Blackhawks at Columbus - Win Recap

"Blue Shadows on the Trail"

"Thanks for carrying me on your back, Kaner"

Funny thing happened this Wednesday morning. The sun came up. That's about all we could say about the shutout loss to St. Louis. The worst thing about it was that all of us fans had a day to stew over it. I suppose that taking on one of the more terrible teams in the league was a good way to try and smack the funk off their junk. This being said, the Blue Jackets were able to manage their only two wins at home. So much for playing devil's advocate.

With a 16 shot first period, the Hawks were able to go up 2-1 at the end of the first period. This was a considerable improvement, but lets take into account the opponent. The second period was all Blackhawks, as they scored 3 goals, and the Jackets were booed off the ice. They even managed a power play goal. They opened up the third with a quick goal and set the family truckster on cruise control for the rest of the game. Columbus was able to gain back two goals of their own, but the game was already FAR out of hand, and they were basically pity goals.

The Good

• Basically, anyone playing with Hoss is going to have a good night. He is a man possessed, and everyone around him benefits.
• Tazer opened up the scoring, for the Hawks, on a rebound chance from Lucky Number Sleven. Between Deuce, Sleven, Tazer and Stalberg, they were passing around like adults playing against 8 year olds.
• One-Trick-Bick looked like he got the message that Q was sending with his benching in St. Louis; for part of the game, at least. He had several good chances early on but, kind of, lost interest like the rest of the team.
• I still maintain that Rosty Olesz is just fine working with the forth line, and he did nothing to make me think otherwise, in this game. Olesz had several good offensive zone chances, and made a couple of nice passes. So tell me again, JOEL, why is this man on the depth chart behind Big Slow?
• Tazer had his second goal of the night late in the first, as he threw one at Steve Mason from an awful angle, and it snuck through. Jackets 1 - El Capitan 2.
• It took the unlikely line of Tank, Krugs, and Bruno to get the Hawks powerplay going, and that's not something I thought I'd EVER say, nor SHOULD I. Columbus should be embarrassed; just ashamed.
• Who could have predicted that Tank would play a very important role in the powerplay last night. He scored the second powerplay goal of the night, AT WING. He sat in the slot wide open and took a pass from Deuce, who was pinching down low, and put it home. This completed his Gordie Howe hat trick, and good for Tank. It's great to see him coming around, because he looked like one hot mess in the early going.
• Car Bomb and Kaner hooked up with minute left in the second frame to make it 5-1. Kaner was being a complete and total lazy ass coming back defensively, and Columbus had basically forgotten about him. Car Bomb took the puck and couldn't believe Kane was that wide open. He sent it ahead, and Kaner beat Mason 1-on-1.
• I've said all along that it made sense to have Deuce and Sleven back together, Leddy and Hammer together, and Montador with one of the the remaining guys, just not Scott. I guess I got 5/6ths of my request, and for what was a whole game, no less.
• Thirty two seconds into the third period and the combination of Tazer, Hoss and Stalberg scored off a sloppy Steve Mason give way. At that point, it just wasn't fair. The reaction by the Hawks was almost that of disgust. That also ended up being a plus 3 for that line, on the night. I guess you could say Hoss has a positive effect on the other two.

The Bad

• Big Slow gets pushed around and bodied off the puck more than any 270 pound player EVER. Just fucking brutal. While he didn't cost them at all, you're playing against what might be the worst team in the entire league. He's not bringing anything valuable to the table either. If anyone wants to try and argue the value of Big Slow to Pistol and Lurch, I may have to smack you and abruptly remove your fan card.
• The penalty kill continued to mimic the Powerplay, as Clitsome scored 12 seconds into a bad Stalberg offensive zone penalty. It was a long slapshot that Crawford should have had, even though he was fighting a pretty thorough screen.
• Once, again the Hawks penalty kill was taken advantage of, after a sloppy Big Slow penalty. Letestu scored his first Jackets goal , while the Hawks just looked simply uninterested. I guess we can let it slide when it's 6-1.
• The Hawks were actually eaten up in the faceoff dot. Only Tazer was over 50%, with Kruger only going 6 of 18.

The Ugly

• Wizzer was a brutal -4 on the night, and Nash was almost equally as bad, at -3. OOO-FA! That'll make writing those paychecks so much easier.
• The last goal, on a one timer from Clitsome was just a total yawner. The Hawks were clearly looking forward to leaving Columbus and, in their minds, they were already gone.

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Blackhawks at St. Louis - Loss Recap

"Blue Buffoon"



How much one game can change everything. The Hawks had a real stinker of a game Sunday night and were now going to have to cure their ills in St. Louis, against a team that is playing their first game with new Head Coach Ken Hitchcock. Rumors of mangled lines and benchings were the buzz of the intarweb. The Blues should not have been taken lightly, no matter what their record said. They have talent, a couple of pretty good netminders (even though Halak had played disturbingly awful), and lets not forget that aggressiveness. They also had a knack for playing the Hawks well. Lucky for the Hawks, two of their better offensive players, Andy McDonald and David Perron were on IR.

The Hawks didn't exactly start like they would have liked, giving up a goal in the first. Not only that, but they were pushed around pretty easily. The Hawks gave up a fairly weak powerplay goal early in the second, and even with powerplay chances, they couldn't get anything done. The same happened in the third as the Blues were able to sneak in another weak one. When the final horn blew, it was 3-0 Blues, and the Hawks had a day to sit and stew on this one. Looks like that one game stinker slide turned into two games.

The Good

• The KHL Locomotiv ceremony before looked really nice, with a bunch of classic Blues, like Hull and MacInnis, in attendance. Might have been nice if we could have watched the whole thing too, but the Comcast Sportsnet Pregasm Live studios were FAR more important.
• The new line combinations that were reported Monday pretty much held true last night, at least for a period. 10-19-67, 13-88-81, 85-36-15, 25-16-22, 2-7, 8-4, 5-32 were what Quenneville rolled out. And as I said, that setup only lasted one period. I mentioned Monday that, not to put much thought into the combinations, because they weren't a reality long enough to matter.
• One of the Hawks best chances was by...you guessed it...the previously undesirable Rosty Olesz. Wake up, Quenneville, Seriously.
• Well, all the centers were over 50% on faceoffs. Did a bunch of good, didn't it?

The Bad

• The Blues took the lead against the the newest Frankenstein of defensive pairings Big Tank (Montador/Scott). Sbotka was able to power to the net after getting position on Tank and followed up his original shot, basically pushing the puck and Crawford into the net. Scott was rather over aggressive, trying to take Shattenkirk, and Oshie high at the blue line. This left Shattenkirk either a cross ice pass to the eventual goal scorer, or a chip up the boards to a streaking Oshie. Either way, he was fucked. Also, that was a BAD matchup. The Blues first line against the Hawks fourth, and third defensive pairing?
• Steve Konroyd claiming that Big Slow doesn't look out of place on the ice is a flaming insult to anyone that has played organized hockey. Are we watching the same #32, Steve? It makes me question his hockey expertise, with some of the goofy things he says.
• The second Blues goal was as a result of Car Bomb "kneeing" penalty, that led to another opposing PPG. Chris Stewart fairly easily tipped an Oshie pass past Crawford. Stewart pretty much had is way with Leddy, Hammer, and Hoss in the slot, and Crawford completely over pursued the play, and probably should have been able to get a piece of that.
• Just to put a cap on this one, Oshie scored an absolutely weak goal from the right circle. Crawford just dicked the dog on that one.
• Leave it up to Halak to have his best game of the year, and Crawford to have his worst. Three goals on 23 shots is deplorable, for NHL standards.

The Ugly

• Apparently, it's a requirement for the Blues to have at least two complete assclowns on the roster at any point in time. Back-ass isn't going anywhere, but since Cam Jannsen parted ways, the complete and total scumbag award goes to Ryan Reaves. He took a shot at Tank, Kaner and then Car Bomb before getting in the kerfuffle with Car Bomb. The spear in Car Bomb's gut officially put him in the assclown category. Complete and utter piece of shit. So much for that theory all the twatterheads keep bringing up, regarding Big Slow keeping teams from acting like assholes. Stupid people will drink any kool aid you feed them.
• The Big Slow saga turned to comic when he tried to incite Ryan Reaves after a whistle and Reaves laughed him off, and then later, the 5'11" 194 lb. Sobotka knocked his dookie down, fairly easily. Real intimidating.
• I'm tired of mentioning how bad the powerplay is. It's just terrible. It doesn't matter how many CHANCES you get if you can't finish. Not only that, but they are consistently giving up brutal shorthanded chances against. If it weren't for Dave Back-ass tripping over his enormous vagina, there could very well have been a shorthanded goal on that play. The worse it gets, the the more I feel they miss Soupie. While I was a fan of the trade and realize it had to be done, I voiced my concern for price it would have on the powerplay, at that time. Of course, everyone vehemently assured me that Leddy and Keith were more than capable replacements. My bad.
• While the Hawks had a few chances, they weren't exactly striking fear in the Blues. Granted they hit a hot goalie, but with the talent up and down this roster, they need to be able to "will" a couple of goals. If they had scored in the second, the came could have easily turned the game around.

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Blackhawks vs Canucks - Loss Recap

"Mass Chaos"


"Noogie Time"

Back in sweet home Chicago, the Hawks had a tilt against the hated Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks weren't exactly lighting the league on fire, before this game. They were 6-7-1, and having trouble keeping the puck out of the net. With the Sedins, Kesler, and Luongo in net, they are always dangerous to break out of the slump. The Hawks were coming off a 5-4 OT loss that was high disappointing, because they blew a 2 goal second period lead. Of course, this was all done with Ray Emery in net and Duncan Keith watching from the press box, so all is not lost. They were able to get 3 our of 4 points, without their top defender.

The Hawks were VERY lucky to come out of the first period tied. They were grossly outplayed and outshot, yet the score stood at 1-1. This is where they need to come out the next period with purpose, but that sure didn't happen. The Hawks opened the second giving up 3 more powerplay goals, while generating zero PP chances themselves, and just make sure we were watching, they gave up another late PP goal. The Hawks did get one goal, but that only lasted 43 seconds, as the Canucks answered. The third period was just a formality, and the Hawks left 6-2 losers. sometimes teams lay eggs, and the Hawks laid a big Sunday afternoon egg, here.

The Good

• It looks like all that Frodo needed to break that snakebitten streak is Bobby Lu. Frodo innocently skated up the left boards and threw the puck at the net. That's where the theatrics began. Lu was trying to do SOMETHING, I'm not sure what, and the puck hit the inside of his pad, and dribbled into the net. 20,000 people collectively pissed their pants laughing simultaneously. There is no goalie that is more fun to watch give up soft as babyshit goals that Bobby Lu.
• It was clear that Car Bomb was going to fight someone this game, from the moment he was signed, and that was certainly the case. At the 13 minute mark of the second period, Carcillo hit the Canucks Volpatti, and it was game on. Car Bomb got one real good lick in, but it was pretty much a draw and hugfest.
• Just when all was quiet, Marco Krugs picked up a MegaMayers rebound and put it into the net. It was a pretty simple play by the Hawks 4th line, against the Canucks 4th line. Stalberg took a pass and stepped into the zone. He hit MegaMayers with a nice pass, who fired it on net. Bobby Lu kicked the rebound out and Krugs poked it in.
• At least we were privy to watching MegaMayers tenderize Bieksa's face. I really hate that guy.

The Bad

• The Hawks spent the majority of the first period looking at the numbers of the Canucks jerseys as they skated past the Hawks defense. This was a sign of things to come.
• The Canucks were the first to get on the board, in the first, with David Booth getting his first goal of the year. The initial shot was saved by Crawford, but the rebound popped right back out to Booth, who finished. Lurch got caught in no man's land, because Bolly was late coming to help down low. If Bolly was down low helping, Lurch could have pressured the passer a little more. As it stood, Higgins could have walked the puck out, but didn't. He forced a pass that never should have gotten through, and got lucky.
• The Canucks were CLEARLY out to hit the Hawks and hit them HARD. A number of Hawks were ragdolled in the first period, including Mr. "I want to hit the Canucks", Car Bomb. I fully expected him to get up swinging, and nothing. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. He made up for it later, with 21 minutes in penalties. Car Bomb meltdown #1.
• The Canucks cashed in on a stupid late first period Kaner roughing infraction, that rolled over into the second. Aaron Rome took a passed that missed Booth, and had all day to tee it up. He then cleanly beat Crawford. The PK unit got caught watching the puck and were all standing in the same quarter of the Hawks zone. Once the puck squirted out, there wasn't a defender anywhere close to Rome.
• Dan Sedin put the Canucks up 3-1 on their 3rd powerplay tally of the night, while the Hawks were killing another bad penalty, this time by Bolly. Crawford was able to take on the initial shot from the point, but when the rebound popped right back out to Henrick Sedin. He then dumped it to Daniel who was on the back door wide open. Crawford got tied up in front with Kesler, and wasn't able to make it across. Seabrook was the only player that had a shot at saving it, and wasn't nearly close enough.
• Forty three seconds after the Kruger goal, the Canucks went back up by two. It was a simple enough 3 on 3 play and the Hawks just didn't cover their guys. Bickell tried to get back, but ended up taking Crawford out of the play, and Hansen had a wide open cage.
• The Canucks 4th powerplay goal of the night was on a Vik Stalberg high sticking penalty. The Hawks PK was just worn down, and completely eaten alive. Dan Hamhuis was the lucky recipient of a prime chance high in the slot,and blew it by Crawford.
• There is no way the Blackhawks had 20 shots on net in the second period. Just NO WAY!
• Henrik Sedin put the Blackhawks away with a 5th PP goal of the night. How fucking embarrassing. Not even worth analyzing.
• Car Bomb had 2 penalty minutes before last night. He earned 21 last night. YOWZA.

The Ugly

• Like there is any question, here. 5 powerplay goals against. Brutal and pathetic. Get your shit together, boys.
• Right behind that is the Hawks powerplay, which has fallen back into complete disarray. This begs to question just how helpful Soupie was on the powerplay.
• Stupid penalties killed the Hawks. Kaner and Bolly specifically took back penalties after the whistle, while the Canucks were taking the body during play. Those post whistle infractions will kill you every time.

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Blackhawks at Tampa - OT Loss Recap

"Lightning McQueen"



Seeing as how the other night's SO win wasn't as easy as it should have been, this one was going to prove to be a bit tougher, on the ass end of a back-to-back road trip, no less. The Lightning are also 3-1 at home, which didn't bode well for the Hawks. The Hawks could ill afford to be sloppy on defense with the ringers this team has on offense, which is exactly what they got away with Thursday night. This time the Hawks were going with Razor Emery in net and without Deuce on defense again, so they needed to be extra careful on defense.

The Hawks came out fast and furious in the opening period and had a majority of the chances, along with 15 shots on net. Unfortunately, it yielded them no goals. No goals either way, in fact. The second period looked like a completely different game, in a completely different decade, with the teams putting up a total of EIGHT goals on the board. No defense allowed, here. Oddly enough, the game was still tied when the dust settled, though. The third period went back to the trend, and neither team was able to score. The Hawks then went into extra time for the second game in a row, and this one didn't turn out quite the same, as the Hawks broke down and gave up the OT winner late in the extra period.

The Good

• Between El Capitan and Vik Stalberg, the Hawks had all the momentum in the first 5 minutes of the game. Vik had the first 3 shots and a couple of steals. Tazer had a beautiful rush up the right side of the ice, making the defensemen look like they were standing still.
• Stalberg continued his solid first period by finishing with 4 shots on net, and 3 or 4 more that missed the cage. I have no problem with him throwing the puck at the net. It sure beats a turnover or no chance at all. People will be critical of his aim, but at least he was there to get the puck in the right general direction. Remember, he's still trying to figure out who he's heven going to be playing with on a nightly basis.
• The Hawks were FINALLY able to come though on the powerplay, after what seemed like a thousand chances. Kane dished it to Tazer, who let a quick blind backhand pass to Shooter, who was sitting wide open on the back door, with a gaping net. 1-1
• Kaner set up Boss to tie the game up again, just a few minutes after giving up the lead. The Hawks won the faceoff and worked a rotation play to perfection, with Boss finding himself wide open on the back door, and Kaner feeding him the puck. Situations don't get drawn up any better than that.
• CAR BOMB put the Hawks up 3-2 with his first Blackhawks goal, in the second. First, he made a beautiful defensive play to poke the puck off the Tampa defender, and then out ahead. He then outraced the defenders, controlled the puck, pulled the puck to his backhand and roofed it. All while running out of gas. Beautiful goal from beginning to end.
• Kaner quickly followed up the Car Bomb tally, 12 seconds later, with a great feed to Sharpie on a give-n-go, to put the Hawks up 4-2.

The Bad

• Seabrook and Hammer gave up a break-a-way to Stamkos in the middle of the first period, but Razor was able to follow him across the crease and keep the game 0-0. That Stamkos kid is decent, isn't he?
• The Lightning took a 1-0 lead, 15 seconds onto the second period on a rebound, that Razor couldn't control. Seabrook was slow tying Stamkos up, who was able to quickly poke it in the net.
• The Hawks gave up the lead on a complete cluster fuck of a play. Leddy and O'Donnell got caught flat footed on St. Louis. Bolland pushed the eventual goal scorer into the crease, where he was basically in Emery's way and was able to coral the puck off his skate and put it into the net.
• The third Tampa goal was a direct result of Nick Leddy not controlling the puck that was originally right on his stick. He knew he had it between his skates, he was wasn't able to gather himself enough to either kick it ahead, or move his feet to get his stick on it. So, he stood there with his head down like a dog chasing his tail, looking at his feet, Stamkos knocked his wiener in the dirt. Leddy then took his time getting back up as he pouted, and was late getting back into the play. When Purcell went around the net, Leddy had PLENTY of time to tie up Stamkos' stick and decided to try dry humping him from behind, instead. Stamkos had a clean chance to deposit it past Emery.
• Stammer got his hat trick goal on a powerplay. Hammer and Seabrook got caught up in front of the net, and Stamkos snuck out on the back door. St. Louis faked the shot, and hit Stammer for a one timer on an open net.

The Ugly

• Nick Leddy was a sign of futility in the second period going MINUS 3! No mater how you slice that, it's not good, in fact it's TERRIBLE Slice it up, and make excuses all you'd like, but the fact is that if you're out there for 3 even strength goals against in one period, something is wrong.
• Not only was Leddy pretty undesirable in the second, but Lurch, Bolly, Frodo, and Bick were all minus 2.
• The Lightning won the game on a play that went bad fast. Bolly lost his stick and the play broke down fast. The Lightning were able to keep the puck in the zone, and it ended up on the stick of St. Louis who make a great pass over Leddy's stick to a wide open Lecavalier, and that's as good as money.

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Blackhawks at Florida - SO Win Recap

"Steal Panthers"



After coming off a barnburner Monday, which was probably the most intense regular season game I've seen since last season's closing game, our Blackhawks began the annual "Fathers Trip" on sunny South F-L-A. No need to act like we weren't familiar with half their roster and their GM. Skille, Versteeg, Kopecky and Campbell all dressed for the game. Florida sat at 6-4-1 coming into this contest, which isn't too bad, considering they are the Winnipeg Jets of the states. This one was sure to bring out the bad blood from the players that were on the Hawks "discard" pile. It was going to be interesting to see how the currents Hawks treat someone like Skille and Versteeg. Jacob Markstrom, the player that pushed Alex Salak out of the organization, started in net for the Panthers. All that aside, this is the fist game in quite a while that they were without the services of Duncan Keith, as he sat out with an injury.

The opening period went the Hawks way, with the good guys scoring on one of their seven shots, but game up far too many shots themselves. As luck would have it, they were able to keep the puck out of their net, though. The second period was much better in terms of Hawks momentum, and they virtually made up all of the shot differential, and each team was able to put up a goal. In the third, the Hawks blew their one goal lead late and neither team was able to score in the OT frame, so it took a shootout for the Hawks to win this one.

The Good

• Nice to see the Hawks open up the scoring on a team, in road game, no less. Bruno got a steal deep in the Panthers zone and Tazer jumped into the play. Bruno fumbled a bit and fed El Capitan, who was falling down. He still got a stick on it and directed it into the net. Just how they drew it up, eh Edzo?
• I'm beginning to become a big fan of MegaMayers and his fighting prowess. He took a big hit at the Hawk blue line from Matt Bradley, and before Car Bomb could come to his assistance, Mayers had already gotten up and begun to pummel Bradley. He takes no shit, and I like this. A LOT. Keeps Car Bomb from doing dumb things, which is good for everyone.
• Watching Frodo pick Skillington's pocket in the Hawks zone, and seeing Skillington take a bad penalty on Frodo later in the game both made me snicker. Win-Hawks, hands down.
• The goal that put the Hawks up 2-0 in the second was a thing of beauty. Kaner led the rush in the zone and waited; and waited; and waited. He waited for Bruno to clear the slot and hit Boss 81 on the back door, who one timed it past Markstrom. Hoss and Kane are just men among boys. And when I say the back door, I mean the "back, back, back, back" door. I didn't think he had anything to shoot at, yet it ended up in the net.
• Great close up of Car Bomb saying "Fuck", after missing his great chance in the second period, where he split 3 Panthers and was almost 1-on-1 with Markstrom.
• Frodo seemed to be inspired by his former team, and was the Blackhawk that was most involved in the Panther's zone, in the third period. He's still snake bitten, but it's not stopping him from trying.
• All things considered, they didn't look bad, missing their top D-man. Officer Seabrook had a bit of a mean streak with his hetero lifemate watching the game from the cheap seats. He painfully punished the Panthers forwards a few time, both during the play and after whistles.

The Bad

• Frank the Tank and Pistol struggled a little bit, early on. A bad turnover on the back end, set up a couple of great chances. Frank the Tank only played four shifts in the 3rd period, but three shifts in OT, and Pistol only played three shifts in the 3rd, but two in OT. Punishment for earlier gaffes?
• Looks like Pick-to-Click Vik was channeling his inner Versteeg when he turned it over late in the second before hitting the Panthers blue line. It resulted in a good chance coming back, and Edzo was sure to point that out.
• The Panthers were able to cut the lead in half with under 2 minutes left in the second period. The Panthers money line was able to pull some zigging and zagging, and Weiss ended up with the puck on his stick, and put it past Crawford. Hearing Versteeg with the assist made me cringe.
• The Panthers tied up the game with 2 minutes to go in regulation, as Seabrook was left alone with two Panthers players, and one of them scored the equalizer. The Hawks weren't able to get the puck out of the zone, after a big Crawford save. It was dumped in by Kulikov, and tipped past Crawford by Jovo-Cop, who for some odd reason was standing in front of the Hawks net. I'm not really sure what O'Donnell thought he was doing, but he left his partner to thwart two defenders all by his lonesome.
• That Sharpie OT break-a-way would have been money. Let's not forget to point out the beautiful pass Hammer gave him. It's not often Hammer gets lauded for his offense, so here it is.
• Dineen, why you no Versteeg in shootout? I would have liked to see that.

The Ugly

• The powerplay took a step backwards last night, but I'll cut them some slack when they only got one to work with.
• 43 shots is just FAR too many shots to me giving up in ANY game. Luckily, Crawford was on fire for the night.
• Incredi-Bolly got faceraped at the dot again, going 9-25.

The Shootout

• Crawford was better than Kopecky
• Toews was bested by Markstrom
• Goc couldn't put it past Crawford
• Markstrom beat Bolland
• Fleischmann was stopped by Crawford
• Kaner was the money man, and beat Markstrom for the win

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The Things I Get Myself Into...

Yesterday afternoon, I was unfortunately suckered into beating my head against a wall, 140 characters at a time, through Twatter. I have maintained that while Twatter can be useful for things like promoting business and media, it's basically the gutter of human existence. It's either people bitching about their inconsequential lives, or people holding incredibly narcissistic and passive aggressive conversations for the whole world to see. But, I digress...

I have to say that if the major problem in the Blackhawks world is our forth line winger, life isn't so bad. Let's be honest here. The reason I got suckered into this ordeal is one particular theory, "Common Sense". I'll be the first to tell you that while I'm sarcastic, stubborn, and cocky, I've been known to change my stance from time to time, because of said common sense. I can't possibly see every scenario, and solution; no one can. This is not one of those situations, and again, if you could care less about the Blackhawks fourth line winger that plays 3-6 minutes a game, feel free to ditch this thing, right here...

Still with me? Onward, Satan's Soldiers. The situation in question involves the subject of Rostislav "Rosty" Olesz vs John "Big Slow" Scott. Forgive me; I was baited; It was on my train ride home; There was an earthquake; A great flood; Locusts; IT WASN'T MY FAULT!

That was your last chance to bail on me, so for the three readers I have left, let's continue. I am going to lay out some FACTS, here, before I even get started:

• Olesz is faster, and more talented overall than Scott, by a pretty large margin.
• Olesz has 132 points in 351 NHL games, at 26 years old. John Scott has 4 points in 115 NHL games, at 29 years old.
• Preseason or not, he scored the first goal of the year for the Hawks.
• Olesz has had injuries in the past, and is coming off a blown out knee, but appears to be healthy. If he's not healthy, the LTIR is the place for him.
• Scott is tremendously limited, physically. He can tenderize faces, and that is all.
• Once Mayers, CarBomb, Lepisto and O'Donnell were signed, it effectively took any role Scott had, and rendered him useless.

I'm not going to name names, because that's irrelevant, but a person or two sparked up a "conversation" that basically started as, "The Hawks can work around John Scott, but there is no way to work around Olesz, because he is void of any hockey talent". Not quite in those words, because you can't fit that much sarcasm into 140 characters, but you get the gist of it. You might imagine how I responded to THAT revelation. There were theories floated, but when it came down to simple business and common sense, there is no way around the fact that the Blackhawks need to play Olesz. Why, you ask? I was hoping you'd never ask:

Theory 1:Send Olesz to Rockford/Siberia
Result:FAIL
First of all, he would need to pass through waivers for Rockford, and surely would. Second, The Blackhawks as an organization, are eating $5.625 million for Cristobal Huet to NOT play anywhere in North America. Which, in and of itself, is a very bitter pill to swallow for any company. If you add Olesz's $3.125 million, and the team, AS AN ORGANIZATION, would be dishing out almost $9 million for 2 players to NOT play for their team. Remember, This does not reflect on the salary cap at all, but you're asking a business to hemorrhage millions MORE than they already are. While Huet was in a critical position, and needed to be moved for cap reasons, Olesz does/is not. He can be hidden on the forth line, and they have enough cap room to maneuver, if needed.

Theory 2:Buy out his contract
Result:FAIL
You can only buy out a players contract during the designated period of time, which is usually between June 15th and June 30th. I don't need to remind anyone what the date is today. Pull out all your trust-dusty contract buyout calculators, but none of it can be done until June of 2012.

Theory 3:Trade Olesz
Result:FAIL
In a perfect world, Stan Bowman could sell that rust bucket to some ignorant kid, but no one is buying that set of wheels without taking on another, equally as obnoxious, overpriced contract in return. If you know of someone that will, PLEASE e-mail Stan and let him know.

Nothing else is possible. End of story. This team is stuck with him for the season. Might as well play him, and see if we can't squeeze some lemonade out of this lemon.

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Blackhawks vs. Predators - Win Recap

"If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It"



Monday's game was going to prove to be much more difficult than the Saturday tilt with Columbus, even though for the first 2 two period, Columbus kept up with the Blackhawks. Nashville, as we all know so well, is a hard hitting defensive squad with a top notch netminder, in Pekka Rinne. On defense, it doesn't come much better than Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, who is the nephew of former Blackhawk defenseman Gary Suter. Offensively, the Preds aren't really much to sneeze at. Dave Legwand is leading the team, and former team scoring leader Patrick Hornqvist has had a slow start, with only 2 goals. This was, most likely, going to a defensive game, but anything can happen on Halloween, as we saw.

The Hawks wasted no time giving the Preds a lead with under a minute gone in the game, and the Hawks were able to tie it up with under a minute left in the first. Considering all the chances, this was not the boring Hawks/Preds game we were use to. The second period was a little less successful for the Hawks. The gave up two goals and were only able to answer one. Third period, one goal, Same ol song and dance. The Hawks were able to take the lead, and then relinquish that lead in the third but they dominated the period. All that got this game to overtime where the Hawks pulled out a dramatic win. Happy Halloween, Chicago!

The Good

• The Hawks finally got some sustained powerplay pressure early in the first and were moving the puck fast and furious, but they couldn't finish. It still looks like a failure on the score sheet, so they need to not only move the puck, but hit the back of the net. This is not going to do. I can't hate on the powerplay, even though they went 0-fer forever. They moved the puck and got plenty of huge chances, but Pekka Rinne is just inhuman. The Hawks would have scored at least 3 more goals, had it not been for Rinne. He's simply a bad ass, and as much as I love Crawford, if the Hawks could get Rinne, DO IT. He's a franchise player.
• The Hawks got on the scoreboard in the first period with under a minute left in play. Sharpie and Hoss dug the puck loose in the corner and Kaner played a little give-n-go with Shooter. Once Kaner got it on his stick in he slot, just to the left of the net, he ripped it 5-hole on Rinne. 1-1.
• Three-Times-a-Leddy was able to tie the game back up for the Hawks with 8 minutes left in the second period. Patty Kane reversed the puck around the net after a Leddy dump in, and fed it back to an activated Leddy, in the same general area that Kaner scored, who put a half back swing shot through Rinne. It helped a little that the Preds Smith was interfering with his own netminder, as Sharpie stood safely outside the crease watching. No denying this Leddy kid can play in the opponent's end.
• The Preds Shea Weber made a beautiful play on a Shooter/Kaner 2-on-1, that resulted in them not even getting a shot off. Those are two GRADE A players he stuffed, there. That guy is a STUD! Plain and simple.
• The Hawks opened the third period like they were HUNGRY for a goal, but like their powerplay chances, they weren't able to finish until Kaner tied it up, with 5 minutes gone in the frame.
• Speaking of Kaner's second goal, The Hawks tied up the game ONCE AGAIN in the third, when Shooter, Hoss, and Kaner worked a 3-on-3 to perfection and Kaner took advantage of Rinne's rare poor positioning, by beating him between the blocker and his ribs.
• As absolutely stellar as Rinne was in the third period, Crawford made a HELL of a save on the Tootoo breakaway. That could have ended ALL Hawks momentum, and now that I've brought it up, Brent? Sami? Could ONE of you keep an eye on that Tutu guy? I have to blame Seabrook on that one, since Pistol took the shot that was blocked.
• One-Trick-Bick did exactly what he does, on a great feed by Frodo to put the Hawks up for the first time in the game with 7 minutes left in the game. Frodo fought through two players to control the puck and hang on to it long enough for Bick to curl around in the slot. Fro put it right on Bick's stick, and he lasered one of his patented long setup, wrist shots into the back of the Preds cage.
• For all those bagging on Pick-to-Click Vik, he shut their collective mouths; for a second night. In OT, he shot into overdrive and took advantage of his stellar speed rushing up the right side of the ice. Once he got deep in the zone, he cut across the middle similar to the goal he scored the other night, but let the shot go much sooner and beat Rinne low glove side. Game; Set; MATCH! I realize this guy is a tweener, but I don't get all the hate on him. He MIGHT be the fastest guy on the team, and he's willing to muck it up, if need be. Three goals in two games, and could have easily had another had he hit the net on his break-a-way. That's not too shabby. Not to mention, word on the street is that while practicing shootouts he was MONEY. He's a decent role player.

The Bad

• It certainly didn't take long for the Hawks to give up a lead. Less than a minute in, Crawford went behind the net to play a dump in attempt, and it took a silly bounce off the boards between his legs. The puck came out to a Preds player along the boards who threw it at the net, and the rebound off the side of the net was easily poke in by Hornqvist. It doesn't get much easier than that.
• The Hawks are losing track of guys coming out of the penalty box FAR too often. In the heat of the game it's going to happen once in a great while, but this is really getting silly. This time it was Seabrook and Leddy. Wake up fellas, this is the big leagues. I'm quite sure everyone on the bench was yelling about it.
• The Preds went ahead of the Hawks, again, almost midway through the second period as Bruno, Frank the Tank, and Sami Pistol all got misty eyed by the puck carrier, Erat. Erat then dished it to a late driving Craig Smith, who cleanly beat Crawford. That is what a sniper SHOULD do when he's one on one with a goalie that is not set, and trying to move across his crease. Shame on those three Hawks, though.
• I'm quite certain that Shooter is wearing a hole in the boards to the left of the net, because he unloaded at least half a dozen shots in the first half of the game that hit that precise spot. Could we move the net over a foot or so? Anyone?
• Well, you can't really expect an IF on a 5-on-3, rather a WHEN, unless you're the Blackhawks, that is. Anyway, the Preds scored on a 5-on-3 advantage when Shooter took a dumb interference penalty in the offensive zone, and Bolly was the unfortunate party to airmail a clearing attempt into the crowd. Patrick Hornqvist took nice feed and beat Crawford on a long snapper. The breaks just weren't going the Hawks way, at this point. Each time they clawed back, the Preds would answer.
• Just a minute and a half after the Hawks took the lead, in the third period, the Preds took advantage of a makeshift 4th line. Tootoo took a bad angle shot was banked off Crawford's pads, and shot directly out into the slot area. The rebound squirted just past Seabrook, and MegaMayers conveniently floated past the puck, as well. Legwand jumped on the free puck and fired it past Crawford. That's a SLOPPY goal to give up when you have momentum.
• This was a VERY interesting night for faceoffs, and here is why. Cappy Serious put on a clinic, going 20-for-25, MegaMayers went 5-for-5, Sharpie went 4-for-4, and Bolly went a very average 9-for-19. BUT, Kane and Kruger got mushroom stamped at the dot, going a collective 3-for-14 (21%). That would be enough to tell me that Mayers and Sharpie should be taking the draws, when they are playing on the same lines as Kane and Kruger.
• That being said, I'm officially claiming that Kruger looks like an NHL player. I'm not saying he looks like a GREAT one, but "of NHL caliber". He is making quicker decisions with the puck, and definitely moving around better. He has even dished the puck fairly well, and absorbed a hit or two.

The Ugly

• This could be INFINITELY HUGE, but if the Hawks lose Deuce, because of the injury he sustained, for an extended period of time, this could make things VERY interesting. Even when he's bad, his speed is invaluable. He didn't see the ice after the 8:01 mark of the second period, so it must be semi-serious.
• I've beaten this to DEATH, and even I'M tired of it, but this Big Slow ordeal not only boggles my mind, but boggles EVERYONE'S minds. He had one shift each period for a total of 2:45. Now, I get that they like his cheap rather large tuchus on the roster for the occasional slugfest. I can accept that, and he's a cheap alternative for that. What I cannot understand or accept is that you have a WELL paid Rosty Olesz dressed in a suit, watching this guy do NOTHING. Let me remind EVERYONE why Big Slow was brought here. TO FIGHT! He has yet to do that, not that he could catch an opposing play to accomplish that, even if he was allowed to carry a lasso. He had a prime chance to absolutely blaze a Nashville defender behind the Preds net, last night, and barely smooched the guy. Jiminy Christmas, he might as well blast the guy into next week, because that is ALL a John Scott has the ability to do. Make it worth it, you big goon! While I'm on the subject of those two clowns, what is the problem with Olesz? I mean REALLY. I have to know. Some beat writer needs to earn his money, and flat out ask Joel Quenneville, "What the fuck is wrong with Rosty Olesz?". TELL US! As stupid as Florida was, you don't give a guy that is apparently THAT bad, over $3 million a year. According to what they have given us, this guy isn't even an NHL quality player on ANY level. He's done NOTHING on the ice to tell me that he is any less deserving than Big Slow. Really, just put him out there. Let him cut his own throat. SHOW ME what is so undesirable. It's the fucking forth line, for fucks sakes, they barely play anyway. Rosty Olesz scoring the first goal of the preseason is 10x more than I've seen Big Slow do.

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Blackhawks vs Blue Jackets - Win Recap

"To Be, or Not To Be"



Nothing better, after a boring uninspired road loss, than coming home and playing what might be the coldest team in the NHL. The Hawks should thank the schedule making gods for that one, because they were in need of an easy game. It's well documented that the Jackets started off horribly. The Hawks on the other hand, got off to their best start in 40 years. Leave it up to them to completely shit the bed in Carolina, just as the media brought this fact up. I call a jinx! There were big changes in the lineup with Big Show playing for a suspended Car Bomb, Lepisto playing for O'Donnell, and Razor playing in net.

The Hawks opened up the scoring quickly, but the Jackets weren't far behind. Things were starting to look like they were falling apart when the Hawks were able to get a late shorthanded goal to go up 2-1 at the end of the first period. The Jackets were the only team to score in the second and the Hawks blew some powerplay time. Can the Hawks EVER carry a big lead into the third? THe Hawks opened it up in the third period, which was nice, for a change. They came away with a 5-2 win, and outshot Columbus 38-29.

The Good

• Marcus Kruger opened up the Hawks night on a big MegaMayers slapshot rebound that just laid in front of the rookie Columbus netminder, York. Kruger went hard to the net, and ended up with an easy tap in goal.
• FINALLY, some excitement for the crowd, when Frolik fed Bolly for shorthanded break-a-way goal late in the first. The play would have resulted in a penalty shot but the continuation resulted in a goal, with Bolly wearing a Clitsome backpack for the last 15 feet.
• Pick-to-Click Vik put the Hawks up 3-2 on a 4-on-4 situation, following the negated Sharp goal. He picked up the puck at the blue line and turned on the after burners heading up the boards, and then cutting to the middle. He got York to open up the 5-hole, and ripped it into the back of the net. SHOCKING, a goal that couldn't be negated.
• Less than two minutes later Bruno was able to lug the puck from behind the net, and send a backhand across the crease to Stalberg who scored his second goal of the night. I, for one, am glad to see him hit the net, because he was looking good in the preseason, until he got hurt, and he has some speed that the Hawks could really use. He just missed his hat trick goal later, when he missed the net on a break-a-way.
• I can't ever remember seeing 2 disallowed goals in one game, but this one had FOUR. After 3 Hawks disallowed goals, Columbus ended up having one of their own...wait for it...ON THE POWERPLAY
• I usually don't say much about empty netters, but Frodo absorbed a hit from Rick Nash, who was being a real dick all night, and poked it into the net with one hand. I usually like Nash, but in this case, he was a real dumb shit.

The Bad

• Vinny Prospal answered the Hawks first goal, by taking advantage of the forth line. Kruger must have been dreaming of his goal, when he let Prospal sit on the back door all by himself. That quick start didn't last long.
• In the first half of the game two of the most well behaved players took a total of three bad penalties. I'm not really sure what was up their asses, but that shit needs to be nipped in the bud. Tazer and Bolland cannot be spending that kind of time in the box.
• In one of the strangest plays I've ever seen, Sharpie put a laser of a slapshot off the post and the Hawks thought they scored, but the play continued, and worked it's way around again. The Hawks got another chance that Kaner high sticked into the net. So they needed TWO video replays on one play. In all fairness, the war room in Toronto got both right, and actually, so did the on ice officials.
• The Jackets second goal was started off by Hammer, in comical fashion. He blew a tire at the Hawks blue line similar to the way Deuce did a few games ago, and allowed a 2-on-1 break. Razor wasn't able to control the rebound on the play, and the defense wasn't much help so the puck squirted out to the side of the net, and Derek MacKenzie was able to put the puck in the open net.
• To make matters worse on the powerplay, Sharpie was able to score AGAIN, but Bickell took a high sticking penalty that ended up a second disallowed goal. Just how many times are they going to shoot themselves in the foot?
• Not the hat trick we had hoped for, but for the THIRD time in the game, the Hawks had a goal waved off when Bolland was called for kicking the puck in the net, you guessed it, ON THE POWERPLAY
• Five penalties for the Hawks is just FAR too much. STOP IT!

The Ugly

• Before the game it was announced that Car Bomb was suspended for 2 games following the "tie up" from the previous game. I call bullshit on that one, but that's a whole different subject.
• The near misses aside, the Hawks powerplay is still painfully fucking repulsive.
• As much as I cursed the intermission interview of Frodo, Kruger made him sound like James Earl Jones. Quit interviewing players that struggle to speak english, PLEASE! It's uncomfortable to listen to, and I'm certain it's stressful for them, as well. We can do without.
• Big show...three shifts...1:44...one goal against. If ANYONE tries to claim that's better than what Rusty Olesz can provide, they are full of shit. If Olesz IS that bad, he doesn't belong on ANY NHL roster, or men's league roster, for that matter.

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Blackhawks at Carolina - Loss Recap

"Hurricane Cam"


This is the first and last the Hawks will see of the Carolina Hurricanes this season, barring a Canes/Hawks Cup final. This was a curious matchup, because even though the Canes were only 3-3-3, they have completely owned the Blackhawks in Carolina since, get this, 1998!. Overall, the Canes have gone 8-1-3 overall against our boys in white. Not so hot. The people to watch in this game are, of course, Goalie Cam "Wardo" Ward, Former Blackhawk Tuomo Ruutu, Rookie of the Year Jeff Skinner, and the oddly -9 Eric Staal. Ward is a VERY good goalie, Ruutu was on a 2 game goal scoring streak, Skinner picked up where he left off last year gathering 10 points in 9 games, and while Staal had 5 points coming in, he also carried the previously mentioned minus 9.

The Hawks opened the first period with a dominant shift but shortly gave up a bad goal that took the wind out of their sails, and they spent most of the rest of the period chasing the puck in their own zone and killing a powerplay. The second was pretty much more of the same, with the Hawks blowing two powerplay chances, and giving up a dozen shots for a second period in a row. One goal game, going into the third. This has been a pattern. The Canes opened up the the game in the third with two goals, and the Hawks ended up losing this one 3-0 with very little momentum.


The Good

• The Hawks managed to pull off a textbook double minor penalty kill with little resistance, late in the first. Kane was sent to the box and the penalty kill ate up a good portion of time right when the Hawks were getting their momentum back.
• Crawford found his footings and shook off his early jitters, with a HUGE glove save on Jeff Skinner, and then a break-a-way and then on the resulting penalty shot by sniper Eric Staal.
• Early in the first period Quenneville split up Deuce and Leddy, and put Frank the Tank out there with Deuce. I can get on board with that, and it makes more sense. I'd prefer Seabrook or Hammer, but if it has to be Tank, then so be it.
• Frank the Tank FINALLY brought that physical aspect we'd heard so much about, since last trade deadline. The defining moment was when he dumped the 6'4" Carolina Captain on his dupa with a great open ice hit deep in the Hawks zone.
• It's really hard to root against a player I like so much, so if the Hawks have to get shut out, let Cam Ward be the goalie.

The Bad

• Not a good start for the Hawks after having a majority of the pressure, a lost faceoff by Marcus Kruger led to a long point shot that went off Leddy's skate and in the net. Eddie pointed out the faceoff loss, and it was a pretty clean loss. If you ask me, and I'm sure you didn't; Mayers should have taken that draw.
• The boards in Carolina sounded like Lars Ulrich's drums on the St. Anger album. A bunch of garbage can lids. Ping, Ping, Ping, Ping. Foley's mic switch wasn't working and you could clearly hear him ask to have the mic behind the net turned down because it was "ridiculous".
• After the Hawks early pressure, and the Canes goal, the Canes proceeded to ride the Hawks like a wild pigs. The Hawks couldn't win a faceoff, and they couldn't even get the puck out of the zone. Not how you want to play a first period, on the road, down by a goal.
• You things are bad when Mr. Automatic-on-break-a-ways can't even get a really good shot off.
• The Canes Tlusty put the Canes up 3-0 after a 2-on-1 break that saw the combination of Leddy and Lurch get throttled. Leddy did his best to slow the play up, but Lurch still wasn't able to get back fast enough to help out.
• Bolly and Kaner were donkey punched at the faceoff dot with Kaner going 1-8 and Bolland going 6-16.

The Ugly

• I'm not sure just WHAT the holy hell Crawford was doing in the opening half of first period, but he was all OVER the place, and he looked confused on almost every shot.
• The Hawks powerplay has reached epically embarrassing proportions. 25th in the league and falling faster every game. Not only that, but they gave up a horrible shorthanded break-a-way against that resulted in Seabrook getting called for an infraction which turned into a penalty shot.
• After yet ANOTHER failed powerplay in the third, Brandon Sutter picked a puck out od Seabrook's feet, right in front of the box, and raced in on a break-a-way. I'm pretty sure you know how THIS chapter ends...2-0

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What We've Learned Thus Far

Now that we are roughly 10% through the season it's safe to say that there are a few things that we're finding out about our beloved team. Some of which none of us could have guessed. Here are just a few:

All this talk of summers off, and Deuce getting a plethora of rest was just smoke blown up our collective asses. He's pretty much started off right where he left off in April. Brain farts and shooting directly into defenders. What's the next step, a lobotomy? Of course he has his flashes of brilliance, but we need more than flashes from a former Norris Trophy winning player. The first order of business should be getting him as far away from Nick Leddy as possible. There is a reason Soupie and Deuce never played together, and this should stand for Leddy and Keith. They both serve the same general purpose, so they cancel each other out, when together. Can we fix this, PLEASE?

If you would have told me that MegaMayers would be the most valuable fighter on the team, over Car Bomb and Big Slow, I would have laughed, or cried. YET, it is to be. The Thunderdome has done a textbook job of protecting his teammates, and has also thrown in a little offense. This may not keep up, but he's turned out to be one of the most important acquisitions of this offseason. This begs to ask the question of just WHAT they are going to do with Big Slow, but that's for another point.



Andrew Brunette has good hands, and a nose for the net, but that's it. When the game turns into a track meet, as quite a few of the Hawks games do, he is rendered completely useless. I'm not sure what they can really DO with him, but he may end up a healthy scratch in the near future. He has talent and leadership, but he's a square peg on a team full of round holes.





Frank the Tank Montador is apparently a slow starter. His preseason was atrocious and it led him to be played at 4th line winger for a game. That's not a promotion, people. Since the season started and he had gotten progressively better. He's going to pan out. His current partner, is another story.






Lurch O'Donnell is hanging on by a thin thread. He hasn't hurt the team, much, but his slow footwork is going to be exposed more and more. For all the time Sami Lepisto got in the preseason, it's kind of pointless to sit him in the press box for the first 8 games in favor of the old dog. Maybe O-D will step things up and start planing opponents on their tuchuses, but right now, he's just barely treading water. I like the idea of bringing him in, but he's more suited for the #7 spot.



Yes, Sami Lepisto is still employed by the Chicago Blackhawks, and he doesn't have some contagious disease other than being Finnish. I KEED, I KEED. Maybe we put him to work, guys? Just a thought.







Dan Carcillo really isn't the man we all thought he was. When he almost got into a fracas in his first shift of the training camp festival, we all thought to ourselves, "HERE he goes. The circus begins". We couldn't have been more wrong. He's been composed, and a model teammate. Yes, I'm still talking about Dan Carcillo. No, Mr. Hyde to speak of, yet. In fact he's almost been, shall I say, charming? If he can keep this up, I'd love for them to keep him around after this season. This has the makings of a hero story in this town.


Bolland is the guy we thought he was, in the playoffs last season. He's been THE shutdown guy, while anchoring the 3rd line and adding in some offense on the second PP unit. Sure beats his invisibility trick that he pulled last season.







Kaner is a beast no matter where you put him. He's been slightly below average on the defensive side of the rink, but he was that way at wing. Outside of the Hawks zone, he's been MASTERFUL. He has singlehandedly put to rest all questions about the #2 center slot. Consider it filled with balls of steel.






No worries of a sophomore slump with Crawford. He's here to stay, and he's going to continue to be solid, yet unspectacular. That, folks, is absolutely fine by me.








Razor will be just fine, as a backup. For the 20 games we'll need him, he's serviceable. He's not going to steal any games for the Hawks, but he's also not going to shit-the-bed each time he's in net. Maybe just a skid mark or two. Quenneville knows better than to throw him in there against Vancouver, but he can play some of the games like Columbus. I still like Salak better as a player, but they'd rather that Salak plays more than once every two weeks, and I can get on board with that.



Lucky Number 7 is quietly becoming the most important defender on the team. With Deuce playing like a puppy with two new toys, Seabrook just performs and intimidates. Argue with me all you'd like, but you don't see him constantly turning the puck over and repeatedly aiming for opposing players OTHER than the goalie. Let me remind you just how many times those blocked Duncan Keith shots have turned into odd man breaks coming back the Blackhawks way. Seabrook is big, surprisingly mobile, can control the puck, can jump into the play, and lets not leave out his hockey IQ. He's a poor man's Shea Weber. Let's be thankful he's here for a while.

As much as people fall all over themselves about players like Ben Smith, Jeremy Morin, Brandon Pirri, and Brandon Saad there just isn't room for them on the Blackhawks. PERIOD. Get mad and start pounding away at the keyboard, but tell me just WHERE those guys play. Unless Brunette gets shipped off somewhere, the Toews and Sharp line isn't changing. Hossa/Kane/Car Bomb isn't getting mixed up anytime soon. None of those players can play better than Bickell or Frolik on the shutdown line. What do you have left? 8 minutes a game on the forth line? I'd rather see the kids get major minutes in Rockford or Saginaw and have Stalberg/Olesz/Mayers/Kruger waste away on the forth line. None of those kids will benefit from being scratched and watching from the bench most of the game. This leaves the Hawks with plenty of leverage, should they entertain a trade. I, for one, would have loved to see David Booth here instead of Vancouver.

So, that is where things stand, at this point. The Hawks are 5-1-2 and currently in first place. Things aren't bad at all, and that's an improvement from last year.

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