On to San Jose! Good luck boys!

This is the kind of grit we’re missing this season.

Walker showed his net presence tonight by repeatedly blocking shots for Lightning net-minder Antero Niittymaki.  Ironically, Matt Walker’s brand of defense was kind of like catching lightning in a bottle last year for the Blackhawks, and yet the Hawks inexplicably let him go. Maybe they just didn’t know what they had in Walker (or maybe they weren’t willing to pay Walker what he was worth despite recognizing what they had in him.)  Still, I don’t think anyone will dispute that part of the success of the Hawks’ defense during the playoffs last year was the Matt Walker/Niklas Hjalmarsson defensive combination.  In fact, I’m not so sure that Niklas Hjalmarsson didn’t learn some of his signature moves from Matt Walker since they both have the same brand of ‘D’ in common.

Undoubtedly, Matt Walker was his own one-man ‘D’ in tonight’s game.  Still, Niittymaki let his guard down in the 1st period at about the midway point, coming too far out of the net, which allowed Patrick Kane to score an easy goal on a wide-open net. (Later, Patrick Kane would get laid out on the boards with a nasty hit to his forehead by Lightning Matt Smaby. Kane would not return to the game.)  The second Hawk goal, which came at about the midway point in the 2nd period, came off a wicked pass by Marian Hossa, who set Ben Eager up for the goal.

And speaking of Ben Eager, it was hard to see Matt Walker go at it with his former teammates, Ben Eager in particular, in the 2nd period. Ben Eager would again go at it a few minutes later, this time with Zenon Konopka, which resulted in a 5-minute fighting penalty for each.  I guess the Hawks had to expect some rowdiness from the Lightning, one of the most penalized teams in the NHL.  Jonathan Toews I guess also couldn’t have been too surprised by Matt Smaby’s dirty, late hit on him, which laid him out with a shot to his head late in the 2nd period.  What was surprising however is that Toews got a roughing call for taking a swing at a Lightning player, any Lightning player, in retribution.  Yet for some reason Smaby was not called at all for his nasty hit on Toews.  Hopefully the NHL remedies that no-call in the days to come.

Despite the Lightning rough-housing, Marian Hossa also had a brilliant goal off a sweet Patrick Sharp pass in the 2nd period.  Upon the slick wrister from Sharpie, which he shot high, Hossa pulled the puck out of the air, put it to the ice, and shot it for the goal all within seconds.  Niittymaki didn’t even know what hit him.

And in the 3rd period, it was more of the same mad rush to the net on the part of the Hawks when Dustin Byfuglien brought the puck up the boards and  passed to Jonathan Toews who battled it in for the goal.  Pat Foley was right: a goal is the best revenge.

Lightning Todd Fedoruk apparently tried to take out his frustration on the Hawks’ goal-tender Antti Niemi as Fedoruk bull-dozed Niemi unnecessarily in the last two minutes of the game, which resulted in a late broohaha in front of the net.  Then Hawk Kris Versteeg shot it millimeters past the goal line on Niitymaki but there was no pause to even review the “non-goal.” I  guess the War Room figured since the Hawks were up by four, they didn’t need to bother with the review.

And let’s not forget to give Antti Niemi his due tonight for the shut-out of the Lightning 4-0.  Granted, Niemi only had to deflect 18 shots on goal the whole game (whereas the Hawks had 29 shots on goal the whole night), but still, let’s give credit where it’s due.  I’d like to see more of Niemi.  He’s coming along quite nicely.

Overall, great game Hawks.  An easy win, but still, it’s always fun to watch those slick Hawk moves.

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.

I guess I shouldn’t have complained so bitterly about my favorite hockey player, Matt Walker, from last season not getting proper accolades.  Had he been given his propers the puck hos would’ve just ruined him as my favorite hockey player too…sigh…

Indeed, look how conspicuous some of these underperformers are when Jonathan Toews is off the ice.  For instance, Brian Campbell has always been a bumbler (at least with the Hawks), but how much more so now that Tazer isn’t there to pick up  the slack of his teammates’ bad passes, turnovers, and other bumblings?  How much more apparent is Dustin Byfuglien’s bad skating when on an opponent’s breakaway, big, bumbling Buff is left in the dust, which, in last night’s loss to the Avalanche at least, resulted in an avoidable goal.

And Ben Eager.  Well, clearly we haven’t been giving this boy his due.  In Eager’s absence is Colin Fraser seriously expected to act as enforcer???  I give Fraser snaps for trying, but please Ben Eager, eat your spinach, take your vitamins, and get back soon! (Or better yet, let’s travel back in time and re-sign Matt Walker who was an excellent, if uncredited, enforcer.)

Additionally, and as Sassone alluded to — Jordan Hendry, John Madden, Andrew Ebbett, Tomas Kopecky, and Jake Dowell — ain’t cuttin’ it.  The only newbie I see hustling out there is Niklas Hjalmarsson.  He’s so busy, he’s running circles, literally, around other defensemen like Brian Campbell and Cam Barker.  The Hammer is going to hammer himself out if he doesn’t get some help out there, and soon!

And the power-play unit.  Just the mere mention of it makes my stomach turn.  While the Hawks scored once on the power play last night, I think it is obvious even to the most casual hockey fan that there needs to be some vast improvement there.

The Hawks have had a fairly light schedule so far.  So does anyone really see them staying atop the division if they continue on like this?  Everyone knows the boys from Rockford are hungrier because they don’t have cushy multi-million dollar contracts to fall back on.  It’s play well or get out.  So, bringing up some eager beavers from Rockford might wake some of these Hawks up and make them realize their jobs aren’t guaranteed.

If you’re squeamish, do not watch this video!

I was reminiscing about Matt Walker to a follower on Twitter and he reminded me about Walker breaking his finger in the playoffs last year.  So I thought I would post this video and spread the joy.  The reaction on the faces of those women is priceless. (Yup, and that’s why high-maintenance women should not get seats behind the bench.) The really astonishing thing is that Walker played the rest of the game! (that is, after his finger was put back in.)

Walker is still having trouble with his finger this season with the Tampa Bay Lightning and I guess now we know why!  Walker was an awesome d-man for the Hawks.  Why was he let go again???

Last night’s fight reminded me of one of the more memorable hockey fights from last season. Remember this one between Matt Walker and the Flames’ Brandon Prust? I loved it so much I hung an autographed still of this one on my hockey wall.

Hjalmarsson has helped to ease the loss of one of my favorite d-men from last season.  It was hard to see Walker leave, and in his absence Cam Barker just seems naked out there.  But Hjalmarsson has helped to fill the void.  And apparently Hjalmy picked up a trick or two from Walker: like how to defend the net.  When Huet was inexplicably absent from the crease, Hjalmy was there, risking a major penalty and defending the net with a swing of the stick on the encroaching Tucker that was more reminiscent of the MLB than the NHL.  Seriously, this season, for my money, Hjalmarsson is the kid to watch.  (I’m also curious to see how Jack Skille will do.  I think he will come along nicely given the chance.)

Beyond Huet’s gaffes (You know the word gaffe dontcha Huet?  It’s French for faux pas.), the lousy puck handling and bad passes last night, which led to all those turnovers, were cringe-worthy.  But the officiating, if you could call it that, didn’t help matters either.  Even Pat Foley had to comment on the lousy job the refs were doing.  Still, what was with the circus out there?  Was the ice not right?  Were their skates too sharp?  Was there a new puck provisioner?  Or were the Hawks just rusty?  Their ‘D’ is amped up compared to last season, which is such a wonderful thing to see, so hopefully they’ll work on puck possession and passing and reduce the amount of those turnovers.

Yes, and let’s talk about Huet.  When Baby Huey stinks up the crease, he makes me miss Patrick Lalime.  Yes, really, Patrick Lalime.  And unlike last season, I hope the powers-that-be don’t wait until well into the season to admit that Huet is hit-or-miss. (Another word for that is ‘unreliable.’)  Time to start talking about Antti Niemi, because if the Hawks stick with Huet, I just don’t see them making it past the regular season.  No way.  Riddle me this: had Niemi been in the net, would we have gone into overtime?  Well, okay, maybe the Hawks still would’ve ended up in OT, but would it have taken NINE shoot-out attempts to win the game? After the game was over, I kept hearing “nine times” in my head over and over like Principal Rooney says in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.  (And yes that was my way of working in an homage to our dearly-departed John Hughes, a Chicago institution who is sorely missed.  I’m convinced Mr. Hughes is in heaven trying to explain misunderstood teens and tweeners to God.)  Still, I was ecstatic to see Andrew Ladd get the glory for the final shoot-out goal and the win.  Laddy often flies under everyone’s radar, but he is consistent and reliable and therefore deserves a little recognition.

Colin Fraser is often overlooked as well, which is why it was so gut-wrenching to see his goal get overturned.  Head up buddy.  Everyone took notice of that valiant effort to get that goal.  You’ll get ‘em next time.

Likewise, Kris Versteeg too, while certainly not overlooked, is finally getting his due this season.  No longer is he “the rookie,” nor are they even talking about the dreaded sophomore year (which just guarantees a jinx if  Patrick Kane is any indication).  With Steegy, they’re finally just talking about how good he is, that he’s maximizing his full potential, and that he’s found his stride.  Every team needs a Scrappy Doo, and even though Steegy took some serious hits last night, he got right back up and was like “Let me at ‘em”!  Bang on Verbeauty.

There’s so much to talk about strategically too.  They must have read my letter to Santa, because last season how often did I complain about the need for a center, a defenseman, or anyone, to stand in front of the opposing team’s net and screen shots?  Nice to see Dustin Byfuglien has found his purpose in life. (Oh but please for the love of God Buff, don’t pick out your own clothes anymore!  For the sake of all that is good and holy, let a woman pick out your red carpet threads from now on since the only thing that red suit was missing was a pair of devil horns!)

And while I’m doling out the shame-on-yous, if the PR people for the Hawks are reading this, stop introducing the Hawks as “Patrick Kane and the Hawks.”  Nobody buys that and it’s embarrassing…for you.  Try “Jonathan Toews and the Hawks” or “Dave Bolland and the Hawks.”  Anything but “Kane and the Hawks.”  We know.  He needs some good PR after his recent arrest but Chicagoans aren’t that stupid.  So why don’t you just  push Kaner to do more charity work.  Although I will give a nod to Kaner’s handlers.  Seems someone sat him down and had a little chat with Mr. Rock-You-Like-a-Hurri-Kane.  Admittedly his play is much improved.  He’s taking more shots because he’s actually able to take it to the net.  Now if he could just land a few more, folks could believe again that he’s the hockey player his people keep propagandizing that he is.  I do feel sorry for Kane, because last season he was more of a PR/media creation rather than an actual hockey player.  But now, he seems to be hunkering down and finding his own way.  For his sake, let’s hope he can keep it up.  What a difference 10 pounds of meat and an attitude adjustment can make huh?

And I saved the best for last.  How awesome was it to see ‘Tony O’ Esposito, Stan Mikita (Oh how I wish Stan Mikita’s Munchables really existed), and the Golden Jet himself, Bobby Hull, back on the ice again!?  Won’t be seeing that again til heaven.  And it was a little bit of heaven just to see that last night.  Hopefully they can bring some good karma back to the Blackhawks organization.  Here’s hoping for a good season everyone!

P.S.  Missing Ben Eager and Adam Burish.  Get well soon boys!