It was also nice to finally see the refs, in last night’s game at least, differentiating between roughing and fighting instead of carte blanche just calling a 5-minute major penalty for “fighting” whether the gloves were thrown down or not.  I want to see more of that proper kind of officiating, you know, where it’s a 5-minute major penalty for a real throw down (i.e. actual fighting); the kind that potentially draws blood.  That’s what a 5-minute major fighting penalty should look like.

As for last night’s game, it wasn’t Jarome Iginla instigating for once.  Last night, it was Dion Phaneuf who kept picking fights, some he was called for and some he wasn’t.  Even Brent Seabrook got into a scrap last night as did the Hawks’ little coming-along enforcer, Colin Fraser.  Hey why not.  The Hawks were up by several points, why not throw down the gloves a time or two, because, as ever, the Flames kept trash-talkin’ and instigating.  Perhaps the Flames should have spent less time jawin’ and scrappin’ and more time on their defense.  And perhaps they should have pulled Miikka Kiprusoff earlier. (A .750 save percentage over 40 minutes of play? Ouch!)

While we’re talking goal tenders, Cristobal Huet had another stellar night with a .964 save average.  I really do hope I get to eat crow over Huet.  It would be nice if he became the consistent, reliable goal tender we’ve always been told he can be.

And the goals were spectacular last night with Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Patrick Kane, and Ben Eager all scoring.  Versteeg scored twice, and Ben Eager netted his first goal of the season.  It truly was a sight to behold.

It was good to see Bryan Bickell again last night, too.  He only had a little over 11 minutes on ice, so it will be interesting to see how he does with a little more ice time.

And once again, the contributions of Niklas Hjalmarsson cannot be ignored.  It was Hjalmy’s stone-cold hit on Rene Bourque that amped the Hawks’ offense, inspiring them to score 5 times in the 2nd period. The only one that could’ve deserved that bull-dozing hit more than Bourque was Jarome Iginla.  Still, watching Hjalmy take out Bourque was like watching a Great White Shark breach the water and connect with massive, brute force with its intended target.  That would explain Hjalmarsson’s toothy grin while watching the replay from the bench.  This kid only gets better.  And so do the Hawks.  For the first time this season I have hope.  Actual hope.

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.

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?

That said, it does look as if Ladd’s hit was slightly dirty, though only Ladd knows his true intent.  It appears as if Ladd’s skates left the ice about halfway through the hit to give it extra oomph, and that’s a no-no.  But you’d have to super slo-mo it to decide either way. (Maybe Ladd could argue that his leaving the ice was reverb off of the energy it took to hit D’Agostini.  Still, haven’t we seen hits this powerful before that weren’t decried as “dirty” or “big”?)  Regardless, the NHL will almost certainly treat the offense disproportionately in order to make an example out of Andrew Ladd.  This is, after all, the new NHL.  I guess defense in this new era should be licked on by kittens.

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!

Martin Havlat was one veteran who clearly had his nerves in check. Not only did he score an assistless goal in the third period, but look at how much poise he showed in being able to score a mere 12 seconds into overtime! And though it was only briefly mentioned, Andrew Ladd made Havlat’s game winner possible (as did Dave Bolland with an assist of perfection) by scrambling to get to the net for the screen shot. It was a thing of beauty.

And while Khabi-”the Wall”-bulin was his usual stellar self, he was particularly good tonight about freezing the puck. If Khabby has had one weakness this season (beyond being injury-prone), it would probably be that he has allowed too many rebounds. So, it’s good to see that that problem has been corrected just in time for the playoffs.

In all fairness, though, we should give a nod to Flames’ goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff. Had the Hawks not figured out fairly early that they had to take it to the net and shoot upstairs, which is hard to do with the kind of ‘D’ the Flames were working with tonight, the Hawks might not have been able to squeak this one out. Kiprusoff was just too good.

Perhaps the Hawks would have been equally as good as the Flames on offense (and let’s face it, the Flames were better for most of the game) if Q hadn’t been so line-change crazy. In the first minute of the game he changed the offensive line twice and it just went on like that all night. Is this a Q thing? Because I have to say, I don’t like it. The offensive line hardly has a chance to get out there and gel together, and *boom* Q’s changing it up again.

Still, congrats Hawks! With game one nerves out of the way, it can only get better!

And let’s not forget all the turnovers in this game by the Hawks as well as the sloppy passing. Brian Campbell stands out as the worst offender which leads me again to ponder why it was Wisniewski who was traded instead of Campbell.

And Cristobal Huet dropped the ball, or the puck, as well in this game particularly on one play in the 2nd period when he thought the ref was going to make an interference call and so Huet didn’t even bother to block a shot from Nash that went in. Gosh, after the last disastrous time the Hawks played the Blue Jackets, you’d think they would’ve been on the lookout for Nash, who is notorious for those sneaky moves, but apparently not.

Wow, it’s like someone took the air out of the Hawks and they’ve deflated. What happened???

Also, Jonathan Toews and Matt Walker put an opponent into the glass and held him there after Brian Campbell got a nasty check on the boards in the first period.  FACE!  Later on in the same period, Dave Bolland had an awesome assist (thanks to Troy Brouwer snatching the puck away from Dion Phaneuf) that set Andrew Ladd up for a goal mere seconds after the Flames scored.

Adam Burish scored in the second right before Patrick Kane nailed someone in the nose again, ending up in the penalty box for yet another double minor for high-sticking.  That’s twice in three games that Kane has tagged someone up high, intentionally.  Again, there is a difference between defending yourself and being a goon.  Kane lately is being a goon and he’s making the team suffer for it.  Kane’s penalty alone made up half of the eight minutes of penalties in the second period.

Like the first two periods, the third period was immediately electric when Colin Fraser scored a tricky goal only minutes into the period (still not sure how Fraser was able to scoop that in).  A scrap ensued between Matt Walker (who has just been phenomenal these past few games!) and Andre Roy as a result of Fraser’s goal and the Flames’ mounting frustration at repeatedly meeting “the Wall,” Nikolai Khabibulin.

And, as the cherry on the sundae, Troy Brouwer scored an empty netter, on the penalty kill no less, in the last two minutes of the game.  Wow, if the Hawks can continue turning in performances like this 5-2 victory over the Flames, there’s no reason the Hawks can’t lead the division.

…And speaking of Matt Walker, we should be! How much of an asset has he been this season so far? Just look at last night’s game where, in the third period, Matty blocked Bernier at the net and kept him from getting the puck up and scoring. Not only that, but it’s nice to have a big body like Walker who can dish out as well as take the hits in his very aggressive style of play.

Speaking of hard hits,  Kris Versteeg checked Jannik Hansen in the neutral zone in the last several minutes of last night’s game, sending Hansen flying through the air. Canucks fans didn’t much like it, booing at the check not having been called as interference, but for Hawks fans, that was just tit for tat in yet another inconsistently called game. Still, last night’s game — in which Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Jonathan Toews (who scored an empty-netter) all scored — was one of the best this season, especially in the last two minutes. As Pat Foley noted, the ‘W’ over the Canucks was the first time the Hawks have won seven in a row since 1981.