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So It’s Like That, Eh?: Boxing with Blackhawks (4) and Canucks (3)
Feb 20th
(Credit: Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune)
Sorry for the delayed wrap, but by now I’m sure you all know the Blackhawks (13-0-3) tied the NHL record by acquiring at least one point in the first 16 games of the season.
What we don’t know are two important things: 1) The status of Marian Hossa after he left the game when Jannik Hansen hit him with a deliberate elbow to the back of the head, and 2) What kind of disciplinary action, if any, has been handed down to Hansen by Brendan Shanahan.
There is a hearing schedule with Hansen for 2:30 p.m. CST, so we will be back after we get updates on Hossa and Hansen. Until then, here’s Boxing to help recap the rest of last night’s contest…
Right-click the image, then click ‘view’ to enlarge:
Blackhawks Look to Make History Against Canucks
Feb 19th
The Chicago Blackhawks look to make history Tuesday night as they host the Vancouver Canucks. Should the Blackhawks win this game, they will tie the NHL record for the longest point streak to open a season. The current record of 16 games is held by the 2006-2007 Anaheim Ducks.
All indications are that long-time Chicago laughing target Roberto Luongo will not get the start tonight. It appears we have bruised his ego enough for one career. Cory Schneider will get the nod tonight. Schneider has been one of the most up-and-down goalies in the league this season. His GAA’s over his seven starts are as follows: 11.27, 1.85, 0.00, 4.00, 1.00, 1.01, 4.08. A lot of this can be attributed to some absolutely embarrassing defensive play in front of him.
Look for a newly invigorated Vancouver team, enjoying the energy of a returning Ryan Kesler. Despite their OT loss against the Blues on Sunday, the Canucks have been playing high quality hockey lately.
As always, look for everyone’s favorite “tough guy” Kevin Bieksa to try some of his trademarked pathetic chirping and then cower by the refs once he gets the attention of one of the bigger guys.
Alex Burrows is still a tool.
Crown Their Ass: Boxing with Blackhawks (3) and Kings (2) – Plus Bonus PUCKCAST!
Feb 18th
Seabrook feeling much better than he would later. (Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo, Chicago Tribune
It’s been a long day, so I’ll offer most of what I have in Boxing below. At this point, you’ve probably read everything else anyway.
– The next time you say or hear anyone else utter the words, “Man, I would give my left nut for (insert wish here),” you better think of Brent Seabrook. It’s not like they had hookers back in the locker room ready to massage the twig and berries that were in the exact air space of a Drew Doughty slap shot. He headed off the ice because the extreme pain felt something like getting an underground sex change operation from Edward Scissorhands.
And thanks to the refs, he got to lie there with his face on the ice for about 15 seconds while sharp blades passed right by his nose because they jammed their whistles up their asses. Act like you’ve never been hit in the nuts, assholes. Seabrook’s first star was well deserved, and not just because of his goal and assist.
– Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik simply are playing fantastic hockey. I bitched at Kruger once from the 300 level to get it deep as he lost the puck trying to enter the zone through two Kings, but other than that they continued playing at a level I don’t think any of us expected.
– The Blackhawks have allowed three goals in regulation twice all season – at Phoenix and at San Jose. Their plus-22 goal differential is by far the best in the NHL, and their 28 non-shootout goals allowed are second to Nashville’s 25. Ray Emery wasn’t outstanding, and I’m hoping Corey Crawford is healthy enough to go Tuesday, but both of these guys simply are getting the job done to this point.
– You’ve heard by now: If they ‘Hawks win or get to overtime Tuesday versus Vancouver, they tie the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks for the NHL record of earning a point in the first 16 games of a season. I’m not one for celebrating shit like this knowing it means nothing come playoff time, but there’s no arguing that would be pretty damn sweet.
– Nakis and I appeared on the HOCKEENIGHT Puckcast following the game, discussing a plethora of topics ranging from meatheads to Tecmo Super Bowl. I had to take off about an hour in because of work-related shit, but Nakis stuck around for the full 90 minutes. It’s not like you do any work on a Monday anyway, so have yourself a listen and get paid to waste company time.
I’ll leave you with Boxing, which won’t appear again until Friday. Nakis will be by with your Vancouver preview, and JesusMarianHossa hopefully will be recapping another victory. Right-click the image and hit ‘view’ to enlarge…
After Dominating Sharks, Blackhawks Look to Keep Rolling Against Kings
Feb 16th
Credit: Jim Young, Reuters
Let’s start this out with a quick stat.
The Blackhawks’ 14-game point streak to begin a season is tied for the third longest in NHL history with the 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens, behind only the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks (16) and 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers (15).
As for the other three teams mentioned? They all went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Too Fasth: Blackhawks Drop a Shootout to the Ducks
Feb 12th
Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images
Is anyone else sick of the damn shootout?
Everyone would have liked to see the Hawks take two points in their first game back at the United Center and they were just a hair away from getting it done. The good news is, the Hawks are 13 games into the season and have gotten a point in each of the games. The bad news is, they should have had two tonight.
There were definitely good things to take away from this game. This was perhaps the most physical game the Blackhawks have played all season. Bryan Bickell throwing his weight into Ryan Getzlaf was beautiful. When you’re a big body guy with decent speed, you need to hit people. It was nice to finally see him doing that to one of the Ducks’ core guys. It seems the team has been playing with a bit of an edge ever since Jamal Mayers’ scrap with Raffi Torres.
The Blackhawks’ penalty kill continues to shine. They play with active sticks and are more aggressive on the penalty kill than I’ve seen in years, leading to an important 5 on 3 kill tonight. Credit to Niklas Hjalmarsson, Michael Frolik, and Marcus Kruger for their newfound PK skills. I know I wasn’t the only one cussing these guys out last year; their turnaround is nothing short of a Chicago miracle.
Old Country Way: Shutout Boxing with Blackhawks (3) and Predators (0)
Feb 11th
The Iron Sheik (@the_ironsheik) often explains humbling people “old country way,” so make sure you give that crazy asshole a follow.
Corey Crawford helped pitch the Blackhawks’ first regular-season shutout since people were still bitching about trading Dustin Byfuglien, making 17 saves to back goals from Marcus Kruger, Jonathan Towes and Patrick Kane in Sunday night’s victory down south.
First, an admission. I told the other CtA fellas I believed the point streak would end tonight. We agreed, for the most part, Nashville was going to present a difficult challenge despite an overtime loss at Minnesota the previous night. But Pekka Rinne had that night off and was going to be fresh for a ‘Hawks team that was concluding a six-game road trip.
Needless to say, I’m happy to be wrong. A couple things before Boxing…
– The Blackhawks won’t see Nashville again until April, when they face the Predators four times in 2 1/2 weeks with three matchups coming at home. The joys of the lockout-shortened schedule keeping division rivals away from each other for a month in a three-month season. Because that makes sense.
– The ‘Hawks last blanked a regular-season opponent March 23, 2011, when Crawford made 23 saves to beat Florida 4-0. However, their last shutout actually was a 5-0 win over Vancouver in Game 5 of the 2010-11 playoffs, as Crawford made 36 saves.
– Make it a five-game goal-scoring streak for Kaner, whose nine goals and 10 assists trail only Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek (11 goals, 12 assists) for the NHL’s points lead. And he’s doing it all without a chewed-to-shit mouth guard.
– My God with the turnovers, Johnny Oduya.
– So, a 4-0-2 road trip before playing seven straight at home? Yeah, that’s like, good and stuff. Next up is surprising Anaheim for a showdown featuring two of the West’s top teams.
But first, here’s Boxing. Right-click and hit ‘view’ to enlarge…
This Is Not the Trap Game You Are Looking For: Blackhawks @ Predators Warmup
Feb 10th
One half of 21 years and almost $200M of the Preds’ defense
It’s been over two weeks since the Hawks have seen home ice and this will be the last time they don their white sweaters until the final day of February. Having already gathered 8 of 10 points on this road trip, the Blackhawks could come away with nothing in the Music City tonight and still consider this trip quite a success.
And that’s what worries me.
Road Kill: Boxing with Blackhawks (6) and Coyotes (2)
Feb 8th
#GrumpyToews (Credit to Nakis for snapping the original photo off the TV)
One can only wonder what the Captain was so pissed about considering the curb-stomping they gave the ‘Yotes.
Patrick Kane continued lighting up the scoreboard, Jonathan Toews completely undressed Oliver Ekman-Larsson and five players finished with multiple points as the Blackhawks improved to 9-0-2 by dismantling the future Quebec Nordiques 6-2 on Thursday.
It was another late finish, so I’ll get to some quick things before Boxing…
– I was really happy the inevitable fight for the douchebaggery of Raffi Torres came quickly, as Jamal Mayers stepped up to the plate as soon as Torres hit the ice for his first shift. We heard so much before the game about what could possibly happen that you’d think the hockey world was promoting UFC 156,972. Each got in a couple nice licks, the benches stood and knocked their sticks against the boards and all was settled for Torres being a giant piece of shit. Now, I’m sure he’ll continue to be a giant piece of shit, but at least we can get past the entire thing now.
– Also lost in all that shit and the, you know, scoring by the ‘Hawks is that Ray Emery got the nod in net ahead of Corey Crawford despite there being a day off between games. Emery had another solid performance, as the ‘Hawks goaltending once again allowed less than three goals. Their combined 2.09 GAA ranks fourth in the league right now.
– HOODA THUNK DAT PATRIK CAIN GUY WOOD BE PLAYIN SO GOOD CUZ HES ALWAYS DRINKIN DA SAUCE INSTEAD OF PLAYIN DA HOCKEY BUT GLAD WE DIDNT TRADE HIM TO ANUDDER TEAM YET BUT WE SHOOD TRADE HIM NOW FOR SOME UDDER GOOD GUYS BEFORE HE STARTS TO STINK AND WE CANT GET NUTTIN FOUR HIM!
– Watching that giant jagoff Mike Smith get scored on mercilessly makes me smile.
– Of course Torres would score an annoying goal at the end. Asshole.
– Check out #GrumpyToews on Twitter to see some of the other memes made from Nakis’ picture. Some good ones in there. Also, hope you enjoy Tim’s changes to the site’s look, which I find to be awesome.
All right, the rest is in Boxing. Right-click on the image and click view to enlarge…
Roughness Unnecessary: Blackhawks @ Coyotes Warmup [UPDATE]
Feb 7th
It’s there for the taking, let them self-destruct
It’s been covered ad nauseum by beat writers and bloggers alike so I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time on the topic du jour, Raffi Torres. He’s a fourth line player and comparatively we don’t spend a whole lot of our thoughts on Jamal Mayers anymore. Matt McClure wrote a thoughtful piece at The Committed Indian on retaliation and I’d encourage reading that if you’re so inclined. Otherwise, this will be the last I mention of #37 in burgundy and white.
Onto the actual hockey game being played in Glendale tonight.
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