Watching forward Bryan Bickell struggle for several games he reminded me of the difficulty Dustin Byfuglien had as a forward when he was here in Chicago. It’s hard for those big bodies to move with finesse up and down the ice, especially if, like in Buff’s case, you’re not a great skater. Coach Quenneville’s solution for Byfuglien was to try him out as a defenseman. I wonder if Bryan Bickell also might better use that big body as a defenseman. Hmm….
Holy cow (as Harry Caray would say), what has happened to the Hawks? Dare I ask if we have a Cristobal Huet-type situation brewing in net? Something went wrong in tonight’s game when the Hawks were shut out by the Avalanche, 4-0. Ouch. Are ya missing Antti Niemi yet? How about Marty Turco? Well, hopefully Corey Crawford finds a way out of his “sophomore slump” because I just don’t think Ray Emery is going to fly as back-up. (more…)
OK, surely Blackhawks fans can’t be the only ones who see that referee Dan O’Halloran has it in for the Hawks. In tonight’s Blackhawks win over the Dallas Stars, 5-2, dreaded anti-Hawks referee Dan O’Halloran made two abominable calls on two of the Hawks’ most revered and even-tempered players: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp. About midway through the 2nd period, Jonathan Toews was called for slashing on Steve Ott. As any ref should know, slashing involves a swinging or hacking motion of the stick on either the opponent’s stick or his body. Toews did neither of these; he simply had an active stick in trying to harass the puck away from Ott. Commentator Eddie Olczyk also indicated he too did not see slashing. Nevertheless, the slashing penalty stuck. Still, Tazer would have his revenge when, seconds after shooting out of the penalty box, he rocketed down the ice, paused, and hammered off a snapshot for a goal. That’s what fans love about Jonathan Toews. He doesn’t get mad; he gets even. (more…)
I’m back to address the awful decision handed down by the NHL to suspend Niklas Hjalmarsson two games for what was clearly NOT a dirty hit on Sabres’ Jason Pominville. (In this case, kudos should also go to Jonathan Toews, who, as ever, was first to rush in and defend his boys. Clearly he too did not think the ensuing mêlée was merited by Jelly’s hit.)
So, as they say, let’s go to the film.
Despite the commentators in the above YouTube video obviously stumping for a suspension and purposely not seeing what was right in front of them in a slow-mo, slow-frame replay, this was NOT a dirty hit from behind. It was a side hit, and probably a hard one, but Hjalmarsson didn’t even throw an elbow, again, despite what commentators were saying (and the commentators are suspect in this case because they knew that, upon review, the NHL would hear their comments and be swayed by them). (more…)
Mere weeks after being dangerously clocked on the boards by James Wisniewski, Brent Seabrook had a go at Brad Winchester in tonight’s Hawks/Blues game. That’s not what’s necessarily notable (nor are the resulting “roughing,” “fighting,” and even “game misconduct” calls on Seabrook). What is noteworthy is that, just like the Alex Burrows hair-pulling incident last season, Winchester too pulled Brent Seabrook’s hair during the ensuing mêlée. But Winchester had to add his own personal touch to set himself above Alex Burrows by grabbing Brent Seabrook by the nose! (more…)
Games like tonight’s Hawks/Canucks match-up where the teams are scoreless even after the 2nd period can kind of drag on. It feels more like tennis when you’re watching the boys skate back and forth. But there was still some good scrappin’ to keep things lively, and things lit up in the 3rd period. Seems to me like ever since that now infamous hair pulling incident, these two teams just can’t seem to get along. <chuckle> (more…)
The most consistent thing about last night’s 5-2 win over the Oilers was the inconsistency of the officiating. Beyond all the missed hooking calls that were so numerous I lost count, there were a couple of missed boarding calls (i.e. dirty hits from behind). The weird thing is the refs didn’t allow any fights. So, in theory, the refs would allow dirty hits which had the potential to do damage, but they wouldn’t allow fighting ostensibly because fighting leads to injuries? Yeah, that makes sense. (more…)
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…)
Playing teams in the Pacific Division is always seemingly tricky for the Hawks. Playing teams as good as the Sharks, you can’t be undisciplined and commit stupid penalties like John Madden’s holding call in the opening minute of the game. (Madden would make up for it in the dwindling minutes of the 2nd though with a goal on a nearly wide-open net.) The Hawks committed almost twice as many penalties as the Sharks. Still, the Hawks squeaked out another win, 4-3, seconds into the overtime period on a brilliant goal by Brent Seabrook who was set up but proper by Jonathan Toews. (more…)