The War Room screwed us again and denied Jonathan Toews a hat trick in the 2nd period of tonight’s Hawks/Penguins game, overturning the call on the ice that Tazer’s shot was a goal. Though the video was inconclusive, the ruling in Toronto was that Toews’ stick was above the cross-bar (i.e. a high stick) on his redirect. (more…)
Congrats to Matt Walker on his first goal of the season scored during the second period of today’s match-up against the Dallas Stars. Matty has been on fire lately. According to his stats he:
- Recorded a career-high three game point streak (5A) from (Feb. 3 – Feb. 7).
- Established a career-high three points (3A) against Calgary on Feb. 5.
- Logged a season-high 22:26 time on ice against Colorado on Dec. 12. (more…)
Boy, watching your favorite players get hurt…it’s almost like you’re the one in pain…almost. I’m sure they’d tell you that any empathy you feel for them is nothing compared to the piercing agony of a groin pull, a cracked rib, an ACL tear, or a twisted ankle. But still, you feel for them. And you just know that when they need help off the ice, they’re going to be gone for a while. (more…)
When the puck’s in the corner play it like a wounded animal.
As several of the Hawks and Coach Q noted after the game, the 3-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers wasn’t a pretty one. The boys employed a more utilitarian sort of play rather than the sort of play that keeps you on the edge of your seat feeling every hit and every slapshot. The Hawks made better use of the power play, but even still the play lacked the Hawks’ usual finesse.
Also, Sharpie scored a goal, and that’s something we haven’t seen in about five games. And tonight in particular, Nikolai Khabibulin was a bull with a save percentage of .973.
Woohoo, the War Room in Toronto made another good call in the first 42 seconds of the Hawks/Flames game allowing Dave Bolland’s goal to stand. The issue was did Bolland “punch” or “bat” the puck into the goal off his hand. Toronto said no, and the goal stood. (more…)
Looks like the Blackhawks have started taking the advice of sports writers and fans all across the Chicagoland area who have suggested that the Hawks have to be more aggressive on the forecheck/backcheck. Against the Oilers tonight, James Wisniewski delivered a really nice, hard open-ice check and Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith put the hurt on a few people as well. Matt Walker and Colin Fraser got into a few good scraps, though Adam Burish was surprisingly tame. Bur did, however, have a rather large grin on his face at one point which usually indicates he’s trash talkin’ somebody, which is of course always extremely entertaining. (more…)
What was with that broohaha in the first period with Hawks’ Kris Versteeg and Patrick Kane, the Sharks’ Jonathan Cheechoo, and the officials? Clearly the replay indicated that it was Patrick Kane that high-sticked Jonathan Cheechoo in the nose, not Versteeg. Yet it was Kris Versteeg who was sent to the penalty box for the double minor penalty. The officials even had video replay so there was no excuse for calling the penalty on the wrong player. (more…)