Thanks for the season so far Hawks, and now on to the playoffs!  Go Hawks!

P.S.  Hats off to the 4th line too.  They used to play about 8 minutes or so a game, and now they play about 12 minutes a game.  They’ve earned the ice time with their points contribution of late, particularly Colin Fraser.  Keep it up Fraz!

It’s lame enough to grab a guy by the hair, but by the beak???  Really?  Isn’t that a little like grabbing a guy with a piercing by his nose ring in a bar fight?  Or kicking a guy in the cubes?  It goes against the bro code and it’s a cheap shot.   Ok, so the Blues are out of playoff contention and have to act as the spoilers.  But no respect can come from cheap shots.  Still, I think the Hawks had plenty to say by scoring four goals in the first period.  Ha!  Take that baby Blues! (And in the coming periods it would be nice to see the Hawks have a go at T.J. Oshie and David Backes.  They’re just crying out for a comeupance!)

P.S. Way to go on that goal Bickell the pickle!  Same for Duncan Keith, Ben Eager, and Kris Versteeg who all scored in the first period.

P.P.S.  Loving Dustin Byfuglien as a d-man.  I know he used to be a d-man and I’m wondering why anyone would ever have made him a forward.  Let’s keep this guy on D.  Seems that’s where he’s most at home.

When the Blackhawks traded James ‘Wiz’ Wisniewski last season, I was the first to balk about that.  How could the Blackhawks trade a valued and tough d-man like that?  Since then, the Hawks have been struggling with their ‘D’ no question about it.  But watching as Wiz and Brent Seabrook exchanged pleasantries before the first intermission in tonight’s Hawks/Ducks game and then watching Wisniewski gun for Brent Seabrook in the 2nd period and purposely leave his skates and take Seabs out by the head?!  Oh, them’s fightin’ words Wiz!  And are you kidding me with that “charging” call?  What?  No automatic ejection?  Not even boarding?

At least Duncan Keith rushed in to box Wisniewski’s ears after that dirty hit.  Similarly, Nick Boynton more than proved his worth in having a go at Wisniewski in the last minute of the game.  If only Boynton had gotten some good shots under Wiz’s visor!

And seriously, if ever we Hawks fans had to prove that the ‘War Room’ in Toronto was out to get us, this game would live on in infamy as proof!  This isn’t like the Alexander Ovechkin hit on Brian Campbell.  When Ovi hit Soupy, I’m not so sure there was “intent” there like everybody keeps saying.  Did Ovi intend to hit Soupy that hard, or is Brian Campbell just that crunchy?  However, when you take a running skate from the blue line, like James Wisniewski did, and then shoulder and forearm a guy in the head while taking a running leap off your skates, I think you can safely be said to be gunning for someone!  Judging from Joel Quenneville’s reaction on the bench, I think he agreed.

And yes, while the NHL will certainly review this, will they rightfully punish James Wisniewski (meaning a big fine and multiple game suspensions), or simply take it out on the whole of the NHL by restricting players even more?  No NHL, for the nine millionth time, you don’t need to crack down on fighting or body checking.  You simply need to more harshly punish offenders.  That’s all!  And you can start by throwing the book at James Wisniewski because while Wiz played on, Brent Seabrook was out having a very unpleasant MRI. (And he will probably be out for several games hereafter with a nasty concussion.)

P.S.  Props go to Corey Crawford for maintaining poise during what was clearly a nerve-racking game!

P.P.S.  Jonathan Toews still looks too thin and sickly.  Seriously, what’s wrong with this boy?  Does nobody else notice this??  I think this is why the Hawks keep losing.

Hey there, love following your stuff!

What are your thoughts on how the Hawks are gonna keep Hjalmarsson around after this year?  He is my fav player, just got his name/# on my jersey this fall.  I live in Rockford and got to watch him mature as an Icehog :)  But at the end of this year he is a restricted free agent I believe, and right now is only making $600,000/yr.  That ain’t gonna cut it for someone who Stan Bowman calls one of the top 4 defensemen in the league.  How we gonna keep him?  And where would you say he ranks in the opinion of the front office compared to the other restricted (or non) free agents on the team at the end of this season?  I would say he needs to be their #1 priority, ahead of Ladd, Eager, Fraser, Skille, Niemi, etc.

Cant wait to hear your thoughts! Thanks!

Thanks Cakes for the letter and for the kind words of praise.  I always appreciate hearing from passionate hockey fans.

Like you, Niklas Hjalmarsson is my favorite player, hands down.  Like me I bet you saw Hjalmarsson was going to be something special when we saw him in the playoffs last year. (In your case, you probably saw he was going to be something special in Rockford.) Not only should Hjalmarsson be the Hawks’ #1 priority but the defense in general needs to be their #1 priority.  I said this last season and was pleased when at the beginning of this season we saw a much improved ‘D’, so hopefully that means they’re working on it.  They just need to unload some underperformers and make some cap space.  Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Hjalmarsson have a lot of ice time because they’re having to make up for those who aren’t performing well like Cam Barker and Brent Sopel, and you just can’t do that forever.  Really, how many games in a row can you expect Duncan Keith to play over 28 minutes?  That’s nearly half the game!

And I’m certain that Hjalmarsson was paired with Brian Campbell because Campbell is that lousy and it takes the energy of a kid like Hjalmarsson to compensate for Campbell’s lousy performance. (You saw Campbell whiff on a near wide-open net in that Hawks/Ducks game last week, right?  And you’ve seen how often he turns the puck over, right?)  Hopefully the Hawks are not in denial of that and are scouting more Hjalmarsson-like d-men as we speak.  And for the love of God, why are the Hawks not considering unloading Brian Campbell?  If you’re looking to make room, that’s where you’d look!  Doesn’t that kind of deserve a resounding “duh” from Hawks fans?

To answer your question, I think the way the Hawks keep Hjalmarsson at the end of this year is to unload some excess baggage (sorry Soupy) and sign him to one of their decade-long contracts.  Hjalmarsson being so young and fielding other offers may or may not bite on that, but hey, in the NHL security is everything right?  So, to beat the cap hopefully that’s what they’ll try to do.  The Hawks can’t hype Hjalmarsson all season, calling him “The Hammer” and like you said, saying he’s one of the top four d-men, and then low-ball him.  The Hawks can also no longer ignore the problem with the defense if they want the cup.  So, yeah, they’re going to have to pony up and spend just as much energy, time, and money on their d-men as they have their forwards.

I love hearing from all of you, so please keep those cards and letters coming!

With Hossa, I’ve been reining in any excessive excitement I might let slip through my steely, hockey exterior. We’ve all been down this road before; we’ve bought into the hype and been disappointed.  Hossa did have some rust to work out of the pipes, but he did not disappoint.  Once Hossa oiled the hinges, he scored a short-handed goal on the penalty kill (as did Patrick Sharp within 28 seconds of each other) in the 2nd period.  Hossa would score again early on in the 3rd period and I was hoping for a hat trick, but alas it was not meant to be.  I am cautiously optimistic about Hossa, but continued performances like tonight’s will win over even this fiercest of skeptics.

While it’s usually good to have new blood, it’s still nice to see the old reliables, like Troy Brouwer who scored a goal during a penalty kill late in the 1st period, Dustin Byfuglien who scored midway through the 2nd (and who had a puck go up his shorts late in the 2nd period…tee hee), and Brent Seabrook who scored early in the 3rd.  Duncan Keith also had 3 assists.  And Niklas Hjalmarsson too is fast becoming old faithful.  He had a diving block in the first period (which is a really good way to break your neck if you slam into the boards head first), but that’s nothing as he seems to perpetually be putting himself in peril for this team.

There was a little bit of bumbling involving some bad passes, and at one point John Madden tripped over his own skates on a breakaway.  Madden would make up for it though, scoring a goal late in the 3rd.  The Hawks were also a little lazy on their back checking tonight, at first at least, but chalk that up to jet lag.  The important thing is that this team keeps improving.  So, what am I thankful for this season?  That the Blackhawks just keep getting better and better.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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.

And, you don’t see this often, but Brent Sopel scored a goal late in the first period. Sopie’s screener, Bryan Bickell, would go on to screen the second goal as well which was scored by Patrick Kane, on another set-up by Jonathan Toews, in the 2nd period. (Hmm, Patrick Kane sure does score a lot when his contract is about to be renewed.)

Speaking of you don’t see that often, Sharks’ Manny Malhotra had a go at Brian Campbell of all people.  Someone shoulda told Malhotra that Soupy ain’t on the scrappin’ list.  Ben Eager is on the scrappin’ list however, and so when Eager and Doug Murray went at it shortly after the Malhotra/Campbell kerfuffle, gloves were actually dropped.  For some reason, Ben Eager got an additional 2-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the reason why is anyone’s guess. (Looked like Eager may have taken a cheap shot at Sharks’ goal tender Evgeni Nabokov.)  All of that scufflin’ made for an exciting start to the 2nd period, though.

Also, I just can’t stop talking about Niklas Hjalmarsson.  His battles for the puck, particularly in the corner, are epic.  This kid is a legend in the making, no doubt, so it was great to see him finally get some recognition as the second star of tonight’s game.  Bang on Hammer.

Now, on to the Circus Trip.

P.S.  How great was it to see Bobby Hull and Chris Chelios on Jeremy Roenick Heritage Night?

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.

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.

While the team in general may have forgotten they were in the playoffs, Seabrook seemed to understand the up-the-ante mentality, making the big hits and masterfully blocking a humdinger of a shot for Khabibulin at the crease in the first period. (And a Happy 24th Birthday to Seabs!)

It’s also good to see the Hawks are using the power play better, with Patrick Sharp scoring a PP goal in the 1st period thanks to a nice pass from Jonathan Toews.  Looks like Sharpie is back to his old self again, even checking a Flame or two with a nice how-do-you-do in passing.  And as it was in the first game, Marty Havlat seemed to be one of the only ones who could take it to the net and score in the 3rd period.  Again, that’s just good ‘D’ on the Flames’ part.

And while this game was overall lackluster, a special nod goes to penalty killer Adam Burish and the penalty kill unit.  Although Bur should have known better than to cross-check Dion Phaneuf in the dwindling minutes of the game.  That cheap shot started a kerfuffle (as Pat Foley likes to say) between Dustin Byfuglien, Matt Walker, Ben Eager and Rene Bourque, Jarome Iginla, and Dion Phaneuf, resulting in Dustin Byfuglien and Rene Bourque being sent to the dressing room*.

Clearly something went wrong tonight.  Maybe the Hawks had jet lag.  Maybe they just didn’t bring their ‘A’ game (to dust off an old trite sports expression).  Well, whatever it was, hopefully the Hawks shake it off by Wednesday.

*Update: Though it wasn’t said at the time (probably because nobody, including the ref, the linesmen, and Toronto, knew what the heck was going on) apparently Dave Bolland, Ben Eager, and Dustin Byfuglien from the Hawks and Curtis Glencross and Rene Bourque from the Flames all received game misconduct calls for that end-of-the game donnybrook.  Hopefully nobody gets suspended.