Blackhawks at Flyers3-1 Loss Recap

"Field Of Pain Is Where I Graze"

 
by Patrick Stankus
Tweet to #Fatrick

The Blackhawks made a quick trip to Philadelphia on Saturday for a matinee against the Flyrers, thanks to the stupidity of the NHL schedule makers. The trip was made worse for the Hawks as the news came out that Corey Crawford would be unavailable for the game, and then it snowballed that he was undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Lovely news isn't it? Upon hearing that, the Hawks scrambled to sign an emergency backup goalie to Scott Darling. In comes local kid Eric Semborski, who got to live every amateur goalie's dream by suiting up, taking warm ups, and sitting on the bench for an NHL game. Enjoy the moment kid.

The start for the Hawks was less than ideal as the Flyers had a quality chance, just twenty seconds in. Nice way for the defense to welcome Scott Darling to the game isn't it? They did somehow manage to get on the scoreboard first, thanks to an #AK72Line goal by Artemi Panarin. From then on for the Hawks, it was as ugly and messy as me devouring a plate full of McRibs. The Hawks yielded a whopping 16 shots to the Flyers, but thankfully Scott Darling was the one player who gave a rat's ass, and the Hawks skated to the locker room with a 1-0 lead after twenty minutes.

The middle frame for the Blackhawks was a complete disaster. The turnovers led to so many chances for the Flyers, you would think Jay Cutler or Tony Romo suited up for the Hawks today. Both Hinostroza and Kane had costly turnovers that wound up in the back the Hawks net thirty-one seconds apart to put the Hawks in a 2-1 hole. The period didn't get much better as TVR over committed on a three on two chance for the Flyers, and before you knew it, it was 3-1 Flyers. The Hawks peppered Steve Mason with 13 shots, but none of them amounted to anything, and the Hawks trailed by two, after two.

In the final twenty minutes, both teams looked less than interested playing. It was the textbook "mail it in" period. The Hawks took two penalties, but managed to kill off both of the Flyers power plays. Gotta do anything to raise that PK%. Midway through the period, the Hawks did have a power play of their own, but nothing came of it, and the Hawks still trailed by two. It was a pretty uneventful period to say the least. I'm pretty sure the camera showed us more of Eric Semborksi on the bench than actual play. Thankfully the third period didn't take too long, and we could get on with our Saturday afternoon. In the end the Flyers defeated the Hawks by that 3-1 score. Up next for the Hawks is a quick turnaround, as they host Wiiiiiinnnnnnipeg tomorrow night at The UC.


The Good

• Despite the ugly loss, its hard not to smile at seeing the pure joy in Eric Semborski's face. Hell, even Q thought it was a great moment, judging by his post game remarks. That's three and a half hours that kid will never forget in his life. Not to mention he has a sweet custom made authentic jersey to go with it. Oh, and I should point out he did a much better job manning the bench door than that asshole assistant coach Gate ever did when I played.
• The #AK72Line made an appearance in the first period, with Artemi Panarin's goal. Yeah, its going to be fun to see how Bowman can pull off this signing. Tick, tick, tick, tick.....
• I'm not going to blame Darling for anything today. You try pulling off what he did today.
• The penalty kill does deserve a nod for killing off all three of the Flyers power plays.
• While the Hawks haven't won a regular season game in Philadelphia since 1996, remember back in the day they didn't play in Philadelphia every season. Its cool though Philly. You can have that streak. I'll always enjoy this moment, when it mattered most in Philadelphia.
  
  
  
  

The Bad

• Anytime Nick Schmaltz wants to do something, would be fine by me. This is why we don't get the anointing oil out for prospects, because aside from a few shifts with Kane and Toews, Schmaltz has been awful.
• Wasn't it nice to see Patrick Kane turn the puck over at the center line and then half ass it back on defense? I can only imagine the outcry if Rozsival or the other scapegoat TVR did that.
• Speaking of nice, its always nice to see a guy who has one goal on the season, score two against you.
• Late in the second period, #DickPanik had a potential goal erased after a video review. The call on the ice was no goal, but the war room in Toronto buzzed down, and the play went under review. While looking at the "overhead" angle, it looked like Provorov gloved the puck from behind the goal line. The problem with that is, the camera IS NOT directly over the goal line, therefore an optical illusion of the puck being completely over the line occurs. That makes this camera angle inconclusive, and the war room doesn't take this look into consideration. Oh and did mention Toronto is looking at ten more angles than us? I have no issue with the call being no goal. Its not 100% conclusive the puck COMPLETELY crossed the line. And if you think there should have been a penalty shot for Provorov gloving the puck (because I saw people saying that on twitter), its not. You have to close your hand on the puck, Provorov swiped at it. For the record, this isn't college football, we don't review plays for potential penalties in professional leagues.
• I know what Quenneville was trying to do by putting Panarin and Kane out there on the final penalty kill, but that was just dumb. It was quite obvious the Hawks were ready to board the plane back to Chicago, and leave their starting goalie in a Philadelphia hospital.

The Ugly

• I hate the 11:30am Sunday morning starts like there's no tomorrow, but this noon start on a Saturday is not much better. Afternoon hockey sucks. Period. I'd rather have those 9:30pm starts.
• This morning news broke that Corey Crawford had to have an emergency appendectomy, so Scott Darling was thrown in net. 1pm local time start + being thrown into a start, normally means the game will be an adventure.
• The Flyers gold numbered jerseys are atrocious. Its a shame they couldn't get a little more creative like the Kings did with their fabulous silver 50th anniversary jersey.
• Just when you think the duo of Lauren Magiera and Steve Konroyd can't get any worse, they somehow find a way to do. I'm pretty confident Magiera had never watched a Blackhawks game before this season, and its showing badly. All the more reason the Hawks need to do whatever it takes to bring back Jim Blaney.
• The first period. The second period. The third period. No need to elaborate.
• I'm not as harsh on TVR like others are, but today he was to say it politely, wasn't good.

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Blackhawks vs Flyers7-4 Win Recap

"Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

With the weekend #PanikAttack over, it was time to come back down to earth, Tuesday night. The Blackhawks welcomed the Flyers from that always fair and rational city of Philly. Coming into this contest, the Blackhawks were a very mediocre 1-2-0 thanks to some growing pains. The problem is that the kids weren't the ones really struggling for this team, it was the veterans. Richard Panik lead the team and was tied for the NHL lead with 4 goals, as well as 5th in the lead in points with 5, coming into the game. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, and Artemi Panarin had a combined zero goals and 6 points. This is a problem. We all figured that the big names would be the ones coming off the World Cup of Hockey hitting the ground running at full speed and carrying the team, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Alas, this is only 3 games, but some of these big names need to start doing a little more scoring and less fighting ballbag opponents. Is that too much to ask? They have a midget wearing number 22 that can eat fists and sit out for 5 minutes at a crack, or for the entire game for all I care. Knock off the bullshit shenanigans, El Capitan.

Speaking of shenanigans, there were many empty seats in the United Center due to some fucking baseball game that wasn't a clinching or World Series game. Whatever.


Good thing for those that actually showed up in person for this game, the Blackhawks took a quick 1-0 lead and seemed like they were not going to look back. When the clock reached zeros, heading into the first intermission, the Blackhawks were sitting pretty with a comfortable 3-0 lead. The shots on net were actually fairly close, even though the Blackhawks had a slight 11-8 advantage. Powerplays were also even, with each team getting awarded one. The Hawks 3rd goal was on their lone powerplay.

The second period wasn't quite as eventful, but the one event which was most interesting to Blackhawks fans was Marian Hossa's 500th goal. Hossa was the 7th player to get his 500th as a Blackhawk, hence the title. While Cubs fans were whining and pouting about the Dodgers thoroughly kicking their ass, a beloved Blackhawks player was collecting a career milestone. The Blackhawks still held the shot advantage at 22-18, out shooting the Flyers 11-10 in the second. The only bad part of the period was the Philly powerplay goal. The penalty kill took yet another hit.

The Blackhawks third period could best be described as nauseous. The Hawks blew their lead by giving up 3 goals in roughly three minutes, and it looked like the Cubbie faithful were going to be the only red assed fans in Chicago this night. It kind of felt like the Hawks were going to completely choke when all of a sudden they opened that fresh wound right back up, and performed open heart surgery on the Flyers. Three Blackhawks goals in the final ten minutes were more than enough to come away with a big 7-4 win. Just ask Artem Anisimov what he thought of the win and the young rookie defensemen on the team, would you Jammer?:


The Good

• Fifty six seconds into the game a really nice, and patient, Artem Anisimov rush up the ice turned into a Patrick Kane goal. Anisimov pulled a Maverick on a defender and the defender flew right by. He sized up Michal Neuvirth, but the Flyer goaler made the save with the puck squirting right by the left post. Patrick Kane picked up the loose puck and his wrap around attempt went off Neuvirth's skate and into the net.
• With two and a half minutes left in the first period, Flyers rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov picked up a puck at his own blue line and blew a Michelin, ending up on his can. The Moose on the Loose, Dennis Rasmussen, picked up the puck with a clean path to the net. Rasmussen made a nice backhand move and then went 5-hole on Neuvirth to give the Blackhawks a 2-0 lead.
• Just thirty three seconds after the Rasmussen goal, Shayne Gostisbehere took a penalty for closing his hand on the puck, and the Blackhawks took advantage. The Hawks wasted little time, specifically thirteen seconds, scoring on the resulting powerplay. Brent Seabrook located Artemi Panarin completely across the ice with his stick cocked and hit him for a one timer past Neuvirth, and a Blackhawks 3-0 lead.
• Five minutes into the second period Marian Hossa cut up the right side of the ice, on the powerplay, and beat Michal Neuvirth for his 500th career goal. I have no idea what the hell Neuvirth was doing on the play, but he gave Hossa far too much net from that angle. Either way, Hossa got the 500th monkey off his back. I'm so glad it wasn't some shitty open net goal, like they tried to do the other night. Great moment for a great guy.
  

  pic.twitter.com/eBGaAbfDkX

  — Stephanie (@myregularface) October 19, 2016

  
  

  pic.twitter.com/7yWFPICFTf

  — Stephanie (@myregularface) October 19, 2016

  
  
• After blowing their 4-0 lead, the Blackhawks grabbed the lead back courtesy of the #AK72 line. Claude Giroux gave the puck up in the neutral zone, and the play turned into a Kane-to-Panarin-to-Anisimov goal just seconds later.
• With just under four minutes remaining in the game, the Flyers Provorov made another rookie mistake turning the puck over to Patrick Kane. Kane led a 2-on-1 with Artemi Panarin, and Steve Mason never stood chance. Kane floated a pass into Panarin's wheelhouse, and Panarin made absolutely no mistaken with another one timer.
• I have to admit that I really like Michal Neuvirth. He has never really had a chance with a quality defense in front of him, and has carried the Flyers to wins, more than a few times. While Mason is also part of the "Wrong Handed Goalie Club", I have never been a huge fan. Of course this would be the game that Neuvirth gets pulled.

The Bad

• A late second period Patrick Kane penalty, ended up turning into a Matt Read powerplay goal. Jake Voracek actually messed up and missed the net but the puck caromed behind the net and came out on the other side. Matt Read had gaping net, and did not miss.

The Ugly

• Provorov eating shit and handing Rasmussen a goal was pretty comical. Welcome to the show, kid.
• Thirty seven seconds into the third period, and Matt Read cut the Blackhawks lead to 2 goals. Read planted his ass on the back side as Claude Giroux looked to go behind the net. Giroux dumped the puck to Read, who was able to put it over Crawford, but the Blackhawks were still up 4-2 right? No problem, right?
• A minute and seventeen seconds after the second Read goal, Sean Couturier made a nice move on Crawford and cut the Blackhawks lead to just one goal. Queue a timeout by Dr. Lineblender.
  
• That timeout did little to stop the Flyers momentum, after a Michal Kempny high sticking penalty just about two minutes after the Couturier goal. Wayne Simmonds was the game tying goal scorer, and we back to even. Brutal series of goals against for the Blackhawks.
• After Hossa scored his 500th goal, he was hurt blocking a shot and wasn't able to finish the game.
• The Blackhawks penalty kill was, and continues to be, a flaming bag of dog shit.
  

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The #AK72 line had a helluva night, potting 4 of the 7 goals. Not only that, but their overall CORSI percentages all between 60% and 69%.
• Jonathan Toews, #DickFuckingPanik and Tyler Motte, well, not so much. They were the worst on the team, all in the low 40s.
• Oddly enough, Marian Hossa was the team worst CORSI at 23%

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

Hjalmarsson - Keith
Kempny - Seabrook
Forsling - Campbell

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Blackhawks vs Flyers3-2 Loss Guest Recap

"SHAYNE! COME BACK SHAYNE!"

by guest recapper @ChiSox_History


Our men of the Indian Head dress came into Wednesday night’s contest against the Philadelphia Flyers losing their last three. An unofficial poll of a small number(1) of Blackhawks fans (me), was excited about the Chicago debut of Flyers rookie sensation, and rising Calder candidate Shayne Gostisbehere. The Union college alum and NCAA champion has been the talk of the NHL since his arrival in Philly.

After a long afternoon of looking for the Flyers hotel, your writer decided to head over to the United Center and cheer on the Ghost Bear, er I mean Black Hawks. The United Center was abuzz with the looming Calder Trophy showdown between Gostisbehre and our very own Breadman, Artemi Panarin.

Despite several (unsuccessful) attempts to enter the Flyers dressing room prior to puck drop, I decided to take my seat and enjoy the game. Early in the game, Jonathan Toews hooked the Ghost Bear and put the Hawks on the PK early in the game. As luck would have it, Hossa scored on a short handed goal after taking advantage of Gostisbehre’s broken stick and had a break away to put the Hawks up 1-0. Anisimov and Hjalmarsson tallied assists on the goal. Clearly a bittersweet moment for those of us (me), rooting for Ghost.

The lead was short lived, however, when Ryan White scored on the power play after the Breadman climbed on Brandon Manning’s back and got called for interference. Overall, the Hawks sloppy play in the First lead to 2 penalties and several missed scoring opportunities after taking a 1-0 lead. The Hawks went into the locker room tied at one, although they were not without their chances. Toews had a wide open net with Neuvirth diving across the net but hit the post.

The second saw the Flyers out shoot the Hawks 17-10. Both teams tallied a goal. The Captain scored at the 4:58 mark when he found the puck at the doorstep and roofed it over Neuvirth’s glove. Kane got the assist to put him at 90 points, and almost a sure lock for the Art Ross trophy. Again, the hawks could not extend the lead and let the Flyers sneak back into this one when Wayne Simmons took advantage of a hawks turnover in the Philly end, and eventually found Giroux for a rush into the Hawks zone where he fed a trailing Brayden Schenn who then beat our very own Lemont Native.
Sadly enough, this game ended as a result of a bad bounce. Caveman Radko Dudas took a shot from the right point which redirected after hitting defenseman Christian Ehrhoff’s stick and bouncing over Darling’s glove and giving the Flyers the eventual game winning goal.

The Flyers were able to survive a late period rush from hawks when they pulled Darling for the 6th attacker. After passing up several prime opportunities, Neuvirth fought offer a handful of shots to close the door and give the Flyers the victory. In the end, Gostisbehere finished with 20:25 minutes of ice team, 3 shots and a minus 1, for this broken stick fiasco in the 1st. With his rookie campaign almost over, great things are ahead for the speedy and lanky defenseman from Florida.

The Hawks dropped yet another game in March. According to the interwebs, these games don’t count so there’s nothing to worry about. The contrary view is that the Hawks 5v5 play this year has not been as good as years past, and the only thing keeping them alive is stellar goalie play and an above average powerplay. Without a massively outperforming defenseman, there is concern about an early playoff exit. This core is battle tested, close knit, and at times, well coached. It’s not over until its over, if you allow me to mix sports metaphors.

The Lineblender
Fleischmann - Toews - Kane
Panarin - Anisimov - Hossa
Ladd - Teravainen - Shaw
Mashinter - Desjardins - Weise

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Ehrhoff - Seabrook
van Riemsdyk - Rozsival

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Blackhawks at Philadelphia3-0 Shutout Loss Recap

"The One That Kills the Least"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks took the trip to Cheesesteakville, Wednesday night, for the first of back to back road games versus the Flyers and Capitals. The Flyers had a little hoopla of their own planned with the return of Kimmo Timonen. It was appropriate that they decided to have this celebration with the Hawks in town, since he won his only cup with them, last spring. The Hawks came in on a 2 game winning streak after sweeping a home-and-home with the Isles.

The first period was "clunky", at best. Lots of bouncing pucks and a few sloppy penalties, but no scoring. The Flyers had the best of the chances, and out shot the Blackhawks 8-6. That said, Corey Crawford looked really on point. This is great for the Blackhawks, if they the one place that they don't have to worry about consistency is in net.

The second period turned out to be one that Hawks players AND fans would want to forget. Several bad Blackhawks penalties helped contribute to a 15-9 Flyers shot advantage and a 2-0 Flyers lead. The Blackhawks we all love would be dangerous in the third period, down like that, but this isn't the same team.

The Blackhawks DID show more life in the third period, but the Flyers goalie played out of this world. A 15-6 shot advantage earned the Blackhawks nothing, in the end, but when you put yourself in a hole, you can't always assume that you will be able to crawl out of it. When the final horn sounded, the Blackhawks had not won a regular season game in Philadelphia in SEVENTEEN years, so it is not like this result should have surprised us one bit. Next up, Washington. Where maybe they can learn from a team with a REAL powerplay.

The Good

• Michael Neuvirth was outstanding. He shut the Blackhawks out, saving all 30 shots he faced. Credit where its due.
• Viktor Tikhonov's promotion to the top line was deserved and he finally showed some promise.
• Crawford deserved a better fate than he was given. He kept the Blackhawks in the game in the first period.
• El Capitan was 15 of 20 at the dots, which is insanely good, but Anisimov and Shaw evened that out, going 5 for 17. Overall, 54% looks good, but Jonny Toews skewed that number a smidgen.

The Bad

• About 5 minutes into the second period a careless Ryan Garbutt high stick turned into a Flyer powerplay. Noted Blackhawks killer Sam Gagner used a Sean Couturier and Viktor Svedberg screen to beat Corey Crawford on a pretty straight forward shot, high to the glove side. Not a great goal, but help your goalie a little, eh? Garbutt played one second period shift after that.
• The Flyers really took advantage of Viktor Svedberg's slow feet in the middle of the second period. The flyers ended up getting a break, but Seabrook and Crawford bailed him out. The back checking Hawks, mosre specifically Vik Tikhonov, ended up taking a penalty on the play.
• The Blackhawks just took way too many penalties early in the game. Five in the first two periods alone is way too much for this team to endure.
• The Q Lineblender was on display for two brand new Blackhawks, in Viktor Tikhonov and Ryan Garbutt. This was good news for Hossa and Toews but awful news for Teuvo Teravainen.

The Ugly

• I get the attempt to try a new camera angle on the powerplay, but the moon telescope cam isn't the answer. You have to zoom in some, so we can see the puck. The Flyers hit the post and the only reason anyone watching knew was that they heard it. This is VISUAL MEDIA, people. If I wanted to experience the game that way, I'd be listening on the radio and not a 65" HD TV. Sprinkle it in. It should be an added perk, not a forced evil.
• If this is a sign of thing to come it's going to be a long season, but not deserved. Every time Patrick Kane touched the puck he was booed. I can't even complain. Kane and the Hawks brought this on themselves.
• The Flyers made it 2-0 with about 3:30 remaining in the second period. The Hawks got caught in a sloppy change that resulted in Seabrook and Daley scrambling in their own zone. Claude Giroux found a fat rebound in the slot after Crawford was caught trying to stop a Raffl stuff in at the right post. Giroux doesn't miss many of those, and he didn't.
• With about 2:30 left in the third period, the Blackhawks got caught with the first line out for a very long shift. Tikhonov and Hossa couldn't get the puck past center ice when the forwards were in dire need of a change. The Flyers turned the play back the other way on a rush that was nearly offsides. Wayne Simmonds ripped a high shot that nearly hit Crawford in the yap, and the rebound fell right in Matt Read's lap. Crawford was still able to get a piece of the initial chance, but the puck somehow squirted through him. This goal was just the punctuation on a pretty bad night.
• Guys. 0-5 on the powerplay? With this group of players? I guess that since it has been this way forever we are just "OK" with it? That's not how this works. Shape this shit up. There is too much talent to NOT be like Washington on the PP. C'mon Laz.
  

  You want to kick and scream about the power play stinking, but it always stinks, and yet the #Blackhawks always contend anyway.

  — Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 15, 2015

  
  

  Sure, imagine what it would be like if they had a GOOD power play. But it's hard to get TOO worked up about it given the track record.

  — Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) October 15, 2015

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Svedberg - Seabrook
Daley - van Riemsdyk

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Blackhawks at Philadelphia4-1 Loss Recap

"Night of Long Knives"

by Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks and travelled to the city of big shoulders Wednesday night to face the disappointing Flyers, which turned out to be less than disappointing for the Hawks.

The Hawks came out in the first period and let the Flyers control a majority of the play getting out shot 13-10, and getting out scored 1-0. The Blackhawks had their chances
but could not tie up the game...before the video feed went out, and we were left guessing what was going on.

The Second period picked right up where the first left off. The Flyers took a 2 goal lead in the first 1/3rd of the period ,and then took a 3-0 lead later in the second. Some how, Some way, the Blackhawks were credited with 14 shots to the Flyers 9. I don't think anyone rooting for the team in white would have guessed that, based on the way the Blackhawks were being throttled.

The third period was SLIGHTLY better but, in the end, the Blackhawks still only tied 1-1 for the final 20 minutes. The Hawks mustered up some pressure and even broke the shutout early in the period, but late penalties killed them and the finally succumbed 4-1.

The Good

• Early in the third period, during a quick power play, Duncan Keith walked the blue line and got a rare shot through to the net and somewhere along the line Andrew Shaw redirected the shot and it beat Mason. Of all people.
• Classy move by the Flyers, honoring Kimmo Timonen.
• Believe it or not, Vermette and Kruger were pretty good at the dots, but the rest of the Hawks were not. All in all, they wont 54% of their draws.
• I'll put it under good, because there is no "meh" category. Crawford wasn't great, nor was he terrible. The Flyers goals were all decent plays, but he was not all star Crawford this game. If the Blackhawks are going to tempt that fate for the rest of the season, it's going to be ugly.

The Bad

• When I'm actually not sad to see the mess that is Gorilla Salad over Bryan Bickell, shit is getting serious. That said, Quenneville sat Teravainen for Desjardins. Stupid as hell. Let your opponent dictate your lineup, and they already have the advantage. The stupid line combinations got even more stupid in the second period. So much so that Carcillo/Vermette/Desjardins was actually a thing.
• The Flyers took a 1-0 lead about 7 minutes into the game. The Blackhawks were running around in their own zone and not on the same channel. First Crawford turned the puck over behind the net, then the ever reliable Marian Hossa also turned the puck over. Once the puck came back Duncan Keith was caught trying to help Michal Rozsival and let Wayne Simmonds sneak in on the back door. Read to Simmonds, to a wide open back door.
• About 8 minutes into the second period, Andrew Shaw lost a defensive zone faceoff and the puck ended up in the Blackhawks net. Discarded ex-Blues defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo took a long one timer that was deflected half way to the net by Ryan White, and past Crawford.
• With about 5 minutes to go in the game, Jonathan Toews took a hooking penalty and you can imagine where this is going. Michael Raffl worked a pretty nice 2-on-2, looking off Seabrook and snapping a shot past Crawford.
• The Blackhawks actually managed to out shoot the Flyers 35-33. Still far too many shots to be giving up, though.
• Nordstrom played a team low 7:32 but that has to do with an injury, that we sgould find more about later.

The Ugly

• The fucking NBCSN feed was still screen and radio audio for the last 5 minutes or so, of the first period. Thanks for that, assholes.
• Late in the second, Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux hooked up to take a 3-0 Flyers lead. Voracek looked off Keith and his eyes must have lit up, when he saw Claude Giroux bearing down on the Blackhawks very own pylon, Michal Rozsival. Voracek saucered a pass to Giroux, who redirected the puck over Crawford. Initiate infuriation.
• In the matter of 30 minutes, Andrew Shaw went from 1st line, to 4th line, to benched. Keep chomping on that acne faced pacifier, though, Q.
• I must have missed it, but I read that Gorilla Salad got in a fight. I was probably taking a dump at the time. I regret nothing, and probably accomplished more.
• When Brad Richards is credited with 5 hits, you know you have a flawed stat.

The Lineblender
Saad-Toews-Shaw
Sharp-Richards-Hossa
Versteeg-Richards-Carcillo
Nordstrom-Kruger-Desjardins

Keith-Rozsival
Timonen-Seabrook
Oduya-Hjalmarsson

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Blackhawks vs Flyers4-0 Shutout Win Recap

Antti, Antti, Antti

Philadelphia is known for the little guy who comes out of no where, and captures the emotion of a city. And after one game in net for the Blackhawks this season, Antti Raanta has won over the hearts of the meatball coalition. Raanta posted a 32 save shutout en route to the Blackhawks 4-0 win over the Flyers. It was a surprise start for Raanta as starter Corey Crawford was ruled out for the game late this morning with an upper body injury. Raanta to his credit was ready to play when called upon, something that cannot be understated for a backup goalie. It remains to be seen how long Crawford will be sidelined, but lets make one thing clear. Corey Crawford is the starter for the Chicago Blackhawks. As much as the meatballs would want to create a goalie controversy, there is none. Once Crawford is healthy, its his net. So in the meantime, lets allow Raanta to bask in his Rocky Balboa moment, because its going to be short lived.


With the offense sputtering of late, we all knew it was coming. It just took Dr. Line Blender an extra game to get fired up. Heading into tonight's game, the Blackhawks found themselves with different line combinations. For now it was a nice spark to jolt the offense, as the Blackhawks came out flying. Something that has been screamed about before is the lack of the net front presence other than Andrew Shaw. Tonight we finally saw what crashing the net can, as that was a direct result of Brandon Saad's opening goal. Another touchy subject amongst Blackhawks fans has been the Power Play and the play of Bryan Bickell. In the first period we got to see a sighting of both, as Patrick Kane tallied the 2nd goal of the night on the Power Play (courtesy of a bad Flyers penalty), and Bryan Bickell capped the 1st period scoring by adding his 1st goal of the season. All in all, we saw the Blackhawks offense explode for 3 goals in just over 2 minutes. Its that kind of outburst we've been waiting to see.


The second period featured the Flyers taking undisciplined penalties, but the Blackhawks were unable to add another Power Play goal. Raanta saw 10 shots in the period, and turned them all aside. Early in the third period Patrick Kane was able to beat Steve Mason again for his 2nd goal of the game, and 2nd Power Play goal of the night for the Blackhawks. All in all, this was the type of game we expect the Blackhawks to play against a subpar opponent. Next up for the Blackhawks is a trip to Nashville on Thursday night.


The Good

- I mentioned it earlier, but Antti Raanta was fantastic in net
- Patrick Kane scoring two goals on the night, both Power Play goals
- Trevor van Riemsdyk, he keeps getting more confidence, and more comfortable
- Net front presence from Saad and Bickell
- Dan Carcillo for drawing penalties, and actually having hockey sense and not retaliating

The Bad

- Kris Versteeg returned (I had to put something in the bad category)

The Ugly

- Zac Rinaldo and Michael Raffl for being certified dickbags. But as a Blackhawks fan, I'm not complaining the dumb penalties they took.

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Blackhawks Week That Was - 12/13

11/16 - Blackhawks vs Panthers - 6-2 Win

• The big news was losing Corey Crawford with an apparent groin injury. Antti Raanta came in and filled in great, with 29 saves.
  
• Three of the Hawks goals ere on the powerplay, which propelled them to a top 5 position. I'll take that. The firt one was 1:10 into the game and they never looked back.
  
• Shooter (1G, 2A) and Kaner (3A) each had 3 points. Money players, earning that cabbage.
  
• Former Hawk Dylan Olsen bit his former team in the ass, with a goal to break the shutout, in the second period. The other most recent former Blackhawk, Jimmy Hayes, led the Panthers with 4 hits.
  
• The Hawks were over 50% at the dots. Good stuff.
  

Here are the video highlights: 11/17 - Blackhawks at Dallas - 6-2 Win

• Like their previous game, the Hawks came out Paul Walker style. Fast and Furious (too soon?). Thor, Michael Kostka, scored in his first shift back from injury.
  
• Sharp and Saad each had two goals; IN THE SECOND PERIOD.
  
• J-Mo had a hell of a third period, earning himself 16 minutes in penalties.
  
• How the Hawks let noted dick cheese, Antoine Roussel, get two goals is beyond me. Fuck that guy, seriously.
  
• After 4 goals, the Hawks chased Kari Lehtonen from the game. Dan Ellis didn't fare much better.
  
• Deuce and Carter Seven were each plus 3. That's what you want from your top pair.
  

Here are the video highlights: 11/19 - Blackhawks vs Flyers - 7-2 win

• The Flyers are just a bunch of dumb asses several times they took cheep shots behind the play. I hope they rot in futility like St. Louis. The Hawks gave up a 1-0 first period deficit and opened up the flood gates in the second, with 5 goals.
  
• Even though the Hawks won by such a large margin, they still managed to give up two powerplay goals. Second worst penalty kill in the league. How does this happen after having one of the best last season?
  
• Sharp had a goal and two assists, while Hossa had 3 apples himself. Even though he didn't have any points, Hjalmarsson was a plus 3 to lead the Hawks
  
• The Hawks were at 58% as far as faceoffs go. Kruger took the most faceoffs of any Hawks center and won 11 of 14 (79%). None of the Flyers centers were over 50%
  
• The Hawks scored two powerplay goals (Keith, Sharp) and a shorthanded goal (Handzus) themselves.
  
• Ray Emery was pretty terrible. He didn't exactly have much help in front of him but some of the goals, specifically the Seabrook one, were awful.
  

Here are the video highlights:

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Blackhawks at Philadelphia - Loss Recap

"Philly Cheesedicks"



The Hawks were in Philly Thursday night to face the Flyers, fresh off their Winter Classic loss to the Rangers. The Flyers had an almost identical record to the Hawks, and are a very similar hard nosed team. With two of their top players (Pronger, Jagr) not playing, they are still obviously a very dangerous team. Based on the many recent news reports, they are apparently still salty about the Hawks skating the Stanley Cup around their ice two seasons ago. Cry me a river.

The first period of last night's game was like the wild fucking west. There were excellent chances both ways, fights, gun slinging, and end to end rushes. Both teams scored but the Flyers out shot the Hawks 13-7. The Flyers opened up the game in the second period scoring three goals to the Hawks single goal, which left the Hawks scratching their heads. Philly had 21 shots and the Hawks mustered up 15 shots, themselves. That's just ridiculous shot totals for one period, for both sides. The Hawks mounted a furious comeback in the third period, but napped during the last 45 seconds of the game, which cost them a point, at least. Philly was able to celebrate a dramatic 5-4 win, in a middle of the season random game. Congrats, Guys.

The Good

• Hazer scored his second goal in 2 games on a nice feed from MegaMayers just 3 minutes into the first period. The play started with Hazer forechecking hard enough to make the Philly defender throw the puck away like a rotten egg, and MegaMayers followed up by just keeping the puck in the Philly zone. He settled the puck, and saucered a pass to Hazer who redirected it past Bryzgalov. Hayes was near the puck or net all night long and played VERY strong on the puck. A few Philly defenders tried to muscle him, and failed. Take note, Bick, if Paul Bunyan can keep up this pace, your days are numbered and it won't take much to fill your spot, son. Four good shots and a goal in only 8:33 of ice time for Hazer. You can't really ask for any more than that.
• Shaw scored HIS first NHL goal smack dab in the middle of the second period. He deked and froze three Flyers players, and surprised Bryzgalov with a nifty little shot. Way to follow up that bloodbath you were the victim of, earlier. I thought Carcillo was an annoying pain n the ass, but Shaw seemed to make every Flyers player want to wring his neck by the end of the first period. If HE keeps this up, Car Bomb's days are DEFINITELY numbered, but this is game #1. Lets see what happens when players know what to expect from him.
• Quenneville played Doctor Lineblender AGAIN to open the third period, moving Stalberg up with Toews and Sharp, and then moving Shaw down with Hoss and Kaner.
• Seabrook took advantage of a Philly powerplay shot that rang hard off the post, and pulled the Hawks within one goal, shorthanded from the dreaded questionable double minor, no less. Bolly and Seabs saw a window of opportunity and jumped into the play taking full advantage. Definitely a goal Bryzgalov would like back.
• 25 seconds after the Seabs goal, Party Boy, El Capitan and Shooter combined for a dramatic game tying goal. Toews caused a turnover low in the Philly zone and the puck ended up on the stick of Shooter who must have wet himself because, for some unforeseen reason, the entire Philly team left Party Boy sitting in the slot all by himself. An easy pass from Shooter put the Hawks back in the game, for now.
• I guess no gnews is good gnews, with Gary Gnu. As far as Dylan Olsen's NHL debut, that is. Three shots on net, and no noticeable gaffes playing with the wilderness adventure that is Lurch.

The Bad

• While I like his spirit, Shaw took a bit of an ass beating in his second shift of his NHL career, immediately following the Hayes goal. He was bloodied pretty good from a couple of Rinaldo straight rights, but later returned.
• The Hawks missed a glorious chance half way through the first, with Shooter and El Capitan going in on a 2-on-1, from their own blue line, following what looked like a save off Razor's mask. Tazer held it long enough to clear the defender and dished to Shooter, who couldn't get the puck over Bryzgalov's pad. Not to be outdone, the same combination missed another 2-on-1 in the third period, that would have put the Hawks up 5-4.
• Nick Leddy can hang the first Flyers goal on his hook. He had a chance to get the puck out of the zone and dicked around with it long enough to turn it over to Voracek. Of course, the puck worked around, all the way back around to Voracek who hit a wide open cage. Razor had over pursued the play on the initial shot and wasn't able to get back in the net in time.
• Seventeen seconds after the Shaw goal, Scotty Carrot Top re-tied the game, smacking a puck out of the air, and past Razor. I'll give credit where it's due because it was a very nice play. He must jerk off to pictures of Claude Giroux every night, because "G" is helping him have a career year.
• Philly took the lead on a goal by some asshole named Harry ZolnierFuck, when Razor kicked a rebound right out to him. Hossa broke down on the play and took a nap on D, letting ZolnierFuck head to the net unabated to pick up the fat rebound.
• Twenty three seconds after the ZolnierFuck goal, Leddy and Hammer got worked over and Stalberg made a soft play completely bailing on taking the body. JVR picked up a second rebound, after Razor made a tremendous save on Wayne Simmonds, and pitched it in the net. Total fucking slop by the Hawks D. Not a stellar night for the the dynamic duo of Leddy and Hammer.
• JVR sent the Hawks home losers scoring a powerplay goal with just 33 seconds left in regulation. Gotta love those trivial high sticking penalties at the end of a 4-4 game. Just fucking spiffy. Kaner givith, Kaner taketh away. The play should have been snuffed out anyway, but the Hawks allowed Giroux enough time to wait for the change send the puck to a streaking Carrot Top. It began as a 2-on-4 play, so ONE of the Hawks defenders, namely MegaMayers, should have been able to pressure Giroux, who was standing still, just over the Hawks blue line.

The Ugly

• I don't know what the fuck is going on in his head, but Bryzgalov looked lethargic all night long. He's clearly not comfortable. He made a nice save on the Toews/Sharp 2-on-1, but the rest of the game he was fighting the puck badly.
• For the second game in a row, someone bailed out on making contact with One-Trick-Bick. This time it was waterbug Danny Briere. He CLEARLY didn't realize who's big shadow was bearing down on him, because Bickell is the last guy that's going to hit him.
• 46 shots against. That's really all one has to say. Deplorable!
• Invisibolly and Kaner were a combined 5-21 at the dot. I hope their bungholes are sore this morning, because they got gang raped. Your #2 and #3 centers right there, folks.

Here are your video highlights:

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Phoning It In For Philly

This is exactly what I was afraid of. The Hawks looked like they used up all fire and emotion Saturday, and really phoned one in this morning. The first period was painfully uneventful, and ended 0-0. The scoring was opened up early in the second as the Flyers stuffed a loose goalmouth puck into the net about a minute in. That had the Flyers going up 1-0 into the third period. That is where everything fell apart and the Hawks gave up 3 goals, to lose the game 4-1. Not the showing you wanted to have on national TV, because they really looked flat. This was the first game I was actually able to attend this season, and I can tell you that the crowd was almost asleep. Blame it on whatever you'd like, but everyone was looking forward to the Bears game, which ended up being a huge disappointment, as well. Way to show America what a great sports town Chicago is, Guys. A double "shit the bed" for Chi-Town.

The Good

• Obviously, the Hossa penalty shot was a pretty play. The crowd showed a little life, but VERY little. Half the place had left a few minutes early when the Flyers went up 3-0.
  
• I loved to see douchebag brothers Hartnell and Carcillo get their teeth pounded in, because they really ARE completely and utter ball bags. Carcillo really got the best of Dowell
  

The Bad

• Philly had the majority of the good scoring chances all game long. The Hawks couldn't seem to get anything to the net, and it hurt them considerably.
  
• The Powerplay looked tame and awful. Again, not a good time to look uninterested, and ineffective.
  
• I'm not sure exactly how many shots the Flyers blocked, but EVERY time the Hawks shot it seemed to be into the shin guards of a Flyer, or wide of the net.
  
• The second goal wasn't exactly something o beauty, either. Mr. Crawley over pursued the play and got caught a bit too far out of the net. Zherdev recognized this and wrapped it around to the other post from behind the net. Campbell got tangled up with Crawford, and the puck was in the net before they could recover. Not looking good on that one, Corey.
  
• The third Philly goal ended the game. Yes, I know there was plenty of time left, but the Hawks were done. After that goal, I watched half the UC get up, put their jackets on, and walk out.
  
• Pierre McGuire is a total penis.
  

The Ugly

• Can we end this embarrassing John Scott saga? What did he provide in this game? The Hawks got into two fights and neither involved Scott. Furthermore, absolutely NO ONE on the Flyers were wetting their jocks when he was on the ice. He's a fucking sideshow freak, and he's wasting valuable ice time. Be done with him, he's a big joke and it's not working! Skillington could wander around the ice and do nothing for 5 minutes a game.
  
• That first Flyers goal was a complete mess. Crawford easily had time to get his ass up off the ice but continued to lay there. I was screaming, "Get up, Get u, Get up, Get up, Get up!". I didn't get my wish. Why in the hell was Jeff Carter allowed to stand there and pitchfork the puck over and over and over? Hammer? Kopecky? Anyone? Crosscheck him into next month!
  

Here are the video highlights for your viewing pleasure:
Kane-Toews-Brouwer
sharp-Kopecky-hossa
Bickell-Bolland-pisani
stalberg-Dowell-scott
keith-Seabrook
Hjalmarsson-campbell
Hendry-Leddy

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Broad Street Bullies?

It's not often that I throw my two cents in about other teams in the league, but I came across some interesting developments from Saturday nights game between the Flyers and the Islanders, and had to weigh in. The Flyers opened up a whole barrel of whoop-ass on the Isles and things turned ugly fast. First, I give you the part that is actually entertaining, especially for all you people that just watch hockey for the fights. Isles tough guy Zenon Konopka (you have to be a tough guy with a name like that, someone call Johnny Cash), and noted Flyer asshelmet Dan Carcillo square off early in the third period with the Flyers up 4-0. In typical Carcillo fashion the festivities have to start off by giving the opponent a stick to the face. Always classy that Dan Carcillo is. That idiocy aside, you have to admire these two going at it, for this period of time. Imagine, if you will, two MMA fighters having to square off, on ice with skates on. How long do you think that would last? One punch, if they even made it out of their corners. Enjoy...



So, with one minute to go in the game, the Flyers were winning 6-1 and the Islanders were set to kill a 5-3. Flyer Waterbug Dan Briere decided it was time for him to throw in a major cheap shot on a defenseless player. Briere took exception to some yapping before the faceoff by Islander Frans Nielsen, and crosschecks him in the side of the face as Nielsen attempts to engage in the faceoff. At the same time, Carc-asshole punches Nielsen in the back, to complete the tagteam beatdown. This combination of events quickly sends Nielsen to the ice (luckily he doesn't seem hurt), but already killing a 5-3, I'm sure he was looking to draw an infraction. After this, the jackass three ring circus begins. Fragile Islander goalie Rick DiPietro tries to go after Briere, Carc-asshole jumps in, and the laundry gets thrown everywhere. There are quite a few observations I found amusing in this fracas, and feel free to see them for yourself in the video below:



-Rick DiPietro, while I understand his concern for his teammate, needs to keep his ass in the crease (those who know me will smirk at this). The guy is an NHL goalie that can't fall out of bed without getting some major season ending injury (and I'm a marginal Mens League goalie NOT making $4.5 million a year until 2021). Seriously Rick, GM Garth Snow is slitting his wrists watching you chase one of the leagues top douches around the ice. Carcillo wouldn't think twice about laying you out with some complete scumbag move.

-Watching DiPietro not be able to get his PINK blocker off to try and fight makes one giggle. Tough guy, with the glass jaw, in the pink pads can't get his mittens off?

-While I hate Chris Pronger, I had to laugh as he playfully grabs DiPietro and laughs in his face when Dipietro says something to him. I assume DiPietro asked Pronger to let him go after Carcillo, because, eventually, Pronger lets him go with a "go ahead" reaction. The whole time you can tell Pronger is finding this as completely hilarious as I do.

-Somewhere, Dan Carc-asshole just kicked a puppy, spit on an elderly person, and took Halloween candy from a small child.

-If you look at the laundry list of penalties below, from the game, something caught my eye. "New York Islanders - Goalie Leaving the Crease 2 mins - R.DiPietro served by D.Roloson". So, if I read this correctly and I must not be, DiPietro gets his deserved penalty, and it is served by the Isles backup goaltender? Really? I'm quite sure it has to be served by a player ON THE ICE, unless, in fact, there are no remaining players on the ice or on the bench. Interesting, and curious.

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