On to San Jose! Good luck boys!

Also of note was a Vancouver newspaper that made sport [See page 1, yes page 1 (!), of the preceding link] of Patrick Kane’s incident with a Buffalo, New York, cab driver last summer.  I don’t mind anyone picking on Patrick Kane for that incident.  I certainly have, because from what I know of Kane as a person, I don’t like him, and I especially don’t like him as a hockey player.  But, what is conspicuous about the Vancouver paper poking fun at Kane is that they chose playoff time to do it, which is just sort of lame.  That was so last summer Vancouver.  You should’ve commented on it then.  Doing it during the Hawks/Canucks series just comes off as sour grapes and poor sportsmanship.  Once again, real classy Vancouver!

And last, but certainly not least, is the goon hockey undertaken by the Canucks in this series.  I guess that shouldn’t surprise us.  But what is chuckle worthy is the whining of Roberto Luongo about how the Blackhawks are supposedly engaging in goon hockey!  Wayne Gretzky last year held the trophy for the whiningest individual in hockey, but even Luongo could give “The Great One” a run for his money in this series!

Last season I used to chide Dustin Byfuglien for face washing and otherwise harassing Roberto Luongo during Hawks/Canucks games.  My criticism came mostly from the fact that the Hawks would have to penalty kill an avoidable goal tender interference call; that and I don’t like goon hockey because it’s like cheating.  Winning a hockey game because of gooniness isn’t winning the game based on expertise, but rather because of what a team can get away with.  So if the Canucks are going to engage in goon hockey (which they regularly do) then I think it only fair that the Hawks answer with a little bit of gooniness themselves.  And in this series, keeping pressure on the net and on Luongo, has certainly been one of the greatest keys to the Hawks’ success.  So why should Luongo expect a classier version of play than his own team engages in?  And why should he expect an opposing team to change his diapers?  Just because your save percentage has gone below .900 doesn’t mean you get to be a crybaby.  So to Roberto Luongo I say: WAH!  Tell it to your mama.

As for the overall play in this series so far, I’m surprised there haven’t been more scuffles.  What, no dirty hits or cheap shots from Kevin Bieksa?  What, no hair pulling from Alex Burrows?  What, no reason for Ben Eager and Dustin Byfuglien to beat the stuffing out of you two?  Bummer.  Well, there’s always next season!

And hats off to Dustin Byfuglien and Jonathan Toews for their hat tricks in this series!  As the adage goes, victory is the best revenge.  And how!  Yes, who wouldn’t prefer a couple of hat tricks (or even a Gordie Howe hat trick) to just a donnybrook?  It also shows you what Jonathan Toews is capable of when he doesn’t have to babysit Patrick Kane at every turn.  As Red Wings coach Mike Babcock told The Hockey News, “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…”  And that’s why he has more points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs than any other. (Yes, even more than leading NHL scorer Henrik Sedin!…Nelson Muntz finger point and “Ha! Ha!”)

And finally, there is a little bit of vindication for Huet haters (or Huet dislikers) like myself.   Some have been afraid of the backlash and so haven’t been vocal about the Hawks needing a new net minder, but the sentiment was still there.  I’m just sorry the Hawks wasted so much of this season trying to beat a dead horse.  Lots of fans knew that given a chance, Antti Niemi would rise to the challenge and be a great net minder.  I’m just grateful the Hawks organization figured that out in time for the playoffs.  Sorry baby Huey.  I think your tenure in Chicago may be over.

So, da be, da be, da be, that’s all folks… at least for now.  But remember Canuckleheads…stay classy!

P.S.  Oh yeah, and stop calling Byfuglien “Buffy.”

Walker showed his net presence tonight by repeatedly blocking shots for Lightning net-minder Antero Niittymaki.  Ironically, Matt Walker’s brand of defense was kind of like catching lightning in a bottle last year for the Blackhawks, and yet the Hawks inexplicably let him go. Maybe they just didn’t know what they had in Walker (or maybe they weren’t willing to pay Walker what he was worth despite recognizing what they had in him.)  Still, I don’t think anyone will dispute that part of the success of the Hawks’ defense during the playoffs last year was the Matt Walker/Niklas Hjalmarsson defensive combination.  In fact, I’m not so sure that Niklas Hjalmarsson didn’t learn some of his signature moves from Matt Walker since they both have the same brand of ‘D’ in common.

Undoubtedly, Matt Walker was his own one-man ‘D’ in tonight’s game.  Still, Niittymaki let his guard down in the 1st period at about the midway point, coming too far out of the net, which allowed Patrick Kane to score an easy goal on a wide-open net. (Later, Patrick Kane would get laid out on the boards with a nasty hit to his forehead by Lightning Matt Smaby. Kane would not return to the game.)  The second Hawk goal, which came at about the midway point in the 2nd period, came off a wicked pass by Marian Hossa, who set Ben Eager up for the goal.

And speaking of Ben Eager, it was hard to see Matt Walker go at it with his former teammates, Ben Eager in particular, in the 2nd period. Ben Eager would again go at it a few minutes later, this time with Zenon Konopka, which resulted in a 5-minute fighting penalty for each.  I guess the Hawks had to expect some rowdiness from the Lightning, one of the most penalized teams in the NHL.  Jonathan Toews I guess also couldn’t have been too surprised by Matt Smaby’s dirty, late hit on him, which laid him out with a shot to his head late in the 2nd period.  What was surprising however is that Toews got a roughing call for taking a swing at a Lightning player, any Lightning player, in retribution.  Yet for some reason Smaby was not called at all for his nasty hit on Toews.  Hopefully the NHL remedies that no-call in the days to come.

Despite the Lightning rough-housing, Marian Hossa also had a brilliant goal off a sweet Patrick Sharp pass in the 2nd period.  Upon the slick wrister from Sharpie, which he shot high, Hossa pulled the puck out of the air, put it to the ice, and shot it for the goal all within seconds.  Niittymaki didn’t even know what hit him.

And in the 3rd period, it was more of the same mad rush to the net on the part of the Hawks when Dustin Byfuglien brought the puck up the boards and  passed to Jonathan Toews who battled it in for the goal.  Pat Foley was right: a goal is the best revenge.

Lightning Todd Fedoruk apparently tried to take out his frustration on the Hawks’ goal-tender Antti Niemi as Fedoruk bull-dozed Niemi unnecessarily in the last two minutes of the game, which resulted in a late broohaha in front of the net.  Then Hawk Kris Versteeg shot it millimeters past the goal line on Niitymaki but there was no pause to even review the “non-goal.” I  guess the War Room figured since the Hawks were up by four, they didn’t need to bother with the review.

And let’s not forget to give Antti Niemi his due tonight for the shut-out of the Lightning 4-0.  Granted, Niemi only had to deflect 18 shots on goal the whole game (whereas the Hawks had 29 shots on goal the whole night), but still, let’s give credit where it’s due.  I’d like to see more of Niemi.  He’s coming along quite nicely.

Overall, great game Hawks.  An easy win, but still, it’s always fun to watch those slick Hawk moves.

There was a little bit of a to-do in the 1st period with Penguins’ Matt Cook and Hawks’ Duncan Keith.  Matt Cook delivered a tough hit on one end and then at the other end Duncan Keith elbowed Cook in the face.  Keith got a 2-minute interference call, though it could’ve been a 5-minute major or even an ejection. (Cook would later pay Dunc back with some knuckles to Dunc’s jaw which laid him out on his knees.)  Seconds later, Marian Hossa scored a stunning goal off of some agile passing from Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell. (Yes, Brian Campbell!)

Then the Pens’ Evgeni Malkin went at Colin Fraser in the dwindling minutes of the 2nd.  Geno had Fraser on his back on the ice and still the ref didn’t intervene.  I’m all for a good scrap, but I think you can call off the dogs when you’ve got a guy on his back!

Evgeni Malkin struck again in the last minute and a half of the 3rd period with a pass to Jordan Staal who put it past Antti Niemi for a goal after the Pens had pulled Marc-André Fleury from the net.  Still, the Hawks would battle back in the overtime period with Kris Versteeg hammering the puck past Fleury for the win.

Truthfully I was a little surprised that Hawks’ secondary goalie Antti Niemi was put in net against Pens’ Marc-André Fleury.  I thought maybe it would’ve been wiser to put Niemi in last night’s game against the Predators and put Cristobal Huet in net against the defending champion Penguins tonight.  But Niemi proved me and other doubters wrong.  He held the Penguins scoreless through two, almost three, periods.

All-in-all, an amazing game.  The kind you DVR and watch over and over if only to watch the Penguins eat it.

Ben Eager and Canuck Rick Rypien scrapped early in the 1st period after some late smacking around of Tomas Kopecky.  I was certain that Dustin Byfuglien and any of a number of Canucks were going to go at it late in the first period after Byfuglien was called for holding, you know because the Canucks have a long-standing hatred of Buff.  But Buff quietly slunk off to the sin bin. (By the way, it wasn’t holding.  The correct call would have been either tripping or interference.)  Canuck Steve Bournier also caused a ruckus late in the 2nd period and while not a bench-clearer, it did draw a crowd of Hawks. (Say, does anyone enforce the third-man-in rule?  Just curious.)

And though admittedly I was a little worried about Antti Niemi in net tonight (seeing as how Roberto Luongo was at the other end) he blew everyone away blocking 30 shots to Luongo’s 17. In one impressive save, Niemi reached up to the sky and gloved the puck as if he were a baseball catcher catching a wayward pitch.  Niemi was simply spectacular which of course is why he was the player of the game.

Apparently impressiveness was contagious as Bryan Bickell was back on the ice tonight despite that hard hit to the head he took last night after his open-ice check on Oilers’ Dustin Penner.  Bickell’s tougher than I thought. (And I thought he was pretty tough!)  Clearly this kid has a lot to contribute, but if that hard hit last night on both Penner and himself didn’t prove it, the one and only goal scored in the game by Bickell (a redirect goal scored off of Jonathan Toews early in the third period) sure will!  Hopefully management takes note.

And also of note, if you’re a Canucks fan, is that the Sedin brothers were back together after brother Daniel’s recent trip to IR-land.  There were definitely some sweet, you-complete-me moments upon Daniel’s return, but who cares?

Weee, what a fun Circus Trip we’re having! On to the next!

P.S. This is the second game in two consecutive games where there has been a problem with the clocks.  What gives?  Please clock minders, mind your clocks better!

It is always easy to point out a weak goal and base judgment on that particular event, but I would like to compare the Chicago goalies to the other so-called stars this season…

Ehrenhaft goes on to say that,

Cristobal Huet has had some weak moments this season, but his Goals Against Average is a respectable 2.24. His save percentage is under fire though at .899.  Let me run down the list of ‘star’ goalies who have been lauded for their contributions so far this season.  Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings, has been praised and given credit for the resurgence of the franchise, but his goals against average is 2.69 and his save percentage .898.  Craig Anderson has been heralded as the second coming of Patrick Roy and his GAA is 2.32.  Marc-Andre Fleury won the cup last year and the Penguins are flying high so far, despite the mediocre play of the goalie and a 2.52 GAA. It helps when your team scores 4 goals a game.  Perennial star goalies Brodeur, Lundquist, and the goalie captain Luongo have GAA’s of 2.35, 2.52, and a whopping 2.79, respectively.  No one has panicked yet over their failures.

This is why I try not to put too much emphasis on stats.  Statistics lie, or at the very least, they don’t tell the whole truth.  For instance, Patrick Kane was -9 in the playoffs last season.  Supporters argued his +/- rating did not accurately reflect Kane’s true talent.  They say he was still nursing a mid-season injury, he was young and inexperienced in post-season play, and he supposedly had the flu at one point.  So if this can be said of Kane, then why can’t the opposite be true for Huet?  Why can’t we say that while Huet’s numbers are comparable to other goalies, they don’t tell the whole story?  The rest of the story is that Huet is wildly inconsistent and therefore unreliable, and that is the real problem. (As for Niemi, it’s still too soon to tell.)

If pundits and fans are lashing out this season it’s because Huet has had a year now to get it right, and he’s still hit-or-miss.  That’s what has fans’ and pundits’ hackles up.  So to those who are still inexplicably supporting Huet, make sure you get Huet critics’ criticisms right.

And for easy games, like tonight’s match-up between the Wild and the Hawks was expected to be, why not air out Antti Niemi?  We keep hearing about how much experience Huet has; additional experience isn’t bound to make him better.  So then why not put Niemi in net during easy-win games?  The experience would help to season Niemi, and Huet wouldn’t have to weary himself in back-to-back games.  Seems like a win-win to me.

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!

In addition to all the great things on ‘D’, how about newbies Jack Skille and Niklas Hjalmarsson?  Despite an accidental screen and a goal off his skate, Hjalmarsson has otherwise been indispensable in front of the net. (And did you see that wicked awesome goal off Hjalmy’s slapshot in the 3rd period of tonight’s Hawks/Stars game?)  Skille too scored his first goal the other night and how sweet it was.  Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy and so I’m ecstatic to see Skille keep being called up.  Hopefully next season he won’t have to pack his suitcase twice as much as everybody else.

Also, congrats to Jonathan Toews on his first goal of the season scored in tonight’s 4-3 loss to the Stars.  Much like last year, Tazer would have scored sooner but he was too busy taking care of everybody else.

And, last and certainly least, I can’t believe I have to spend blog space yet again this season talking about the goaltender situation.  They talk about Baby Huey missing “soft goals” but it’s more like he misses pee-wee hockey goals (and do I have to even mention that “bad bounce” he missed off the boards tonight in the 3rd that went in for a goal?).  Of late, he’s either on the other side of the net when the puck comes, he doesn’t see the puck coming at all, or he’s completely out of the net and late getting back.  They say he’s not good on glove-side.  Well he’s also not good on his stick side or up high (and sometimes not on 5-hole either).  So, if you were the opposing team, where would you shoot on Huet? Your options would be numerous.

I think most fans were surprised that Huet remained after last season since Huet was repeatedly outshined by Khabibulin, the distant runner-up to the netminder job.  That alone should have been a wake-up call to the Hawks’ management.  Huet’s goaltending with the Hawks has always been hit-or-miss, but this season he’s just missing easy pucks left and right.  It’s also a cautionary tale about signing guys for contracts that extend way too long. (Ahem, Hossa.)  As so many of my fellow puckheads in the hockyverse have been saying of late, the Hawks can get to the playoffs and they can win the cup, just not with Huet in net.  And no, Antti Niemi probably won’t get the Hawks there either, so right about now somebody should be shopping for a new goalie.

Antti Niemi too made some spectacular saves.  He can only get better.

Overall, great game, with the Hawks beating the Oil 4-3.  It was, however, a little bittersweet to see Nikolai Khabibulin in the opposing net.  Patrick Sharp summed up the Hawks’ feelings on Khabi when he said that he wished him luck, but not too much luck.  Maybe that was what Sharpie was trying to communicate to Khabi when Sharpie missed that penalty shot in the 2nd period.  Khabi was bound and determined not to let Sharpie score on him, and probably knew just where Sharpie was headed with that shot.  I guess that’s why Sharpie looked back and flashed Khabi that big ol’ grin.