Do these “missed” calls amount to lost games?  Um, yeah!  Isn’t it obvious?  When we get back to the United Center, hopefully the officiating returns to being more equal, and less, let’s say subjective.  Because really, do the Flyers want to win this way?  It’s cheating.  Do Philly fans want to win this way?  I know I wouldn’t want the Hawks to win by cheating.  Ironically, it was me, in this blog post, that sided with the Flyers when even the commentators were theorizing that the Canadiens, or one of their rabid fans, had laid gravel or sand down between the Flyers’ dressing room and the ice (causing bad wheels) in Montreal during game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.  So, suffice it to say, I don’t like to see cheating no matter who is playing.

Like I told the NHL, there needs to be some crack downs on some of the dirty stuff that goes on in the league.  The NHL needs to stop allowing Versus to have a freakin’ monopoly on some of the games in the Stanley Cup playoffs every year for instance, and they need to start doing quality checks on some of these refs.  There’s no excuse for what has happened in games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and if you need a name, start with Dan O’Halloran, unlucky #13, who has shown time and again that he doesn’t like the Blackhawks.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Also, on a goal scored by Cam Barker in the opening minutes of the third period (on which Colin Fraser assisted) Barker made a sweet deke, as did Patrick Sharp in the 3rd round of the OT shootout for the game winner.  You know, there isn’t a lot of mention of the deke, but I think if the Blackhawks employed it more, they might fake out the opposing goal tender for more goals.  Just a thought.

And poor Kris Versteeg.  What a bad night he had.  He just couldn’t get a break.  Steegy got handed two weird penalties — one for slashing, though we all thought it was goal-tender interference, which also would’ve been a bogus call, and one for actual goal-tender interference.  Neither of the penalties was deserved, or even actual.  Meanwhile, the refs were missing hooking calls like hooking didn’t even exist.  Geesh, why can’t the NHL hold a conference on bad refereeing?  Seems just as important a topic as fighting or so-called “dirty” hits.

And blast!  I keep forgetting to write a post about Dave Bolland’s back surgery.  Bolly will be out 3-4 months.  Get well Dave, take lots of pain killers, and get back soon!

Antti Niemi too made some spectacular saves.  He can only get better.

Overall, great game, with the Hawks beating the Oil 4-3.  It was, however, a little bittersweet to see Nikolai Khabibulin in the opposing net.  Patrick Sharp summed up the Hawks’ feelings on Khabi when he said that he wished him luck, but not too much luck.  Maybe that was what Sharpie was trying to communicate to Khabi when Sharpie missed that penalty shot in the 2nd period.  Khabi was bound and determined not to let Sharpie score on him, and probably knew just where Sharpie was headed with that shot.  I guess that’s why Sharpie looked back and flashed Khabi that big ol’ grin.

According to NHL Updates,

“The NHL would like the team to go up for auction in September to owners who plan to keep it in Arizona, such as the prospective buyers who have already filed applications to purchase the Coyotes.”

So can the NHL be surprised when people conjecture that their “relocation fee” is really just a slimy attempt to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in the U.S.?  It would be nice for Phoenix to keep their hockey team, but should the NHL/U.S. really be interfering with international commerce? (And could you blame Mr. Balsillie if he filed a claim with the NAFTA Court?)  And who gave the NHL so much power anyway?

Suffice it to say that I do not like what is going on with the NHL.  Besides this Phoenix Coyotes thing, they have spent the better part of this season seemingly trying to get rid of fighting in hockey by overly-penalizing it.  So now when I imagine the head honchos of the NHL, I envision their meetings like how The Simpsons portray the Republican National Headquarters: a dark, foreboding laboratory housing the likes of Frankenstein, Dracula, and of course Mr. Burns.  I wonder why that is?

I’ve only been to Canada once, and it’s been years ago now, but it’s such a lovely country.  So why do we keep crapping all over it?  And why do the Canadians keep putting up with us? (Actually, here it would probably be best if the Canadians separated us from some of the shenanigans of our judicial system.  But then, if you start down that road you’d have to ask the entire world to separate us from some of the actions of our entire government.  Hey, that might not be a bad idea.)  Although Canadians don’t seem to pull punches when it comes to hockey which makes this thing with Balsillie, the Coyotes, and the NHL all that more confusing.  And the Canadian press is so much more intelligent than ours.  Have they stood up for Basillie?  They should.

For instance, look at this article from The Globe and Mail in Toronto.  In this op ed, sports journalist (no really, an actual journalist!) Bruce Dowbiggin writes:

Inquiring minds wanted to know why Detroit’s incomparable defenceman Nick Lidstrom missed the final two games of the Western Conference final between the Red Wings and Chicago. The media spoke only of the ubiquitous “lower-body” injury. And when Lidstrom appeared tired and mistake-prone in the Final against Pittsburgh, questions were raised again about his fitness to play. Was it an ankle? A knee? Under the NHL’s Orwellian injury disclosure policy, a postal-code approximation of the hurt was all that was given to the media.

Actually, Lidstrom had a damaged testicle from being pitch-forked by Chicago’s Patrick Sharp in Game 3 of the Western final. He needed all the time between the cheap shot and Game One of the final to rehabthe injury. As Paul Harvey used to say, “Now you know the rest of the story”.

While it’s considerate to Lidstrom that such an . . . er, intimate injury be hushed up, the cover-up damages the league’s credibility in several ways. First, we now have a better understanding that Lidstrom was not tired or old or ready for retirement– as suggested by more than one announcer or reporter. Second, the cover-up denied the opportunity to expose Sharp’s disrespectful abuse of one of the league’s superstars – a necessary discussion in lieu of the league’s willful denial on head shots.

An “Orwellian injury disclosure policy”?  A “postal-code approximation of the hurt”?  Oh how droll! You’d never see this level of intelligence in the American press.

And as an aside, it’s not like the Red Wings haven’t ever resorted to goon hockey. (And here, someone’s mother will inevitably intervene and say, “And if your friends jumped off the Sears Tower would you do it too?”)  Ok, so I’m biased.  And yeah, Sharpie shouldn’t have plugged a guy in the berries.  That was a low blow, literally, but Hawks and Hawks fans alike just hate the Red Wings so much that there is an exception to every goon rule.

Anyway, my point is, this level of journalism, even in sports, illustrates why Canada rocks.  So why does our country, or at least our government, treat them so shabbily?  Perhaps it’s time we give Canada its due.  Canada, you are the cleanest, nicest country.  Thank you for hockey, and hopefully our country can learn some things from you (like how not to dumb down the population by dumbing down the press).  And keep on sticking it to the NHL Canada, like with this gem,

“Somehow the NFL has had full reporting on injuries without compromising a single game. The NFL is the gold standard fans now expect. Every day the NHL cloaks itself in the shrouds of subterfuge adds to the perception of the league as out-of-date and fan unfriendly.”

because hockey is your sport and you were there first. (And the league is fan-unfriendly.  Hell, the league is player- and possibly even franchise-unfriendly.)

Do the Canucks really want to win this way?  Sure Sharpie scored two of the three goals that the Hawks came away with after two periods,  but should that make him a moving target for dirty hits?

And the third period was just full of Canuck cheap shots.  Alex Burrows cheap shotted a Hawk again, this time roundhousing Jonathan Toews. (Last time it was in one of the final games of the season when he pulled Duncan Keith’s hair like a little girl.)  Then Rick Rypien collared Dustin Byfuglien from behind causing yet another skirmish.

It’s bad enough when the officials have a clear favorite and don’t call the game impartially, but add to that the goon hockey played by the Canucks and this series has a black eye.  If you want to win Canucks, do it the right way.  Stop playing goon hockey.  It’s not respectable.

This interview with Patrick Kane really irritates me. In it he makes fun of the reason he wasn’t in game 3: His pet goldfish died and he had to fly back to Chicago to flush it down the toilet. Seems the only thing that’s going down the toilet lately is Kaner’s game.

Do we look stupid to you Kaner? Do you think it’s a joke that we’re all speculating that the reason you weren’t in game 3 is for YOUR safety? We wouldn’t all be speculating if there weren’t something to be speculating about; i.e. that you can’t hack it in the playoffs and you may not be able to hack it in the NHL. Yeah, hilarious!

You know I wrote a post a few days ago, in which, like other sports fans and pundits, I pondered whether Kane really had the flu or if they pulled him because he couldn’t take the hits and as a result wasn’t really contributing on offense. But then, because I’m a fan, I pulled the post because I thought I owed more allegiance to the Hawks and Kaner himself than to be critical of a team I so love. But if it’s a joke to Patrick Kane, then hey, why hold back?

So here’s what I really think. I think Patrick Kane has been struggling for the better part of the season. Without the help of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp, Kane would have been struggling the whole season. He’s too short, too light-weight, and too mild-mannered to make it in the playoffs (and perhaps the NHL) as it stands now. I don’t agree with Steve Konroyd that Patrick Kane is an “energizing force” to his line. I think Patrick Kane has become a liability to his line with Jonathan Toews constantly having to shadow him in true big brother style to make sure the other bigger boys on the playground don’t beat him up. Thing is, Tazer’s a little busy in the playoffs and can’t shadow his little brother with the Flames ‘D’ being so good.

Konroyd went on to say that the Hawks missed Kane in game 3 since he’s their set-up man. Hmm, don’t think so. Kane can hardly make it out of the neutral zone much less anywhere near the net so far in this series against the Flames. But again, that’s been true for most of the season. Seems opposing teams figured out that the best way to keep Kane from scoring is to hard check him repeatedly. They know he can’t take it.

So why is the Blackhawks organization still pushing Patrick Kane down fans’ throats like he’s a Jonathan Toews?  As the Bleacher Report noted, the Blackhawks organization needs people to believe that lie because Kane has been a very effective marketing tool. But now it’s time to face facts. Kane’s game is in trouble. And that ain’t no joke.