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?

Speaking of sick, what has happened to our boy Jonathan Toews?  Post-Olympics and post-gold medal, he looks gaunt, pallid, and sickly.  Are you ok Tazer??? Hopefully I speak for all Hawks fans when I say we’d rather have Jonny well than playing hockey, so please get well soon!  Keep eating those Charlie Trotter’s steaks you love so much, and get some iron or something. (And forget Sid the Kid, Toews is not only the MVP of the Canadian team, but of all the hockey players in the Olympics.  He was just that good.  How dare Team Canada start him on the 4th line!)

And, if I’m going to play the part of the scolding mother (though, no, I am not old enough to be anyone’s mother!)  then I must also scold Niklas Hjalmarsson and inquire as to why he’s not wearing his visor??  Naughty Jelly!

Oh, and we’re back to the beginning of the season where we’re having goal-tender issues again, which lends credence to my stance that we have no reliable, consistent goal-tenders in net!…sigh…

Ok.  That is all.  Back to convalescing.

And I’m really loving Ben Eager and Colin Fraser as co-enforcers in the absence of Adam Burish.  Bur could do no better in terms of quality of scraps.  Once Eager and Fraser learned the fine art of discernment — you know, figuring out when to drop the gloves and when not to — these two became indispensable.  Bang on boys! (Literally.)

With the Hawks getting their rough-housing out of the way a few times in the first period of tonight’s game against the Blues, it was no surprise that they waited past the first half of the first period to score.  The long-suffering Troy Brouwer scored one past Blues’ net-minder Ty Conklin with relative ease off an assist by Jonathan Toews.  And, with a little over two minutes left in the first, Brian Campbell also scored on a slap shot thanks to a screen from Kris Versteeg.

And with a little over three minutes left in the 2nd, Jonathan Toews came around back of the goal in what looked like it would be a wrap-around and then deftly passed to Marian Hossa who shot quickly for the third goal.

The rest of the 2nd and a little over two minutes left in the 3rd period it was hum-drum hockey until Dustin Byfuglien followed through with a clean check of Blues’ Barret Jackman.  Then Blues’ Brad Winchester and Big Buff had a bit of a go, but nothing major.  In the last 20 seconds of the game, Blues’ Cam Janssen encroached on Cristobal Huet and Huet pushed back until Brent Sopel swooped in to protect Huet.  Ben Eager then scrapped with B.J. Crombeen, even though Crombeen refused to drop his glove.  Regardless, the Hawks would take the Blues 3-0 in a shut-out for Cristobal Huet.

P.S.  And good news on the Patrick Kane front.  Despite that nasty trip into the boards during that last game between the Hawks and the Lightning wherein Kane hit his eye, Kaner is back.  Is he ok?  Of course.  He hit his head, and he doesn’t use that often enough for that to have been cause for concern.  Yet, for some unknown reason he was the star of the game tonight even though Cristobal Huet had the shut-out.  Well, I guess that’s just good P.R. and of course you need those kids to get their parents in the those seats!

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 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.

While there was plenty of tennis hockey  — back-and-forth and back-and-forth — the Rangers would bust through late in the 1st period for the first goal.  Hawks’ Duncan Keith bent over backwards to block the coming shot and was successful for his part, but Rangers’ Chris Higgins was handed a pretty set-up and shot high on Huet’s glove-side for the first goal.  The Rangers scored in the 1st though the Hawks had 16 shots on goal versus the Rangers’ 5. (In case you’re bad at math that means the Hawks out-shot the Rangers  3-1 and were still losing after the 1st.)

Nothing very exciting going on in the 2nd period except for a bogus hooking call on Jonathan Toews.  Again, the Hawks out-shot the Rangers 14 to 10, to no avail.  The Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist was just that good shutting out the Hawks in the 2nd period as well.

The Hawks’ persistence would pay off late in the 3rd, however, when on the Hawks’ power play, Lundqvist was unable to freeze the puck and the Hawks kept whacking away and whacking away on net until Jonathan Toews, with a nifty assist from Marian Hossa, netted a goal for a tie.

And could it be that Dustin Byfuglien has found his purpose?  In several attempts tonight Big Buff was in front of the opposition’s net-minder screening shots.  As has been suggested by myself and many commenters here and elsewhere this is what we’d like to see Buff doing with that big body.  Now, if he can perfect that art and keep from instigating with the opposing net-minder, perhaps he may have just found his calling in life.  Oh yeah, and did I mention that Byfuglien had the game winner in the overtime period?  It was as brilliant a goal as Jonathan Toews’ sweet “Superman” goal in the game against the Predators on December 4th.  Big Buff was a blur on the breakaway as he zoomed Lundqvist for the game winner in OT. Final score, 2-1 Hawks over the Rangers.

And in honorable mentions, hats off to the Hawks’ poise as the Rangers committed three times as many penalties.  Naturally in a game this close, you want to keep the penalties to a minimum.

And again, as an almost mandatory mention with these recaps, I must acknowledge Niklas Hjalmarsson.  Everyone talks about how skilled this kid is in blocking shots and just overall ‘D’, but how many have noticed his incredible speed?  For some reason, in this game in particular, I could not deny that not only does this kid have the Red-Wings-type defensive style that has sorely been needed on the Hawks, but he possesses the speed that allows him to be everywhere that lesser defensemen are not. I wonder if clocked, if Hjalmy would have the kind of speed that say, a Kris Versteeg would have?

And speaking of Versteeg, it was good to see Kris Versteeg back on wing. Clearly Steegy was not as at home in center as on wing, so it’s good to see Steegy back where he belongs.

Overall, good game Hawks.  Wish I could’ve battled the blizzard (like the Hawks battled back to beat the Rangers) to see it in person.

There was a little bit of a to-do in the 1st period with Penguins’ Matt Cook and Hawks’ Duncan Keith.  Matt Cook delivered a tough hit on one end and then at the other end Duncan Keith elbowed Cook in the face.  Keith got a 2-minute interference call, though it could’ve been a 5-minute major or even an ejection. (Cook would later pay Dunc back with some knuckles to Dunc’s jaw which laid him out on his knees.)  Seconds later, Marian Hossa scored a stunning goal off of some agile passing from Patrick Kane and Brian Campbell. (Yes, Brian Campbell!)

Then the Pens’ Evgeni Malkin went at Colin Fraser in the dwindling minutes of the 2nd.  Geno had Fraser on his back on the ice and still the ref didn’t intervene.  I’m all for a good scrap, but I think you can call off the dogs when you’ve got a guy on his back!

Evgeni Malkin struck again in the last minute and a half of the 3rd period with a pass to Jordan Staal who put it past Antti Niemi for a goal after the Pens had pulled Marc-André Fleury from the net.  Still, the Hawks would battle back in the overtime period with Kris Versteeg hammering the puck past Fleury for the win.

Truthfully I was a little surprised that Hawks’ secondary goalie Antti Niemi was put in net against Pens’ Marc-André Fleury.  I thought maybe it would’ve been wiser to put Niemi in last night’s game against the Predators and put Cristobal Huet in net against the defending champion Penguins tonight.  But Niemi proved me and other doubters wrong.  He held the Penguins scoreless through two, almost three, periods.

All-in-all, an amazing game.  The kind you DVR and watch over and over if only to watch the Penguins eat it.

Tazer deftly maneuvered the puck through heavy traffic, around opponents, and faked out Preds’ goal-tender Dan Ellis who went low, as Tazer went to shoot upstairs.  Ellis tripped Toews but could not deter his shot up high as Toews went down. (And Stan and Rocky could sit there with a grin on their faces and say that’s why they now pay Tazer the big bucks.  Although, let’s face it, Toews from the beginning was always worth the big bucks.  He’s just now getting paid what he’s worth.)

Unfortunately in both goals scored by the Preds in the 1st and 2nd periods, the shots on Huet were screened by a Hawk. (Cam Barker for the first, and Niklas Hjalmarsson for the second.) I understand that defensemen need to back up their net-minders, but perhaps they should also learn to get out of the way. Things deteriorated in the 3rd period when the Preds scored two additional goals within seconds of each other.  The Preds took the Hawks, 4-1.

Honorable mentions in this game go to Niklas Hjalmarsson for a skillful block of an attempted wrap-around goal from the Preds (and some “hammer”-worthy hits); an easily shaken off hit on Troy Brouwer that was so hard it shook several panes of the glass (and probably Brouwer’s teeth); and a ghastly shot of the puck blocked by Brent Sopel’s knee, though he continued to play through the pain while limp-skating.

On a happy note, I love the power-play unit combination of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Marian Hossa.  I think once these guys gel together, it will improve the PP-unit’s percentages.

Following are comments by Keith, Toews, and Kane, as well as highlights from the Q&A session:

Duncan Keith:

“I was drafted by this team when I was 18 years old.  [Playing my whole career here is] what I envisioned when I was first drafted…”

Patrick Kane:

“Once I came to Chicago and played here I couldn’t imagine playing anywhere else.”

Q&A:

Q: Do you think you’ll feel more pressure with your new contracts?

Toews: “It’s part of the game…for us it doesn’t change anything.”

Q: Dunc, when it came up that the deal was going to be 13 years were you shocked?

Keith: “I can’t say how happy I am to sign for a long-term deal like that.  It says a lot about what the team thinks of me as a player.  13 years is a long time.  I believe in this team…I believe that we’ll win a championship one day.”

Q: Can you talk about how hard it was for the organization to pull this off with the cap?

Kane: “As players we don’t think about that much…but for the organization to get this done at this time…it says a lot about Rocky and Stan and the organization.”

Q: Does this raise the pressure to win the Stanley Cup soon?

Toews: “There’s always going to be some ups and downs…at the end of the day you gotta believe you got every guy in your locker room needed to win…Our first goal is to get to the playoffs and then we go from there…”

Q: Do you have an appreciation for how good you have it right now?

Toews: “There’s no way we can express our thanks…I still feel like a young kid, living the dream and playing in the NHL.  To be blessed to live in this city I can’t think of any better place to be drafted to at 18 years old…As far as the fans go, and this city, and the atmosphere we get to play in every day, it’s incredible…”

Q: Do you follow the other teams and do you know that you’re the most successful team in the city?

Toews: “[Chicago] is a great sports city…I’m like everybody else and I just enjoy watching these teams play.”

Keith: “I was here in the first couple of years after the lockout…it’s amazing to see the turnaround…and to see where we’re headed in the future.”

In the movie, Chevy Chase’s “Clark Griswold” wears the now classic ‘Griswold 00′ Blackhawks jersey in the scenes where he starts to lose his grip on reality thanks to some of the most rude, vulgar, and annoying relatives you ever want to meet.  At the United Center, the ‘Griswold’ jersey — which is kind of pricey at $191.50 — has come to symbolize older generation hockey. (You know, the guys who were there long before you were and who still call jerseys, sweaters?)  And that’s ok.  Those guys have watched a lot of bad hockey for a lot of years, have paid their dues, and now deserve to flaunt it a little in the newbie hockey fans’ faces.

It’s also kind of like those guys who wear the Charlestown Chiefs jerseys. If you know what Slap Shot is, then you’re “in the know.”  If you don’t know what “putting on the foil” means, well then, you may not be an avid hockey fan (or for some, a hockey fan at all).

Again, that’s ok.  The jerseys, the foil, the taped glasses, it’s all in good fun.  Except when it’s not. Last month, Jay Zawaski of AM 670’s The Score offered Hawks fans some “hockey etiquette” and scolded,

Listen, you are far from the first person to realize that Clark Griswold wore a Hawks jersey in Christmas Vacation.  It’s been done.  Please don’t do it.

Boy, there’s always one party pooper in the bunch isn’t there?  What’s wrong with the Griswold jersey?  What’s wrong with having a little fun?  Isn’t that kind of the point of hockey?  It’s one of the only sports left where you can be rowdy, as a player and a fan.

So, forget all the peripheral babble from yuppies who would actually dare to assign manners and etiquette to hockey, and party on Hawks fans.  And Jay, you may want to consider taking that hockey stick out of your keister.