Blackhawks 3, Canadiens 2

It’s 11:00 in the a.m., and if you’re reading this, I can only assume you either (a) saw last night’s game or (b) already read a re-cap.  I’ll spare you the recap, and get right to my thoughts from last night’s Original Six tilt.

– Of course, Andrew Ladd was given the boot early for his jarring hit on the Canadiens’ Matt D’Agostini.  With hits to the head being the hot button issue of the NHL day, Ladd’s trip to the box following the play seemed to be short-lived.  Indeed, the refs asked him to exit the box and sent him off the ice with an elbowing major and a game misconduct.

What to do now?  Well, the NHL will review the hit and likely revoke the game misconduct assessed on the ice.  Translation: don’t worry about a suspension.  It’s quite clear on replay that Ladd (a) didn’t elbow D’Agostini and (b) didn’t leave his feet to make the hit.

So, if (a) the NHL currently uses instant replay for certain situations to make sure the call on the ice was correct and (b) it’s clear, in this situation, that Ladd was not guilty of the serious infraction called against him on the ice, why not allow the referees – or the NHL “war room” as it were – go to the video to assess penalties when a misconduct would – or maybe should – be called.  It’s nearly impossible to decipher whether a player skating as fast as Ladd elbowed another player skating as fast as D’Agostini, so why not allow the refs to slow it down and make the right call? 

After all, it cost Ladd his night.

– Kris Versteeg was once again masterful on Friday night.  He dangled all over the ice in Patrick Kane-like fashion.  Coach Q even used the two together in an effort to jumpstart his offense. 

Needless to say, Kane was fantastic himself.

– Sure the Hawks won, but their offense has struggled of late.  Of course, this isn’t surprising as they’re missing Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.  But, it seems most forwards have caught a case of Patrick Kane-itis.  Now, whenever any forward enters the zone, rather than going hard to the cage, the puck handler stops just inside the blue line and waits for trailers to pass to.  While Patrick Kane and Wayne Gretzky have done well using this strategy, it’s not exactly the best idea for Thomas Kopecky.  Q needs to instruct the forwards to get the puck to the net, rather than emulating The Great One himself.

– Oh man, the power play is yucky.  I’m not sure what else to say.

– OK, I relent.  Waive Cristobal Cristobal Huet.  The goaltender not named Annti Niemi has now given up four goals in his last four games.  Not bad for someone who was being run out of town two weeks ago.  For the record, Huet was cheered during pre-game introductions, but received Bronx cheers for stopping the first puck he touched all night – a long range dump in on net.

– It looked like Patrick Sharp had officially slipped into a slump when he mishandled two pucks in the offensive zone, including a one-time attempt, during one shift on the first period.  Sharp got things together, though, and one-timed the game winner past Carey Price in the third.  He played well nearly all night, which is, ya know, a nice change.

– Cam Barker continues to look like a defenseman playing without confidence, but his second period goal was the equivalent of a broken bat home run.  Barker one-timed a behind-the-net Versteeg pass for a goal, but his stick broke in half in the process.

– Finally, from the Blackhawks’ web site recap: Ben Eager skated yesterday for the first time since being injured.  Q called it “encouraging”; I’d say.  He and Toews will make the trip next week to Phoenix and Colorado.

Predators 2, Blackhawks 0

It’s hard to win when you can’t stay out of the box.

That was the story of the night for the Chicago Blackhawks.  In the first period, the Hawks spent the final 7 minutes trying to kill off penalties, including a 5-on-3.  Cristobal Huet was the best penalty killer and the score remained 0-0 after the first 20 minutes.

The second period was actually the Hawks best chance to get the go-ahead goal.  Unfortunatley, it took two horrendous power plays by them for the coaching staff to mercifully make an adjustment. 

During the aforementiong power plays, the Hawks went with Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, and Tomas Kopecky up front with Dave Bolland and Duncan Keith on the point.  Not surprisingly, the puck spent zero time in the Predators zone. 

They finally decided that Bolland wasn’t a good fit and went with Brian Campbell and Cam Barker at the point.  What resulted was some excellent pressure including their best chance when Kane teed up a shot from the top of the circles and put the puck right on Sharp’s stick with a wide open net staring back at him.  Sharp put the tip wide.

Shortly after this sequence, Barker took a bad penalty during Nashville’s only sustained pressure of the period.  Subsequently, the Predators didn’t disappoint.  Joel Ward tipped home a Francois Bouillion centering pass and the Predators had the only goal they’d need.

Then in the final 6 minutes with the Hawks desperate for the equalizer, Tomas Kopecky took a bad offensive zone penalty.  As soon as the Hawks killed that off, Brent Sopel went away for two minutes for hooking.  When the Hawks successfully killed that penalty off, there was just under 2 minutes left to play. 

Nashville’s Patric Hornqvist was called for goaltender interference and the Hawks had a 6-on-4.  There were a couple close calls but Pekka Rinne stood tall and their best shot at the end may have been foiled when Dave Scatchard slashed Patrick Kane’s right hand just as Kane was getting ready to feed a wide open Patrick Sharp.

The Predators picked up the loose puck and iced the win giving them their third win in four games, and once again proving they refuse to just go away and be bad. 

Quickies

–Patrick Kane was, by far, the best player on the ice.  Without exaggerating, he probably could have had 4 assists if his teammates finished the excellent scoring chances he set up. 

–Kane and Patrick Sharp were finally re-united on a line towards the end of the second period.  Let’s hope it stays that way for a little bit.

–For a coach like Joel Quenneville who will shake up lines at the slightest hint of staleness, he really is a stubborn S.O.B. with a forward playing the point on the power play.  Whether it’s Dave Bolland or Patrick Sharp, his infatuation with this strategy is starting to get creepy.  Not to mention, it’s kinda, sorta destroying the Hawks power play.  They clearly have the personnel to succeed with the man advantage after last year’s dominance.  It would be nice if their coaching staff would put them in the best position to succeed.

While it was nice to see them finally shake up the power play unit in the second period with good results, they went right back to it at the end of the game by putting Dustin Byfuglien on one point and Duncan Keith at the other.  Meanwhile, their three best powerplay defensemen (all with just as good shots and better hands than the other two) sat on the bench.  Maybe that’s why it was so frustrating when Keith was unable to corral a wide open puck and forced the Hawks to regroup with only 30 seconds remaining.

–I suppose Keith could get the benefit of the doubt at the end of the game because the ice at the Sommett Center was a joke.  The puck was bouncing around like a racquet ball and for a team like the Hawks who controlled the puck for probably 65% of the time, it was maddening.

–And don’t forget kids, just keep jamming it towards the net and wait for someone to come on you.

Makin’ It Up as We Go Along

Congratulations to those who had October 27th in the “When will Colin Campbell re-define the NHL rules” pool.  According to the Hockey Central crew on Versus, the NHL will not be suspending Toronto Maple Leafs forward Colton Orr for making contact with an official. 

In case you missed it, here’s his scrap with Anaheim’s George Parros from Monday night.

Scroll to the one minute mark to see the contact. 

Now before we go any further, let’s look at the NHL rules as stated in their rule book when it comes to players making contact with an official.

41.3 Automatic Suspension – Category II – Any player or goalkeeper who deliberately applies physical force to an official in any manner, which physical force is applied without intent to injure, or who spits on an official,shall be automatically suspended for not less than ten (10) games.

So let’s rundown this checklist and apply it to this situation- Orr deliberately sticks out his hand, places it on the lineman’s chest, and pushes off.  Yes, he’s a bit off-balance so the fall makes it more dramatic. 

Unfortunately, the rule clearly states ‘any manner, which physical force is applied without intent to injury’.  He made physical force and applied it without intent to injure.  What else does Campbell need to see?

Apparently, I’m the only one who feels like the hammer should have come down on Orr.  Lord knows the Anaheim color guy doesn’t agree with me.

Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer for the people in charge of the NHL to enforce their written rules instead of trying to figure out what Orr actually was trying to do by pushing off the linesman.  He deliberately made physical contact without intent to injure.  End of story.  10 games. 

If you really want to diagram the situation, let’s look at it from the linesman’s perspective.  The two guys were fighting for nearly a full minute, throwing a ton of punches.  One of the combatants loses his helmet and appears to be wearing out.  If Orr was to fall to the ice and crack his head, everyone would be wondering why the linesman didn’t step in.  Instead, he steps in, gets shoved to the ice, and then gets blamed for it.

Why should the NHL stick up for its officials, it’s not like they’re important or anything.  

–A couple of really odd items from Tim Sassone in his weekly examination of the NHL.  And that’s not even taking into account his bizarre pining for a NHL team to take a flyer on the ancient Chris Chelios. 

Sassone bemoans the current injury epidemic currently affecting the league:

Some of the game’s best players are out with injuries, which isn’t good for the NHL.

The Thrashers have lost Ilya Kovalchuk for a month with a broken foot. Kovalchuk joined the growing list of injured stars that includes Jonathan Toews, Johan Franzen, Marc Savard, Daniel Sedin, David Booth, Brent Seabrook, Danny Markov, Sergei Gonchar and Mike Modano.

Whoa, that’s a lot of names.  Let’s look at them one-by-one.

Ilya Kovalchuk- No question, he’s a star and also my wet dream trade-deadline acquisition for the Hawks.

Jonathan Toews- Captain of an Original 6 franchise, if I squint for awhile, I guess he’s a star too.

Johan Franzen- Key component of a Cup winner.  Solid two-way player.  Unfortunately, he’ll never be confused with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, so I’m sorry, he’s not a NHL star.

Marc Savard- Tremondous individual stats, been a point-per-game player for the last 5 years.  However, I’ve yet to hear someone say, ”Hey, guess who’s coming to town this weekend?  Marc Savard and the Bruins.”  Not a star.

Daniel Sedin- Franchise player but also might be more famous because he has an identical twin.  Nevertheless, we’ll say a star.

David Booth- Nice player, but in absolutely no way would anyone in a sober state of mind consider him a NHL star.  The player who put him on the injured list is a different story.

Brent Seabrook- If a respected hockey publication recently named you the most underrated player in the NHL, you’re not a star.

Danny Markov- We’ll give Tim the benefit of the doubt on this one.  Danny Markov, a journeyman defenseman, retired four years ago.  Andrei Markov was probably who he meant.  While he’s incredibly important to the Canadiens success, nobody is going to confuse him with Larry Robinson anytime soon.

Sergei Gonchar- First of all, he could be on a list of injured players in nearly every season he plays.  Second, not a star.

Mike Modano- Hasn’t been a star since the Clinton Administration.

If you’re keeping track, that’s three injured stars and a bunch of other guys.  Not exactly the most desperate of times for the NHL.

Then, there’s this:

Hawks GM Stan Bowman told WGN radio any tough guy he might consider acquiring would need to be able to skate to play on the team.

Here are five tough guys who might be available:

1. Derek Boogaard, Wild: Heavyweight is an unrestricted free agent after the season.

2. Matt Carkner, Senators: Led NHL with 5 fighting majors through the weekend.

3. Darcy Hordichuk, Canucks: No way the Canucks send him here, right?

4. Colton Orr, Maple Leafs: The Maple Leafs need to shake things up.

5. Dan Carcillo, Flyers: Philly also has Ian Laperriere

Naming five guys who would have a tough time getting 10 minutes a night for the Rockford IceHogs, let alone the Blackhawks, is probably not what Stan has in mind. 

Like I said, odd.  

*On the Farm*

Rockford came out like gangbusters against the Chicago Wolves.  They outshot them 17-6 in the first period and to show for it, they had a 1-1 tie.  Bryan Bickell got the IceHogs on the board with his second goal of the season with assists from Nathan Davis and Bracken Kearns. 

The Wolves answered back with the next two goals.  Chris Chelios had assists on both of them.  The Hogs tied it late in the second period when Nathan Davis scored his fifth of the year.  Bickell and Evan Brophey were credited with assists.

The game remained that way until the shootout.  All the IceHogs were denied by Manny Legace and Tim Stapleton was the only player to score against Corey Crawford to give his team the win. 

–Byron Froese was held off the scoresheet for the Everett Silvertips.  Fortunately, they still held on to beat the Kootenay Ice 4-1.

–Kyle Beach had a hat trick for the Spokane Chiefs.  It wasn’t enough to get the win, though, as they lost 5-4 to the Brandon Wheat Kings.  Beach scored his first two goals within a minute and a half in the first period including one on the power play.  His third goal came in the third with his team down 5-3.

Mythbusters: The Feather Edition

The following ran in Saturday’s edition of ‘The Committed Indian’:

During our daily visits through the interwebs, we’ll occasionally come across an item that gets us thinking.  When one-third of Second City Hockey’s three-headed monster, Mr. Killion, posted his piece earlier this week about the possible correlation between a goalie’s save percentage and the amount of shots he faces, we were intrigued.  (For the record, he thought it “plausible” that those goalies who faced the fewest shots also had the highest save percentages, but it’s a discussion for another day.)

In turn, it got us thinking about other myths we may hear on a given night at the United Center; which are fact and which are based on Dominic from Oak Lawn ordering one too many $9 Jager Bombs seemed a worthy inquiry. 

So with that, we offer our tribute to Mr. Killion for his fine work (because a 1200 word prose about which cast of Star Trek was the best may not be what you’re interested in reading) and bring to you a more extended version of Mythbusters: The Feather Edition.

Joel Quenneville isn’t the right coach for the Blackhawks right now, because he’s never won a Stanley Cup; let alone a conference championship.  At first glance, this statement seems perpetually ridiculous.  Maybe because it sounds similar to the buffoonish argument from a couple years ago when people tried to claim Joe Crede was a better player than A-Rod because of his propensity to perform in the clutch. (How’s that looking these days?)  Logic would tell you it’s usually not the coach who decides the players’ fate, but vice versa.

A closer look at history reveals something very telling, though.  Since 1980, there have been exactly two coaches at the head of a Stanley Cup Champion who didn’t win at least a conference championship by their fifth year of coaching. 

In the 1979-80 campaign and in his tenth year of coaching, Al Arbour was at the helm for the New York Islanders, having not won either a Conference Championship or Stanley Cup prior to that point.

In 1992-93, Jacques Demers won a Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in his ninth year of coaching, not having reached the Stanley Cup Finals before.  (What still boggles the mind is that he was illiterate at the time.  Good thing there was nothing wrong with his eyes, though, because if he didn’t ask for a measurement of Marty McSorely’s stick in Game 2, maybe Los Angeles ends up hoisting the Cup.  Ok, now we’re getting off track.)

Every other Cup winner’s head coach during the past 29 seasons has at least appeared in a Cup Final by his fifth year as an NHL head coach.  We can go right down the list: Mike Keenan had a conference championship in his first year with the Flyers; Pat Burns won a conference championship in his first year with Montreal; Ken Hitchcock was a Stanley Cup winner in his fourth season.  You get the idea.

In his 13^th year of coaching, Joel Quenneville has yet to advance past the Conference Finals.  If he ever does win it all, he would comfortably hold the modern-day record for most seasons coached before his first conference championship and Cup win.   

Verdict – If recent history is any guide, it’s surprisingly fact with a small percentage of myth mixed in.       

The Blackhawks need a legitimate tough guy to compete.  Expect a whole lot more of this nonsense in the coming days, especially after a game like the one on Wednesday night.  Hell, it only took the Daily Herald’s Tim Sassone a mere hour after the game to sound the clarion call for meatballs everywhere by asking if the Hawks need a legitimate tough guy.

Unfortunately, the argument always goes down the wrong direction.  The Hawks have plenty of physical toughness to play with the big boys.  Calgary and Vancouver can attest to that after trying to push around the Hawks in the playoffs last year.

Instead, for some reason, people seem to think the presence of someone like Matt Walker is going to deter opponents from putting clean checks on their players.  As if Willie Mitchell would have thought twice about sending Jonathan Toews back to Fargo if someone like Rockford’s Danny Bois was sitting on the Hawks bench.

It seems like some members of the Hawks’ staff believe in this fallacy only because they’re grizzled old hockey dopes who still believe in ancient rituals of the game that died off years ago.

Verdict – Busted, but someone in the Hawks’ organization must think it’s a fact.  How else does one explain Matt Walker playing in 65 games last year?

Antti Niemi is the goaltender more likely to guide the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup.  Note the following season stat lines: 

Games	Wins	Goals Against Avg.	Save Percentage
42	25	2.33	.919
52	32	2.32	.920

The former, much celebrated, line is that of the Blackhawks’ Nikolai Khabibulin last season; the latter is Cristobal Huet’s combined stat line (for Montreal and Washington) during 2007-2008, the campaign before he joined the Hawks.

While we admit that one season, doesn’t a goalie make, we’re also not ready to support the euthanasia of the embattled Hawks’ starter before Halloween.  (We only support putting poorly performing NHL’ers to sleep after Thanksgiving.)  For now, we’ll let history be our indicator, and we’ll continue to wonder why back-up and NHL rookie Antti Niemi was greeted on Wednesday by the United Center faithful like he had captured Osama Bin Laden with his bare hands and a CB radio on Tuesday.

Barring any unforeseen events, Huet will find himself – and, hopefully, the puck – in the near future, and we’ll all be able to forget about our October of despair soon.

Finally, for good measure, take note of Niemi’s stat line from last year – in the AHL: 

Games	Wins	Goals Against Avg.	Save Percentage
38	18	2.43	.910

Verdict – Busted … unless you’re absolutely sure you want to pin your Stanley Cup dreams on a Finlander with five NHL games to his credit before last week.

It’s ok for the local media to talk hockey.  This is an interesting one.  Nothing ruffles the feathers of hockey fans quite like listening to someone like Dave Kaplan discussing the Blackhawks goaltender situation.  “Stop talking hockey!!! You don’t know what you’re talking about!!!” fans will shout. 

What they should really stop to ask themselves before they have an aneurysm is – How many rational sports media members are there in this town anyways?  Mondays after Bears games are a congregation of stupid.  The Cubs and Sox are considered lost causes after their first 3 game losing streak of the season.  Why should it be any different when the media turns its collective attention towards the Hawks?

If anything, we should feel honored they would even bother to take the time to share their thoughtless opinions with us.  Getting the attention of the media is the only way back on to ESPN.  So if you’re truly tired of the NHL sharing its home network with bull riding and fishing, while a channel boasting a guy flipping pancakes gets better ratings, then just see this as a means to an end.

Verdict-  Fact.  But we won’t blame you if you broke your television because you accidentally turned on ‘Monsters in the Morning’ during an impromptu hockey chat.

Following Up

– Brent Sopel played exceedingly well yesterday evening, reminding watchers why Dale Tallon signed him to a three-year, $7 million deal two seasons ago. It proves – beyond a shadow of a doubt, to me – that Sopel is a much better player when asked to play big minutes against top offensive players, as opposed to fewer minutes against third and fourth line players. And, he wouldn’t be alone in that. Playing against the other team’s best players seems to allow Sopel to simplify his game; to concentrate on defending the opposition with quick decisions, rather than feeling responsible for more against less talented grinders. He’ll have to remember this mindset when he’s again asked to play against lesser talents, as he most certainly will be when Seabrook is ready to go.

– While they’re certainly very different players, watching John Madden play this season reminds me of watching Brian Campbell during the beginning portion of last year. I remember being stunned – following years of being subjected to below average defensemen – by watching a blueliner who could legitimately move the puck on a nightly basis. This year, while I continue to respect the defensive efforts of Jonathan Toews, Andrew Ladd, and others, John Madden is in a world of his own as a defensive forward. His speed, tenacity and strength on the puck make him a must-watch every night. I’ve also been impressed with his offensive ability.

– There’s been a Tomas Kopecky sighting! While I remain incredibly underwhelmed by the new Hawk, he showed spurts of what he’s capable of last night. To me, he seems miscast as a grinder; his skill set seems more fitting of a top-six role – a role he’s unfortunately not quite skilled enough for at the NHL level. More broadly, the fourth line played well, too.

– Jake Dowell willingly threw his name into the “If Ben Eager Won’t Be Back Anytime Soon, I Can Be Your Enforcer-Type” hat yesterday evening. To his credit, during his scrap, he seemed to fight to get loose from Minnesota’s Shane Hnidy, but Hnidy didn’t seem to want to go with the former Badger.

– Kris Versteeg played a heck of a game, too. If Q can just find the right combination to fully utilize Versteeg’s skill with the puck, one could see Versteeg making himself into a Kane-like threat. The problem’s never been Versteeg’s skill, though; it’s been his ability to show it most nights.

– Dustin Byfuglien played a very active game.

– Yes, the power play has to be better, but as long as the penalty kill is great, there’s time.

– Okay, I’ve been persuaded. Put Huet on waivers.

Blackhawks 3, Wild 1

If the Blackhawks’ ‘one goal’ was to play a solid, sixty-minute game, Monday’s tilt against the Niklas Backstrom and the Minnesota Wild at home was a nice starting point – even if no style points were awarded in the game played without Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook.

The Hawks jumped out to a lead as the first half of the first period wound down. After Dave Bolland corralled a loose puck just outside the Wild zone, he fed Andrew Ladd for a one-timer in the slot. Ladd’s shot was stopped, but Bolland scooped in the rebound to give the Hawks’ the lead. They would never let it slip.

Then, with less than three minutes to play in the first frame, Troy Brouwer risked life and limb to get himself onto the porch of the Wild net. He took a shoulder – and nearly a skate blade – to the face while shoveling a juicy Backstrom rebound behind the Wild netminder. It was the Hawks’ lone power play goal on the evening.

Unfortunately for the Wild, their biggest mistake was scoring on the power play in the third period. Their goal was followed by five dominant minutes by the Blackhawks, which included another highlight reel goal by Patrick Kane. Kane dangled behind the net, emerged out front around Backstrom’s blocker side, and in one motion, spun towards his forehand side and roofed the puck into a spot above Backstrom’s shoulder that was no bigger than a square foot.

That’ll teach the Wild.

For the record, the Wild tally came on the power play when a loose puck found Andrew Brunette on the doorstep. He didn’t miss the gaping net.

I have plenty more thoughts on Monday’s game. Unfortunately, I also have dental work to be performed this morning. I promise other notes later this morning or during the very early afternoon.  Until then, have at it.

Weekend Wrap-Up

The Rockford IceHogs and Peoria Rivermen met for the third time within a week on Saturday night.  With the two teams splitting the first two games, the rubber match was tied 2-2 going into the third period.  The teams traded goals with Mark Cullen and Jack Skille scoring for Rockford.  The goal for Skille was his second in as many games.  Cullen and Skille also assisted on each other’s goals. 

In the third, Peoria threw 14 shots to the net.  3 of them got past Corey Crawford and the Rivermen won 5-2.  Richard Petiot and Kyle Greentree also registered assists on the IceHogs only two goals.

–Kyle Beach was held pointless in Spokane’s 4-3 loss to the Tri-City Americans.  However, he did manage to rack up 6 minutes in penalties getting called for diving, roughing, and hooking.  Spokane had a 3-2 lead with six minutes left and managed to give up two goals within 45 seconds.  Beach was on the ice for Tri-City’s game winner.

–Byron Froese scored Everett’s first goal on the power play.  It wasn’t enough, however, as the Silvertips fell to the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-2.

–Dylan Olsen came back from his illness and played in Minnesota-Duluth’s 4-2 loss to St. Cloud State.  He had 4 shots on goal.  Dan DeLisle, once again, was not a factor.

–Brandon Pirri had two assists for RPI in their 3-2 win over American International (Isn’t that where Prince Akeem claimed he went to college in ‘Coming to America’?).  Pirri had two goals and two assists for RPI this weekend.

–Billy Sweatt continued his assault on Michigan Tech Saturday night.  After scoring a goal and three assists the night before, Sweatt notched three more assists in the Tigers 8-5 win over Michigan Tech.

On Sunday evening, Bobby and I had the pleasure of joining ForkLift and CT for their 50th Puckcast.  Apparently, we are now tied with Chris Block for most appearances as this was our fifth time on. 

Many topics are broached including what a friend and I have dubbed Kopecky, when the meatballs will complain about Huet next, the difference in salaries for guys like Jack Skille and Jake Dowell when they play in Chicago as opposed to Rockford, and it wouldn’t be a Puckcast if we didn’t discuss Kane, Toews, and Keith’s upcoming contract situation.  Enjoy.

Blackhawks 2, Predators 0

Last week, the Nashville Predators gave an uncharacteristically shallow performance in a 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks.  This time, their effort was much stronger. 

Unfortunately for them, the result wasn’t. 

After a back-and-forth first period saw neither team chalk a tally, the Hawks struck first blood almost midway through the second.  Dustin Byfuglien cleaned up the garbage after Nashville goalie Dan Ellis coughed up the tiniest of rebounds on a Patrick Kane shot. 

Just over a minute later, Andrew Ladd did the same thing after jumping over Cam Barker’s point shot.  Ellis left another rebound in front and the Hawks quickly had a 2-0 lead. 

The deficit didn’t stop the Predators from trying to come back.  They were putting shots on net from everywhere on the ice.  Cristobal Huet turned them away each time, but the Predators were letting their presence be known at each frozen puck.  It seemed like Patric Hornqvist and J.P. Dumont were standing in front of Huet every time he got a whistle.

In the third, the Hawks continued to put themselves in the penalty box taking three penalties in the final frame, two of which Byfuglien was guilty of.  Fortunately for them, Nashville was just as generous by also taking three penalties.

Nashville kept the pressure on especially in the final ten minutes, but each time, Huet and the Hawks had an answer.  The only drama at the end was whether Huet would hold on for the shutout.  With two Predators in the penalty box, it was hard for them to sustain any pressure and Huet had his first shutout of the season. 

Quickies

–Brent Sopel played in 23 minutes.  That is easily the most he’s played in two years.  He also may have saved a goal in the second when a Huet rebound skied in the air.  The puck very easily could have landed right in the crease where a stationary Hornqvist could have banged it in.  Instead, Sopel batted the puck away with his hand and into the corner to avert the threat. 

–The much maligned Hawks fourth line put together a respectable performance with some solid forechecking and pressure.  I would venture to guess Jake Dowell will probably get to stick around a bit this time even when Toews returns.  Not to take away anything they did tonight, but they were playing Nashville.  The true tests will come when they play better teams. 

–After having an incredibly unlucky start to his season combined with less than stellar play, it was good to see Cristobal Huet finally getting some fortuitous bounces around the crease.

Friday Night Farm Update

Rockford put the smack down on the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday night beating them 6-1 in front of 3,200 fanatics at the Rockford Metro Centre.  The IceHogs jumped out to 2-0 in the first period with goals by Evan Brophey and Jack Skille.  In the second, Danny Bois extended the lead with his fourth goal of the year.

After Milwaukee cut the deficit to two, Rockford put the game away with three more goals.  Mark Cullen and Brian Connelly scored on the power play while Akim Aliu added his third goal of the season.

Kyle Greentree, Rob Klinkhammer, and Cullen each had two assists.  Connelly had an assist to go with his goal as did Evan Brophey.

Corey Crawford was named the number one star of the game stopping 33 of the 34 shots he faced.

–Byron Froese was held scoreless in Everett’s 4-2 loss to the Vancouver Giants.  He was sent off, however for a 5-minute fighting major so the night wasn’t a total loss.

–Dylan Olsen did not play in Minnesota-Duluth’s 3-3 tie with St. Cloud State due to an illness.  He’s questionable for tonight’s game.  Dan DeLisle was not a factor in the outcome.

–Brandon Pirri scored two goals in RPI’s 4-3 win over Sacred Heart including the game-winner in overtime.  He’s scored three goals in his last two games.

–Colorado College’s Billy Sweatt played a part in every goal for the Tigers in their 4-1 win over Michigan Tech.  Sweatt opened the scoring with a power play goal in the first.  Then he assisted on their next three goals including an empty-netter to clinch the victory.

As far as games closer to home, Cristobal Huet will be getting the start tonight for the Hawks against the Predators.  Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook will be both out of action as they recover from ‘concussion-like’ symptoms.  Jake Dowell was recalled from Rockford and will skate on the fourth line.  Andrew Ebbett will take Toews’ spot at center.

If you’re lucky enough to attend the game, be sure to pick up a “Committed Indian” and say hi to Sam.  It should be required reading for all Hawk fans.  Our column will be found towards the back of tonight’s issue.

To Enforce, Or Not to Enforce

It’s the Chicago Blackhawks question seemingly older than the NHL itself: ‘Do the Hawks need an enforcer?’ More recently, giving the giving the age-old inquiry a more relevant twist, many have asked, ‘Do these Hawks, led by young and slight super stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, need an enforcer?’

The answer for the past 13+ months has been simple – at least to the Feather: no. With big boys Matt Walker skating among the top-six defensemen on a nightly basis and willing – thought not necessarily able in each instance – combatants Ben Eager, Adam Burish and Craig Adams mucking and grinding on the fourth line, it seemed to many that a typical goon just wasn’t necessary. ‘It’s enforcer by committee,’ many would say. Sure, problems arose from time to time, but the group was just large enough to keep competitors honest.

But with the aforementioned Walker, Eager, Burish and Adams all either gone or missing in action due to long-term injuries, it seems only natural to ask, ‘With the “committee” gone, what now? Who’s responsible for filling the role this time around?’

This time around, the story’s a bit different. Big guys Brent Seabrook, Cam Barker and Troy Brouwer all play big, important minutes – and none is particularly adept with the fists – and the fourth line, where most enforcers lurk in today’s game, is home to a group of forwards I’d trust to babysit your children. (Would you let Derek Boogaard or Marty McSorley take your kid to Chuck E Cheese? ‘Sure,’ you’d say, ‘but only if Tie Domi chaperones.’)

Sure, Colin Fraser works hard; he’s mostly responsible; and, hell, he scored 17 goals in the AHL during 2007-2008, but he’s no more an enforcer than the man he was acquired for: Alex Zhamnov. Remember when Fraser was called up a few years ago? As is typical for youngsters, Fraser fought to open up the eyes of Hawks’ management; his fight opponent responded by opening up a gash above his.

Andrew Ebbett is cheap and offensively capable, but you’d be hard pressed to tell him and Patrick Kane apart from the neck down, ignoring any crabs. Needless to say, not only is Ebbett out of place on the fourth line, he’s about as scary as Hannah Montana with a fly swatter.

Finally, there’s Tomas Kopecky. All you have to remember about Kopecky is how Patrick Sharp went toe-to-toe with him last season. He’s also played punching bag to a few, more established bounders during his day.

It all leads to my point: especially without the dearly departed Jack Skille, the fourth line has taken a huge dip in all areas when compared to last year’s groups. This year’s trio is smaller, slower, less physical – and much less capable of keeping other teams honest using the fisticuffs.

So, with the trio falling well short of allowing Coach Q to roll four lines and, in so doing, failing to fill any role typically assigned to an NHL fourth line, why not think about bringing in a big goof to fill at least one of those roles?

I promise you one thing: he’ll come cheap.