Blackhawks v. Canucks: How Penalties Can Kill a Game

No sooner do we not have to worry about Cristobal Huet in net (if only for a time), and the Hawks become undisciplined and commit penalty after penalty in tonight’s loss 3-2 to the Canucks.  And folks are talking about how Antti Niemi is responsible for losing this game?  I don’t think so!  Niemi was quite busy in the 3rd period blocking an onslaught of shots. 

And apparently it is only when Jonathan Toews is gone with an “upper body injury” that we really see just how very much he contributes.  Not only is he the best center on the team, but you see how many extracurriculars he is involved in.  He’s like the Urlacher of the Blackhawks.

So, what specifically can we point to in this loss to the Canucks?  Clearly, it was the lack of discipline that led to repeated, needless penalties.  Special teams can only do so much on the penalty kill.  Additionally, and as Q always says, if you can’t score on a 5-on-3, you’re probably not going to win the game.  And so it was.  Well, look at it this way.  At least Alex Burrows didn’t pull Duncan Keith’s hair!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 9:19 pm and is filed under Chicago Blackhawks, Joel Quenneville, Jonathan Toews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Jonathan Toews’ Smack Up »

3 Responses to “Blackhawks v. Canucks: How Penalties Can Kill a Game”

  1. Lamp Developer Says:
    October 23rd, 2009 at 1:54 pm

    The refs sure were lazy. You would think with 3 of them out there that they could see everything but I guess they all need to get their eyes examined.

  2. Goon Squad Says:
    November 22nd, 2009 at 2:31 am

    3 refs? Really?
    Do us a favor and stick to developing lamps, whatever that entails….

  3. HHH Says:
    November 22nd, 2009 at 4:06 am

    It was probably a type-o. You know you guys don’t type well. ;)

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