Last night’s 7-1 win over the Flames was breathtaking. For the first time this season, it felt like the magic of last season had returned. I can’t decide if that was because the Hawks have finally gelled with each other, or if the Flames just fell down, psyched out by the remembrance of the playoffs last season. I want to believe it is the former, not the latter. (more…)
Karma (or whatever you want to call it) can be a tricky thing. Look at the Curse of the Bambino. It would be 86 years (1918-2004) until the Red Sox won another World Series, supposedly thanks to the sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees. Similarly, look at the Curse of the Billygoat. The Cubs haven’t been to the World Series since 1945 allegedly thanks to Billy Sianis’ smelly goat (and it ain’t lookin’ like they’ll be returning any time soon). Could it be that the misfortune-plagued Blackhawks have also cursed themselves for the goings on in the off season? (more…)
All anyone is talking about from last night’s game is that “big” hit from Andrew Ladd on the Habs’ Matt D’Agostini. Really? This is now considered a “big” hit? So, either hockey players have become big pansies, or the NHL is once again trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Newsflash: hockey, like football, is a violent sport. Has been since its inception. So then why is the NHL trying to dilute fighting and the hits needed to provide proper defense? Why is it such a big deal now? (more…)
What a home-opener last night at the UC between the Hawks and the Colorado Avalanche! Almost makes you wish you were there. (Almost.) But if I hadn’t been at home I wouldn’t have gotten to see the replay (about 6 times) of Niklas Hjalmarsson’s swing-batta-batta swing into the face of the Avs Darcy Tucker. In a word: awesome. And Hjalmy didn’t even get called for high-sticking! (more…)
Tonight the Hawks had a slight case of the shakes in game one of the quarterfinal match-up against the Flames. It’s to be expected with such a young team, but luckily the more senior players (some with playoff experience) were able to act as a calming influence. (more…)
Ugh, what was with the officiating in tonight’s 4-3 loss to the Blue Jackets, particularly the tripping call against Brent Seabrook in the 3rd period? Since when is a collision tripping? All the calls seemed to be wrong, or off. For instance, why was a high-sticking call only made against Andrew Ladd when his opponent also high-sticked and drew blood?? That should have been a major penalty in addition to a high-sticking call. And it was like that all night leading myself and others to wonder just how much these refs got paid, or paid off, to tip the game in the Blue Jackets’ favor. (more…)
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…)
In the Hawks 3-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks last night, Matt Walker took a hard check on the boards in the first period from Steve Bernier, which caused Walker and the plexiglass to pop out. But like the gentleman he is, Walker held the pane of plexiglass away from the Canucks fans to keep them from getting hurt. After Canucks fans booed Andrew Ladd, Walker would’ve been justified in letting the plexiglass fall on the Canucks fans where it may, but Walker showed more class with the glass… (more…)