Thank you to whoever posted this on YouTube. You are my new best friend. This is the incident I was talking about in a prior post where in the June 6, 2010 game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Blackhawks’ Dustin Byfuglien takes out Flyers’ d-man Kimmo Timonen and dreaded anti-Hawks referee Dan O’Halloran. Couldn’t happen to two nicer guys…not!
Dustin Byfuglien says hello to Chris Pronger…rings his bell.
As I said in yesterday’s post, referee Dan O’Halloran killed the Hawks in games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He called so many penalties on the Hawks while ignoring so many others from the Flyers that it would be safe to argue that O’Halloran alone cost the Hawks games 3 and 4.
In tonight’s game 5, it looked like Dustin Byfuglien agreed when during a check of Flyers’ d-man Kimmo Timonen at about the 10 or 11 minute mark of the 3rd period, he took out Dan O’Halloran as well. Two goons with one stone. It was a thing of beauty! O’Halloran seemed to know that hit was meant for him too by the look on his face. Karma can be tricky Danny boy, so you just better watch out. The hockey gods don’t seem to like your intentional missed calls on the Flyers.
Finally, just to add insult to injury, Hawks’ Dustin Byfuglien scored the last goal of the 7-4 victory over the Flyers with an empty-netter in the last minute-and-a-half of the game with Dan O’Halloran having to rule it a good goal. So sweet. Go Hawks! Get that cup!
P.S. Hats off to Q for taking Big Buff and Kaner off the first line and moving Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky up with Toews. It totally threw off the Flyers. They couldn’t put the bullseye on any one player and with Buff checking up and down like a mad man, it was discombobulating to the Flyers. Hopefully Niklas Hjalmarsson can figure his game out by game 6 though, because we need him blocking shots. Don’t know what’s up with him, but he has that deer-in-headlights look about him.
Congrats to the Hawks for hammering the final nail into the Vancouver Canucks. The boys are looking a little tired out there, and understandably so. As I noted in a prior post about Matt Walker, seems the Hawks are missing some of the grit from last season most notably seen in players like Matt Walker. But when push came to shove with the Canucks, some of the bigger, burlier players like Dustin Byfuglien and Ben Eager pushed back. And that made all the difference, as did outstanding goal tending on Antti Niemi’s part.
On to San Jose! Good luck boys!
When I was a kid, we used to have these popsicles and they would just gush and ooze that artificially-flavored, sticky goodness all over the place. We called them gushers. (If you’re from New England you’d say “gushah” like “noreastah”.) Similarly, injuries to the head, particularly the forehead area, are often called gushers. I’m not sure if it’s that there is more blood flow to the head because of the carotid artery or what, but any time there is an injury sustained to the forehead, it just gushes. Such was the case in the injury sustained by Canucks’ Shane O’Brien in the Hawks 4-1 loss to the Canucks tonight. (more…)
All throughout this series with the Vancouver Canucks I have repeatedly been amazed at the classlessness of Canucks’ fans and the Canucks’ organization itself. At every game in Vancouver, The Star Spangled Banner was butchered by some decrepit, sorry excuse for a vocalist who hurriedly warbled through our beloved national anthem in what was clearly an expeditious fulfillment of the requirement. So very disrespectful Vancouver…even for you! Compare that embarrassment with the Blackhawks’ vocalist Jim Cornelison who always sings O Canada with poise, sincerity, and beauty. (more…)
It sucks to lose to the Red Wings…in OT no less. Still, many players put in a good game. Dustin Byfuglien, who played 24 minutes in today’s game, just keeps getting better and better as a defenseman. I really hope he stays on D. Duncan Keith too played a hard game with 27 minutes on ice. But then, we’ve come to expect that from the guy who for a while there played almost 30 minutes in every game. Credit goes to Brent Seabrook too who in the last game with the Avs had 5 hits and in this game with the Red Wings had 3. He is averaging more hits than anyone. We have really needed to see an amped up ‘D’ and Seabs has delivered. (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…)
Just had to say, like Pat Foley did, what a wonderful job Eddie Olczyk did at the Olympics. He was the perfect choice for commentating the Olympic games. In fact, the only combo better than Eddie-O and Doc is Eddie-O and Pat Foley. And you know it’s really saying something that Eddie can make even Mike Milbury palatable!
Oh, and since I’m in the middle of watching tonight’s Blackhawks game against the Oilers, I just have to ask, because I’m thinking of it, did Dustin Byfuglien get a nose job? I swear his nose is smaller and even shorter! Anybody else notice that? Also, I think the fact that Jonathan Toews must be exhausted is throwing off the equilibrium of the team. Give this kid a break and let him sit out a few games before he collapses would ya?!
Along those lines, do you think when Niklas Hjalmarsson goes to take a shower in the morning he sees a whole bunch of purple circles on his chest? Brings new meaning to “taking one for the team”! And do you think when Marian Hossa looks in the mirror he thinks he looks like Ziggy too?
Line changing seems to be the name of the game of late for the Hawks. On the Jonathan Toews line now is Patrick Kane again and Troy Brouwer. Hmm, not bad in terms of forechecking and all out aggressiveness. And how about that Madden line with Kris Versteeg and Dustin Byfuglien on wing; Madden who has steadily increased his face-off wins and overall performance? And Jordan Hendry replaced Tomas Kopecky (Bout time somebody did!) on the Colin Fraser line. Has Coach Q finally solidified the offensive lines? Well, let’s hope so. Let’s hope Q has finally found a winning combination. (more…)