And I’m really loving Ben Eager and Colin Fraser as co-enforcers in the absence of Adam Burish.  Bur could do no better in terms of quality of scraps.  Once Eager and Fraser learned the fine art of discernment — you know, figuring out when to drop the gloves and when not to — these two became indispensable.  Bang on boys! (Literally.)

With the Hawks getting their rough-housing out of the way a few times in the first period of tonight’s game against the Blues, it was no surprise that they waited past the first half of the first period to score.  The long-suffering Troy Brouwer scored one past Blues’ net-minder Ty Conklin with relative ease off an assist by Jonathan Toews.  And, with a little over two minutes left in the first, Brian Campbell also scored on a slap shot thanks to a screen from Kris Versteeg.

And with a little over three minutes left in the 2nd, Jonathan Toews came around back of the goal in what looked like it would be a wrap-around and then deftly passed to Marian Hossa who shot quickly for the third goal.

The rest of the 2nd and a little over two minutes left in the 3rd period it was hum-drum hockey until Dustin Byfuglien followed through with a clean check of Blues’ Barret Jackman.  Then Blues’ Brad Winchester and Big Buff had a bit of a go, but nothing major.  In the last 20 seconds of the game, Blues’ Cam Janssen encroached on Cristobal Huet and Huet pushed back until Brent Sopel swooped in to protect Huet.  Ben Eager then scrapped with B.J. Crombeen, even though Crombeen refused to drop his glove.  Regardless, the Hawks would take the Blues 3-0 in a shut-out for Cristobal Huet.

P.S.  And good news on the Patrick Kane front.  Despite that nasty trip into the boards during that last game between the Hawks and the Lightning wherein Kane hit his eye, Kaner is back.  Is he ok?  Of course.  He hit his head, and he doesn’t use that often enough for that to have been cause for concern.  Yet, for some unknown reason he was the star of the game tonight even though Cristobal Huet had the shut-out.  Well, I guess that’s just good P.R. and of course you need those kids to get their parents in the those seats!

According to the SI article, Toews’ mother says of him:

If I had not seen him being born, I would swear he’s older.

Undoubtedly what makes Tazer so great — his uncompromising relentlessness — is also potentially his Achilles’ heel.  He appears wise well beyond his years most likely because his steadfastness is mistaken for maturity.  He’s likely to be just like any other 21-year-old his age in some respects.

However, one aspect of steadfastness, at least for Tazer, is that he is far too hard on himself.  Speaking to SI of Toews’ scoring drought early on in the ‘08/’09 season, Adam Burish recalled,

I’d say ‘Jonathan, let it go, it’s all right.’ [Toews would] say, ‘That’s not how a captain is supposed to play.’  I’d say, ‘You want to catch dinner, the guys are going?’ and he’d say, ‘I don’t deserve to go.’  He didn’t settle down until Christmas.

On the one hand, it’s hard to argue with Toews’ logic, and you certainly can’t argue with the results.  If Toews hadn’t demanded so much of himself, he wouldn’t have gotten where he has at such a young age.  But such drive, if not tempered, is a one-way ticket to physical and mental exhaustion.  It sounds as if Toews’ drive had gotten so out of proportion that he was psyching himself out.

Is there no happy medium?  Can players such as Toews not be demanding of themselves, setting the bar higher, and yet forgiving of themselves at the same time if they do not achieve their lofty goals? (Pardon the pun.)  It’s unfathomable that a hockey player the caliber of Toews would ever feel worthless, but that’s exactly the word he used to describe his emotional state early on last season.  And of course it shows a lack or perspective to think you’re worthless simply because you’re in a temporary slump.  Toews won’t be able to play hockey forever, and when it does go, will his self-worth go with it?  Not to get all Psych-101, but perhaps building his self-worth on other things besides hockey could be something he could be working on in the interim.  After all, it’s something we all struggle with.  It’s a product of being human.

Thankfully, someone seems to have screwed Toews’ head back on straight over the course of the season.  Toews told The Hockey News‘ Tim Sassone at the outset of the ‘09/’10 season that,

It’s easy to get super ticked off and super negative after a loss and think of everything that’s wrong with the world, but you just have to forget about that and learn from your losses and try to be as excited for the next game as you would be after a win.

So it looks like Toews is cutting himself a little slack.  Now if only he could see himself as others see him.  For instance, the Sports Illustrated article notes one scout’s observation that “while Kane might eventually lead the NHL in scoring, Toews will one day lead the way to a Cup.”  Similarly, Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told The Hockey News,

I think Kane is a great player, don’t get me wrong, but to me the guy you build the franchise around is the Toews kid…He’s a will machine.  He just keeps coming and keeps coming…I talked about Toews as the type of guy you need to lead your franchise.  You need a great human being who’s a workaholic to set the tone.  And that’s what you have in him.

That’s quite a compliment coming from the coach of the Hawks’ arch rival, and I couldn’t agree more.  I would simply qualify the word “workaholic.”  Toews has already admittedly suffered a self-inflicted psych out.  When you put that much pressure on yourself, not only does your performance drop off, but then the game feels more like a chore.  So should Toews be a workaholic?  No.  Should he maintain his current work ethic?  Absolutely, because it has worked for him and will continue to work for him if he can just ease up on himself a bit.  Perhaps that’s why Coach Quenneville instructs that the boys should just have fun; no one can perform optimally in a pressure cooker.

SI concludes that “Toews is composed, humble and dogged in his pursuit of excellence.”  Now, compare SI’s assessment of Toews to Toews’ own ambition years ago before he had even been drafted by the Blackhawks.  Toews told CBC Sports:

I hope I’m capable of being a top-line forward who puts points on the board. I want to be a responsible player and a leader…

Mission accomplished…and then some.  Now if he could just learn to exhale every once in a while.

Let’s look at the run-down shall we?  The Hawks’ injury report looks more like the team roster with Brent Seabrook, Jonathan Toews, Ben Eager, Adam Burish, and Marian Hossa all having been sidelined.  Fans have also been divided between Martin Havlat/Dale Tallon supporters and the no-need-to-dwell-on-the-pasters.  And while Jonathan Toews took a nasty hit a few weeks ago resulting in a fairly serious concussion, Toews was blamed for not seeing oncoming traffic, while Toews’ hit-man Canucks’ Willie Mitchell has all but escaped scrutiny.  Meanwhile, Andrew Ladd has been skewered by sports pundits across the Internet for his “dirty” hit on the Habs’ Matt D’Agostini.

Oh but wait, there’s more.  Recent acquisitions — Jordan Hendry, Andrew Ebbett, Tomas Kopecky, John Madden — have been less than the promised spectacularness, and have yet to even gel with the rest of the team.  And let’s not forget that Cristobal Huet has had an even less ceremonious start this year than last year when he was also booed in his own stadium.

So, putting all these things together, does the evidence speak for itself, or is it still too soon to tell if the Hawks’ management have cursed themselves?  While the Hawks lead the division, it’s been…well…weird.  The United Center feels funny, the players frequently are awkward and bumbling, and the fans appear askew.  There’s a haunting energy surrounding the Hawks, no question.

Well, as other fans and myself said after the Havlat debacle, we know the truth.  Difference is, we don’t have a gag clause.  Like I said, karma’s a tricky thing.  And the Hawks’ management may just be seeing their shenanigans being revisited back on their heads.

Whose bright idea was it to make sport of the poor guys on IR?…LOL….Trick for them, treat for us.

Hjalmarsson has helped to ease the loss of one of my favorite d-men from last season.  It was hard to see Walker leave, and in his absence Cam Barker just seems naked out there.  But Hjalmarsson has helped to fill the void.  And apparently Hjalmy picked up a trick or two from Walker: like how to defend the net.  When Huet was inexplicably absent from the crease, Hjalmy was there, risking a major penalty and defending the net with a swing of the stick on the encroaching Tucker that was more reminiscent of the MLB than the NHL.  Seriously, this season, for my money, Hjalmarsson is the kid to watch.  (I’m also curious to see how Jack Skille will do.  I think he will come along nicely given the chance.)

Beyond Huet’s gaffes (You know the word gaffe dontcha Huet?  It’s French for faux pas.), the lousy puck handling and bad passes last night, which led to all those turnovers, were cringe-worthy.  But the officiating, if you could call it that, didn’t help matters either.  Even Pat Foley had to comment on the lousy job the refs were doing.  Still, what was with the circus out there?  Was the ice not right?  Were their skates too sharp?  Was there a new puck provisioner?  Or were the Hawks just rusty?  Their ‘D’ is amped up compared to last season, which is such a wonderful thing to see, so hopefully they’ll work on puck possession and passing and reduce the amount of those turnovers.

Yes, and let’s talk about Huet.  When Baby Huey stinks up the crease, he makes me miss Patrick Lalime.  Yes, really, Patrick Lalime.  And unlike last season, I hope the powers-that-be don’t wait until well into the season to admit that Huet is hit-or-miss. (Another word for that is ‘unreliable.’)  Time to start talking about Antti Niemi, because if the Hawks stick with Huet, I just don’t see them making it past the regular season.  No way.  Riddle me this: had Niemi been in the net, would we have gone into overtime?  Well, okay, maybe the Hawks still would’ve ended up in OT, but would it have taken NINE shoot-out attempts to win the game? After the game was over, I kept hearing “nine times” in my head over and over like Principal Rooney says in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  (And yes that was my way of working in an homage to our dearly-departed John Hughes, a Chicago institution who is sorely missed.  I’m convinced Mr. Hughes is in heaven trying to explain misunderstood teens and tweeners to God.)  Still, I was ecstatic to see Andrew Ladd get the glory for the final shoot-out goal and the win.  Laddy often flies under everyone’s radar, but he is consistent and reliable and therefore deserves a little recognition.

Colin Fraser is often overlooked as well, which is why it was so gut-wrenching to see his goal get overturned.  Head up buddy.  Everyone took notice of that valiant effort to get that goal.  You’ll get ‘em next time.

Likewise, Kris Versteeg too, while certainly not overlooked, is finally getting his due this season.  No longer is he “the rookie,” nor are they even talking about the dreaded sophomore year (which just guarantees a jinx if  Patrick Kane is any indication).  With Steegy, they’re finally just talking about how good he is, that he’s maximizing his full potential, and that he’s found his stride.  Every team needs a Scrappy Doo, and even though Steegy took some serious hits last night, he got right back up and was like “Let me at ‘em”!  Bang on Verbeauty.

There’s so much to talk about strategically too.  They must have read my letter to Santa, because last season how often did I complain about the need for a center, a defenseman, or anyone, to stand in front of the opposing team’s net and screen shots?  Nice to see Dustin Byfuglien has found his purpose in life. (Oh but please for the love of God Buff, don’t pick out your own clothes anymore!  For the sake of all that is good and holy, let a woman pick out your red carpet threads from now on since the only thing that red suit was missing was a pair of devil horns!)

And while I’m doling out the shame-on-yous, if the PR people for the Hawks are reading this, stop introducing the Hawks as “Patrick Kane and the Hawks.”  Nobody buys that and it’s embarrassing…for you.  Try “Jonathan Toews and the Hawks” or “Dave Bolland and the Hawks.”  Anything but “Kane and the Hawks.”  We know.  He needs some good PR after his recent arrest but Chicagoans aren’t that stupid.  So why don’t you just  push Kaner to do more charity work.  Although I will give a nod to Kaner’s handlers.  Seems someone sat him down and had a little chat with Mr. Rock-You-Like-a-Hurri-Kane.  Admittedly his play is much improved.  He’s taking more shots because he’s actually able to take it to the net.  Now if he could just land a few more, folks could believe again that he’s the hockey player his people keep propagandizing that he is.  I do feel sorry for Kane, because last season he was more of a PR/media creation rather than an actual hockey player.  But now, he seems to be hunkering down and finding his own way.  For his sake, let’s hope he can keep it up.  What a difference 10 pounds of meat and an attitude adjustment can make huh?

And I saved the best for last.  How awesome was it to see ‘Tony O’ Esposito, Stan Mikita (Oh how I wish Stan Mikita’s Munchables really existed), and the Golden Jet himself, Bobby Hull, back on the ice again!?  Won’t be seeing that again til heaven.  And it was a little bit of heaven just to see that last night.  Hopefully they can bring some good karma back to the Blackhawks organization.  Here’s hoping for a good season everyone!

P.S.  Missing Ben Eager and Adam Burish.  Get well soon boys!

Before I get to Patrick Kane though, it is necessary to fire a shot across Adam Burish’s bow.  Burish had the audacity to badmouth Martin Havlat for Havlat’s comments about his contract deal gone south.  Like a true keister kisser, Adam Burish toed the company line and forever sealed himself as a brown noser in this fan’s mind. (You know how your nose gets brown dontcha Bur?  Although, I’d venture to say your entire head is brown at this point.)  But Adam Burish doesn’t just have egg on his face; at this point he is wearing an entire chicken coop.  Last season he bragged on his blog ‘Dropping the Gloves‘ that,

There is a code amongst hockey player that you hear in all sports, but it’s at a higher standard here. When you are on a team, you are a part of a “family”, and you do not do anything to put yourself above your family. You don’t blast your teammates to the media, you don’t dress for attention, and you don’t get yourself in the media for reasons outside of your job, and if you do it is dealt with.

Really? You don’t blast your teammates to the media Bur? Yet, that’s exactly what you did to Martin Havlat on Comcast Sportsnet last month.  Yeah, well, what goes around comes around Bur, and when it’s your turn to be screwed over by management, don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

Bur’s comments, while incredibly hypocritical, also come to bear today with what’s happened with Patrick Kane.  As everyone has almost certainly heard by now, Kane was arrested in Buffalo on Sunday for theft of services, criminal mischief, and second-degree robbery for a scrap he and his cousin got into with a cabbie.  Several things strike me.  First, despite Burish’s comments vaunting hockey players’ “higher standards,” Patrick Kane’s behavior here seems to mimic quite nicely the antics of lots of other athletes who engage in thug behavior.  Second, it’s odd that Kane would show so much aggression off the ice and yet be thrown around like a rag doll on the ice.  And lastly, and this is the worst, my theory about Kane’s attitude change last season seems to have been proven true.  Kane appears to have bought into his own hype and now looks to be just another overly pampered, coddled athlete.

I started wondering about him about mid-season last year.  While his performance had fallen off even before his injury, he had for some reason started being a bit arrogant in interviews.  And then who can forget his infamous “goldfish” interview in April wherein he said the reason he had been pulled from Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs against the Calgary Flames was because his pet goldfish died and he had to fly back to Chicago to flush it down the toilet.  Like others, I speculated that he had been pulled from Game 3 because he couldn’t take the hits and therefore wasn’t contributing on offense.  Kaner’s playoff stats bear that out as he was -9 in post-season play.  So, for those who go on comparing Kane to a young Wayne Gretzky I ask why? And now I wonder if his arrogance wasn’t something of a defense mechanism to cover for his performance for the second half of last season. Is this off-ice behavior also him acting out?

Like others on radio and TV today, I’m also wondering if Kaner hasn’t gotten into the hooch.  Some just can’t hold their liquor, especially at 20 when they’re not legally allowed to drink anyway.  Maybe Kaner is just partying like anyone his age would, but regardless, even most fratboys usually know better than to get into scrapes when they’re drunk.  And if you’re a mean drunk, then don’t drink! (especially when there’s a million dollar contract on the line!)  Some are also wondering if a felony conviction will keep Kane from being able to go to Canada for games this coming season since Canada has a policy of prohibiting convicted felons into their country.  So, while the Blackhawks organization may be tight-lipped on this their latest controversy, Cabbiegate looks like it could spell big trouble for Kane and the Hawks.

As ever, only time will tell how this will all unfold, but one thing is vividly clear now: Patrick Kane has an attitude problem.  The Hawks can either address it head on and nip it in the bud, or they can go on sailing the river denial.  Fans and sports pundits saw it last year right about the time Kane started being unable to take big-boy hits, so what excuse can the Blackhawks organization possibly give for continuing to ignore it?

And as a side note, I think Kane’s behavior is yet another indication of how poorly-run the Blackhawks organization is thanks to John McDonough.  If this is the way of things, then I would prefer the Hawks go back to obscurity.  Right about now, the Hawks organization should be asking itself ‘What price is too high for the cup?’  As it stands, there’s too much blood on the ice, too many black eyes for the organization, and apparently a black eye for one cabbie in Buffalo, New York who never saw Patrick Kane’s bad attitude coming.

Warning, this clip from the Blackhawks/Red Wings game yesterday of Adam Burish getting cut by Ben Eager’s skate after a check goes awry is a bit graphic with the close-up and all, so if you can’t handle the sight of blood, DO NOT WATCH IT!!

Oh my gosh, this looks even worse than yesterday when I saw it. It is a miracle that Adam Burish did not get cut so severely that he bled out! This has got to be a hockey player’s (and a fan’s) worst nightmare! Thank God (and I did) Bur was not seriously injured!

Where oh where has the Hawks’ backcheck gone?  Hockey pundits continue to talk about forechecking, forechecking, forechecking, but you can so clearly see that the Hawks did not do as good a job defending their own net.  If the Red Wings return at some point to their usual caliber of hockey — which is so aggressive on ‘D’ at times as to be goonish — then the Hawks are in for an ordeal.

Also why did Q put Niklas Hjalmarsson on the PK unit with Matt Walker?  Don’t get me wrong, I have liked Hjalmarsson a lot in the playoffs.  He’s really come along in the post season, especially considering how late he joined the Hawks, but is he ready to be on the PK?  Wouldn’t your most defensive defensemen — Cam Barker and Matt Walker, in my opinion — be a better pairing?  And this game again shows how when Q mixes up the lines — defensive or offensive — that it just mucks up the works.

Wow, what a frenetic brand of hockey we saw today!  Some of that was because of a stepped-up game on both the Hawks’ and Red Wings’ parts; stepped-up in terms of speed and the level of activity.  Some was because of the bumbling (including multiple turnovers and repeatedly leaving the puck) of some of the Hawks like Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith (who also could have avoided those 1st-period penalties).  Seabs and Dunc even tripped over each other at one point early on in the 2nd period.  Looked like they got their cues crossed repeatedly throughout the game.  And there was other bumbling and sloppiness.  For instance, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were off their game, a rarity to be sure (at least for Tazer).

We can also thank the Lord above that Adam Burish did not get his carotid artery sliced open by the wayward skate of Ben Eager who went flying through the air in a check that went awry in the tail end of the 2nd period.  (Hope you’ve had your tetanus shot Bur!  Your mother must have been freaking out!)  As it was, Bur’s neck was covered in blood.  That’s just too close for comfort.  Gotta be careful with those skates.  They’re as sharp as Adam Burish’s wit!

Well, what can you say about a game like this one? Let’s just hope it was opening-series jitters that caused the Hawks to lose to the Red Wings 5-2 and that the Hawks don’t continue to get psyched out by the supposed formidability of the Red Wings.

Adam Burish asks the right question:  Are the Flames so sensitive they can’t take a little trash talk?  Really???  And do they think we can’t see Jarome Iginla in everyone’s faces?  Do they think we can’t see that they started it? Do they think we can’t see that all this trash talking is really part of the Flames ‘D’; to get the Hawks so riled up that they retaliate and guys get sent to the dressing room?  Really?  Do ya think we don’t know that Flames?  Do you think we can’t read your lips?  Bur is right.  He’s not just talking to himself out there.  Give me a break and stop pansying up hockey!  Man up Flames!  Hockey isn’t played in the press boys!