Chicago Sports Then and Now

A poor showing from Cristobal Huet proved costly for the Hawks Tuesday night, allowing the Dallas Stars to gain a 5-4 victory, their second straight over Chicago.  Huet allowed 4 goals on only 10 shots before being replaced by Antti Niemi early in the second period.

Steve Ott scored twice for the Stars, including the winning goal on a power-play breakaway early into the third.  Mike Modano, Loui Eriksson, and Mike Ribeiro also scored for Dallas.  Modano’s goal was his 549th career goal tying him with Ron Francis at 25th all time.

For Chicago Troy Brouwer and Colin Fraser scored one a piece and Patrick Kane added two.  Kane has 7 goals in his past 5 games.  Jonathan Toews and Dustin Byfuglien added two assists each.

Chicago opened the scoring 3:10 into the game when Brouwer buried a rebound past Marty Turco on an early power-play.  Dallas replied with a power-play tally of their own just over two minutes later.  Modano got a shot past Huet, who seemed to stumble on the play, leaving him unable to make the stop.  It was Dallas’ first shot of the game.  Ribeiro gave Dallas the lead at 15:37 with a wrap-around goal.  Chicago responded 1:13 later with a power-play goal from Kane.  Chicago took the lead before the period was out when Fraser took a beauty pass from Kris Versteeg and put it past Turco.

The second period started off poorly for the Blackhawks.  Dallas scored 57 seconds into the period when a Loui Eriksson shot trickled through Huets pads and into the net.  Only 35 seconds later Dallas scored again when Ott had an attempted pass take a strange bounce off a Blackhawk defenceman’s skate and into the net.  Although there was nothing Huet could have done on that particular goal, it spelled the end of his night.  Chicago was able to tie the game at 4’s with 4 seconds left in the second when Kane netted his second of the night.

Dallas scored the final goal of the game, via Ott, on the power-play, at 4:07 into the third.  Turco and the Stars held strong and were able to secure the victory.  Turco had 33 stops total, including 18 in the first alone thanks to 3 Blackhawk man-advantages.

Not to take anything away from Dallas, who played a good game Tuesday, but had Huet played well this game likely would have ended with a Chicago victory.  With the exception of the fluke fourth goal, all the goals Huet allowed were questionable for a starting goaltender in the NHL.  He clearly had an off night and Chicago fans expect him to rebound when the Hawks host the Devils on New Years Eve.

The Hockey Goons were ready to take on Chicago.

The Journey

The only thing that beats a Bruins game on the road is a free Bruins game on the road. Being out of work, free tickets, free airfare, and a free hotel come in pretty handy.

My buddy Steiner and I(aka The Hockey Goons) took advantage of the opportunity at hand and headed to Chicago for an Original Six battle between our beloved Bruins and the Blackhawks.

Let the journey begin…

Pre-Game Activities

The only place to get pumped for the game is Rush Street. It’s the Chicago equivalent of Faneuil Hall but a million times better.

We visited one pub decked in our Bruins garb. One patron called us the worst name in the book. They called us Pittsburgh Penguins fans! UGH!

Sorry the Bruins are the “Original” Black and Gold team!

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As the team captain, Jonathan Toews provides important leadership for the Blackhawks.

Blackhawks fans may have felt an equal measure of relief and trepidation when the team held a press conference December 3rd to announce that Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith had been secured for the next five years, and in Keith’s case, for thirteen years, presumably the balance of his career.

Relief, because their star center and Captain Toews, and flashy winger Kane, just 21 years old, are considered the driving forces of the Hawks; while Keith, at 26, is already seen as a Norris Trophy candidate defenseman, and plays more minutes than anyone on the squad.

Trepidation, because the questions about how the Hawks address the impact of these signings on their management of the salary cap loom larger than ever.

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Marian Hossa and the Blackhawks are off to a hot start.

It’s almost impossible to win a football game in the first quarter. There’s too much time to come back, adjust to the other team, get lucky. A team can lose a game in the first quarter though. They can put themselves in such a deep physical and psychological hole that they won’t be able to climb.

The NHL season is a little like that. Everyone has played at least 21 games out of a total of 82. The early favorites have been established, but who is the best team? That title is still up for grabs. Who is likely to make the playoffs? Well in the new NHL where there’s a point given out every time a team completes their pre-game warm-up that’s still undecided yet.

Who has played themselves out of the playoffs and are likely to be lottery pick drafters, well that I can tell you. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes and their five wins respectively are out of the playoffs, in November. It’s a neat trick.

How have the teams in the NHL done this first quarter? Lets’ take a look at teams in the Western Conference in the order they’re in now.

San Jose Sharks
GP: 26 W: 16 L: 6 OT: 4 PTS: 36 WPCT: .692 GF:87 GA: 69

The Sharks are off to a great start. They’re tied with Washington as the best offensive team in the league.

The revamped line-up featuring a first class sniper, Dany Heatley, and the leagues best set-up man, Joe Thornton, is thriving. Patrick Marleau had a great season last year and is looking to do better this year. The injury to Devin Setoguchi hasn’t slowed the team at all. Evgeny Nabokov is shouldering the goaltending load in San Jose and doing it well with a 2.19 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. Throw in Canadian Olympian point man Dan Boyle and all seems rosy in Sharktown.

There are some danger signs though. The sharks dealt away some defensive depth in the offseason and called upon forty year old Rob Blake to play over twenty minutes a game. He’s too old to be playing that many minutes. He’s -4 on a shark team that scores so much the zamboni driver is +3. Youngsters Derek Joslin and Jason Demers are being asked to fill the void.

Last year the Sharks gave up the fewest shots on goal in the league. Right now they’re 18th in the league and giving up almost an extra fours shots on goal per game. So far Nabokov has been up to it. If he cracks or gets hurt there is no experienced back-up to go to.

The Sharks will likely give up more goals per game then the 2.43 they managed last year. Their record should suffer accordingly. Last nights 7-2 drubbing at the hands of western rival Chicago highlights the staggeringly different talent depths the two teams have.

2/Chicago Blackhawks
GP: 23 W: 15 L: 5 OT: 2 PTS: 34 WPCT: .739 GF: 77 GA: 51

The Blackhawks have three games in hand on San Jose and after slaughtering them 7-2 Wednesday night look poised to catch and pass them.

Chicago is giving up by far the fewest goals and the fewest shots in the league. This is probably because their talented line-up never gives up the puck. An embarrassment of young talent allows the Hawks to laugh at injury. They just plug in another great player.

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Toews may be young but he is a true leader.

Some hockey fans were looking forward to drama and revenge when the Chicago Blackhawks met the Vancouver Canucks for the first time since the Canucks’ Willie Mitchell knocked out Hawks Captain Jonathan Toews with a concussion.

Some may have been disappointed.

After a two-week absence, Toews’ return to the Blackhawks kept them on a winning streak that reached seven as Chicago delivered another kind of message at Vancouver’s GM Place. The 1-0 score left the Canucks and their fans slack-jawed. An overeager goal horn operator even jumped the gun, mistakenly signaling a score for the home side just seconds before the final buzzer.

The only revenge was the result, and the only drama was the battle between two skilled clubs.

The victory gave the Blackhawks sole possession of second place overall in the National Hockey League, and the best winning percentage among all thirty teams.

There has been much talk about the resurgence of the Blackhawks, and more than one pundit predicting a serious run for the Stanley Cup. While the kerfuffle over the Hawks’ salary cap management continues, the critics grudgingly concede the team has the talent to contend.

But if there is any player who represents the revival of Cup aspirations in Chicago, it is Jonathan Toews.

Unlike his mercurial team-mate Kane, there are no questions about Toews’ ego. And unlike seven million dollar d-man Brian Campbell, there are no arguments about his value to the Blackhawks. When the much-rumored contract extension for Jonathan Toews is finally revealed, no one will begrudge him every penny he makes.

Toews may be to the Blackhawks now, what Steve Yzerman once was to the Detroit Red Wings: the player who makes the difference no matter how much or how little he does every game. For like Yzerman—who wore the same number 19—Toews is the heart of his team. And no one argues that Jonathan Toews has, to borrow from the popular phrase, “got a little Captain in him”.
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Patrick Sharp (foreground) is one reason the Hawks are winning without Captain Jonathan Toews (background).

When Patrick Sharp scored the game winner with just four and a half minutes left in the Blackhawks’ last game for the month of October, Coach Joel Quenneville’s knuckles might have been as white as his hair.

Four regulars—grinders Adam Burish and Ben Eager, Hawk Captain Jonathan Toews, newcomer Marian Hossa—are missing from the lineup. Top defenseman Brent Seabrook just returned after being out for a pair of games with ‘concussion-like symptoms’.

So Quenneville and his men have been finding ways to win, that contrast with the explosive style fans now expect from Chicago Blackhawks hockey.

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