down, the Rangers couldn't do anything with the extra attacker, and the Hawks skated out of MSG with the 2-1 win.

The Good

• Pardon me while I do some cartwheels as not only Brent Seabrook returned for the Blackhawks, but so did The Captain, Jonathan Toews.
• #SlowlyImprovingTVR added his first goal of the season in the second period. That trade value just keeps going up, up, up, up, up.
• The pass by Brian Campbell on Anisimov's goal was old school Brian Campbell. That kind of play has been severely lacking from Campbell thus far.
• Marian Hossa's swipe of a loose puck in the Hawks goal crease in the third period was huge. When he's not scoring goals, he's saving goals for the Hawks.
• The Hawks defense when the Rangers had the extra attacker was outstanding. They clamped down, and the Rangers struggled to even enter the zone.
• Amazing, The Captain returns, and the Hawks become respectable at the dot again. Tonight they were 55%.
• Unpopular opinion, but that Rangers third jersey is awesome. See what simple does NHL?
• SCOTT FUCKING DARLING. Period. End of story.

The Bad

• #RandomPatFoleyStats made an appearance in the first period. Tonight's random stat was Brian Campbell being a +4 over his last 11 games. DRINK PAT. DRINK.
• While their start was good, the Hawks struggled at times during the second and third periods. In those two periods, the Hawks yielded 27 shots to the Rangers.
• Those great six o'clock starts aren't so great during the work week.
• Michal Kempny sat again. And again, I only mention this because it pisses Gate off, and lets be honest, he signs my checks here, so gotta keep the boss man happy.

The Ugly

• Chris Kreider had a nasty hit on Ryan Hartman in the corner during the second period. Hartman was slow to get up, and eventually was forced to the dressing room by trainer Mike Gapski. Hartman did however return to the game.
• In the first period, Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei took a skate to the face. A skate to the face is something you never want to see happen to anyone.
• Kevin Hayes shit in the hallway and was a -2 tonight.

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Blackhawks vs NY Rangers1-0 OT Loss Recap

"Phoney Smiles & Fake Hellos"

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

Friday night, the Blackhawks welcomed the New York hockey Rangers to the United Center for a mid December tilt that not many of us were looking forward to. Not only were the Ranger coming in hot, but they also boasted two young players that spurned the Blackhawks in Jimmy Vesey and Kevin Hayes. Hayes came in second on the blueshirts with 11-9-20, and Vesey came in with a respectable 9-7-16 but was injured. Those aren't the only two names the Blackhawks fans would recognize, as Antti Raanta started instead of Henrik Lunqvist, Brandon Pirri was centering the Rangers 4th line and Adam Clendening took his familiar spot in the UC press box for unlimited shrimp cocktail. Both teams came in pretty injury ravaged with the Blackhawks missing Jonathan Toews (Upper Body/Back), Corey Crawford (Appendectomy), and Brent Seabrook (Bump on the noggin), while Rangers were missing Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad, Pavel Buchnevich and Matt Puempel. With Seabrook out you'd think that Quenneville wouldn't do something crazy like sit Kempny, right? You would be wrong. Michal Rozsival was in the lineup against one of the faster teams in the entire league. Makes total sense.

It can't go without mentioning the Steve Larmer "One More Shift" tribute. The guy is a legend and deserves so much more credit than he has ever gotten. Larmer for Hockey Hall Of Fame!


You might not have recognized that team in red you saw at the beginning of the first period, because they were wearing Hawks colors, but they actually had some sustained pressure on the Rangers. For a little while, that is. They started fast caught the Rangers on their heels, but it wasn't long before the Rangers woke up and gave the Hawks fans a few scares. Neither team was able to get on the scoreboard, but the Rangers finished the period out shooting the Blackhawks 12-9.

The second period turned into the wild fucking west in this contest, with both teams going end to end a few times and getting several grade A chances. There were no goals up on the board at the end but the scoring chances had everyone on the edge of their seats. The shots favored the Rangers 11-10 which showed just how close the period was played.

The third period was just more of the same for these two teams. Both goaltenders played excellent and thanks to an offsides negated goal, these teams took the game to overtime tied at 0-0. Shots were 13-7 with the Ranger outshooting the Hawks for the third straight period, and 36-26 for the game. It only took the Rangers one shot and about a minute into overtime to catch the Blackhawks in a bad change, and the Rangers were able to leave the UC a winner.

The Good

• Pat Foley, for the second time in as many weeks, went into a tirade about Bob Pulford forcing Steve Larmer to end his iron man streak. I love it. Preach on, Pat. Pulford was an enormous piece of shit and held the Blackhawks down for a majority of the 80s both behind the bench and as a GM.
• Both Annti Raanta and Scott Darling put on a goaltending show. In the second period, alone, Raanta made an old school pad stacking save and then Darling made two fully out stretched saves.

The Bad

• Patrick Kane was flattened from behind in the second period and there was no call, so he went ape shit and highsticked JT Miller and took a penalty. After the play, Kane ended up in the locker room for an extended time, but eventually returned.
• #DickFuckingPanik was able to poke the puck past a defender and it turned into a 2-on-1, but there was a small problem. The other forward was Andrew Desjardins.
• The Blackhawks got a little enamored with their puck movement in the overtime and forgot to cover their guys, leaving Defenseman Nick Holden to have a breakaway. Of course he ended the game.
• The ever valuable Jordin Tootoo with 4:26 of playing time.

The Ugly

• Sitting Michal Kempy for Michal Rozsival, especially with Brent Seabrook on the shelf, is a fucking dumb move. This is the shit that Quenneville pulls that is utterly infuriating. The Rangers are a blazing fast team, and Q purposely makes the Blackhawks SLOWER? Lets not even get into the fact that Trevor van Slows-dyk is anchoring that 3rd pair, too.
• Six minutes into the third period, Ryan Hartman fed Marian Hossa. who beat Raanta for what looked like a 1-0 game, but the Rangers challenged the goal and it was ruled to be offsides. This stupid replay system is dumb.
  
• In the third period Pat Foley not only called Scott Darling, Raanta once, but they he did it again just seconds later. I praise him for his Pulford rant and then he does this.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The Hrivik/Lindberg/Fast line were possession beasts all night and led all players.
• No surprise that Ryan Hartman and Marian Hossa were the possession leaders for the Blackhawks, while the Motte/Rasmussen/Panik line got eaten alive.
• Faceoffs were right down the middle. Derek Stepan was able to win 70% of his faceoffs, so thank god the rest of the Rangers sucked a donkey's ass.

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

Defense
Keith - Hjalmarsson
Campbell - van Riemsdyk
Forsling - Rozsival

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Blackhawks at Rangers5-3 Win Recap

"Lesson Learned"

by Patrick Stankus

The New York Rangers welcomed the Blackhawks to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, in a rematch of the opening night of the season. The Hawks were embarking on a trip out east that also includes a stop at the White House on Thursday afternoon to finally cap off their 2014-15 Stanley Cup winning season. The other story following the Hawks is, tonight marks the final game before they head outdoors and take on the Wild on Sunday in the Coors Light Stadium Series. Wait, for that new "Puckin' Hostile Drinking Game" that @AtomicFroster came up with, DRINK every time you hear about that outdoor game.

In what hasn't always been the case of late, the game got off to a nice start and featured a lot of pace early on. The Hawks wasted little time in getting on the board first. Andrew Desjardins redirected a Teuvo Teravainen pass from the corner to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead 3 and a half minutes in. As the period went on, the Rangers would find an extra jump to their step, and out shot the Hawks 10-6 in the period, despite the Hawks getting a late power play. After the opening 20 minutes, the Hawks would lead the Rangers 1-0.

When the second period got underway, it appeared early on that the Rangers had tied the game, until Coach Q decided to challenge for goalie interference. Much to the shock of everyone, the call of a good goal was overturned, and the Hawks remained on top 1-0. Midway through the period, Artemi Panarin, while on the power play, would increase the Hawks lead to 2-0, with his 20th goal of the season. The 2 goal lead wouldn't last long, as just under 4 minutes later, Kevin Hayes redirected a pass from the corner, past Crawford, to cut the Hawks lead to 2-1. Late in the period, the Rangers would go on the power play, but with time winding down, they couldn't tie the game in the second period.

The puck dropped on the third period with the Rangers still on a power play as a result of a late second period penalty by Vincent Hinostroza. In the first 3 minutes of the period, the Rangers would make Hinostroza pay, and score twice, to give them a 3-2 lead. The momentum of the game would change midway through the third period, thanks to an ill-timed penalty by former Hawk Viktor Stalberg. Andrew Shaw scored on the ensuing power play after a sweet pass from Teravainen from the corner to tie the game. From then on it was the Breadman's show. Artemi Panarin, took over, and added 2 goals down the stretch, 1 of which was on the power play, and completed the hat trick to give the Hawks a 5-3 win over the Rangers.

The Good

• So this Artemi Panarin guy is pretty good at hockey. I think Gate and I swung and missed when we said calm down and give it some time before we come to a conclusion on how good he really is. I think we can all agree, Breadman is pretty fucking good. (Now do you understand the title)
• Tonight we saw what Teuvo Teravainen is capable of when it comes to his hockey sense. His two passes that lead to the Desjardins and Shaw goals, were about as perfect as they can come.
• The power play was alright tonight. They were 3 of 4 with the man advantage. Smart money is them looking like a bad set of clown shoes on Sunday.
• Speaking of the power play, how timely were they tonight? The Rangers took two penalties in the third, and both times the Hawks made them pay. This is exactly what you want to see; them capitalizing on other teams' mistakes.
• Corey Crawford had a good, not spectacular night in net. It was one of those games where he just went about his business and made the saves when needed. In the end he made 31 saves on 34 shots.
• Artem Anisimov didn't register a point, but he was a factor all night. Its amazing how great the #AK72Line has clicked all season long.

The Bad

• Michal Rozsival was in the right place when Kevin Hayes cut the Hawks lead in half. Problem was, Rozsival, much like a blind old dog, was oblivious to the fact that Hayes was behind him, and stood there like a statue. Regardless it was a perfect pass by Lindberg, but you'd at least like to see Rozsival move like a bubble hockey player on that play.
• Late in the second period, #BartlettNativeVinnieHinostroza took a bad high sticking penalty that resulted in a double minor because it drew blood. Plays like this get you riding I-90 back to Rockford.
• Viktor Stalberg is still a horrible hockey player. But thanks for taking that penalty in the third period. Its much appreciated.
• Has anyone seen Jiri Sekac?

The Ugly

• I don't care that Q won his coach's challenge for goalie interference, replay, challenges, whatever the hell you want to call them can all go to hell.
• I touched on this in the bad, but Hinostroza shall be/will be on I-90 heading back to Rockford after his late second period penalty. The Rangers managed  to score twice on the double minor. How does the doghouse smell Vinnie?
• Keith Yandle apparently attended Joe Thornton's school of "How To Become An NHL Jackass" after seeing his hack on Panarin following Panarin's empty netter. Here's to ya Keith.
  

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Banner RaisingBlackhawks vs. NY Rangers3-2 Loss Recap

"Pride in Prejudice"

by Gatekeeper

Wednesday marked day one of the Blackhawks third title defense in 6 season, and began with all the makings of a ridiculous Cirque du Soleil. There were red carpets, limousines, suits, long celebration videos and even some crowd participation. The whole ordeal wrapped up with the ceremonial banner raising, which is NEVER distracting. Nevertheless, after all was said and done, the Hawks still had a game to play. Right, the game...

The first period was pretty much a complete shit show from the word go. The Rangers went up 1-0, 2-1, and eventually 3-1 before the final horn sounded. This was all despite actually being out shot 12-11. The goal the Blackhawks did have was nice, but major lapses on the back end left Corey Crawford to get sniped twice and then get completely taken out by his own teammate. Not really how you want to open the season.

The middle period was a little more what all of us fans were looking for. I'm not going to say that it was a perfect period, far from it, but much batter than the display that they put on in the opening period. The Blackhawks were able to cut the lead to one. The shots favored the Rangers 9-8 but everyone seemed to settle in a little bit. A one goal game going into the third period is not a bad position to be in despite their horrid start.

The third period began with the lineblender in full effect. Bryan Bickell and Kyle Baun rode the pine, while the Blackhawks peppered the Rangers goalie with 14 shots. A late flurry nearly yielded a goal, but in the end the Hawks fell short. It was admirable that they shut down the Rangers for the final two periods, but that hole they dug in the first period was just too much. Not a big deal. Next is the "Home-n-Home" with the Islanders, Friday and Saturday.

The Good

• With just about 5 minutes left in the first period, and after a questionable waved off icing, Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin caught the Rangers defense napping. Keith Yandle bit on Kane and left Panarin completely wide open. Kanes pass hit Panarin on the tape and the Russian beat King Henrik to tie the game.
• Seven minutes into the second period, the Lottery Line got into the act. Jonathan Toews forced a Dan Girardi turnover that wound up on the stick of Marian Hossa. Hossa found a breaking Teuvo Teraivanen in a soft spot just inside the circle. Teravainen one timed the puck past Lundqvist to cut the Rangers lead to 1.
• The Hawks won the faceoff battle 30-27.
• I know the outrage is to get Tervainen to the pivot, but I'm perfectly fine with him playing wing. His hands are really unreal. From the limited play we saw of Marko Dano, Teravainen is a far superior choice at this point in time. Jonny must be licking his chops.

The Bad

• Just a little over a minute and a half after the Panarin goal, Ryan Garbutt took a high sticking penalty that led to a 6 on 5 delayed penalty advantage. The Rangers worked the puck to the open guy Kevin Klein. Klein one timed the puck over a shifting Crawford, from a tight angle. 2-1 Rangers
• It's not the popular opinion, but the waved off goal with a minute left in the game was frozen long enough for a stoppage before Patrick Kane poked it into the net. The refs got it right, as much as it pains me.
• Kyle Super Baun Baun took all of 2 periods to hit Chateau Bow Wow, and Bryan Bickell joined him.
• I'll fully admit that David Rundblad is not much more than adequate on his good days, but he takes a lot up undeserved heat. It took him until late in the second period to really fuck up. When he does fuck up, he makes sure it's a good one though.

The Ugly

• Just 1:43 into the first period, Rookie Oscar Lindberg took advantage of an oddman break after the Hawks forwards got sucked in deep to the Rangers zone. His backdoor shot beat Crawford pretty cleanly for a 1-0 Rangers lead. Who assisted on that goal? Yup, Viktor Stalberg. Also, makes one wonder if the duo of van Riemsdyk and Daley were going to be the whipping boys this season.
• With a minute left in the first period, the duo of Daley and van Riemsdyk were on the ice once again for a Rangers goal. A Daley shot was blocked and ultimately led to a 2-on-0 back the other way. Corey Crawford made the first save and Trevor Daley took Crawford completely out of the play. Hayes passed the puck between Crawford and the net, and it dropped into the crease where Stepan was able to waltz right in and tap the puck into the net between Daley, van Riemsdyk and Anisimov.
• The "very important" Jarrett Stoll won 1 of 6 faceoffs. Try again NBC.
• Duncan Keith did NOT have the best game. His terrible turnover deep in the Hawks zone, inthe third period, nearly led to a 4th Rangers goal, but Crawford bailed him out and then took a swipe at Derick Brassard for good measure
• I don't care if you don't want to hear "what ifs", just stop reading now. If Bowman finds a way to sign Kevin Hayes, he might not have to trade for Vermette, may not have to take on the Artem Anisimov salary and "The Cap Genius" looks like more of a genius. I'm never going to buy that there was nothing Bowman could have done and no one is going to tell me otherwise. Not only that, but there would have been room for Saad. But fuck me, #3CUPZ.
• Thanks to the terrible AT&T U-Verse, our very own Fatrick wasn't able to watch the game or even tweet. I'm sure he didn't have anything important to say anyway.

The Lineblender
Teravainen - Toews - Hossa
Panarin - Anisimov - Kane
Bickell - Shaw - Baun
Desjardins - Kruger - Garbutt

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Rundblad - Seabrook
van Reimsdyk - Daley

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Blackhawks at NY Rangers1-0 Shutout Win Recap

Spin City

by Patrick Stankus

Just 24 hours after they faced that other team labeled "New York" in Chicago, the Blackhawks found themselves at the "World's Most Famous Arena" in New York to face the Rangers. With Henrik Lundqvist still sidelined with an injury, the Rangers had super sub Cam Talbot in net while the Hawks countered with some guy from Lemont named Scott Darling. With all those 3's in net, lets all be thrilled Pat Foley wasn't calling this game.

The first period could be described in one word; thrilling. Both teams saw excellent opportunities, but both goalies rose to the occasion. Also in the first period, the Blackhawks had two power plays, but unlike in the last couple of games, the Hawks couldn't capitalize, and the game would be scoreless after one.

Much like the first period, the second period again featured a lot of energy, and a torrid pace of end to end action. This time however it wasn't the Hawks who would get a power play, it instead was the Rangers, who like the Hawks in the first couldn't capitalize. Despite the chances and excitement, the game would still be scoreless after two.

The third period would finally see the end to the scoreless play. Brad Richards found a loose puck behind the Rangers net, and would patiently out wait Cam Talbot and roof a shot to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Despite another Rangers power play, and a flurry of chances in the final minutes, the Hawks would hang on and Lemont native Scott Darling would record his first career NHL shutout.

The Good
- Pretty simple here. Lemont native Scott Darling was awesome tonight. How awesome you ask? Well his save on Rick Nash in the first period made the highlight reels on shows not seen on NHL Network.
- Equally as good, and deserving of a shout out is Rangers goalie Cam Talbot. But unlike last time, the Blackhawks were able to get a puck past him tonight.
- Well wherever Brad Richards was hiding for the first 2 months of 2015, it seems like he is back to at least being serviceable again. Isn't that nice of him?
- That turtle Michal Rozsival was a scratch tonight, I'm not complaining.
- Once again, a solid night by the penalty kill. This time they killed off both of the Rangers chances.

>The Bad
- The long awaited healthy scratch of Kris Versteeg finally happened tonight. Hopefully he'll respond a little better than Bickell has to his benching.
- As good as the power play has been of late, tonight they were a bit off, as they were 0 for 2.
- The Hawks were dominated at the face off dot tonight 37 - 26. Notables who struggled were Vermette (24%) and Kruger (22%.)
- Kimmo Timonen played a team low 7:30 tonight. Its hard to pick on a guy coming back from blood clots, but this is a little troublesome. Come playoff time, the schedule will be more condensed, so he'll have to get in game shape real soon.

The Ugly
- As annoying as the "Lemont native" talk about Scott Darling is by Pat Foley and other Chicago media, tonight the NBCSN crew took the tall goalie talk to a new level. We get it, Darling is tall, and the tall goalie is the new wave of the future. I don't need this talk shoved down my throat. And I also thought Pierre McGuire calling Darling a "monster" is a bit too soon. He's a backup goalie Pierre. With talk like this, its no wonder you can't get a GM job in the NHL.
- That turnover by Brent Seabrook that lead to Nash's breakaway was vomit inducing.

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Blackhawks vs NY Rangers1-0 Overtime Loss Recap

Power Out-Rage
by Patrick Stankus

Sunday night featured a marquee, Original Six matchup on West Madison, as the New York Rangers made their only visit of the year to Chicago. Prior to the game, much of the talk in the Blackhawks world revolved around the expensive healthy scratch for the game, Bryan Bickell. To anyone who has paid attention this year, this should not surprise anyone. Of course however, that wasn't the only talk of the land. As is always the case, Coach Q made noise with his bat shit crazy line combinations. Oh boy, we're in for a real treat for this game.

As the puck dropped at the beginning of the game, we were still questioning the line of Carcill-Richards-Sharp, since the best way to get two struggling players out of a slump is to put them on a line with Gorilla Salad. How has Q won two Cups? Oh, I remember, it wasn't all about him. Throughout the first period, the Blackhawks allowed the Rangers way too much time and space and allowed 16 shot to New York. In addition to playing with fire by allowing all the opportunities to the Rangers, the Blackhawks also pissed away two power plays in the first. Some how after one, the game was scoreless.

In the second period the Blackhawks were a lot better defensively, holding the Rangers to just five shots. However all was not fine and dandy. The Blackhawks pissed away two more power play opportunities, both of which were frankly awful. I'd add more, but lets be honest that second period was flat out boring.

The third period belonged to the man in the crease for the Blackhawks. Corey Crawford made a few key saves in a sequence of chances for the Rangers just past the midway point of the third period. Meanwhile at the other end, Cam Talbot was just as good for the Rangers, denying a great opportunity by Patrick Sharp. The Blackhawks tried to hand the game to the Rangers by taking a late too many men on the ice penalty, but luckily they were able to kill it off. After a scoreless 60 minutes, we'd head to overtime.

As for the overtime, it didn't last long. Toews had an opportunity to open the extra frame, but was denied by Talbot. Following that play, the Rangers were able to get the puck out, and Derick Brassard found some open ice, and blew a slapper past Crawford to give the Rangers the 1-0 overtime win.

Next up for the Blackhawks is a quick two game road trip out west, where they will help the attendance in Glendale, AZ as they take on the soon to be former Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.

The Good

- Any NBC or NBCSN televised game without Thrillbury and McGuire is a huge plus!
- Despite the overtime loss, Corey Crawford was fantastic in net. You can argue that if it weren't for him, the Blackhawks had no business getting a point. And stop if you want to nitpick the Brassard goal.
- As bad as the power play has been, the penalty kill has been excellent. Once again they put in a huge effort with a late kill in the third period.
- Overall this was probably Teravainen's best game, but knowing Q, he'll scratch him next game for being on the ice for the overtime goal.

The Bad

- Wasn't it painful to hear Kenny Albert and Eddie O try and make this game sound exciting? Sure at some points there was some excitement, but overall, this one was a snoozer.
- The game winning goal was a result of a missed assignment by Toews. Toews never looked behind to pick up the trailing forward, thus leaving Brassard wide open.
- So apparently down the stretch we're going to have to deal with a rotating 7 minute a game grinder between Gorilla Salad and Desjardins. Tonight it was Gorilla Salad's turn to barely break a sweat.

The Ugly

-While I've been an advocate of him being in the press box, it still doesn't make it okay that, Bryan Bickell and his $4 million dollar cap hit were a healthy scratch tonight.
- Sharp hasn't scored in 18 games, and Richards in 22 games, so lets stick them with Gorilla Salad. What the hell is Q thinking??!
- The power play. That is all. We've already pointed out the problems. But if you were wondering, it was 0-4 tonight.

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PreSeason : Blackhawks at New York Rangers3-2 Shootout Loss

"Dead Eyes"


The Blackhawks closed out their preseason with a 3-2 shootout loss Friday night. After today's shenanigans, I'm getting right to the highlights:

The Good

• I like what I see with Turbo Teravainen on the first powerplay unit with Shaw, Kane, Sharp and Seabrook. The kid has some great instinct and is very confident and comfortable.
• Without their two top centers (Toews,Richards), the Hawks still looked pretty good. Shaw was the #1 pivot and Teravainen played second pivot. Kruger played on the third line and Regin centered the checking line.
• Trevor van Riemsdyk looks like a nice catch. He moves pretty well and makes some nice safe plays. He made his mistakes too, but there is some promise.
• With 5 minutes remaining in the second period, Pat Kane used Andrew Shaw as a screen and blew a shot past King Henrik, to tie up the game on the powerplay. That is exactly what one of the premier snipers in the league SHOULD do, given that kind of space and time.
• Two minutes after the Kane PP goal, Kane set up Andrew Shaw for a gorgeous backdoor goal. That line of Kane-Shaw-Saad was clowning the Rangers for a solid minute and a half and Kane almost had his second of the night, and just kept pressing. If Richards doesn't work every night, then sliding Shaw in will be a nice option. Shaw is not an every day second line center, but he can certainly hold his own from time to time.
• I hate to say this, but Kevin Hayes looks like me might be a nice player. Shame the Blackhawks couldn't hang on to him.

The Bad

• It didn't take Gorilla Salad long to drop the gloves. the game wasn't even 5 minutes old and he was scrapping with Tanner Glass. After taking hi lumps he ended up going to the locker room. How ironic.
• Martin St. Louis scored to give the Rangers a lead, with 5 minutes gone in the second period. Not really much Crawford could do, as St. Louis tipped it over Crawford from about 5 feet away. Van Riemsdyk was taught a lesson in NHL defense from the wily little shit veteran.
• Ryan Malone ended up taking advantage of the Blackhawks 4th line to tie the game at 2, with just over 4 minutes left in the third period. Gorilla Salad was right in the thick of the action, showing his glaring uselessness.

The Ugly

• Call me critical, but I still have no use for Kris Versteeg. He floats. He's not aggressive. He makes stupid plays, like taking an icing when was three feet from the red line. How he gets away with this crap, with Quenneville as his coach is beyond my comprehension.
• The Hawks were generally pretty terrible at the faceoff dots. Derrick Brassard pretty much dominated the Hawks by himself, winning 8 of 9 faceoffs.

The Shootout

• Kane hit the crossbar.
• Zuccarello juked Crawford out of his jock.
• Sharp stopped by Lundqvist
• Duclair stopped by Crawford.
• Teravainen beat the King on a nice backhand.
• St. Louis hit Crawford in the glove.
• Morin couldn't beat Henrik
• Nash missed the net.
• Ben Smith was beaten by Lundqvist's pad
• Hayes mishandled the puck
• Shaw couldn't elevate over the right pad
• JT Miller was stopped by Crawford's pad
• Versteeg barely got a shot off
• McDonough missed the net.
• Saad poked checked by Lundqvist
• Stempniak stopped by Crawford.
• Bickell stopped on a wrist shot.
• Malone beat Crawford low for the win.

Behold the Highlights:

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Blackhawks Week That Was - 2/28

2/27 - Blackhawks at New York
2-1 Loss

• The First Rangers goal was total clusterfuck by the one player you'd least expect a lazy turnover from. El Capitan. Toews had plenty of time and room to clear the zone, and coasted at the top of the circle with the puck on his stick long enough to have his pocket picked from behind. From that point it was full on panic, with Crawford making the first save. The rebound ended up going right to Derick Brassard, who pumped it by Crawford, who had gotten slightly out of position with the initial stop. This one was all on Toews.
  
• So soon we forget the pointless blind backhand Kris Versteeg passes to no one; but let's all wet ourselves because of his stupid rap 4 years ago. I hate people.
  
• The more I see Brandon Bollig on the powerplay, the more I contemplate dousing puppies with gasoline and lighting them aflame. I get the fact that he is playing admirably, but one the powerplay? Come on now. Quenneville is just jerking our chains now.
  
• The Rick Nash goal was just as big of a cluster as the first goal. The Hawks actually made a nice play to keep Nash to the outside, after turning the puck over at center ice, but then let Nash pick up the puck again. He skated right between all 5 players and snap off a shot that beat Crawford. How does one player get a shot off like this, in the middle of FIVE players?
  
• This is only a sample size, but Peter Regin and Ben Smith look like they might have a little chemistry. The Regin goal, to break the shutout with 11.6 left, was a nice give and go play.
  
• Cam Talbot had himself a nice little game. Thirty one save and the last goal was really not his fault.
  
• The Rangers blocked 17 shots to the Hawks 5, while the Hawks out shot the Rangers 32/24. Shots definitely weren't the problem.
  
• The Hawks were good at the dots, with Regin and Toews taking a lot of the load. Those two, alone, won 20 of 31 faceoffs.
  

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Blackhawks Week That was 1/10

1/5/14 - Blackhawks vs Sharks
3-2 Shootout Loss

• The first Sharks goal was a nice pinch by Demers, but bad coverage by Leddy/Shaw/Roszival. Before Crawford could turn his head, he had Demers blasting a one time in the slot at him. The second Sharks goal was a breakdown after some initially decent coverage. The puck squeeked out to Burns who was on the back door all alone.
  
• It looks like the Blackhawks are in the business of making goalie look like all-stars, lately. Alex Stalock is no world class goalie, but he sure looked good against the Blackhawks.
  
• The Hawks were slightly under 50% at the dots thanks to Kruger's 35% and Shaw's 33%. The Hawks will never be over 50% every game, but if they are close on those off nights, I'll take it.
  
• 5 Blocked shots and a goal for Hjalmarsson. He was overlooked as a star of the game.
  
• Nine shifts to the tune of 5:20 for Bickell, including ZERO third period shifts. Either he's still more hurt than they are leading on, or he's firmly in the doghouse. If he's hurt, sit him and give a kid a chance. Not like he was lighting the league on fire anyway.
  
• This was not Crawford's best shootout, by any means. The Sharks were 2-2, and the Hawks 0-2. That pretty much says it. That being said, he faced 42 shots in the game and looks great. Holy hell I hate everything about shootouts.
  

Here are the video highlights: 1/8/14 - Blackhawks vs Rangers
3-2 Loss

• The Blackhawks only really played half a game, and still had a chance to win. The first period and the first half of the third were TERRIBLE. Imagine what they could have done if they played the entire game like they cared.
  
• Crawford's play mirrored the rest of the team. the two goal he gave up early in the first were pretty soft. The first goal, he never got set and was caught in an uncomfortable position. This is evident by the way he dropped two one knee. When a goalie does that, you know he wasn't prepared. On the second goal Rangers goal, Crawford was beaten back to the far post on a wrap around. As far as the third goal goes, its really the only one that you can give him. The puck dipped and deflected off Shaw. Crawford made the initial save, but Leddy, Roszival and Shaw all let Hagelin stand in front of Crawford all alone. That one was on the defense. I suppose when you're facing one of the most revered goalies in the world, any mistake is going to looks glaring.
  
• Bollig was both the goat and the prince against the Rangers. Early on he tried to start a kerfuffle with Gorilla Salad and ended up in the box. Of course the ensuing powerplay ended up being the Rangers first goal. WHY are you jawing at Gorilla Salad? It's pointless. Anyhow, Bollig later made up for his idiocy with the Hawks second goal, which was a nice snipe from the circle.
  
• The Hawks were looking good once again sat the dots. None of the Hawks centers were under 50%.
  
• Bollig goal aside, Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding. He made 35 or 37 stops, and several flurries when the Hawks actually showed a desire to play.
  
• I have no idea why Quenneville is riding Roszival this hard, but he was out there way too often. I know it's petty when you're scrutinizing the 6th defensemen, but if Quenneville is going to put him out there this much, he needs to be better. He has been dragging the third pair down for a few games now.
  

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Blackhawks vs. NY Rangers - Win Recap

"Johnny O-Did-It""



Fourteen games and counting, gentlemen. The last time that the Hawks saw the Rangers, Coach John Tortorella threw Quenneville a solid. He started backup Marty Biron on the heels of a 10 game Blackhawks losing streak. The Hawks came out "guns a blazin" and ended their streak on the home ice of, what was at the time, the best team in the NHL. Still one of the top few teams, and plus one 6'8" face tenderizing yeti, named John Scott, the Rangers were on Chicago ice looking for revenge. Not only that, but the Rangers are on a little cold streak of their own. They have gone 2-2-1 in their last 5, and 5-3-2 on their last 10. Quenneville isn't throwing the Rangers the same courtesy as starter for the duration of the warmups, Ray Emery, has been handed the, temporary as it may be, keys to the Blackhawks machine. After beating a shorthanded Wings team, and getting dicks handed to them in St. Louis, fans were curious to see if there is still gas in the tank.

The Hawks played a fairly solid period, by Blackhawks standards. They were only out shot 8-7 overall, but the Rangers were able to get a last minute goal on a bad Hawks turnover. This is not a team you want to yield a lead to. The Hawks came out in the second period and tied up the game on 9 shots, and held the Rangers scoreless on 8 shots. In the third period, the Hawks started by giving up the lead to the Rangers, but they didn't pack it up. They scored 3 of their own to end up winning 4-3. Huge win after coming off a disappointing loss in St. Louis two nights before.

The Good

• The Hawks powerplay looked great, which is promising. They held the Rangers to very few chances.
• The Blackhawks tied up the game late in the second period, with the help of the newest Hawk. Oduya got the puck at the blue line and put on a little juke to get the wing to bite, and open up the lane to the net. Andrew Shock&Shaw tipped the puck down and between King Hendrik's legs. Deuce needs to watch and learn from Oduya, on how to open up those lanes.
• Hoss, Sharpie, and Kaner hooked up for game tying goal in the third, on a beautiful forecheck and passing play that woke the crowd up. Kaner picked up a turnover at the Rangers dot, and hit Hoss, who one touched it to a wide open Sharpie, who hit the gaping net. And they weren't done yet...
• Johnny O-Did-It to put the Hawks up 3-2 on a nice cross ice feed from Kruger, just 1:02 after the Sharpie goal. It was a simple play that you would think Lundqvist had a good look and should have saved, but we'll take it!
• As boring as they usually are, Sharpie out hustled the Ranger defenders to the puck and fed Kaner in the crease, who kicked it to his stick and into the net. 4-2 Hawks.
• I know the Rangers had a tough loss in Ottawa the night before, but holding the top Eastern Conference team to 25 shots is pretty damn tasty. They aren't #1 for nothing.
• The Hawks were at 51% for faceoffs. Everyone but Bolland was over, or at, 50%.
• Hammer fits much better on the 3rd pairing where there is less pressure to be the warrior.

The Bad

• The Hawks had a ton of good chances early on, but they kept forcing that one extra pass. I counted at least 4 forced passes that ended up as turnovers, in the first half of the first period.
• Stalberg and Kane cost the Hawks in the last minute of the first period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Kane put a half assed effort in to get the puck out at the blue line, after Stalberg did the same thing. All Kane had to do was shield the puck with his body, and push it out of the zone, but he chose to reach for it, and his stick was lifted by Mitchell. Mitchell then fed Anisimov, who was late coming back and had lifted Stalberg's stick to start the turnover, and was behind Deuce and Seabrook. He had enough time to draw Emery down, and tuck it around him on a slick move. Kane has to want the puck more than that.
• You have to love the kid's heart, but Bollig is not going to be long for team if he keeps getting his ass handed to him. This time it was Mike Rupp who split Bollig's face open.
• Just when the Hawks were looking solid and in control, Brandon Prust picked up a McDonagh rebound and just beat Emery, to put the Rangers up 2-1. Not Marcus Kruger's best shift, as he failed to get the puck out earlier in the shift and was late picking up Prust for the goal.
• In all the confusion after the empty net goal, Keith couldn't control the puck deep in the Hawks zone and Richards was able to hack it at the net and past Emery to bring the score back within one goal, but that would be it for the Rangers.
• The Hawks were out hit 40-20, but that just shows you how irrelevant that stat can be in the outcome of the game.

The Ugly

• No uglies, other than John Scott acting like a fucking idiot gorilla.

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Blackhawks at NY Ranger - Win Recap

"So Long And Thanks For The Fish!"


How do you start off a preview of a game against the best team in the Eastern Conference that is towards the end of a 9 game road trip, which also includes a 9 game winless streak? Doom and gloom? We've seen plenty of that. Trade everyone? Lots of that, too. Fire the Coach and GM. Check! The streak has to come to an end some time, right? Why not against the best team they were going to face on this trip? No one will admit it, but I honestly thing John Tortorella threw Quenneville and crew a solid by playing Marty Biron in net. Biron in a good back up, but lets face it, he is no King Henrik. With 10 days left until the trade deadline, Hawks fans have enough to deal with as far as personnel goes. Lets put this to rest and start a more positive streak, Gentlemen.

Well, the Hawks came out of the blocks on absolute FIRE! Four goals on 10 shots, and the Rangers were left to scratch their heads during the first intermission. Of course this kind of pace can't be kept up the whole game against a team like the Rangers, but that is a hell of a head start. The second period was much more even, as the Rangers finally put a goal on the board. The Hawks still out shot the Rangers but only 9-7. The first place Rangers finally showed up in the third period, but it was too little too late. That Hawks held off a 12-3 Rangers shot advantage, and only yielded one late goal. Nice road game for the Hawks, and thank god that god forsaken losing streak is over. So long and thanks for the fish, Torts!

The Good

• Nice of you to pay attention to the refs, Foley. Yes, it's a penalty shot that the play-by-play guy was the last to notice. Just over a minute into the game, and El Capitan was rucking in on a penalty shot because the Rangers Dan Girardi covered the puck in the crease behind Biron. El Capitan did what he does, in that situation, scoring 5-hole on Biron. 1-0 Hawks.
• A minute after the penalty shot goal, the Hawks used a delayed penalty to go up 2-0. Nick Leddy used Big Slow for something useful; as a screen, and blasted a shot past Biron. Just 2 minutes into the game and the Hawks are up 2-0.
• Just two minutes after the Leddy goal, El Capitan found Shooter behind the Rangers defense, and hit him, in stride, for a break-a-way. Shooter wasted no time sizing up Biron, and powered a 5-hole shot through.
• After killing off the stupid Shaw/Scott penalties, Kaner played a little deja vu and found Boss 81 right up the gut, behind the Rangers defense, hitting HIM for a break-a-way. Hoss followed Shooter's example, just picking a spot and nailing Biron's 5-hole. 4-0 Hawks not even 10 minutes into the game.
• The Hawks were on the good end of some luck when the puck got lodged under Crawford's left skate ON THE GOAL LINE. The refs used the "intent to blow" rule, which never gets old.
• I don't want to take anything away from a Hawks penalty kill, that did a great job, but the horrible Rangers powerplay helped their cause.

The Bad

• Three minutes into the second period, Marc Staal was left to rattle off a few shots from the point by the fourth line wingers, and finally put the second one right through the wickets of Crawford. Scott and Shaw couldn't figure out which guy was which, and Staal was the odd man out. Can we please put that fourth line out of its misery? Morrison, Frolik, ANYONE! Edzo can blame Shaw all he wants, but Big Slow was roaming around he zone aimlessly, like a big gorilla.
• Ryan McDonagh bulled right through Bolland, Olsen and Shaw setting up Carl Hagelin for the second Rangers goal of the game, late in the third period. Luckily, that was it for the Ranger offense on the night. Holding this team to only two goals at home is acceptable.
• With all that went well, Toews and Kruger were even or better at the dot, but Mayers and Bolland were mushroom stamped all night, going a combined 35%.
• Mike Rupp has some mitts of stone, holy christ. That guy could have singlehandedly tied the game up for the Rangers but just shanked and missed every puck near his stick. He was better off carrying a club around.
• Again, someone tell me what is SO fucking bad about Sami Lepisto? He's a #6 defenseman, and has more skill than Big Slow, which doesn't take much. Why did he sit for 15 straight games again?

The Ugly

• Well, as with this streak, all good things have to come to an end. The braintrust combination of Andrew Shaw, and John Scott temporarily took the wind out of the Hawks sails with a couple of really stupid fucking penalties in the first period. Shaw took a lazy offensive zone holding penalty, and then Big Slow decided that finishing the play by throwing an elbow into the throat of John Mitchell, about 2 seconds after the whistle, was a swell idea. Those guys acquire some Carcillo-itis or what?? C'mon guys, really? Thank Lord Stanley that Scott only saw the ice for 56 seconds the entire rest of the game, and none at all in the third period. Shaw was out there for both Rangers goals, and only saw 5 minutes of ice time all night. #Shawfacts: Andrew Shaw doesn't hit the wall, the wall hits him like a puck to the forehead.
• Sweet Jesus, I thought the Hawks powerplay was bad, but the Rangers powerplay was just as bad, if not worse. How does a team get a record like they have with a powerplay THAT bad? Not to be outdone, The Hawks 5-on-3 looked like the Bozo fucking Circus. Actually, the word I'm looking for is repugnant. I can't remember ever seeing two teams with such collectively ineffective powerplays.
• I have to finally agree with Edzo on something, regarding the Stalberg goalie interference call. There is no way that he can stop without making contact with the goaltender, especially when Del Zotto is pushing him in that direction. That rule HAS to change. One of the dumbest interpretations of a rule I've ever seen.
• I don't think of the Rangers as a particularly dirty team, but what the hell is up with Brandon Dubinsky? Take a stupid penalty at one end and then take a cheap shot on a defenseless player on the delayed penalty. Dumb Asshole!

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Sleep Walker, New York Rangers

Not exactly a memorable game, or a game that we'd WANT to remember, which is becoming a tragic theme. Brian Campbell was in the lineup for his first game of the season, and the Defense looked considerably better, by only allowing 23 shots, but the bad news is that 3 went in. Get well soon, Hoss.

The Good
Well, the powerplay goal once again came through on a goal by TomoKop, in the first, but again they had crucial powerplay chances that they had to come through on, and didn't. They had plenty of chances, but they are having major issues finishing.

Marty Turco played a decent game, but they only faced 23 total shots, while they unleashed 35 against Lundqvist.

Pick-to-Click Vik had great chance all alone in the slot, and Lundqvist made a better stop.

Hey, at least one of the NHL's Top 5 asshelmets, Sean Avery, didn't score, which would have made things oh so much more painful.

The Bad
Brouwer had another "blah" game, and wasted a prime chance by waiting too long, which resulted in him not even getting a shot on net. It looked like he was a two seconds behind on everything he did.

Kopecky and Seabrook completely fell asleep on the second Ranger goal right in front of Turco, and left Dubinsky wide open, while they stood there with their junk in their hands.

Again, the critical powerplay in the third that not only did they not score on, but took a penalty against. It feels like they score on powerplays that are the least important and when they really count, they are like a high school kid on his first date. Rushing the whole process and generally just being clumsy. King Henrik was stellar on the final powerplay, in the third, but they had plenty of chances before that, and it should have been tied up long before then.

Paint it any way you'd like, but I will never understand wasting time in John Scott playing wing. He's BRUTAL! As much as I think Bickell is over rated, I'd much rather see him out there than Scott. Bickell can organize his thoughts enough to pick up a rebound and put it in the general direction of the net. Even if his only two redeeming qualities are that he is big and can shoot, that's one more than Scott. In theory, Scott was a great idea with his size and fighting "ability", but when you see him play, you realize that he's not talented, and I still haven't seen him show he can punch his way out of a paper bag. Take for instance, Brian Boyle of the Rangers. He's 6'7" and weighs 240 lbs, which is roughly the same size as John Frankenscott. Boyle is by FAR a more talented player. Faster, can move his feet, can handle the puck, AND use his size. It's like night and day. I'm not even comparing Scott to Chara, which is just not even fair. Hell, put Boynton in and dress Hendry at forward, I don't care.

Lastly, Throwing Ben Smith in there with Dowell and Scott might be the the biggest epic facepalm of all. It's like baby bear, momma bear and daddy bear with their fucking porridge. All we need is a little blonde with pigtails, and I'm sure the Ice Crew can arrange that. I get the Potulny promotion, but Ben Smith just leaves me bewildered at this point. They don't need smaller people in the lineup, and there is no way in hell he's 5'11".

The Ugly
The Hawks second goal by Kane was just an awful goal for Lundqvist to give up. It was a terrible angle, and just a hope and a prayer thrown at the net. Kane was clearly looking for a rebound. Lucky break for the Hawks, but ugly nonetheless.

Of course the ugliest of the ugly was the Rangers third goal by Christensen. Sharpie couldn't get a piece of the puck as it snuck over his stick and Campbell played Maverick with a "fly by". The result is an emerging sniper one on one with your Goalie. You can blame Turco all you'd like, but that is what an NHL sniper should do when given that time. Blame the defensive breakdown for putting Turco in that spot. It was a nicely placed shot, and game over

This just in, the Rangers just blocked another 3 shot attempts.

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