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.

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!

Within two minutes of the initial puck drop, Kris Versteeg charged the net with the puck and was tripped. (That would be one of many penalties that should have been called on the Sabres that wasn’t.)  Then Jonathan Toews attempted to follow through for the goal with one of his signature “Superman” moves, but was denied by Lalime.  Lalime would shine again, when, about seven minutes into the 1st period, it was a 4-on-3 in the Hawks’ favor and still the Hawks power-play unit could not get the puck past him.  While Lalime was exceedingly good at blocking shots, he allowed many rebounds, so the Hawks should have scored on that 4-on-3 at least.  Clearly the power-play unit still needs some work, though the penalty-kill unit is still in rare form.

Seems the Hawks may have a slight problem in general with follow-through, however.  While the Hawks outshot the Sabres 17-11 (in the 1st period, that is), they still did not score.  Perhaps the Hawks should’ve watched the Sabres for tips on follow-through as Buffalo turned it around in the 2nd period, outshooting the Hawks 17 to 7 and scoring the sole two goals in two periods.

Early on in the 3rd period, the Hawks seemed to turn it around again when Patrick Sharp scored a little over a minute into the period thanks to Dustin Byfuglien forcing a turnover.  Meanwhile, the Sabres appeared to be a different team entirely only getting one shot on goal for the first half of the 3rd period.  And even though the Hawks outshot the Sabres 16-5 in the 3rd, Lalime and the Sabres turned it on again in the last 5 minutes to hold on for the win, 2-1 over the Hawks.  Overall, the problem for the Hawks in this game was follow-through; they just didn’t have it.

There were also many avoidable penalties on the Hawks in this game, including one in the 2nd period where Patrick Sharp flagrantly held Sabres’ defenseman Steve Montador around his middle and threw him to the ice.  Add to that another avoidable penalty with that too-many-men-on-the-ice call, also in the 2nd, and the Hawks were too often working in a deficit.  And worst of all, Duncan Keith got called for hooking in the last two minutes of the game. (And yes, despite what Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk said, Duncan Keith did hook, and before he hooked, he high-sticked but was not called for it.)  In a game where you’re having trouble getting shots on net as it is, is it really a good idea to be a man down? (even though your penalty-kill unit is one of the best in the league?)  Relax Hawks.  Don’t do it.  When you want to commit needless penalties.

But then, maybe the Hawks’ problem was that they were too relaxed in this game.  In fact, some might say the Hawks were downright lax.

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.

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!

This time of year always makes me itchy for a couple of reasons.  One, because I hate talking about human beings as if they were slabs of meat; commodities to be traded on the open market. The other reason is because inevitably the Hawks will end up getting rid of someone I have grown attached to.  For instance, last year about this time it was James Wisniewski.  Then over the summer it was Matt Walker, Martin Havlat, and Nikolai Khabibulin (in that order of care).

The Blackhawks spend a lot on marketing players — cute/funny promos, the ‘One Goal’ ads, and personal interest stories — until we are made to feel that we know them and that they are family of sorts.  Then they go and trade some of them and I guess we’re just supposed to forget them.  The weird thing is, they keep people they shouldn’t and let go of those that were fundamental to the team.  For instance, I know I keep harping on the Matt Walker thing, but it’s important that the Hawks and the fans in general understand why it was such a mistake to let him go.  Matt Walker represented that heavy ‘D’ that the Blackhawks so desperately needed last year; the kind of ‘D’ that I thought they were trying to cultivate.  The pairing of Matt Walker with Niklas Hjalmarsson during the playoffs was brilliant.  Those two were instrumental in the Hawks getting as far as they did against some very tough teams. And yet, when the season ended Walker was quietly sent packing.  I honestly don’t know that his loss even sent a ripple through the sports pages, but I can tell you this girl had her guts ripped out on that one.  I started to wonder if I had only imagined Walker there; if I had been the only one to see how instrumental he was to the Hawks’ playoff success.

Now here we are again with the trade deadline looming and what do I hear?  That Kris Versteeg should be dangled as bait for a good d-man trade.  Well, if the Hawks had held on to Matt Walker, they wouldn’t need another Niklas Hjalmarsson-type d-man now would they?  Better yet, had the Hawks unloaded Brian Campbell like other fans and myself begged them to do over the summer, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.  But again, instead of looking to dump Campbell, they’re trying to get rid of Cam Barker.

Ok, I understand that.  Barker hasn’t been doing so well, but he’s been doing much better than Brian Campbell.  Campbell has always been a disappointment.  He had what 45 assists last year?  Well, I guess when all you can do is pass from the blue line, yes, you’re going to have that many “assists,” but how much of a help was he really?  It doesn’t mean you’re any good though, especially when you turn over the puck constantly, can’t hit, can’t block shots, and can’t take hits.  So I think most fans would agree he takes up way too much cap space.  And while I normally wouldn’t lobby for a player to go, in Brian Campbell’s case I will make an exception.  Why?  Because he doesn’t even appear to be trying, and I just can’t respect that.  At this point, he’s just collecting a paycheck.  Yes, this time of year the Hawks’ management has to make some tough decisions.  Whether or not to keep Brian Campbell is not one of them.

The Hawks were a little shaky in the 1st period.  John “Mad Dog” Madden flirted with the puck about 5 minutes in clearing it just to the edge of the goal line, but it was a no goal. (And were you all counting how many face-offs Madden didn’t win?)  Niklas Hjalmarsson, too, almost snuck one between Kings’ goal tender Jonathan Quick’s legs, but Quick contorted his body like Gumby and swept the puck back out.

Unfortunately the Hawks did not shake off their shakiness in the 2nd period, allowing Kings’ Wayne Simmonds an open lane to score with relative ease.  And still, the Hawks did not find their sea legs (or I guess their ice legs). The only point of interest came with less than a minute left in the 2nd when Wayne Simmonds batted Niklas Hjalmarsson’s stick out of his hand wherein it went flying up into the air and yet it was Hjalmarsson who was called for roughing and fingered for the ensuing mêlée.  How exactly do you miss a stick flying through the air like that?  Did it launch itself???

Despite Wayne Simmonds unceremonious breaking in of newbie Niklas Hjalmarsson, which should have lit a fire under the Hawks, they still had trouble getting chances in the 3rd.  The Kings’ ‘D’ just shut the Hawks down.  Then about 7 minutes into the 3rd, Jonathan Toews patiently waited on net which paid off when Patrick Kane set him up; Toews short-shot the puck for a goal to tie the score 1-1.  Still, the Hawks didn’t have it in extra innings.  Though both teams remained scoreless in the overtime period, the Hawks were 0 for 2 in the shootout while both the Kings’ shots made it in; the Kings took the game 2-1.  Jonathan Toews was mumbling something that was sure to be derisive about himself to himself after his missed shootout shot, and Patrick Kane could only shake his head after he missed his.  Tazer, don’t beat yourself up.  You were the only one on your team to score.  Kaner…well…your contract is all but a done deal.  As you were.

And though Huet made some spectacular saves, including one without his stick, he had trouble this game covering the width of the net.  He must resist the temptation to be drawn off to one or the other side leaving too much of the net open.  But he’s been turning in such an outstanding performance lately, that it’s hard to have a bad word to say.

In addition to Huet’s consistently excellent performance, it is good to see that Coach Quenneville hasn’t settled on the power-play unit line-up.  He keeps changing guys in and out trying to better the power-play scoring.  So far, the right chemistry has eluded Q, but hopefully he keeps trying.

So, chalk the last couple of games up to fatigue, I guess.  The Hawks are apparently road-weary and wanting to get back home.  Hopefully they’ll be refreshed by Tuesday’s home game against the Blue Jackets. Get home quick boys.

P.S. I won’t waste too much more space complaining about Dustin Byfuglien, but I will say that I’m really tired of seeing Buff instigating with the opposition’s goal-tender.  In a tight game, or a game when you’re down several points, like the last two have been, the last thing you need is a goal-tender interference call and/or a roughing/fighting call because one of your players got in a goalie’s face.  Again, focus on your game Buff and stop jawing with and encroaching on the opposing net-minder…At what point does the Hawks organization take a serious look at players like Byfuglien and Brian Campbell and decide that they may be a waste of cap space?

The Hawks were also having a dilly of a pickle of a time getting any traction on the ice.  I’ve noticed this a lot in the last several games.  The ice seems to be either too soft and therefore a wet, sloppy mess, or not soft enough, causing frequent wipeouts.  Don’t know what that’s about, but the Hawks were clearly having trouble.

The Hawks’ penalty-kill unit was also having a tough go.  They let down their guard, a rarity, which led to the Ducks’ Teemu Selanne scoring a goal late in the 1st period, and a goal at about the midway point in the game.

Also at the midway point, Dustin Byfuglien had an incidental collision with James Wisniewski wherein Byfuglien accidentally tripped and took out the Duck’s goal tender, Jean-Sebastien Giguere.  Unfortunately, Byfuglien was hit with an interference on a goal keeper penalty.   And though Giguere took a big swing at Byfuglien, not a Duck was cited for a penalty. Worse, on the resulting power play, the Ducks’ Nick Boynton scored another goal, putting another dent in the Hawks’ penalty-kill percentage.

Byfuglien would get a little revenge of sorts when, after serving his time in the sin bin, he came out and put some snow in Giguere’s face.  As a result, former Hawk James Wisniewski went at Big Buff in a slight scrap. And yeah, it’s always a little sad when former teammates go at each other, but it’s understandable on Wiz’s part since Buff has become something of a goal-tender agitator.  Perhaps Buff should focus instead on his skating and stick-handling since he has appeared in the last few games to be bumbling badly.

In addition to Byfuglien’s bad performance, the whole team just fell down, which resulted in a win for the Ducks in a 3 to 0 shutout.  There was bad passing, too many turnovers, lackadaisical skating, a penalty-kill unit that hardly showed up, a horrible whiff in the 3rd period by Brian Campbell on a nearly wide-open net, needless penalties, and I don’t know that the Hawks ever got a single rebound.  Not to mention that the Hawks got totally outskated.  What?  Did the Hawks have too much turkey yesterday?  Were they in a tryptophan coma?  Well, whatever it was, hopefully they shake it off by tomorrow’s game against the Kings.

On a more whimsical note, Comcast finally interviewed Niklas Hjalmarsson. During the first intermission, Eddie Olczyk asked how Hjalmarsson was able to block so many shots. (Hjalmy leads the Hawks in blocked shots.)  Hjalmy said,

“I guess I like the pain.  The puck just seems to hit me…It’s kind of my role to do those things instead of scoring goals… I just try to do those small things really good.”

Mission accomplished Nik.  And as an aside, Hjalmarsson’s long-awaited “One Goal” commercial debuted today.  In it, Hjalmarsson paired up with IKEA apparently, and went around the store pronouncing all the Swedish names of the furniture (and the word “meatball,” you know, in case you didn’t know how to pronounce “meatball”).  Then he said, “My goal is to help Chicago appreciate Swedish imports.”  Well, we can certainly appreciate Hjalmarsson, and we have since the playoffs last year.  In time, he will no doubt become one of the superstars of the game.

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!

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?