"Who's the dead man?" ( Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE)

Apologies for the late recap tonight. You’ll forgive me.
Anyhow, do you remember the Wild ever being as douchy as they’ve been these past two games? Me neither. This is a team that used to be content simply existing and would come into the arena, put on their ugly uniforms, get their ass kicked, and then leave quietly. I don’t know if it’s Mike Yeo or just Dany Heatley, but this team’s character has been altered dramatically. They still lose all the time, mind you, but they no longer leave quietly and seemed to enjoy head-hunting more than playing the game tonight. It’s going to be very easy to hate them once they’re in the new Norris Division.
Since it’s late we’ll just give you a quick rundown:
The ‘Hawks dominated most of the 1st period and struck midway through when Jamal Mayers barley buried a nice feed from Michael Frolik (he lives!) past southpaw Josh Harding. Late in the period, the ‘Hawks were given a 5 minute power play after ‘Nobody Nate’ Prosser gave Mayers a pretty obvious head-butt. Take a wild guess on how that power play turned out?
In the second, both teams managed 11 shots, but each goaltender stood their ground. Shockingly, the ‘Hawks failed to convert on their two power-plays in the frame while Minnesota did not convert on their own opportunituy
Corey Crawford appeared to be headed towards the first shutout for the Blackhawks this season, but Bryan Bickell took a bad high sticking penalty with just four and a half minutes left in the contest, which naturally led to the Wild tying the game. Cal Clutterbuck deflected a long Marco Scandella shot past Crawford and the teams went to overtime tied at 1 apiece.
After a relatively uneventful overtime, Devin Setoguchi roofed a wrist shot over Crawford’s glove on the 3rd Wild shootout chance following a near miss by Patrick Kane and a blooper reel “shot” by Patrick Sharp. Viktor Stalberg didn’t even hit the fucking net on the last ‘Hawks opportunity. Game.
A few thoughts:
♦The Nashville victory this evening put any hope of the ‘Hawks getting home ice advantage, but they can still finish in the 5th spot with a regulation win over Detroit on Saturday. Many are talking about who the ‘Hawks should want to face right now. I’m pretty damn certain I don’t want Nashville. Phoenix has given them fits this season and after watching this Los Angles/San Jose game a little bit tonight, I’m not sure I want either one of those teams either. So the truth is that the ‘Hawks are in for a battle no matter who they draw in the open round. So let’s just let the chips fall where they may.
♦ Dany Heatley gave Patrick Kane another nasty slash tonight. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Heatley later threatened to take Kane out for a ride after the game.
♦ Prosser’s head-butt of Mayers will probably earn him a suspension. The Wild will surely miss Prosser and his -17.
♦ How the hell was there not a Brandon Bollig fight with all that shit going on tonight? Speaking of Bollig – if Joel Quenneville dresses him in a playoff game, I will just die.
♦ Crawford was spectacular for the most part tonight. It’s a damn shame he didn’t get the shutout he deserved tonight. Maybe he is saving them all for the playoffs?
♦ Crawford might damn well need to pitch those shutouts because the power play continues to be a fucking disgrace. As I’ve said before, the Blackhawks have four or five of the best players in the world at their disposal, it’s absurd that they cannot even cleanly enter the offensive zone. I’d love to know how many times the ‘Hawks have been on the man advantage this season and not gotten a shot.
♦ There were times tonight when I wasn’t sure Niklas Hjalmarrson knew he was playing in a hockey game.
♦ Patrick Sharp’s stategy of stickhandling right into the goaltender in the shootouts simply doesn’t work. One can’t help but wonder why Marian Hossa is punished for those shorts of shenanigans but Sharp isn’t. That being said, Sharp got robbed by a Harding with a highlight film save in the 1st.
♦ Tom Gilbert played over 34 minutes tonight for the Wild and Scandella was right behind him with 33. That’s crazy.
♦ The San Jose/Los Angles game tonight was INSANE. The Sharks pulled it out in the shootout and tied them atop the Pacific Division. The Kings currently hold the tie-breaker and Phoenix is only a point behind. That SJ/LA game is a must watch on Saturday after tonight.