Blackhawks at Winnipeg4-0 Shutout Loss Recap

"Another Day in Quicksand"

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks began their last circus trip ever, Tuesday night in Winnipeg Alberta, facing the Jets part Deux. They came in carrying a pretty warm streak, after beating the Eastern conference leading Canadiens, Sunday night. This, of course, means that we were all in for a big let down, and let down is what we were given.

The Blackhawks laid a dodo bird sized egg for fans, which should have been expected, just not against the Jets. Clearly the Jets are a team trending upwards because, honestly, could they be any worse than last year? That said, they have rookie sensation Patrick Laine eating up opponents and young promising players like Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Connor Hellebuyck contributing, but they were also shorthanded because of injuries. Tyler Myers, Bryan Little, Drew Stafford, and Mathieu Perreault were all missing from the lineup for this one.

The Hawks, sort of, showed their faced for the first period, but that didn't last long. There was a lot of running around in their own end, and the Jets finally took advantage with about 7 minutes gone in the period. Basically, that was all the Jets needed. It was that rough of a night. On paper, the Blackhawks held the shot advantage 8-6, but there weren't many legit threats either way.

The second period started with the Blackhawks powerplay and then a short time later, they had a two man advantage. This didn't end up turning out well for the Hawks and this rolled into a third period melt down. Again, on paper, it looks like the Blackhawks played better than they actually did, because of the shots generated on the power play. 12-7 looks like a very good shot advantage, when you're not factoring in the powerplays. Outside of those 5-odd minutes, there wasn't much more to "Crow" about.

The third period was just a complete collapse from the team in white. The Hawks gave up a goal 4 minutes in and then the back breakers were the two goals in 11 seconds roughly midway through. After that, the game was just a mere formality. Off to Calgary...

The Good

• There isn't much good. The Hawks came out flat and never really got engaged. They hit a slightly warm goalie, and just folded.
  
• Honestly, The only redeemable thing about this boring game was the Hockey Fights Cancer theme, so there ya go.

The Bad

• The first Jets goal was actually a pretty nice play by Mark Scheifele. He was, kind of, thrown a hand grenade and was able to tow drag around Hjalmarsson, while finding rookie Josh Morrissey in the slot. Morrissey let a pretty good shot go, that Crawford saw, but it had just enough juice to sneak through Corey and into the net.
  
• Chris Thorburn really took most of the wind out of the Blackhawks with his first goal of the year, in the third period. His shot was long enough, and not all that hard at all. Thorburn just spun around and one timed the puck from the far wall. I don't think anyone, including Thorburn, expected that to be anything but a garbage rebound. Crawford should have been able to track it, but it ended up up being perfectly placed in the top far corner. You could just tell that this was not Crawford's night.
  
• Patrik Laine became the first player since Evgeni Malkin in 2006-07 to score 12 goals in his first 18 career NHL games, with the Jets 3rd goal of the night. It was nothing fancy, almost a Hossa type goal. A rebound laid loose in the slot are and Laine chipped it top cheddar. I like this kid, and the Blackhawks should be concerned that he's in their division. His big frame and speed make him a potential nightmare for years to come. I'd take him on my team in a heartbeat.
  
• Eleven fucking seconds after the Laine goal, Nic Petan (who just makes me think of Chris Kattan when they say his name) gave the knife a final twist for good measure. Not only that, but former Hawk Marko Dano had the assist.
  
• Not Corey Crawford's best performance. The first goal snuck through, and giving up 2 goals in 11 seconds is never acceptable. He wasn't exactly given much to work with, either, but four goals on 24 shots, is not ideal. Mulligan. Scott Darling came in and pulled the "utility infielder thrown in to pitch" duty, because the game was over already.
  

The Ugly

• I'm not really sure what Vince Hinostroza was doing, but he god fucking rocked by Josh Morrissey. He looks to have had his head up, but continued to skate right at Morrissey, and Morrissey completely ragdolled him. The Department of Player Safety will look at the hit because of the violence and injury, but I don't see much wrong with the hit. Morrissey hit him in the chest, and Hinostroza went helicoptering into the boards. If Morrissey got him in the chin just a shade, it's because Hinostroza is a hobbit. No one wants to see a player get hurt, but this one is on Hinostroza. He had a rough time getting up and gathering his wits, and never returned. If he wasn't concussed then I'm Fabio.
  
• The Blackhawks had a long 2 man advantage in the second period and accomplished dick-all. So, now that the penalty kill is functional, we get the Clown Shoes powerplay back. I don't remember agreeing to that swap.
  

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Jacob Trouba actually carried an overall -12 Corsi for the night, but a great deal of that had to do with the PK time.
• Brent Seabrook had a great night possession-wise towing a plus 14 Corsi.
• Again, the Blackhawks team possession numbers look pretty good because they out shot the Jets and held them to a low shot total.
  

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

Keith - Campbell
Kempny - Seabrook
Forsling - Hjalmarsson

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Blackhawks vs Canadiens3-2 Win Recap

"My Last Serenade"

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

Sunday night the Blackhawks welcomed the red hot Canadiens to Chicago for, "One of those great six o'clock starts". The Hawks also welcomed back their former mangy mutt, and now overpaid agitator Andrew Shaw, as well. The Montreal Canadians came in on a hell of a hot streak, but that hot streak involved all world goalie Carey Price. The Hawks didn't face Price, Sunday night, which was an advantage right off the bat. Chicago native Al Montoya was in net for the Habs, and his last start really didn't go so hot, to the tune of a 10-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. After this game the Blackhawks were hitting the road for their annual pain in the ass circus trip and 7 straight on the road until the 29th, when they return against the Panthers. Perfect timing after just ending a 7 game winning streak, eh?

The Hawks organization started out with a Denis Savard tribute called "One More Shift". It was pretty cool and I know my brother was at full mast. The biggest Savard fan I've ever known. This is for you, Skeeter:


Following the short Savard ceremony, the Blackhawks came out with a little jump in their step. For a while, at least. The one thing that you'd imagine them gaining even more momentum on is the powerplay, but that's been proven wrong time and time again. They eventually took a 1-0 lead but they certainly didn't have the same pep in their step. Shots ended up in favor of the Blackhawks 9-7 and the Habs carried over a powerplay into the second period.

To say that the Blackhawks didn't start the second period well, is a bit of an understatement. They gave up two pretty soft goals in the first three minutes of the period. Thankfully, they were able get back on track and score two goals in the latter minutes of the period to take a 3-2 lead into the final frame. Overall, the Hawks also out shot the Habs pretty heavily 13-5.

The third period started out really well for the Blackhawks but they were not able to solve Al Montoya. In the latter stages of the period, the Canadiens were able to use 4-on-4 play and a pulled goalie to generate some pressure but the Blackhawks were able to hold on for the 3-2 win.

The Good

• Not only did they honor Denis Savard, but they honored Andrew Shaw with a little scoreboard tribute.
• Gustav Forsling put the Blackhawks up 1-0 with about eight minutes remaining in the first period. Andrew Desjardins and #DickFuckingPanik created some traffic in front, while Al Montoya's defenseman knocked his stick out of his hand. This gave Forsling an advantage on the shot, and he beat Montoya glove side.
• Following another failed powerplay the "Can't we just trade or LTIR him" Marian Hossa scored his 9th goal of the season. Al Montoya made the save on a long Nick Schmaltz clapper, but the rebound laid right at the feet of Hossa, who jammed it in.
• With just under 4 minutes left in the second period, Patrick Kane paid his homage to Denis Savard with a highlight reel goal of his own. After the refs missed a puck hitting the netting in behind the net, the play worked back around and Kane dangled through Jeff Petry and Max Pacioretty, then beating Al Montoya to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead.
• With about 7 minute remaining, Andrew Shaw looked to have a wide open net and Corey Crawford kicked it away with an incredible toe save.
• This might be the most complete and dominant game that the Blackhawks have played in quite a while. They had a few minute lapse in the second but, otherwise, they were spending most of their time in the Habs zone. The Blackhawks out shot the Habs 35-23.

The Bad

• A minute into the second period, Duncan Keith had to take a penalty when Daniel Carr got in on a partial break-a-way. The Habs tied the game on a bizarre goal. Shea Weber tried to center the puck from the goal line extended, and it went off Michal Kempny's stick and into the top corner of the net.
• A couple of minutes after the Weber goal, Andrei Markov found a lane at the blue line, after Hawks neutral zone turnover and beat Corey Crawford cleanly. That's one Crawford would love to have a "do over" on.
• It took about 25 minutes for Joel Quenneville to fire up the lineblender, swapping 1st and 4th line left wings. Hinostroza ended up with the golden ticket while Hartman went down to the shithouse.
• With Al Montoya playing a great game and about 3 minutes left, Ryan Hartman got him all fired up and Montoya came up swinging. All this led to a 4-on-4 situation.

The Ugly

• The powerplay opened up struggling to get the puck out of their own end and, if not for Corey Crawford, they would have given up yet another ugly shorthanded goal.
• Pat Foley sat and told everyone watching the broadcast that Andrew Shaw was never drafted. Andrew Shaw was drafted in the 5th round(139th overall), in 2011.
• Max Pacioretty took a deflected puck right in the yap and left the ice bleeding pretty heavily, in the first period. Ouch.
• I still have no respect for Alex Radulov. He's an over rated bum slayer who dominated an inferior league and caused the Predators a bunch of drama.
• With his team trailing by a goal, and about 12 minutes remaining, the $5 million Andrew Shaw took the puck in his own corner and threw it to Richard Panik. The problem is that Shaw no longer plays on hte same team as Panik. Then he almost broke Michal Kempny's neck with a borderline hit, very late in the third period.
• Jordin Tootoo sat for this one. THANK YOU, JOEL QUENNEVILLE! Coincidence that they played their best game of the year? It's nice when you have 4th line skill that you can roll up 3 lines and not lose much.

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

Keith - Campbell
Kempny - Seabrook
Forsling - Hjalmarsson

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Blackhawks vs. Capitals 3-2 Overtime Loss Recap

"Then You Got Hit" 

by Patrick Stankus
Tweet to #Fatrick

After traveling down I-55 to visit their rival St. Louis Blues, the Blackhawks returned home on Friday night to face the Washington Capitals. Coming into tonight's game, the Hawks were riding a seven game winning streak, while the Capitals were looking to find their elite Eastern Conference team status. With a couple teams in the Central Division struggling and the "Circus Trip" looming at the end of next week, its important for the Hawks to pad their point total now.

The first period featured the offense we would expect out of both of these teams. As good as the offense was, the goaltending was even better. The Hawks peppered the Capitals net with 13 shots, but were only able to beat Holtby once via the power play. That however wouldn't be enough for the Hawks enter the intermission with the lead. Jay Beagle tallied two goals in the opening frame to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

As entertaining the first period was, the second was a goddamn bore. Holy shit. Aside from Corey Crawford leaving the game briefly, there was literally nothing to talk about. The Hawks had a power play opportunity with five minutes remaining, but it resembled that of a Jeb Bush Presidential campaign, and couldn't get anything going. After the 40 minute mark, the Hawks still trailed the Capitals 2-1.

The snore fest of a game continued into the third period, as there really wasn't much going on. Throughout the period Holtby made some big saves to preserve the Capitals one goal lead. For Christ's sake, there wasn't even a penalty to talk about. In the closing seconds, Artemi Panarin throw a puck on net, that was deflected by Brooks Orpik, right onto Marian Hossa's stick and he stuffed it in the net to tie the game at two.

In the ever exciting 3 on 3 overtime, through the first two minutes, neither team recorded a shot on net. Talk about thrilling. The lone shot of overtime came off of Marcus Johansson's stick and beat Corey Crawford to give the Capitals the 3-2 overtime win.

The Good

• Stick taps to both goalies tonight. Corey Crawford and Braden Holtby were outstanding. An honorable mention also goes to Scott Darling, who had to come in for a brief time in the second period. Darling was literally thrown into  the fire and had to stop a breakaway.
• Jump for joy, the Blackhawks power play finally scored a goal.
• Remember when Marian Hossa couldn't score his 500th career goal at the end of last year, and people deemed him "done"? Yeah, that was fun times, wasn't it?
• The Hawks stayed consistent at the dot. Tonight, they won 55% of the draws.

The Bad

• Corey Crawford gave us a scare in the second period as he pulled a Ben Bishop, and left the game briefly. What can you say, diarrhea can be a real bitch.
• Anytime Jay Beagle scores two goals on you, that calls for smashing your head off the wall.
• Patrick Kane had an off night as he was virtually invisible and was a -2.
• For a little bit, it looked like the Capitals were going to challenge Marian Hossa's goal. That would have been icing on the cake for how ridiculous challenges for goalie interference has gotten.
• Artem Anisimov missed the game. Hopefully the day to day status stays true to form and he returns for the next game.

The Ugly

• The Hawks second power play of the game was, insert your own awful adjective here.
• Somehow Jordin Tootoo managed over eight minutes of ice time. Simply amazing.
• The Hawks loss tonight cost me a goddamn Jimmy Johns sammich bet with the Capitals fan at home. I believe that is 5 bets in a row I've lost to him. (See my twitter avatar for the most costly one)

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Blackhawks at St. Louis2-1 OT Win Recap

"Sworn To A Great Divide"

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

Yesterday was the first day of the rest of your lives, people, or at least the next four years. After everyone watched the impossible happen Tuesday night/ early Wednesday morning, the world needed to go back to living their lives and enjoying SPORTZ, the Blackhawks and their fans certainly included. Enough about the red asses, though. With the Cubs done, and the election over, we're all sure to have to soon endure the return of the insufferable complaining vocal minority of this fanbase, in the coming days. Isn't that just more news to brighten your day?

Anyhow, the Hawks traveled down I-55 to that stinky hell hole, otherwise known as St. Louis, to face the Blues, on the heels of the big reveal of the thoughtless Winter Classic sweaters. Just another in the long line of terribly disappointing designs that shows how the Blackhawks design teams lack vision and creativity. Whoever wastes their money on those are simply morons.

That said, there was an actual hockey game to be played and the Blackhawks were pretty red hot coming in. They had won 6 in a row and were 8-1-1 in their last ten games, including the home-and-home sweep of the Stars. Not too shabby for a team that started out 0-2 and had the mouth breathing windbags in a panic.

The Blackhawks open the game pretty well, especially on the road, drawing two penalties and earning an early 2 man advantage. Of course, they completely pissed it away in short order. Not only that, but they turned right around and gave the Blues a powerplay of their own. The Hawks escaped unscathed but they were just tempting fate, once again. The first was definitely an "up and down" one, and the Blues held the shot lead 8-6.

The second period began with the Blackhawks grabbing a quick 1-0 lead but after that both teams locked down their back ends. The Blackhawks led the middle period in shots 9-8, and Corey Crawford held them in the game. He was the only reason that the Blues didn't actually tie and/or take the lead.

The third period became a goaltending clinic both ways, continuing what Crawford already had started. Both netminders were absolutely outstanding, but Allen held the slight edge after the Blues were finally able to solve Corey Crawford late in the game. The Blackhawks actually led in shots 14-12, as well, which just goes to show that "score effects" is bullshit. The game went into overtime, but a carry over powerplay led to a quick Blackhawks goal, and win.

The Good

• About a minute and a half into the second period, the Blackhawks finally opened the scoring. Gustav Forsling jumped off the bench and was immediately set up for a long shot on Jake Allen. Allen had a clean look but kicked a fat rebound to the stick of Marian Hossa, who just swept it into the wide open net.
• Usually, I'm extremely critical of skill players getting punched in the brain box, but little guy Artemi Panarin dropped the gloves with Scottie Upshall in the heat of the moment and Panarin BEAT UPSHALL'S ASS. To put salt in the wound, just as Panarin came out of the box, following his 5 minute major in overtime, he scored the game winning goal to completely the Gordie Howe hat trick.
• The Blackhawks held the Blues to under 30 shots and led 30-28 overall. On the road, that's about all you can ask for.

The Bad

• It only took Quenneville about 30 minutes to fire up the lineblender, swapping #DickFuckingPanik and Schmaltz.
• Gustav Forsling's footwork has shown to be less than adequate at times. With a Blues forward bearing down at the attacking blue line, he tried to cross over and tripped over his own feet. This isn't the first time we've seen that happen, either. That's no different than John Scott doing that in his first Blackhawks game.
• Patrick Kane had a pretty clear breakaway in the third period and wasn't able to get a clean shot off due to the defender zeroing in on him and a poke check by Jake Allen.
• With just over two minutes left in the game, the Blues were able to finally beat Crawford. This was a few mere minutes after Mark Lazarus had to proclaim this bit of snarkiness:
  

  Corey Crawford five minutes from his third shutout in five games, and jinxes aren't real. #Blackhawks

  — Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) November 10, 2016

  Don't be a dick about it. Goalies, and some players in general, take this shit seriously. You're talking about players that don't want you walking on their logo, and you're going to be a shithead on purpose? I like Laz, but he's just being a dope about this one.
• Tyler Motte missed his first game due to injury, just in time for Andrew Desjardins to return to the lineup.

The Ugly

• The Blackhawks had an early 5-on-3 and weren't able to generate more than a few initial shots, and had no rebound support whatsoever. Even worse, they almost gave up a shorthanded breakaway while attempting to throw Nick fucking Schmaltz out on the powerplay point. When has this kind of thing EVER worked, outside of Patrick Sharp? The answer is NEVER. Not even with Teravainen, who was a better player at the time.
• The Blues got a third period powerplay when Alex Steen completely embellished a trip, and got away with it. Jonathan Toews had his stick near Steen's feet and Steen took one of the slowest, most pathetic dives ever attempted.
• If you're not going to play Vinny Hinostroza, send him to Rockford. Whoever is responsible for this charade, knock the shit off.
• Artem Anisimov was hurt in the second period and did not come out for the third, ending his career high 11 game point streak. Nick Schmaltz filled in but really did nothing.
• The much ballyhooed about Nail Yakupov was a healthy scratch for the Blues, again. I guess the Blackhawks missing out wasn't such a disaster, eh?

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• Panarin was a monster with a plus 14 Corsi.
• The 4th line took a beating in possession. Rasmussen, Desjardins and Tootoo were -15, -6, and -3 overall respectively. Rasmussen took a big hit because he spends so much time on the PK, but those guys were all still under water 5-on-5.

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

Keith - Campbell
Kempny - Seabrook
Forsling - Hjalmarsson

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Puckin Hostile ShoutcastEpisode 69

In this 69th (NICE) Puckin Hostile Shoutcast (the Andrew Desjardins episode) Gatekeeper, Pat, and Derek call a last minute audible, and roll on this historic election night, so that they can officially make Blackhawks podcasts great again along with the new commander in chief.

The panel discuss the following:

-Pat and Gate are thoroughly entertained by and find great humor in Trump winning the election. THOROUGHLY.
-Other's...not so much
-Gate's trip to Dallas, sans the other losers
-Blackhawks are in first place in the division and on a winning streak
-Gate is stoked that Goldberg is back for one more WWE match
-The Vegas franchise announces a reveal date for the logo and team name
-Some league signings, and suspensions
-Alex DeBrincat signs his ELC
-Games vs the Devils, Kings, Flames, Avs and Stars
-And of course, as always, an abundance of extremely inappropriate references and jokes in incredibly bad taste

You can find the episode on iTunes by following this link: iTunes

Get the Shoutcast directly though Soundcloud here:


For all your custom jersey needs visit Black and Tan Sports at:

http://www.facebook.com/BlackAndTanSports

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Blackhawks vs. Stars 4-3 Overtime Win Recap

"Love, Hate, Love"

 
by Patrick Stankus
Tweet to #Fatrick

The Blackhawks returned home on Sunday night to complete a home and home series with the Dallas Stars. Prior to the game the Hawks held a brief ceremony to honor the World Series Champions Chicago Cubs, to inject some extra energy into The UC crowd. There, you happy? I said it. Now lets move on with hockey, because everyone loves hockey. Well, I guess we'll really see how many now. Yes, that was a shot fired. Alright enough, time to drop the puck on one of those (insert Eddie O voice) "six o'clock starts."

The first period could be summarized like this, it was a complete tire fire. Both teams displayed sloppy, careless play that resulted in chances both ways. The Hawks started the game very sluggish and couldn't capitalize on two power plays they received. Dallas on the other hand was able to open the scoring on their loan power play chance in the period to give them a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The Stars carried the momentum into the second period, which they began on the power play. Luckily for the Hawks they were able to weather the storm. The power play continued to struggle in the second period. This time they yielded a shorthanded goal to find themselves in a 2-0 hole. As flat as the Hawks had been in this game, they did manage to fight their way back and cut the lead to one, after a nifty goal by Patrick Kane. As the period wound down, the Hawks peppered the Stars net, ending the period with 14, but couldn't tie the game, and after 40 minutes would trail 2-1.

The final 20 minutes saw a different Blackhawks team take the ice. Unlike the first two periods, there was a lot of jump their step, and they dictated the pace of the game. That paid off as the Hawks rattled off two goals in a minute to put themselves on top 3-2. Throughout the period, Scott Darling made some big saves to preserve that lead, but that luck would eventually run out. With just over a minute remaining, Dallas tied the game at three and would send the game to overtime.

In the first minute of overtime, Patrick Kane put the Hawks shorthanded by taking an awful penalty in the Dallas zone. While on the penalty kill, Scott Darling made an unbelievable skate save on Patrick Eaves to keep the game tied. After the Hawks killed off the penalty, they took charge and Artemi Panarin had a great chance to end it, but Kari Lehtonen was able to stop it. With under a minute remaining in overtime, Marian Hossa unleashed a bomb from the point, and beat Lehtonen to send the crowd home happy with a 4-3 Blackhawks win.


The Good

• Patrick Kane's mini breakaway goal was a thing of beauty. Those are some sick mitts that 88 has.
• Just after the Hawks tied the game at two, Jamie Benn had a chance on a breakaway, and Scott Darling was able to come up with the save. Seconds later as the Hawks went the other way, Anisimov scored to put the Hawks up 3-2. Its amazing how momentum shifts, isn't it?
• I've been hard on Nick Schmaltz, but I really liked the Schmaltz-Toews-Kane line that emerged from the line blender. Occasionally that things spits out some productivity. 
• Midway through the third period, Pat Foley made the telecast all perhaps one of the greatest telecasts in history by dropping a Yanic Perreault reference.
• Marian Hossa's production decline continued tonight with a slick pass through the legs of a Dallas defender, in which Toews buried it to tie the game. 
• What a stop by Scott Darling on Patrick Eaves in overtime. My goodness that was a glorious old school skate save.
• Speaking of Scott Darling, he was outstanding tonight. He made 32 saves in the win tonight, but none was better than the one mentioned in the previous bulletin.
• The Hawks dominated at the dot tonight, winning 57% of the draws. Who says faceoffs aren't important? Well I know who.
• Jonathan Toews had himself a night with a goal and two assists. If the Captain gets going, watch out.
• Is there another player in the league hotter than Artem Anisimov right now? I think not. He extended his points streak tonight with a goal and an assist.

The Bad

• I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer here, but lets keep the "W" flags at home. That's a Cubs thing. Let them have it. As Blackhawks fans, lets come up with our own ideas.
• Pissing away the lead with 1:20 to go in the third period is not ideal. Luckily the Hawks came back to get the win, in overtime, and not a shootout. Remember that come tiebreaker time.
• Patrick Kane has to be smarter than that to take a penalty in your own zone, while in overtime. Thankfully the penalty kill bailed him out.

The Ugly

• Antoine Roussel is a complete ballbag. In the first period he decided to try and pick a fight with known Blackhawks enforcer Marian Hossa.
• Good Lord, the Hawks first power play of the game was god awful. Maybe one of the worst I've seen.
• Tyler Motte left the game with just over six minutes remaining after an ugly fall, leg first into the boards. 
• The power play was just flat out awful tonight. In the end they were 0 for 4, but a couple of the opportunities were atrocious.

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Blackhawks vs. Dallas Stars3-2 Win Recap

Patrick Norton

@pdnorton3

Pregame Thoughts

We’re nearly a month through the regular season and somehow the Blackhawks sit atop the Central Division and Western Conference. Each division in the league looks tough, but not too many people expected the shitshow *sorry Mom* Central to play out the way it has. Granted, we’re a month in, so there’s a helluva lot of hockey to be played but, St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas, and Minnesota were all expecting great things this season and so far, they’re falling flat on their faces. That’s not to discredit the Blackhawks either, especially because they’ve played some exceptional hockey in the past two weeks. It’s more of a dig at the rest of the division. The Blackhawks are at their most vulnerable state in a few years with a new wave of youth getting a lot of action and teams are just letting their opportunities to gain a lead in the standings slip away. Not that I mind or anything. Keep sucking. Go ahead. See what I care.

Game Time

It seemed like tonight might be another routine win for the Blackhawks when Richard Panik lit the lamp eleven seconds into the game, but my happy analysis lasted a whole ‘nother minute as the Hawks began to look outmatched. The puck handling was poor and mistakes on defense lead to a Brett Ritchie equalizer at the 7:25 mark in the first period and a Curtis McKenzie redirect that gave the Stars about ninety seconds later. A couple of useless power plays and some defensive miscues, the Blackhawks were lucky to get out of the period down one. At the end of one, the score was 2-1 with shots at 12 apiece.

In period number two, Ryan Hartman backed up his physical play with a great snipe from the top of right wing circle. Shortly after, Kane netted a powerplay tally that launched the Blackhawks in front, 3-2. While they didn’t score for the rest of the period, they kept up the even strength pressure. Along with killing a two minute minor, they were unsuccessful in adding to their lead on a four minute double minor powerplay drawn by Tyler Motte. That was the only weakness in the period; the powerplay. Through two, the Hawks not only had a 24-21 edge in the shots department, but also in the goal column, 3-2.

The third period was solid from a defensive standpoint. While the offense couldn’t tally, the defense held their own and helped out their goaltender. They limited the turnovers they made in the first two periods and did some excellent work preventing Dallas from getting direct shots on Crawford. They played a little too much prevent defense for my liking, but the end result is all that mattered. Crow tacked on another eleven saves in the period, ending his total at 30 for the night. A late high sticking minor by Marcus Kruger had the Stars threatening on the powerplay to end the game, but Crawford was able to thwart the numerous chances from Dallas. The Stars edge the Blackhawks in shots, 33-32, but it’s the Hawks that take this one 3-2 and improve their win streak to five games.

Both teams had their chances and whiffed, so it would be unfair to say the Blackhawks got lucky tonight, but thankfully we don’t see the Stars for a while… right?! NOPE! Puck drops at 6 pm CT in Chicago tomorrow night (November 6th).

The Good

• The PK continued its successful run as of late, killing off all three powerplays for the Stars, including a minor for the last 1:49 of the third WITH expert penalty killer Marcus Kruger in the penalty box.
• Besides being tagged with a questionable tripping penalty, Gustav Forsling earned some more playing time tonight. Quick on his feet and didn’t look panicked in situations most 20 year old defensemans would.
• Corey Crawford. Simple as that. The two goals in the first stemmed from poor defense. If Crawford makes the saves, they’re highlight reel worthy. The Stars gave Crawford a heavy workload, but held his own once again. His biggest positive was his ability to limit rebounds, especially on the PK. Another nice night for the netminder.
• The entire second period looked good for Chicago. Not only were they able to net two on Niemi, they were able to get a powerplay tally and outshot the Stars 12-9 in the period. The defense looked a little better in the period, but they weren’t overworked.
• Ryan Hartman played a very Andrew Shaw-esque game. Many fans were hoping he’d fill that role, but until this point, his performance had been lackluster. Hartman netted a goal and through two periods, had the lone two hits credited to the Blackhawks.
• Artem Anisimov was able to keep his point streak alive with a dandy assist on Kane’s PP goal.

The Bad

• With the game on WGN, the intermission analysis was bound to suck. They had a segment where players read tweets about them. It works for Kimmel, but these players have absolutely NO personality in front of the camera. Painfully awkward. Then it was up to Steve Konroyd and Lauren Magiera(?) to bring it home. Next time, they should just play an old SHOUTCAST.
• It was nice of Kane to score a powerplay goal, but it was the five failed attempts that would’ve haunted the Hawks had they lost this one. It really stunk up a nice victory and the only reason I’m not putting it in “The Ugly” is because Kaner was able to net what ended up being the game winner on the PP. Inability to successfully get the puck into the offensive zone handed the Hawks the impossible task of sustaining pressure during the advantages.

The Ugly

• Another slow beginning to the game allowed for the Stars to jump on Crawford early. Yes, Richard Panik gave the Hawks a nice little headstart eleven seconds in, but the next 19:49 were all Stars. They had complete control and their PK looked unbeatable because the Blackhawks simply forgot how to enter the zone.
• It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Blackhawks aren’t a physical team and they don’t require a physical presence to thrive on offense. However, when one player is essentially the only Blackhawk in the hit column and he sees the ice for ten minutes, you need somebody else to step up. Yes, I know, it’s not their game, but they were teed up like a damn pinata tonight and couldn’t do a thing about it.
• They had a few chances offensively in the third, but the Blackhawks seemingly went into their shell and played prevent defense. They got lucky, but that must change if the Blackhawks want to hold on to one goal leads in the future. I’m not saying they need to play aggressive offense, but even their powerplay opportunities were mainly in the defensive zone. It didn’t help that the Blackhawks had to kill off a penalty for the final two minutes of the game.
• Jesus Christ, the ice is f***ing terrible in Dallas. Sure, it’s hot in Texas, but it’s still a damn ice rink. There were blowouts and bouncing pucks at every turn.
• Steve Konroyd announcing a hockey game had me banging my head on the wall all night, so “The Ugly” here is my face after the bruises from the drywall.
• I forgot that Jordin Tootoo was on the Blackhawks at least four times tonight. Couldn’t figure out who the hell was on the ice and his number is his damn name.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The Hawks and Stars drew even at the dot, each taking 26.
• I’m still not 100% clear on the whole Corsi concept, but Hartman, Hossa, Panarin, Campbell, Forsling, Schmaltz, and Anisimov finished with a Corsi above zero, so, hurray?

The Lineblender

Left Wing - Center - Right Wing

Panik - Toews - Kane

Panarin - Ansimov - Hossa

Hartman - Kruger - Motte

Rasmussen - Schmaltz - Tootoo

Defensive Pairings

Keith - Campbell

Kempny - Seabrook

Forsling - Hjalmarsson

Late addition from Gate:

Just wanted to add some pics from these crazy Stars fans that sat behind us

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Blackhawks vs Avalanche4-0 Shutout Win Recap

"Perfect Insanity"

Embed from Getty Images

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

With the Cubs season finally over, after their Cinderella run and unbelievable game 7 win, the now division leading Blackhawks were right back to work, Thursday night. They welcomed the Colorado Avalanche to the United Center, who aren't your insane homeless Uncle's Avalanche, anymore. This is bad news for the entire Western Conference. They have finally broken free from the restraints of that gray old French lunatic, which means that they may play to their actual strengths. Based on their defense, however, they may give up 4 goals a game, every game, as well. Either way, this team should be better than they have shown. This would be the first of many meeting between these two clubs, so get used to more Avs speed.

The Blackhawks were all clearly up late celebrating the Cubs game the night before, because they came out rusty. They stepped on the ice physically, but were in a complete mental haze. The Hawks spent a good majority of the first period in their own end doing damage control, and killing penalties. Shockingly enough, the Blackhawks only needed thirty eight dominant seconds to take a 2-0, and thirty eight dominant seconds is pretty much all they had. They were out shot 13-7, and generally out played overall. Total head scratcher, but who are we to complain?

They came out in the second period and looked like an actual functional team, for most of the period. They lost momentum in the second half of the period, partially due to the long delay from ice problems, right in the middle of their powerplay. The Avs out shot the Hawks, once again, 14-10, and held a 26-17 advantage overall.

The Blackhawks ended all hopes of a comeback very early in the third period, and then iced the game late in the period. If the Avs had any goaltending whatsoever, they could have been in the game the entire length of the game. Despite getting out shot 38-21 overall, the Blackhawks headed off to Dallas with a 4-0 win and their second shutout in 3 games.

See you in Dallas, Blackhawks and fans.

The Good

• I'm putting him at the top, because fuck everyone. Corey Crawford was outstanding. He had 38 saves, and earned his second shutout in three games. He has only given up one goal in those three games, and had no chance on that goal. If not for one Duncan Keith stick shredding PP gaffe, Crawford would have been on a 3 game shutout streak. If you don't like Crawford, you're just flat out fucking wrong, and I refuse to debate that with anyone.
• With about 5 minutes remaining in the first period, the Hawks decided to wipe the sleep out of their eyes and do some actual damage of their own. First, Jonathan Toews picked up a rebound in front of Semyon Varlamov and chipped it up over Varlamov's glove for a 1-0 lead. Not 40 seconds later, 38 to be exact, Artemi Panarin broke Marian Hossa loose and in on a breakaway. Hossa controlled the puck with one hand while using his right hand to fend off Fedor "Rootin" Tyutin, and beating Varlamov glove side.
• A minute into the third period, the "steadily declining" Marian Hossa scored his second goal of the game in very similar fashion. This time, however, he had one defender on his back and another bearing down on him quickly. He still had enough wherewithal to get a shot off over Varlamov's glove (a trend?) giving the Blackhawks a 3-0 lead. Tell me how bad Corey Crawford's glove is, again.
• In the third period, the PK was put to the test once again when Artemi Panarin got a high sticking infraction. Not only did the PK not give up a shot, but Patrick Kane set up Panarin, who was fresh out of the box, for a nice back door goal to give the Blackhawks a 4-0 lead.
• Marian Hossa had a pretty damn good night, despite his -13 corsi. Sometimes numbers lie.

The Bad

• I realize we are all feeling better about the penalty kill, but taking stupid ass penalties like Patrick Kane did in the first period is just tempting fate. Get your fucking acts together!
• Michal Kempny got his feet caught underneath him, in the neutral zone, and just completely ate shit. Reminded me of the way David Ross ate shit in game 7 on the Jon Lester wild pitch. Otherwise, Kempny looked better this game. Lets hope this is the turning point.

The Ugly

• The Blackhawks spent the first 5 minutes of the game in their own end looking like a gaggle of monkeys trying to bang a football, but their goaltender kept the opponents off the board.
• The 5 minutes delay in the second period while the ice crew fixed the net pegs was painfully draining. Not only that, but the Blackhawks powerplay lost any momentum.
• I can see where Richard Panik could piss people off, especially Joel Quenneville. Sometimes he just makes immensely stupid plays. He was deep in the Hawks zone with the puck on his stick, and he tried to make some fancy between the legs blind pass, that ended on the tape of an Avs forward. That is the type of play every dopey men's league player thinks he's good enough to pull off, and ends up with me screaming at them. You want to get on your goalie's bad side quickly? Pull that dumb shit. Nothing makes me more mad than needless blind passes ending up on opponent's sticks. Totally avoidable. I still like Panik a lot and will defend his usefulness, but he's becoming Andrew Shaw. This was evident when Foley droned on about how he led the Hawks in hits the previous game, with 6.
  
• Semyon Varlamov SUCKED a monkey's red ass. Four goals on 19 shots is fucking terrible. You can't blame a defense that gave up under 25 shots on a road. Launch that dude into the sun.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The Blackhawks were mushroom stamped at the faceoff dots again, winning only 42%.
• Three quarters of the Blackhawks team was underwater in corsi. Honestly they had no business winning this game 4-0. The Avs were just brutal.

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

Keith - van Riemsdyk
Kempny - Seabrook
Forsling - Hjalmarsson


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Blackhawks vs Flames5-1 Win Recap

"Smiling Like A Killer"

by Gatekeeper
Tweet to Gatekeeper

I cannot remember a time when the Calgary Flames came into Chicago so early and so close together, but here were the Blackhawks facing the Flames in the United Center for the second time in 2 weeks. This is all fine and well, because I have always had a soft spot for Calgary. They were my 1B of favorite teams from 86-94. Then they let Mike Vernon go, and I lost most of my fandom. There has always been a small part of me that has kept a warm spot in my heart for the city of Calgary and their team, so when they face the Blackhawks I pay special attention. They are team trending in the right direction, despite all the flack that President of Hockey Operations Brian Burke catches. That said, the Blackhawks had a game to play. Quenneville had the lineup blender on puree, sitting Michal Kempny and Ryan Hartman down, and bringing Gustav Forsling back into the lineup. The Blackhawks were coming off a pretty dominant 3-0 win over the Kings, so it's odd to see Quenneville make any changes. Normally he sticks with a winning lineup, to a fault.

The Blackhawks and Flames did nothing to take the attention of what was going on in Cleveland during the first period. A couple of powerplays both ways were hardly noticeable on the scale. The only sign of life from the Blackhawks point of view came with a minute left, and in an unlikely fashion. The Flames even out shot the Hawks 13-6, and had no business going into the intermission down 0-1. Luckily for the home team, that's exactly what the score was after twenty minutes. I mean, it was no 7-0 early lead, but the Blackhawks would take it.

The Blackhawks weren't able to sneak out of the second period as luckily, as they came away with a slightly better shot advantage but surrendered the game tying goal. To add insult to injury, the tying goal was scored shorthanded. The final shot count was 13-9, but this had the Blackhawks in pretty good position to finish with a strong third period.

Finish strong is exactly what the Blackhawks did. They opened up a comfortable lead and pretty easily finished off the Flames. All this happened before things got a little chippy, including a little conversation between the #AdequateVersteeg and Captain Serious. When all was said and done, the Blackhawks sent the Flames back to Calgary with a 5-1 loss.

The Good

• With a minute left in the first period, and all hope looking slim, Patrick Kane threw on his cape and put the Blackhawks up 1-0. Corey Crawford made a few really nice saves back in the Blackhawks end and Kane rushed up the ice, by himself, while his line mates took off for a change. Kane hit the Flames blue line and it looked like three Flames defenders had him snuffed out. He cut towards the middle of the slot and gained a step on the defenders, but still had to beat Brian Elliott; from about 30 feet out. That is exactly what he did. I certainly don't enjoy glorifying this guy one bit, but that goal was impressive. He was one on four, at one point, and beat them all plus the goalie. Credit where it's due.
• Just when the powerplay was looking terrible, the Blackhawks answered the bell almost halfway through the third period. Panarin basically banked a shot right off Artem Anisimov's stick and into the net. I think this calls for an #ArtyParty.
  
• Tyler Motte had an absolute highlight goal, with about seven and half left in the game to put the Blackhawks up 3-1. He looked to be all alone and pushed to the outside when he suddenly took two steps and cut hard to the net. Motte then out muscled and got past Lance Bouma, who could only try and hang on for dear life. He lost the puck in his skates but kicked it forward to his stick, which was enough to wrap it around Brian Elliott's right pad. Methinks that we might start seeing more 64 jerseys around the UC and Blackhawks Land.
• Artemi Panarin looked to have closed out the scoring with an empty netter with three minutes remaining in the game, but there was still plenty of time for a #DickFuckingPanik to Hjalmarsson tops shelf clapper, ending the Flames night.
• Steve Konroyd might have had his broadcasting career highlight when he whipped out a "Wakey, Wakey" on Pat Boyle, when Boyle opened up the second intermission stating it was Wednesday.
• It's not something that gets pointed out often, but Corey Crawford played the puck several times very calm and smoothly to his defenders. We love to give the fat guys in the big pads shit when the misplay the puck, so I feel the need to give him some credit. It should not go without mentioning his 33 saves, as well. If not for his first period play, the Blackhawks would have had to
• I don't want to jinx it but the penalty kill seems to have somewhat righted itself. Not that it could have gotten much worse.
• Did I mention that Goldberg is back in the WWE? Hell, and YES!
  

The Bad

• The third line with Schmaltz and Motte at wing and the third pair of Forsling and Rozsival was scary in their own end during the first period together. Poor Marcus Kruger.
• Vinny Hinostroza is young Italian Viktor Stalberg
  

The Ugly

• Seven minutes into the second period, and with the Hawks on the powerplay, the Flames struck back. Duncan Keith avoided hitting defender right in the shin pads, as he resorted to his second favorite thing to do from the point which is shred his stick as the puck dribbles off like a bad case of Chlamydia. The Flames took the puck and turned around the other way. Artem Anisimov tried to catch Michal Frolik but just wasn't fast enough, and Keith's attempt to get a stick from the bench failed when he dropped it. This all contributed to the game tying shorthanded goal. Swell.
• Sam Bennett went knee to knee with Dennis Rasmussen in the third period, which could have been ugly. Thankfully for the Hawks, Moose was fine after and the Hawks took the lead on the powerplay.
• Stop interviewing the people for the "shoot the puck". It's painfully awkward, and useless. Joey the Now Adolescent reporter could do a much better job than any of these clowns.
• The Blackhawks came close to taking the lead back with 20 seconds left in the second period, but there were two problems. First, the whistle blew. Second, the puck didn't even come close to completely crossing the goal line, after sneaking through Elliot's pads. It won't stop some ball bag from spreading some grainy screenshot from a ridiculous angle to try and prove that it was in. Dumb asses.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• I think everyone one, including the hockeystats.ca people, closed up shop for the Cubs game, so I'll give them a rest

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

Keith - Campbell
Hjalmarsson - Seabrook
Forsling - Rozsival

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Blackhawks vs. Kings3-0 Shutout Win Recap

 "Walkin' Tall Machine Gun Man"

 
by Patrick Stankus
Tweet to #Fatrick

After a quick trip to New Jersey on Friday night, the Blackhawks returned home on Sunday night to take on their media made up rivals, the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings have recently found new life with their string goalie Peter Budaj, following the injuries to Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff. With the Kings playing the second of a back to back, the Hawks should have more energy at the start, and hopefully can use that to their advantage. That seems unlikely though, since this is one of those "great six o'clock starts" and the Cubs don't start until seven, so more meatball eyes will be on the Hawks. Thus bad things tend to happen when the meatballs are watching.

Prior to puck drop, the Hawks held a ceremony for Marian Hossa celebrating his recent milestone of 500 career goals. Stick taps to Hoss on a helluva career thus far. Once the game got underway, it was quite obvious the Hawks were ready to go. They set the tone early by pressuring the Kings in their own end. In the opening frame, the Hawks had the chance to bury the Kings, by receiving four power plays, one of which was a four minute, double minor. With all those opportunities, the Hawks could only muster one goal with the extra man. After being outplayed during the period, the Kings only found themselves trailing by one.

In the second period, the Hawks continued to dictate the pace of the game, by generating a lot of chances and keeping play down in the Kings end. The Kings really couldn't get much going on, and the momentum stayed with the Hawks. The Hawks put the momentum to good use, and added another goal just past the midway point of the game to increase their lead to 2-0. As the period drew to a close, the Kings had a couple of chances, but Crawford was there to answer and preserve the Hawks lead heading into the third.

The final period saw the Kings sloppy and tired play continue, that resulted in three more power plays for the Hawks. The Kings threw 13 at Corey Crawford, but the majority of them were of the one and done fashion. In the meantime, the Hawks weathered that storm, and Hossa added an empty net goal on the power play to give the Hawks a 3-0 win. In the end, Corey Crawford was named the game's first star, after his 32 save, shutout performance. Next up for the Hawks is a home matchup with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.

The Good

• Hostile Tribe, do us a solid, and send out a tweet with the hashtag #VoteGatekeeper, so we can win Gate some custom goalie equipment for his "Farewell To The Crease" tour of 2017. - UPDATE: Gate wasn't named a finalist, so there's that. Guess they didn't want to give Satan nice things.
• The ceremony for Hossa was a nice touch. It was great to see them honor the Thrashers legend. In all seriousness, it was well deserved for Hossa.
• Jonathan Toews opened the scoring for the Hawks in the first period, while on the power play. Almost three weeks into the season, its nice to see him get in the goal column.
• Artem Anisimov is simply on fire right now. He extended his points streak to seven games with his goal in the second period.
• The penalty kill finally had a game in which they didn't surrender a power play goal. Praise the Lord.
• Corey Crawford turned in a 32 save shutout tonight. Must have been the black pads.
• Like our Canadian correspondent pointed out, this was by far, the most complete game the Hawks have played this year. Granted it was against a team playing on a back to back, but I'll take it. Its something to build upon.

The Bad

• Four power plays in the first period, and one goal to show for it. Not to mention the four minute power play was a complete joke. Gotta be able to capitalize on the opportunities when they present themselves. In the end, they went 2 for 7, one of which was an empty netter.
• Devin Setoguchi is still playing hockey. Who knew?
• I don't feel like being an asshole tonight, so lets just move on.

The Ugly

• Pat Boyle dropped a "Heeeeerrrreeee's Johnny" when doing the highlight of Toews' goal in the first intermission. Seriously, shut up. You're not a young, hip person. 
• As I pointed out earlier, Gate wasn't named a finalist for the contest for custom goalie gear by Brian's. With that said, I got something for ya, Brian's. Here's to ya....
  

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