Wow, I take back everything I said about Colin Fraser not being a good choice for enforcer. Fraser made it quite obvious in two scraps that he is more than equipped to be team agitator in tonight’s Hawks/Avalanche match-up (which resulted in a 3-2 Blackhawks win in OT, of course). I renew my irritation, however, at the overpenalizing of fighting. A 5-minute major penalty for a little roughing that doesn’t even draw blood is excessive. (more…)
You had to be at the Hawks/Wild game tonight to truly appreciate how lousy and yet bizarre the officiating was. On some of those calls I was left wondering what in the world the refs were thinking. Perhaps I shouldn’t complain though because it was the only real spark in a game where both teams were bumbling about. (more…)
What a home-opener last night at the UC between the Hawks and the Colorado Avalanche! Almost makes you wish you were there. (Almost.) But if I hadn’t been at home I wouldn’t have gotten to see the replay (about 6 times) of Niklas Hjalmarsson’s swing-batta-batta swing into the face of the Avs Darcy Tucker. In a word: awesome. And Hjalmy didn’t even get called for high-sticking! (more…)
The Hawks got a slow start tonight, but boy did they pick the puck up and run with it in the 2nd period! (more…)
In the last couple of games, we’ve heard the worst sound in the world: the “clink, clink, clink” off the iron as the Hawks have made some bad shots. It’s to be expected because the Flames are just that good on ‘D,’ harassing the puck away or harassing the Hawks while taking shots. But you know, that’s what you do in the playoffs. You up the ante. Unfortunately, the Hawks didn’t answer tonight in their 2-4 loss to the Flames. (more…)
Tonight the Hawks had a slight case of the shakes in game one of the quarterfinal match-up against the Flames. It’s to be expected with such a young team, but luckily the more senior players (some with playoff experience) were able to act as a calming influence. (more…)
Nikolai Khabibulin almost had a shut-out in last night’s Blues/Hawks game. With the Hawks up 3-0 and three seconds left in the game, Pat Foley wondered if Khabby might just have a shut-out on his hands. Then, the unthinkable; the Blues scored at the last second. So, was it Pat Foley who jinxed Khabby right out of his shut-out? (more…)
Congrats to Matt Walker on his first goal of the season scored during the second period of today’s match-up against the Dallas Stars. Matty has been on fire lately. According to his stats he:
- Recorded a career-high three game point streak (5A) from (Feb. 3 – Feb. 7).
- Established a career-high three points (3A) against Calgary on Feb. 5.
- Logged a season-high 22:26 time on ice against Colorado on Dec. 12. (more…)
Woohoo, the War Room in Toronto made another good call in the first 42 seconds of the Hawks/Flames game allowing Dave Bolland’s goal to stand. The issue was did Bolland “punch” or “bat” the puck into the goal off his hand. Toronto said no, and the goal stood. (more…)
Looks like the Blackhawks have started taking the advice of sports writers and fans all across the Chicagoland area who have suggested that the Hawks have to be more aggressive on the forecheck/backcheck. Against the Oilers tonight, James Wisniewski delivered a really nice, hard open-ice check and Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith put the hurt on a few people as well. Matt Walker and Colin Fraser got into a few good scraps, though Adam Burish was surprisingly tame. Bur did, however, have a rather large grin on his face at one point which usually indicates he’s trash talkin’ somebody, which is of course always extremely entertaining. (more…)