Highlights
I was feeling sick yesterday and am probably not going to be quite as observant in this recap due to the Sudafed induced haze I was in. I swear, a raw, chapped nose is one of the most annoyingly painful feelings. Anyway, let's get on with it...
- No Kane, Toftbo, Campbell & Cullimore a call up for D and Scott as a forward? Color me pleasantly surprised this did not turn out to be the shitshow I expected. Looks like Columbus is living up to the high standards it set for itself last year early in the season.
- Did I not call it? A beaut of a goal by Viktor Stalberg. So much so, we must all watch it again in its glory:
- I will say that I've noticed Stalberg tends to fall down a bit too much. Is he too speedy for his own skates?
- Does Dave Bolland still play on this team? I hope he is just stinkin' it up and his back isn't bothering him again.
- I've come to the conclusion that Marty Turco's goaltending style will forever give me heartburn. I think my brother mentioned he looks like the fish at the end of Faith No More's "Epic" video. Whatever works I guess, but the man spends more time lying down than one of Patrick Kane's...oh nevermind, that was too easy.
- Marian Hossa currently leads the NHL in points with 8, and is third with 4 goals. The man simply walks on frozen water.
- Well I guess the birdies have finally stopped circling around Patrick Sharp's head. So glad to see Sharpie have the monster game that he had. He had an astounding 13 SOGs, which is a new Blackhawks record. Nice to see him step up with Kaner on the shelf.
- I've been hard on Tomas Kopecky - don't give me wrong, I do quite like him off the ice. He's great interacting with fans. TomoKop is second in the league in both assists (5) and +/- (+5). He is definitely benefiting being on the top line with Hossa & Toews. He just frustrates me - take his goal last night. His first shot he slapped right into Mason's pads. Thankfully Mason gave up a rebound and Kop rightfully roofed it for the goal. It's his first decisions he needs to be better at and needs to work on his stick handling skills. He also had two of the four Hawks penalties - one for stupidly closing his hand on the puck. I still would prefer Troy Brouwer on the top line.
- Speaking of TBrouw, he gained an assist on Sharpie goal and looked very strong on the ice. SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PUT HIM ON THE SECOND LINE, Q? I hope he remains there, but I'm not holding my breath.
- You can blame the BJ's shorthanded goal squarely on the shoulders of Duncan Keith - a terrible turnover on the PP, and then just stood and watched as the puck was bounced off of Turco's back for the score. Thankfully Dunc only had to play 23:16 last night - by far his lowest total of the young season. I expect Duncan to return to Norris form once Soupy is back from injury.
- John Scott had only 2:32 of ice time. I think Godzilla may be getting an iPass shortly.
- With Hjalmarsson back from suspension tonight (vs. Buffalo - this should be amusing), the Hawks currently have 8 D-Men on the roster. Who plays tonight? My choice: Keith/Seabrook, Toftbo/Boynton, Leddy/Cullimore (yes, I said it).
Patrick Sharp
Could it be anyone else? Sharpie's two goals were a thing of beauty. He only had a little over 14 minutes of ice time, which makes it more impressive. A Sharpie on fire can only mean good things are happening for the Blackhawks. And also, that there are many women in Chicago fanning themselves in earnest.
The Second/Third Defensive Pairings
When it was announced yesterday afternoon that Jassen Cullimore was recalled from Rockford, and that the Hawks would be going with seven D in this game, I think I started to feel sicker than I already was. But the rag-tag pairings did much better than expected last night. Nick Boynton had almost twenty minutes of ice time and had an assist on the Stalberg goal. Nick Leddy is improving every game and was a +1. The much maligned Cullimore looked surprisingly steady, had 2 SOG and even had an assist on Hossa's goal. And Jordan Hendry didn't have any goals scored on him via his crap shot blocking. Most importantly, these four guys' play allowed both Dunc and Seabs to stay under 20 minutes of TOI. Bravo!
The Blue Jacket's Cannon
Thankfully the BJ's only scored two last night so we didn't have to hear that damn thing go off too often. During my one and only trip to Nationwide Arena that thing went off so many times, I was wondering if it was going to run out of gunpowder. I guess I'm psychic, considering this is how I posed with it before the game:
TOEWS-FACE OF THE GAME
This isn't one of Tazer's best, so I'll give you an added Bryan Bickell Psycho Face:
Tonight's tilt vs. the Sabres should be a fun one. Word is Ryan Miller won't be in net. As much as I love the American Hero, I think that's a bit of a chickenshit move - worried about those comments you made recently Ryan? Also, someone please give Patrick Kaleta at the minimum a good face wash. What a turd that guy is .
1 comments:
Maybe it's just because of the season, but Bickell looks like a zombie who just saw some tasty brains and Toews looks like the puck is going to eat his souls or something.
Hope you're feeling better soon. Colds are a special kind of hell.
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