Well, I Was Missing Lalime… P.S. Stop Dissing Toews and Dirty Hit on Dunc!
Admittedly, between seasons I was a little upset that the Blackhawks let Patrick Lalime go. After Cristobal Huet’s somewhat lackluster performance at the beginning of this season, I was certain the Blackhawks had made a costly mistake in signing Huet.
But here we are mid-season, and Huet’s save percentage is better than Lalime’s, and tonight’s Hawks/Sabres game shows why. Well, I guess I was wrong. But, some things only time can tell…
Ugh, and you know I tune in for the pre-game to catch up on players’ stats and all I got before the Hawks/Sabres game was the which-Hawks-players-had-come-from-the-Sabres and which-Sabres-players-had-come-from-the-Hawks rundown. Hey, did you know Patrick Kane is from Buffalo? Did you know Soupy used to play for the Sabres? Did you know Patrick Lalime used to play for the Blackhawks? Yawn…
And as an aside, it bothers me greatly when commentators say stupid things like that Jonathan Toews is in a slump because he hasn’t scored in a few games. Obviously Toews is my favorite Hawk, and so not only is that comment unwarranted (because he’s one of the top scorers on the team) but thems fightin’ words. While the commentator (who I will not name, though my dislike for him is increasing) did allow that Toews had more scoring chances but had selflessly allowed other teammates to score, the criticism was still meant to be…well…critical. I think anyone can see that Toews’ captain duties (and therefore his team) have come before his own scoring chances. So, Toews’ stats have taken a slight hit; he is scoring big on things that don’t always appear on stats sheets. Things like integrity. Which is why he is my and other fans’ favorite Hawk. And let’s not forget, he did score tonight! So back off hockey “pundits”! Give Toews his due. Just because the marketing department has left Toews in the dust in lieu of more supposedly PR-friendly players like Kane, it doesn’t mean that Toews isn’t a fundamental player and favored by us fans.
Oh yeah, and congrats Wiz on scoring your first goal of the season in the 4-1 win over the Sabres! And shame on Sabres Drew Stafford for that dirty hit on Duncan Keith; an elbow to the face! That kind of stuff is dangerous. You just sort of have to shake your head… Way to go Ben Eager for defending Dunc. It was worth the six penality minutes!