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!
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.
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”. Read the rest of this entry →
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.
To recognize the start of hockey season, we profile as the Chicago Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Week one of the all-time greats in Chicago Black Hawks history.
Spending his entire 22-year career with the Chicago Black Hawks, Stan Mikita was one of the best centers of his generation.
March 12, 1966- Bobby Hull scores his fifty-first goal, a National Hockey League record for regular season play, as he slaps a shot past New York Ranger goalie Cesare Maniago at the Chicago Stadium. The Hawks go on to win the game, 4-2.
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