Blackhawks vs New York Islanders2-1 SO Win Recap

"You don't have to call me Darling, Darling"


by Gatekeeper
Yell at Gatekeeper

Friday was officially "the rest of your life" for the Blackhawks. No more trade rumors. No more speculation. This was the team the Blackhawks were "going to battle" with. That said, they were also nursing several injuries:

• Niklas Hjalmarsson was having a bit of a back issue (which might have something to do with carrying his teammates on it for the previous five months)
• Artem Anisimov left the Pens game early in the second period and missed practice Thursday with an undisclosed injury.
• Artemi Panarin missed the Thursday practice with an upper body injury
• New old Blackhawk Johnny Oduya was still nursing an ankle issue.
• Nick Schmaltz missed two days of practices with an undisclosed illness.
• Goalie Jeff "glove of" Glass was recalled before the game because Scott Darling injured himself in the morning skate. Word is that it's a hand/finger injury and Quenneville said he'll be out about 3 weeks.

So, the mood was not all "flowers and butterflies" even though the Blackhawks were the hottest team in the entire NHL for the last month, winning 10 of their last 11 (The only loss coming in the return after the stupid 5 day bye week). They had also just come off a pretty convincing and impressive slaying of the eastern conference powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins. Not much to complain about in Blackhawks land, these days.

The Islanders, on the other hand, were just "OK" in their last 10 games, going 6-4-0. The Isles were also coming off a 5-4 win in Dallas after THEIR stupid bye week. Much maligned rookie Josh Ho-Sang (god forbid you wear the fucking number 66) made his NHL debut, but didn't record a point.

With all the injuries and the wonky lineup, the first period was a little bit of an adventure. Fans were treated to a partial breakaway for, and a shorthanded breakaway against, but neither resulted in a goal. Even a powerplay each way could not boost the shots any higher than 13 total. That was really all there was to report in the opening twenty minutes.


The second period wasn't much better for the Blackhawks. Kind of made you feel bad for the fans that dished out top dollar for a Friday night at the United Center for the slop they saw. The only good thing about sloppy hockey is the inevitable penalties. Unfortunately, though, the penalties turned into shorthanded chances against for the home team. There were quite a few more shots on net but it was the Islanders that led 12-7 in shots and scored the only goal. Thirteen shots in 40 minutes of play isn't exactly the way to win a hockey game.

As the third period opened, the Hawks had several really good chances in the Isles end but, again, none tied the game. The Isles regrouped briefly on the back end of the period, which settled the action for the middle portion of the period. With the goalie pulled very late, the Blackhawks unleashed a flurry of action on the Islanders net. Their pressure paid off as they tied the game with just over a minute remaining, sending this game to overtime and eventually a shootout.

Even though I'm not a huge fan of 3-on-3 overtime, it was really entertaining as hell. I would much rather see them just play seven or ten minutes of 3-on-3 than ever go to a shootout, if the NHL really must have a winner. Somehow neither team scored in the overtime, to the shock of all watching, which meant we were going to see the first Blackhawks shootout since November. Two of the three Blackhawks shooters scored in the shootout and the Blackhawks netminder held the Isles scoreless for a big come from behind win.

The Good

• With under two minutes, Coach Wizzo pulled his netminder and used his timeout to gather the troops. Jonathan Toews won the ensuing faceoff which eventually resulted in Duncan Keith feeding Artemi Panarin for one of his patented one timers. Finally, the United Center had something to truly cheer for, and the Blackhawks were able to guarantee at least one point.
• Corey Crawford saved the Blackhawks asses by saving a few breakaways and kept the Islanders off the board in the overtime and shootout. This will be huge with Scott Darling injured down the stretch.
• It sure seemed like Tomas Jurco was out on the ice for more than the official 11:04.
• Toews, Kane and Panarin logged heavy ice time. All three played over 22 minutes.

The Bad

• Marcus Kruger blocked a first period powerplay shot with his hand was was in some extreme discomfort on the bench into the first intermission. He returned and toughed out the rest of the game.
• The teams were a combined 0-5 on the powerplay with one, basically, shorthanded goal. Patrick Kane played an amazing 3:23 of the Blackhawks 4:00 of powerplay time.

The Ugly

• The first legit chance of the game was by Jordin Tootoo, who got a partial breakaway and shot it right into Greiss' armpit.
• During the first Blackhawks powerplay, Artemi Panarin tried to force a bad pass at the Isles blue line and it turned into a John Tavares shorthanded breakaway. Corey Crawford bailed them out but it'll surely be overlooked by the idiot meatballs.
• Late in the second period, as a Blackhawks powerplay was about to expire, the Isles jumped all over a bad Brian Campbell pinch which resulted in a shorthanded 2-on-1 against the Hawks netminder. This time Corey Crawford wasn't able to bail out his defense, and the score was 1-0.
• Brent Seabrook had a brutal turnover late in the second period, which left Andrew Ladd all alone in on Corey Crawford. Crawford made the initial save and then flashed the glove on the second.
• I love Marian Hossa, but his turnover in overtime was just awful. The Blackhawks were about to have a 3-on-2 and Hossa ran into the defenseman and the puck was sent back for a breakaway. Once again, Corey Crawford was the hero.

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The faceoffs were shaded slightly in favor of the Islanders, but the Blackhawks won the one that counted before the game winner.
• According to the official scorer, the Blackhawks had SEVEN giveaways.
• Not only did the big 3 forwards all play huge minutes, but their possession numbers were all over 15.
• Michal Kempny had a good possession night as well, with a +15 Corsi.

The Shootout

• Jonathan Toews took his time and beat Greiss
• Corey Crawford stops the rookie Ho-Sang
• Patrick Kane kicked away by Greiss
• Kulemin beat Crawford but hit the post
• Artemi Panarin beat the Isles for the win

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

Keith - Seabrook
Campbell - TVR
Kempny - Rozsival

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Puckin Hostile ShoutcastEpisode 77

In this 77th Puckin Hostile Shoutcast (the Blackhawks Legend Paul Coffey episode) Gatekeeper, Fatrick, Bryan, Norton and Shoutcast favorite John Jaeckel from HockeyBuzz.com discuss the highly uninspiring and disappointing Trade Deadline.


The, now famous, jagtastic asshattery includes:

-#HesOurPresident is born
-The team does their first post Hawks game podcast following the Pens game.
-Bill Paxton passes away, and Gate pulls some clips as a tribute.
-A trip back in time with Prehistoric Spongebob, aka Pavel Vorobiev, and Mikhail Yakubov
-Blackhawks sign goalie Jeff Glass, and re-sign the dopey duo of Rozsival and Tootoo
-Blackhawks acquire Tomas Jurco and Johnny Oduya.
-We discuss some of the league wide trades.
-Hawks played some games vs the Oilers, Sabres, Wild, Coyotes, Blues and, of course, the Penguins
-Some late listener questions
-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. Penguins 4-1 Win Recap

"The Four Horseman"

By Patrick Norton

@pdnorton3

Tonight’s tilt with the Pittsburgh Penguins followed two main storylines: One, what would Johnny Oduya’s return to the Chicago Blackhawks mean for a team lacking on the blue line, and two, could we see these two teams facing off against each other in June? They’re both valid questions to ask, but neither would be answered on the first night of the month. Oduya sat in a suite and soaked in the atmosphere he’d be returning to. Coach Joel Quenneville vowed to allow as much time to allow Oduya to get ready before he’d be thrown into game action. And for this game being a possible preview of the Stanley Cup Final? Well, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. 

The first period started exactly how we all imagined it would: Sloppy. Wait, what’s that? It didn’t? We actually created sustained offensive pressure, held our own in front of Darling. Yet, the Hawks left the period. What killed the momentum, you ask? A powerplay. Not for the Penguins. For the Blackhawks. After getting just one shot on goal throughout the two minute tripping minor drawn by Nick Schmaltz, you could feel the energy shift from the home bench to the visitor pine. After a few  last second unsuccessful whacks on Darling, the buzzer rang and twenty minutes had expired. 

Period two brought a very similar synopsis to it’s predecessor. The Blackhawks held a stranglehold on puck possession for the first six minutes of the period, but one turnover in the defensive zone produced a swing in action. Then, a commercial break. It allowed the Hawks to regroup and settle their game. With 11:11 on the clock, Kane lead a two-on-one with Panarin, but the seasoned veteran wearing #88 kept it to himself and ripped a snapper past Marc-Andre Fleury for the game’s first goal. Meanwhile on the other end of the ice, Scott Darling resembled a brick wall in net. Until the seventeen minute mark of the period, the Penguins could only admire in awe as Darling made it look easy. Then Scott Wilson tucked a shot just below the cross to knot the match at one goal apiece. Luckily for Chicago, the tie didn’t last long as a great shift from the Toews line resulted in a forced turnover in Pittsburgh’s defensive zone. Panik took the puck, made a nifty toe drag and sniped a corner past Fleury to regain the lead. A few ticks later and forty minutes was in the books.

The Good

• The sustained pressure from the Blackhawks offense created scoring chance after scoring chance. Great night from the forecheck.
• #MinorLeagueDealDickPanik’s toe drag finished off with a snipe might go down as the sexiest goal of the season. It was “Go search it on YouTube” worthy. 
• Patrick Kane made a two-on-one look easy. Panarin drew the lone defender and Kane had a one-on-one with Fleury. Guess who won that battle? The reigning MVP, that’s who.
• Mike Milbury actually provided some great analysis during the first intermission. He criticized those that truthfully believed Toews wouldn’t be able to break the slump he suffered through for the first half of the season. 
• Here’s a wild thought that I don’t know if many of you will agree with: Jonathan Toews scoring in the All-Star Game provided the spark he needed. He had recovered from his back injury by then, but lacked that defining moment to jump start his season while past the halfway point. Not an easy thing to do, especially with the pressure placed upon his shoulders by the fanbase, but Toews made it look effortless. And now he’s the First Star of February.
• Scott Darling is going to make BANK this offseason. Probably not with the Blackhawks, but good for him. He’s got a pretty interesting story, so it’s nice to see the man so close to a big payday. 
• Marc-Andre Fleury was exceptional in net. No, this is not 2009.
• Tomas Jurco has a smooth move, but couldn’t finish. Nice move nonetheless.
• Patrick Kane completed a muscled out play from Nick Schmaltz. Beautifully developed play starting with a Panarin pass to Schmaltz. He’s really coming into his own. 
• Sure, it was an empty-netter, but Kane’s hat trick goal was not from an easy angle. His second hattie in three games. 
• It always feels great to beat a great team like the Penguins. Blackhawks are rolling. Ten victories in eleven games. Keep’er goin’ through March. You don’t want to be playing the Hawks right now.

The Bad 

• This was a fantastic game. Nothing was “bad.” If something stood out, you’ll find it down below in tonight’s “Ugly” section.

The Ugly

• Michal Rozsival had two noticeable turnovers. Only one resulted in a goal, but boy, it’s going to be another rough year with that man defending our goaltender. 
• Seriously, this was a great game. Michal Kempny got beat by Scott Wilson, but it happened due to the Rozsival turnover. Can’t expect Kempny to come to the rescue.

Good night, folks! Thanks for reading and don't forget to download the Shoutcast coming out later tonight. Jaeckel, Froster, #Fatrick, The Gatekeeper, myself, and no Harms. Couldn't get any better.

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Puckin Hostile2017 Blackhawks Trade Tracker

All the Blackhawks trades from this year's trade deadline period are as follows:

• Blackhawks acquired Right Wing and pending RFA Tomas Jurco from the Detroit Redwings for a 2017 3rd round draft pick.

• Blackhawks re-acquire D-man Johnny Oduya from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Mark McNeill and a 2018 conditional draft pick

When/if the Blackhawks make any trades on deadline day, they will be listed below:

• Blackhawks traded AHL forwards Spencer Abbott and Sam Carrick to the Anaheim Ducks for prospect Kenton Helgesen and a seventh-round pick

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Blackhawks vs. Blues4-2 Win Recap

"Sick Puppies"

by Patrick Stankus
Send a McRib to #Fatrick

The Blackhawks returned to the ice on Sunday night following their last win on Thursday night. Tonight they welcomed the St. Louis Blues to town, who were coming off the dreaded bye week. Just as we were settling into the game, all hell broke loose in the NHL trade world. In under an hour we say Tampa trade Ben Bishop to Los Angeles, and Arizona ship Martin Hanzal to Minnesota. The Hanzal trade impacts the Hawks in more than one way, as a divisional foe gets stronger, and a name being tied to the Hawks is taken off the board. Oh yeah, back to the game at hand. Since the Blues sent Hitchcock packing to the local Arby's and brought Mike Yeo on board, the Blues have turned it around. They've turned it around so much, that they brought two, YES TWO, bus loads of season ticket holders to the game in Chicago. Too bad they weren't traveling first class with the Columbus Cottonmouths. (Google to understand the JOKE.)

In the first period, the Blackhawks picked up right where they left the other night. They simply dominated play, and dictated the pace of the game throughout the opening period. The Hawks didn't take long to get on the board. Just over the four minute mark, Jonathan Toews opened the scoring to put the Hawks on top. Midway through the period, the Hawks added another goal, this time on the power play, to increase the lead to two. If there was one complaint about the first period with the Hawks, they got caught taking their foot off the gas for a shift or two, and it bit them in the ass. St. Louis managed to cut the lead in half to 2-1 as the period came to a close.

The middle frame saw a much more evenly matched twenty minutes. Both teams were nearly even in the shot category with twelve for the Blues and eleven for the Hawks. After a failed power play for the Hawks, the Blues found themselves on their own power play just past the midway mark. Of course, since it was TVR who took the penalty, the Blues scored to tie the game at two. Down the stretch both teams traded chances, but neither could add another goal, and after two periods, the game was tied at two.

With both teams looking for the go ahead goal, there was a sense of urgency to start the third period. The Blues had some quality chances, but Scott Darling was there to keep the Blues off the board. While the Blues had their chances, the Hawks peppered the Blues net with eleven shots again. It wasn't until late in the period that the Hawks finally took the lead. Artem Anisimov added his twenty second goal of the season to put the Hawks up 3-2. Tanner Kero added an empty netter for good measure, to give the Hawks a 4-2 win, and send the Blues season ticket holders back home to St. Louis in their soiled jorts.

The Good

• The #STPLine is on fire right now. #DickSchmaltz had a nifty pass to Toews, who undressed Jake Allen to open the scoring. Our Governor @Wm_J_LePetomane offered this.
  
• Duncan Keith Keith recorded his 500th career point on Kane's goal. Just another milestone for the blueliner.
• Speaking of Kane's goal, that came on the power play in the first period. All in all, the Hawks power play was one of two tonight. Eh, can't complain I guess.
• Scott Darling was absolutely outstanding tonight after getting the late notice he was starting. Darling stopped thirty of thirty-two shots en route to the win.
• As much as I'd like to add Matt Duchene, I'm with Stan Bowman on this. No fucking way I am throwing Ryan Hartman in a deal. The kid just continues to impress.
• The #AK72Line struck again with Anisimov's goal, late in the third period. That line is simply unstoppable.
• The Hawks ended the game with forty-two shots, twenty of which came in the first period.
• The Blackhawks ended February 9-1-0. Yeah, I'll take that. But don't let that distract you that the Hawks still have two giant holes on this team. Not to mention that record also came with a bye week thrown in.

The Bad

• Tomas Jurco made his Blackhawks debut. He wasn't terrible, just had a so-so game. My issue is, when the Blackhawks acquire someone, can they give them a number they're not destine to fail in? Serious 13? Nice memories of..... Dan Carcillo there. And don't get me started on #17. That list is legendary. Ryan Johnson, Brendan Morrison, Sheldon Brookbank, Chris Simon, and on and on.
• Marcus Kruger played less than ten minutes tonight. Lets throw some gasoline on those trade rumors as the deadline approaches.
• TVR's bad night didn't get better as he took a bad high sticking penalty, that which of course, saw the Blues score on the power play.

The Ugly

• Corey Crawford was a late scratch tonight with the "flu." Which is code name for; he's going to be traded. Oh wait, this isn't the offseason, so we're good there. Maybe he's actually sick. Any way Lars Johansson was recalled to keep the bench warm.
• Niklas Hjalmarsson was out tonight with an upper body injury. All you need to do is follow our friend John Jaeckel (@jaeckel) to see exactly how worried the Hawks are about this.
• TVR had a horrendous turnover, that even I can't defend, on the Blues opening goal. How did Q punish him? He played him more than twenty minutes, which is six minutes more than Kempny. I'm sure that will sit well with a group of miserable bloggers not named Gate.
• Jaden Schwartz was a team worst -3 for the Blues tonight. This guy is the definition of overrated.

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Blackhawks vs Coyotes 6-3 Win Special Guest Recap

“Hardwired To Self-Destruct”

by Alex Temes from HowlinHockey
Tweet to Alex

With crazy schedules I put out the beacon for guest recappers, so Alex Temes from the Yotes site Howlin' Hockey stepped up and volunteered. I cannot be grateful enough. Please take a read and follow him on twitter.

Hey Puckin Hostile and Blackhawks fans, my name is Alex Temes and I’m a staff writer for Howlin’ Hockey, a Coyotes blog. In Coyotes Twitter-land, I am the King of Hot Taeks, the Viceroy of Unpopular Opinions and I’m here to give you your Coyotes-Blackhawks post-game rundown.

Recapping Thursday night’s game, I broke it down by period and took notes through the whole game. One note I took was during warmups, Ryan Hartman parked himself in the right circle during warm ups and spent five or so minutes doing his best bar-south Alex Ovechkin impression. The funny part was he only made like two shots.

Also worth noting is how useless Coyotes GM John Chayka has been to me this season, so I took the opportunity to join the rest of the NHL for a quick sec to jokingly mock the Coyotes:

https://twitter.com/temesy24/status/834932001497022464

The game really ended up being a tryout for the Coyotes in that whoever succeeded in the game may get the opportunity to be traded to Chicago and be your next playoffs savior like Antoine Vermette (I have one Hawks jersey and it’s Vermette’s so bite me). In terms of play, the first period went a little something like this: the puck dropped, the Coyotes brought it into the zone, turned it over and the Blackhawks scored. The goal officially read out Schmaltz from Toews and Panik, but that goal had defensive meltdown written all over it and as someone who watches all 82 painful games of Coyotes hockey, I can assure you it was because Luke Schenn and Oliver Ekman-Larsson were paired together to start the game.

Following that first goal, there was a good 4-5 minute lull of the Coyotes shuffing one way, the Blackhawks shuffling it back and so on. The one thing I did notice was (sorry for the Coyotes crap again) Ryan White and Max Domi were on the same line for a little while and if there is any way to stymie offensive play with Max Domi, it’s putting him out there with Ryan ‘Grit Wins Games In Dave Tippett’s World’ White.

Jakob Chychrun broke the Arizona goose egg with a monster blast from the point at 7:36 mark to knot the game up. This was your run of the mill puck movement and snap-shot kind of goal. Crawford didn’t really have shot at blocking it.

That goal was followed up by two more Blackhawks goals from Hartman (his 15th) and Kane (his 21st). During this time, the Blackhawks weren’t really outplaying Arizona, but they certainly capitalized on their opportunities and made Arizona pay for their mistakes. For instance, Coyotes mistake #1 was skating White instead of the chick who won the shoot for loot game during second intermission and #2 was Mike Smith doing Mike Smith goalie things (i.e. giving up soft goals and misplaying pucks far too close to the goal line).

Arizona did stick around though, at least for the first, offering up two goals in response from White (groan) and ex-Blackhawk/future Blackhawk Radim Vrbata. The period ended with Brian Campbell sitting for two, with the allegation of delay of game.

But after the first, it’s as if the Coyotes were “Hardwired to Self-Destruct”…

The second period went a lot like a typical Coyotes-Hawks game post-2012 playoffs would go: my Captain, Shane Doan, bitched at the linesmen over obvious offsides/icing calls, the Coyotes played crap defense and the Blackhawks scored two gimme goals. Old Man Michal Roszival (no relation to Pucking Hostile’s Uncle Roszival I hear) scored his first at 2:56, from future Coyotes trade acquisition Nick Schmaltz and Captain Serious.

Kane followed Roszival up 10 minutes later, scoring his second as the Hawks really began to tear down every shred of decency the Coyotes had left. When it came down to it in the second, the Blackhawks cherrypicked a few good offensive opportunities and made the sloppy Coyotes defense pay for it big time.

One weird situation to note was the near-Blackhawks goal save by Jordan Martinook at the goal line. Martinook slid into the net with the puck on him, but the call was waived off. Many in-arena jeered in dismay (including the idiots in front of me who got all pissed that I decided to stand and cheer when my team scored earlier) when the call was waived off, but the net came off far before the puck neared the goal line and it was not like Martinook was standing there to flip the net over Henrik Lunqvist-style.


That no-goal didn’t really matter though, because after the Hawks killed a 4-minute double minor for Dick Panik’s shotty dental work on Martin Hanzal, Patrick Kane netted his hat-trick and Chelsea Dagger became the official theme song to my nightmares.

One other note about the third period: Alex Goligoski nearly scored an own goal. That’s how bad this season has gone for Arizona.

4 Key Points Of The Game Plus One Broadcasting Beef
1. The Coyotes had life early, but just could not sustain it: Very characteristic of a streaky team with young talent, the Coyotes hung with Chicago through the entirety of the first, but absolutely turtled for the other 40 minutes. This matchup will be more interesting in two years.

2. The Blackhawks are very good at hockey: This fact will come as no surprise to any Hawks fans. Chicago played solid defense most of the game, moved the puck well and had amazing chemistry from whistle to whistle, particular on what you call the PTSD Line.

3. Blackhawks fans got to see what the pickings look like for the trade deadline: The Coyotes are out of it (I’m not kidding myself) and we are gonna move expiring contracts (see Michael Stone’s departure to hell…uhhh I mean Calgary). Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal, Luke Schenn and even, maybe, probably not Shane Doan were out on display Thursday night. It’s a 1st round pick or best offer at this point.

4. Patrick Kane is very good and it will take a whole set of top pairing defensemen to shut him down in a playoff series.

5. NBCSN/CSN can screw off: The Coyotes don’t get national broadcasts very often, but when we do it’s typically against Chicago and in Chicago. They never get a fair shake in the media and it doesn’t help what little street cred we have when Jeremy Roenick makes up trade rumors at the intermission desk on a whim and Eddy Olcyzk mocks our every passing attempt.

Next Up: Chicago plays St. Louis on Sunday, or so the NHL.com calendar says. Do Coyotes fans a favor and wipe center ice with Ryan Reaves nose please.

For more Coyotes content, including any potential Chicago-Arizona trade rumors, prospect reports and trade targets, check out HowlinHockey.com and follow our Twitter page @HowlinHockey or my Twitter @temesy24. Or act like you never saw this. Your call.

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Blackhawks at Minnesota5-3 Win Recap

"Paper Tiger"

by Gatekeeper
Yell at Gatekeeper

Not much time for the Blackhawks to gloat on their big win in Buffalo Sunday night, as they headed to Minnesota to face the ice hillbillies; otherwise known as the Wild. It has been made pretty evident that the Wild will be a pain in the Blackhawks' collective asses for the remainder of the regular seasons. Then bulbous Bruce Boudreau will face a coach that will completely out coach him for games 6 and 7 of a series, and we will all laugh heartily at them once again. For now, at least, this Wild team will continue to prove to be a proverbial thorn in the Blackhawks' side, which will also make those ice hillbillies utterly intolerable.

The Wild were not impressed by the visiting Blackhawks at all, and came at them hard to open the game. The Hawks had a couple of decent early chances but the Wild certainly had a majority of the quality scoring opportunities in the opening half of the period. The action seemed like an end to end race for a good portion of the play despite the Wild chances, but the Blackhawks eventually started to catch up in scoring chances in the later half of the first period. Luckily for both teams, their goalies were dialed in. The Hawks led in the first period shots on net 15-14, and it could have easily been 2-2, but the goaltenders kept it a scoreless game.

The Blackhawks took little time grabbing a lead early in the second period, doing so just a mere 60 seconds out of the intermission. The Wild were able to quickly regroup and tie the game, but the Blackhawks came right back and answered under a minute later. It was nice to see the Blackhawks look like they gave a wet rats ass, and the Wild didn't really know how to handle them, especially the newly coined #PTSDLine. The Blackhawks dominated the Wild in shots 13-5 and also led 2-1 going into the second intermission. There is nothing to complain about there, but you have to think the Wild weren't going to go down that easy.

Just as I said that, the Blackhawks immediately grabbed a 3-1 lead just thirty three seconds into the third period, and it seemed like they might run away with this game. Even though the Wild tied the game around the thirteen minute mark, the Blackhawks turned right around, again, to open the two goal lead right back up. The action wasn't done there, though, with the Wild almost cutting the lead again. Luckily the officials made the right call this time around, waving off a goal that was clearly scored with a high stick. There were still 10 minutes to play, though. I bring that up because the Wild continued to bring serious pressure and did finally cut the lead down to one goal with just over five minutes remaining. A late flurry was narrowly averted by the Hawks even though they were out shot 13-11, and the inevitable empty net goal sealed the deal.

The Good

• Jonathan Toews gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead just one minute into the second period. Brian Campbell let a long shot from the blue line go, into traffic, and into the Wild defender Dumba. The puck dropped into the crease for El Capitan shoveled into the net. Nice to see that fat ass slacker increasing his trade value, so they can trade him for something that will never equate his value, and appease the asshole meatball collective.
• El Capitan then answered the Wild power play goal by feeding #DickFuckingPanik, just 41 seconds later. Toews out worked two lackadaisical Wild defenders and Panik found a soft spot in the slot. As we've grown to love, Panik can let a snap shot go as good as anyone. Goal number 16 and point number 30 for #DickFuckingPanik. As Terry Boers used to say, MY GUY! I might have missed on the success, or lack thereof, for Michal Kempny but I nailed the hell out of Panik. He has more than filled the hole left by the overpriced head case Andrew Shaw. Mock Richard Panik all you'd like, and many have, but 35+ points from a guy that was acquired in a throw-a-way deal is phenomenal. Bowman really clowned Toronto on this one, right Stan?
  
• Thirty three seconds into the third period, Nick Schmaltz gave the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead. Jonathan Toews won a clean faceoff to Schmaltz, who wasted little time getting a shot off through a screen. Dubnyk never saw the shot and suddenly the red light was flashing.
• Less than two minutes after the Zack Parise goal, the #PTSDLine was at it again. Nick Schmaltz made a beautiful reverse pass, while going behind the net, to Jonathan Toews and El Capitan poked it past a surprised and clueless Devan Dubnyk.
• It wasn't pretty but El Capitan was able to finish the hat trick, and fifth point of the night with an empty net goal. Surprised that Toews' fat, lazy, overrated ass could manage that one, right intarwebz experts?
  
• Future slam dunk hall of famer Joel Quenneville got his 400th Blackhawks win. Props to Q. As frustrating as he can be, we're lucky to have him.
• I was really impressed with Nick Schmaltz's puck control, skating and confidence in this game. There were a few spots where I was shocked at how impressive he looked. I have been pretty hard on the kid but, especially in the seconds period, he looked great. That said, the entire #PTSDLine gave the Wild absolute fits.

The Bad

• Just over six minutes into the second period, the Wild turned a Blackhawks penalty into the game tying goal. Corey Crawford make a couple of excellent saves, including one on a redirect. Not only that, but Duncan Keith basically shot the rebound back at Crawford, which he ALSO saved. Mikael Granlund was then able to finally push the third try past Corey Crawford to tie the game. This wouldn't last long, though.
• With just over 13 minutes left in the third period, a long wide Marco Scandella shot was redirected by Zack Parise about 10 feet in front of Crawford and ended up in the net. You can point towards a failed Blackhawks powerplay just a few minutes earlier as the catalyst for this goal.
• A few minutes after Jonathan Toews gave the Blackhawks back a 2 goal lead, the Wild looked like them might have cut the lead to one goal again but the officials waved it off with a clear high stick.
• Patrick Kane led the Blackhawks with 6 shots on net, and walked away with nary a point.
• Right towards the end of the first period, Edzo was complaining that a backhand cross ice pass from Panarin to Kane wasn't hard enough, even though it ended up right in Kane's wheelhouse. Must be nice in that perfect little world his mind is sitting in.

The Ugly

• A Tanner Kero penalty late in the third, turned into a Wild powerplay goal. Once again the Wild had cut the lead to just one goal. The Blackhawks penalty kill left much to be desired while failing to clear yet another great Corey Crawford save and gave up goals on 2 of 3 Wild powerplays.
• The Blackhawks defense looks like a steaming pile of cow dung in the last 3/4 of the third period, leaving their goaltender hung out to dry several times. It looked like a free for all, but they were able to eventually keep from totally pissing themselves.
• While I'm on the subject, To anyone who entertained the thought of trading Jonathan Toews, this is for you dumb assholes:
  

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The third line was not good at all. Marian Hossa had a bad turnover and they just had a bad night overall. They were the only forwards with negative plus/minus.
• Toews and Panik led the possession numbers, as you might expect.
• Even thought Jonathan Toews won a key faceoff that led to a goal, they were under 45% as a team.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Kempny - Seabrook
Campbell - van Riemsdyk

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Blackhawks vs. Sabres 5-1 Win Recap

"Aces High"

By Patrick Norton

While they lost their five game win streak with a loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, the Blackhawks could salvage the weekend with a Sunday evening matchup on the road in upstate New York. The KeyBank Center in the heart of downtown Buffalo was home to tonight’s #HockeyDayInAmerica showdown on NBCSN between two non-conference, non-rival, and unevenly matched teams. I mean, they’re the Sabres. They have Eichel and the brother of some dude on Saad’s line. Anyways, this somehow made a national broadcaster, but it didn’t receive the A-Team broadcasters. We’ll discuss that bit later.

The first period provided a rocky start - what else is new? - for the Blackhawks, but no matter the mistakes the skaters made, #LemontNativeScottDarling was there to rescue his teammates. Ryan Hartman lit the lamp early on and the Blackhawks livened up a bit. Suddenly, puck possession was a Blackhawks tradition that couldn’t be broken. Robin Lehner somehow was keeping his squad in the game, but all momentum found residence on the away team bench. Darling made the saves and all seemed well just seconds from heading into the locker room with a one goal lead after one. But we can’t have nice things, so after the refusal to clear their own end, a turnover occurred and one thing led to another. We all know how this one ends. A crappy goal to end a period to suck the life out of the Hawks. Perfect.

Evander Kane’s goal did not leave a lasting impact. The Hawks went right back to work in the second. Sure, goals seemed harder to come by, but with the blazing pace the Hawks had, it was surely only a matter of time. Ta Da! Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews tacked on late period tallies and the defense ya know...defended in the final seconds of the period and the Hawks had a commanding grasp on this one.

For good measure, Anisimov deflected in a Patrick Kane shot to increase the lead to three and Kane cut himself a slice of the cake when he undressed Lehner to finish of an offensive gem for the Blackhawks. The road win streak carries on to six. HEADLINE: Kane, Blackhawks cause mayhem in Buffalo. Too soon? Hawks 5, Sabres 1.

The Good

• Just about everything.
• Patrick Kane’s goal made Ben Bishop shit his pants from thousands of miles away. It really doesn’t get much better than that. 
• Don’t forget about the setup, though. Panarin’s patience in feeding the puck to Kane grew as the game went on and boy, did it pay dividends. Panarin drew THREE Sabre defenders and shimmied a pass across the offensive zone to a wide open Kane. How many times do we have to say it? Don’t leave Patrick Kane alone in Buffalo.
• Hossa and Toews are really deteriorating rapidly, eh? *insert middle finger emoji*
• Highly underrated in this game was the Blackhawks PK. They killed off a 5-on-3 in the first period and made it look easy. 
• It sucks that the outcome will likely come from another team, but damn, Scott Darling is going to get PAID! Deservedly so, too. One goal allowed on twenty-seven shots faced. Pretty good for a goalie who hasn’t played too much.
• The defense did their job very well for 59:55 of tonight’s game. Not much to complain about. Even Michal Kempny did pretty well. 
• Instead of watching the final five minutes of the game, I enjoyed a wonderful meal consisting of a strip steak, not one, but TWO baked potatoes, and some asparagus. A delicious meal made on the grill tonight. This weather was fantastic. I cleaned the garage, I ran errands, and grilled. I hope everybody with similar weather was able to enjoy it, too. 

The Bad

• Ryan Hartman grabbed his knee and writhed in pain momentarily on the bench. I didn’t really follow up, so I would imagine he’s okay.
• I wasn’t too fond of the broadcasting crew. At least the doctor wasn’t in the house tonight. 

The Ugly

• The defense simply had a mental lapse in the final ten seconds of period one. The point is mute after the big victory, so I don’t even remember who was on the ice, but not every team is like the Sabres. A lot of other teams wouldn’t have fumbled the momentum handed to them at a period’s end. Be better.

Short and sweet tonight, just like Gate. Enjoy your President’s Day and if you can, take a step outside. No hockey worth watching tomorrow, so you’re going to have to find something to do. That is, unless you sleep all day like a wild nocturnal Fatrick. Alright, alright, alright, that’s all, I swear.

Thanks for being a fun bunch, Hostile readers. 

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Blackhawks vs Oilers3-1 Loss Recap

"Beginning of Sorrow"

by Gatekeeper
Yell at Gatekeeper

The Blackhawks returned to the ice after a five day NHL mandated bye week, Saturday night. Based on the past records of teams coming off their bye week (3-10-3), we were not to expect much from this tilt, which is not exactly ideal for the Blackhawks. They were red hot before the break, and five days off is no way to keep that momentum up. Aside from that, Blackhawks veteran Brent Seabrook was suiting up for his 900th NHL game, which moved him into 7th in Blackhawks history. He will move up to 6th, passing Dennis Hull, when he plays his 904th. Congrats to the big guy. That wasn't the only milestone in this one, though.

Much to my surprise the Hawks looked well rested and alert in the first period. Of course a couple of powerplays helped, but they had a jump in their step and peppered the Oilers for a majority of the first period. The Oilers didn't get a legitimate scoring chance until the period was well over halfway expired; in fact, the Oilers has a grand total of only four shots on net, while the Blackhawks amassed twelve. The only really bad part was the penalty that the Blackhawks took with four seconds remaining.

The second period looked a little more like what we all expected for the opening frame. The Oilers took a 1-0 lead on an utterly stupid goal, and the Blackhawks ran around for a good portion of the period. The Blackhawks also played very sloppy at times, which had Corey Crawford clawing for his own sanity. It's really disheartening how many times the Blackhawks have played one really good period and turned right around to lay an egg. The period ended with the Blackhawks getting 16 shots on net to 9 shots for the Oilers, but the Oilers lone goal had the Hawks playing from behind going into the third period.

The Oilers came out in the third and took a 2-1 lead, after the Blackhawks failed on yet another powerplay, which was the theme for the night. That would prove to be all the Oilers would need to win, in this one. The Hawks out shot the Oilers for the third straight period, 11-9, and were able to break the shutout but they eventually fell short 3-1. When you out shoot a team 39-22, you need to win.

The Good

The Captain Double Dick line had a pretty decent night out there. I've been hard on Schmaltz, but he's finally looking like an actual useful NHL player. He was getting way too many undue accolades early on. #DickFuckingPanik scored his 15th goal of the year, on a nice give and go with the El Capitan. Don't say I didn't warn you. Panik is going to easily hit the 35 point mark, I predicted, if he can simply get 6 points in his final 24 games. The Jonathan Toews assist was his 600th NHL point.
• I'm not really the biggest Cam Talbot fan but that Ghostbusters mask he has is slick as hell. That said, he had a helluva night.
  

The Bad

• Artem Anisimov turned the puck over to Ryan Nugent-Hopkins late in the first period, while on the powerplay, and had to really be crafty to strip RNH from behind without giving up a goal or taking a penalty.
• Andrew Desjardins had a team low 6:29 of time on ice. I have a feeling that John Jaeckel's assumption that Michael Latta could be replacing Desjardins soon could be a very real possibility, in a hurry.
• The Blackhawks powerplay had some pressure but they could not get shots through to the net to save their lives, which makes the powerplay suck immensely. Too much talent to be going 0-3.
• Lauren Magiera is just super awkward for these WGN games. I'm not sure why they have her out there floundering, but Frankenberry Roan would be much better. Everything she says sounds like she's confused, and she not sure what she's talking about. Combine her with Steve Konroyd and you have the most bland, confusing intermission show possible. But, hey...
  

The Ugly

• Tanner Kero damn near had his head taken clean off by Eric Gryba at center ice. Luckily Kero was not injured on the hit but Ryan Hartman went after Gryba and earned himself 17 minutes in penalties "defending the honor of his teammate". Kero then got his clock cleaned once again, after the powerplay, as well. He is going to end up eating his meals through a straw, at this point, if he doesn't protect himself better.
• Speaking of the powerplay to follow, Matt Benning threw the puck to the net and Trevor van Riemsdyk, who was the only player in that entire section of the ice, had a wonderful deflection off his skate and into the Hawks net. Corey Crawford certainly wasn't expecting his own defenseman to kick the puck into his own net, yet there was the amazing TVR. Why the fuck would you kick at a puck going through you crease like that? There was absolutely no other place that puck was going once van Riemsdyk stuck his skate out.
• Milan Lucic fucking sucks! For a player that will be making $6 million for the next six years, he's the worst. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was either hurt or scratched. Not so. He got a gift goal in the third, when Michal Kempny tripped over his own two feet which gave Lucic enough time to beat Corey Crawford five hole. He still sucks.
• The United Center crowd was absolutely dead as hell most of the night. Not that the Hawks gave them much to make a fuss about but, shit, act like you care. Well, except for these fucking guys...
  

The #Fatrick Stankus Fatsy Stats

• The Hawks won an incredible 65% of their faceoffs, and Jonathan Toews won 19 of 24 by himself.
• Based on the inflated shot advantage, the Hawks overall Corsi for number was 83 to the Oilers 40.
• Kane, Toews, Panarin and Keith possession numbers were all grossly in the positive to the tune of +18, +26, +27, and +18.

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

Keith - Hjalmarsson
Kempny - Seabrook
Campbell - van Riemsdyk

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Puckin Hostile ShoutcastEpisode 76

In this 76th Puckin Hostile Shoutcast (the Pernell Karl "PK" Subban episode) Gatekeeper, Fatrick, and Norton go the losers route on Valentines day, as each other's dates.

The jagtastic asshattery includes:

-Gate is back from Seattle and Vancouver
-A new iTunes review (probably Norton's mom)
-Stupid bye week has everyone sitting on their asses doing nothing. Not a perfect time for the Hawks either
-Claude Julien was fired and hired, and might have Lindy Ruff right behind him.
-#NortonOneLiners
-Tim Horton's sucks
-Hawks played some games vs the Coyotes, Stars, Wild Jets, and Oilers
-Some late listener questions
-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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