Hawks Beat Pens in Preseason Action

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks

10-1-10

Final Score: 5-2 Hawks
Scoring Summary 
1st Period
None
2nd Period
4:20-CHI-Fernando Pisani [1] (Dave Bolland [1], Bryan Bickell [3])
13:47-CHI-PPG-Tomas Kopecky [ 1] (Patrick Sharp [1])
3rd Period
00:18-CHI-Marian Hossa [2] (unassisted)
5:56-CHI-PPG-Patrick Kane [1] (Sharp [2], Duncan Keith [2])
10:40-PIT-PPG-Alex Goligoski (Mike Rupp, Andrew Hutchinson)
18:42-PIT-Craig Adams (Pascal Dupuis, Goligoski)
18:59-CHI-Marian Hossa [3] (Brent Seabrook [3], John Scott [1])

Friday night, the Hawks were facing the Penguins for the 2nd time in the preseason of the 2010-11.


The Hawks had a couple of good scoring opportunities in the 1st period, and one particularly great one came off of the stick of Viktor Stalberg.
Jake Dowell entered the zone, and from the top of the right circle sent a pass over to Stalberg in the slot out in front and Stalberg had Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury beat, with Fleury sliding to his right. Stalberg managed to get the puck by him, but it hit the left post. 

At 4:20 of the second period, Fernando Pisani tallied his first goal of the preseason in a Hawk uniform. From the top of the left circle, Dave Bolland sent a nifty pass over to Pisani in the right circle and Pisani sent a soft one timer towards the net and beat Fleury glove side.

The Hawks capitalized on a power play opportunity in the second as well. Patrick Sharp picked up a loose puck above the right circle and blasted one on net with Tomas Kopecky screening Fleury. Kopecky got a piece of it and it went glove side.
"It really wasn't that special of a shot," Sharp said after the game, "just hard and in the middle of the net and Kopy got his pants or his stick on it and it went in. When you got guys blocking the goalie's eyes like that, they're gonna find a way in."


18 seconds into the 3rd, Marian Hossa sped into the Pens' zone down the right wing boards and beat Simon Despres to a loose puck just above the right hashmarks and just under the right circle, he beat backup goalie Brent Johnson with his quick, little wrist shot, blocker side.

On another power play, the Hawks increased their lead to 4-0 with a goal from Patrick Kane. 
Sharp blasted a shot on net from the right circle and Johnson gave up a huge rebound to Kane underneath the left circle and Kane just shoveled it home into the empty cage for his first of the preseason.


The Pens closed the gap to 4-2 with a power play goal from Alex Goligoski just under 11 minutes in and then about 8 minutes later, Craig Adams, a former Hawk, got on the board as well.


Hossa put the dagger in the Pens' coffin 17 seconds later with his second of the night. Brent Seabrook sprung him with the pass and he split the Pittsburgh D and went backhand and then forehand and beat Johnson over his right shoulder with a wrister from close in.


The Hawks were 2 for 5 on the power play and Hossa says it's key that they get the PP rolling early for it to be effective in the regular season.
"That's what you're going to need during the whole regular season, you know, get the power play and penalty killing, [those] special [teams] going because that's what's mostly going to win the games. [Friday night] I think we did a good job."


Corey Crawford started and played the whole game in net for the Hawks, and made 26 saves. 
"It was nice," Crawford said, "I felt like it was just a matter of just holding this team close, with this offense, it's only a matter of time that they score a couple goals. I think [they did] a really good job, I think, of getting pucks out when they tried to get in our zone. We weren't in there too long and we were able to go on offense pretty quick, so I think that was pretty key."

 On their 5 goals, Sharp also said, "It was nice to put a couple in. I think we can still have some room for improvement. There's lots of good puck movement out there, but it's always nice to put a couple in."

Notes 


•Even though it was a pretty good night for the Hawks, they lost a key piece of their Stanley Cup winning defense Friday night. In the second period, puck moving defenseman Brian Campbell went down with a sprained right knee after a collision with a Pens player along the right wing boards. It came out Saturday that he's going to miss 4-5 weeks, including the home opener on October 9th [obviously] when they raise the Cup Banner against Detroit. 
-Head Coach Joel Quenneville said that rookie Nick Leddy will get a chance to be Campbell's replacement. He's slotted to play with Campbell's normal partner Niklas Hjalmarsson in Sunday's preseason finale against the St. Louis Blues.
•The Penguins outshot the Hawks 28-26.
•The 3 stars of the game were:
1. Marian Hossa
The Hawks' right winger had 2 goals, including the game winner.
2. Fernando Pisani
The Hawks' winger continued to his good preseason with his goal in the first period.
3. Patrick Sharp
The Hawks' centerman had 2 assists in his 3rd game of the preseason.
•The Hawks' centermen's faceoff percentages were:
-Jonathan Toews: 69%
-Dave Bolland: 62%
-Patrick Sharp: 46%
-Jake Dowell: 44%
•John Scott led the team in hits with 5, and Bryan Bickell and Troy Brouwer each had 4.
•Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews each had 4 shots on goal.
•Nick Boynton had 6 blocked shots.
•Duncan Keith led the team in ice time with 26:29.
•Brent Seabrook led the team in shifts [25].
•The Hawks' next game is Sunday at 5 p.m. at the United Center against the St. Louis Blues. It will be broadcast on WGN in the Chicagoland area and NHL Network nationally.
-Marty Turco is scheduled to start in net for the Hawks.

-Hannu Toivonen was sent down to Rockford on Saturday

Post Game Interviews 

•Marian Hossa

•Corey Crawford

•Patrick Sharp

  •Coach Q

  •Game Highlights

Patrick Sharp celebrates after Tomas Kopecky tipped in his shot on the power play in the second period.

**There would've been more coverage on the Penguins' goals, but I didn't see any highlights anywhere so I couldn't report on what I didn't see, just so everyone knows. 

Hawks Bring Home First Cup Since '61 With Kane's OT GWG

Chicago Blackhawks @ Philadelphia Flyers
Game 6-Round 4-Stanley Cup Finals
6-9-10
Final Score: 4-3 CHI [OT]
Hawks Win Series 4-2
Hawks Win Stanley Cup
Scoring Summary
1st Period
16:49-CHI-PPG-Dustin Byfuglien [11] (Jonathan Toews [22], Patrick Kane [17])
19:33-PHI-PPG-Scott Hartnell [7] (Danny Briere [17], Chris Pronger [14])
2nd Period
8:00-PHI-Danny Briere [12] (Ville Leino [13], Lukas Krajicek [3])
9:58-CHI-Patrick Sharp [11] (Dave Bolland [8], Duncan Keith [15])
17:43-CHI-Andrew Ladd [3] (Niklas Hjalmarsson [7], Kane [18])
3rd Period
16:01-PHI-Scott Hartnell [8] (Leino [14], Briere [18])
Overtime
4:06-CHI-Patrick Kane [10] (Brian Campbell [4])

The game all Hawks fans and the players themselves had been waiting for finally arrived last Wednesday: the chance to clinch the Stanley Cup.

Game 6 was back in Philly, and the Hawks had yet to win there all year, including the one regular season game between them.

They were up for the challenge as they struck first on the power play, with Enemy Number 1 in Chicago, Chris Pronger, in the box for high sticking.
From the top of the right circle, Patrick Kane gave the puck to Jonathan Toews just below it.
Toews threw the puck to the front of the net where big Dustin Byfuglien was lurking and he tipped it five-hole on Flyers goalie Michael Leighton.

At 19:07, Brent Sopel was called for interference which gave the Flyers a late period power play.
Pronger controlled the puck just inside the blue line above the Stanley Cup Finals logo.
He placed a soft pass on Danny Briere's stick at the top of the left circle. Briere fired a shot on net from there and Hawks goalie Antti Niemi stopped it, but the rebound trickled out in front where Scott Hartnell, providing net presence, shoveled it five-hole for his 7th goal of the playoffs.

A minute into the 2nd period, Marian Hossa turned the puck over at center ice to Simon Gagne.
He was in all alone on a breakaway, with Brent Seabrook the only one in the zone fast enough to come within a stick length of him.
From in between the hash marks Gagne tried going blocker side on Niemi. But he said no.

The Hawks had another good chance about 4 minutes in as a power play for them expired.
Brian Campbell led the rush out of their own zone and from the blue line, sent a pass over to Dave Bolland just to the left of the neutral zone faceoff dot closest to the Hawk bench.
Bolland gave the puck to Andrew Ladd, who was breaking into the zone.
Ladd beat all of the Philly backcheckers and from the slot and close in range, he turned to his backhand and tried to slip it past Leighton's left pad, but his shot went totally past the right post.

The Flyers took their first lead of the night at 8:00 of the period.
At the Hawks' blue line, Hartnell stuck his skate out and subtly tripped Duncan Keith, and it went undetected.
This opened up a lane for Ville Leino to enter the zone and he got into the slot where he dished the puck over to Briere in the left part of the bottom of the right circle, where he caught Niemi sliding over in his crease and he put the puck past him, glove side.

Remember in the regular season when the Hawks scored a lot 4 on 4? and that's where they made their money, more or less?

Well that came in handy.
A minute and 58 seconds after the Briere goal, with Braydon Coburn in the box for cross checking, and Hossa in the box for a horribly soft goaltender interference call, the Sharp Shooter answered the call.
Keith brought the puck into the zone, 3 on 3, down the left side.
He gave the puck to Bolland at the top of the circles and Bolland backhanded a pass over to Patrick Sharp in the right circle.
Sharp shot it and it beat Leighton five-hole for his 11th goal of the post season, tied with Byfuglien for the most on the team.

The Hawks took back their lead with just over 2 minutes left in the period.
Kane had the puck on the right side of the SCF logo and gave it to Niklas Hjalmarsson on the other side of it.
Hjalmarsson walked in to the top of the left circle and bombed one on net as he had an open lane.
His shot was going to be about 2 feet wide, but Ladd was there out in front and beautifully redirected it and it beat Leighton under his blockered arm, or 7 hole as Tripp Tracy calls it.


For the longest time, it looked like Ladd's goal was going to hold up as the game winner.
But no, the Flyers came back and tied it at 16:01 of the 3rd as the Hawks sat on their lead for the whole period.
Leino came into the Hawks' zone down the right wing boards and from below the goal line, sent a centering pass out in front.
It bounced off of Hossa's skate and it hit Hartnell's stick as he found himself surrounded by 3 Hawks in front of Niemi.
It trickled past Niemi's right toe before he could get over just a tiny bit more.

Needless to say, the Hartnell-Briere-Leino line caused the Hawks problems all series long.

Niemi made a gigantic save with 90 seconds left in the third.
Mike Richards won a board battle against Hjalmarsson in the right corner below the goal line and was able to give the puck to Claude Giroux in the right circle.
He found Jeff Carter at the opposite side of the net and gave it to him.
He backed up to just inside the left circle because he had to maneuver around Campbell.
Niemi was already on his stomach, and Carter fired it on net but Niemi was able to stop it point blank and have Kris Versteeg pick up the rebound to clear it.

 To Overtime we go.

Keith just about gave everyone a heart attack as he went to clear the zone and hit Richards' stick 13 seconds into the extra session.
Niemi came out of his net to clear it and he went to do so off of the glass in the left corner.
Problem was, it hit the glass and just died and fell right to Richards.
His centering pass to the front of the net hit Keith's stick, but it bounced over it and went right to Giroux just under the right hash marks.
Giroux shot it and Niemi blocked it down with his glove and covered up for the whistle.

With 16:01 left, Campbell corralled a clearing attempt at the left point of the Flyers' zone. He gave the puck to Kane at the left halfwall.
Kane did a couple of head-fakes to Kimmo Timonen, and walked down the left wing boards to below the left circle.
Kane just put the puck on net and..and at 4:06 it beat Leighton five-hole as he hugged the right post.
The puck got stuck under the net by the left post.

Kane was the only one who knew it went in. And Sharp. [It was a Patrick thing.]
Nick Boynton saw it go in, too, I think.
He came around behind the net, and everyone thought it had gone into the corner but couldn't find the puck. And that's where we all thought he was going.
But his stick was up, and Sharp's went up, and Boynton's did for a split second, too.
Just before the blue line, Kane threw his gloves in the air and then the Hawks' bench jumped up and over and rushed to follow Kane down the ice as he went to go celebrate with Niemi.
Sharp and Ladd were right on his tail and jumped into them just above Niemi's crease.

The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup.
The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup!

Even almost a week later, personally, it still doesn't seem real.
But it is.
They did it.
49 years.
Done. Over with.
They're 2010 Stanley Cup Champions.

"I was the only one who knew it went in," Kane told the NHL Network. "I just had to celebrate even more so everyone knew it was in.
"We had a great group. It was the best group to be with and I don't know right now, it's just pretty crazy."

After 2 straight years of being to the Finals and losing, Hossa finally got his Stanley Cup.
"This is what a relief," He told CBC. "After 2 years [of] not winning and finally 3rd time win the Stanley Cup, I'm so happy."
You could just see those emotions on his face.

On if he saw the goal, Seabrook said to Scott Oake, "Absolutely not. I don't know what was going on. Kaner was skating around, there was no red light on, no horn, no nothing, I don't know, I had no idea, obviously we're in Philly so there'd be no horn but it was a crazy feeling. It was a weird feeling and we're excited it's over."

Ladd didn't either and he was on the ice. He told Chris Boden of Comcast Sportsnet that he had no clue that it went in. He said that he just, "Chased his mullet down the rink."

"I believed in [Kane]," Toews told the media. "I don't think he would throw his gloves off like that if he wasn't 100% sure and he sold it pretty good if the puck didn't go in. It was kinda an awkward celebration. We didn't know what to do. We were all standing around, waiting for the official call. But it didn't matter how it happened, how it went in, we're all proud of Kaner for stepping up like that. It's a pretty awesome feeling."

"[We just said in the room that] somebody had to be a hero," Campbell told CBC. "That's the biggest thing. Somebody had to be a hero and we knew. That's how we play. We play exciting hockey for everybody."

"I really thought this team had a chance to win it [at the start of the year]," Adam Burish told Oake, "You can't describe when you hold that Cup over your heard. The feeling that you get is indescribable. It's better than any vacation I've been on, better than anything cool I've ever done, better than kissing the prettiest girl in school. That was as good as it gets."

"I wish I had some [thoughts]," Sharp told Oake. "Give the Flyers credit, they kept coming back and they made it tough on us. When Kaner put that one in, there's no better feeling."

"It was tough, they battled all series long," Ben Eager said on CBC. "They have a great team. We got a lucky bounce at the end and it's a great feeling.
"We knew we had a deep team coming into the season, you know, [the 4th line] contributed, everyone did all year long. We brought that into the playoffs and we played a great team game throughout the playoffs and we got rewarded."

"[We] definitely would've liked [to have won] in regulation but I think that speaks to the way this team plays and how we always come back from tough situations and we didn't really let it get to us when we headed into overtime and Kaner had a big goal," Ladd told CBC.
He also talked about his time here in Chicago and how much more of an impact he had this time around than he did in his other Cup win in Carolina.
"It was fun, just being here the last 2 1/2 years and really getting to know this group, a great bunch of guys. We get along so good off the ice that it just makes it that much more special and to be a big part of what we did here, I'm speechless."

Bolland told Oake about coming back from his back injury.
"It was tough. 3 months, doing nothing, just sitting around, hanging out, not doing much. It was tough for me when I got back. It still took me a few steps and everything to get back to my game and I think once the playoffs came my game came back to how it was last year."

The order the Cup was handed off for the first couple of guys was: Toews [obviously], Hossa, Sharp, Brent Sopel, John Madden, Keith, Seabrook, Bolland, Boynton, Campbell, Ladd, Tomas Kopecky, Eager, Byfuglien, Kane, Versteeg, Hjalmarsson, Burish, Niemi, Troy Brouwer, Cristobal Huet and then NBC cut away so I have no clue what the rest of the order was.

Toews talked about handing the Cup off to Hossa after he accepted it from the Commissioner.
"We talked about it very, very briefly this morning. Didn't wanna get over excited or think too much of the end result but mentioned it to him this morning to be ready if we did happen to hoist it tonight. Duncan and Sharpie both agreed that he should be the 1st guy after myself to grab it.
"It's special for him. I can't imagine being a part of 3 long seasons like that. To win one finally, it's amazing for all of us but especially him, for sure."

Notes

•The Hawks outshot the Flyers 41-24.
-The Hawks' power play went 1-5; the Flyers' went 1-4.
-The Flyers took 34 faceoffs. The Hawks took 32.
•The Hawks' scratches were the same.
•The Hawks' centermen's faceoff percentages:
-Patrick Sharp: 64.3%
-Jonathan Toews: 64%
-Dave Bolland: 37.5%
-John Madden: 11.1%
•Antti Niemi is the first Finnish goaltender to win the Stanley Cup.
•Jonathan Toews won the Conn Smythe for playoff MVP.
•Jonathan Toews' 22 assists led the league. His 29 points were 2nd. His 5 power play goals were first. His 3 game winning goals were 3rd and his 58 shots were 10th.
-Marian Hossa's 12 assists were 9th. His 25 penalty minutes were ranked 9th and his 73 shots were second.
-Patrick Sharp's 11 goals were tied for the team lead and were 3rd in the league. His 22 points were 5th and his +/- rating of +10 was 3rd. His 3 power play goals were 10th and his 76 shots led the league. Also, he was a point per game [22 points, 22 games].
-Patrick Kane's 10 goals were 5th, his 18 assists were 2nd, and his 28 points were 3rd. His 64 shots were 5th.
-Dustin Byfuglien's 11 goals were tied for the team lead and were 3rd in the league, also. His 5 power play goals were tied for first and his 5 game winning goals paced the league as well.
-Dave Bolland's 8 goals were 10th. His 30 penalty minutes were 5th and his 2 shorthanded goals led the league.
 -Kris Versteeg's 2 game winning goals were 7th.
-Duncan Keith's 15 assists were 5th and his 61 shots were 7th.
-Brent Seabrook's +/- rating of +8 was 9th.
-Brian Campbell's +/- rating of +11 was tied for 1st.
-Niklas Hjalmarsson's +/- rating of +9 was 5th.
•Ben Eager only had 2 minutes of ice time. :/
•Dustin Byfuglien had 6 hits.
-Brent Seabrook had 4 hits.
•Duncan Keith led the team in ice time with 30:39 of it.
•Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, and Jonathan Toews led the team in shots with 5.

Post Game Interviews

Adam Burish on CBC

Brian Campbell on CBC
 
Patrick Sharp and Dave Bolland on CBC

Toews on CBC

Brent Seabrook on CBC

 

Kane on CBC

 

 Hossa on CBC

 

Bobby Hull on CBC

Troy Brouwer on CBC

 

 Ben Eager on CBC 

 

 Andrew Ladd on CBC
Toews Press Conference  

 

Duncan Keith on CBC
Brent Sopel on CBC
John Madden and his kids on CBC

 

 Tomas Kopecky on NHLN

Kaner's Dad

 

 Pat Foley

Coach Q Press Conference

Game Highlights 

 Other Links

CBC's Toast to the Playoffs
Locker Room Celebration

History Is Made

Parade Stuff

 

Wrigley Stuff
Cabbie's Post Game Show  

 

Exit Interviews 

 John Madden

Patrick Sharp

 

 Brent Seabrook
 

Coach Q   

 

Stan Bowman    

Dustin Byfuglien celebrates his power play goal with Patrick Sharp.

Patrick Sharp celebrates his goal in the 2nd period with Brent Seabrook.

Patrick Kane jumps into Andrew Ladd's arms after Ladd scored late in the 2nd.

 
Patrick Kane, Antti Niemi, Patrick Sharp, and Andrew Ladd celebrate Kane's Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime.

Jonathan Toews hoists the Stanley Cup.

 

The Hawks take the team picture with the Cup.

Brent Seabrook on CBC

•Kane on CBC

•Hossa on CBC

•Bobby Hull on CBC

•Troy Brouwer on CBC

•Ben Eager on CBC

•Andrew Ladd on CBC

•Toews Press Conference
•Duncan Keith on CBC

•Brent Sopel on CBC

•John Madden and his kids on CBC

•Tomas Kopecky on NHLN

•Kaner's Dad

•Pat Foley

•Coach Q Press Conference
•Game Highlights

Other Links

•CBC's Toast to the Playoffs

•Locker Room Celebration
•History Is Made

•Parade Stuff

•Wrigley Stuff

•Cabbie's Post Game Show

Exit Interviews

•John Madden

•Patrick Sharp

•Brent Seabrook

•Coach Q

•Stan Bowman 



Dustin Byfuglien celebrates his power play goal with Patrick Sharp.



Patrick Sharp celebrates his goal in the 2nd period with Brent Seabrook.



Patrick Kane jumps into Andrew Ladd's arms after Ladd scored late in the 2nd.



Patrick Kane, Antti Niemi, Patrick Sharp, and Andrew Ladd celebrate Kane's Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime.



Jonathan Toews hoists the Stanley Cup.



The Hawks take the team picture with the Cup.

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=321934713&blogId=535893679#ixzz0ymgOylwm

Brent Seabrook on CBC

•Kane on CBC

•Hossa on CBC

•Bobby Hull on CBC

•Troy Brouwer on CBC

•Ben Eager on CBC

•Andrew Ladd on CBC

•Toews Press Conference
•Duncan Keith on CBC

•Brent Sopel on CBC

•John Madden and his kids on CBC

•Tomas Kopecky on NHLN

•Kaner's Dad

•Pat Foley

•Coach Q Press Conference
•Game Highlights

Other Links

•CBC's Toast to the Playoffs

•Locker Room Celebration
•History Is Made

•Parade Stuff

•Wrigley Stuff

•Cabbie's Post Game Show

Exit Interviews

•John Madden

•Patrick Sharp

•Brent Seabrook

•Coach Q

•Stan Bowman 



Dustin Byfuglien celebrates his power play goal with Patrick Sharp.



Patrick Sharp celebrates his goal in the 2nd period with Brent Seabrook.



Patrick Kane jumps into Andrew Ladd's arms after Ladd scored late in the 2nd.



Patrick Kane, Antti Niemi, Patrick Sharp, and Andrew Ladd celebrate Kane's Stanley Cup winning goal in overtime.



Jonathan Toews hoists the Stanley Cup.



The Hawks take the team picture with the Cup.

Read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=321934713&blogId=535893679#ixzz0ymgOylwm

Hawks Win Again, Even Without Toews and Seabrook [aka my first Game Review]

Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks Review
Monday, October 26, 2009
Final Score: 3-1 HawksScoring summary:
1st Period:CHI: 9:23-Dave Bolland (Andrew Ladd, Jordan Hendry)
CHI: 17:13-PPG Troy Brouwer (Tomas Kopecky, Duncan Keith)
2nd Period:No Goals
3rd Period:MIN: 3:29-PPG Andrew Brunette (Antti Miettinen, Mikko Koivu)
CHI: 6:54-Patrick Kane (unassisted)

For the second straight game, Hawks captain Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brent Seabrook sat out due to concussion-like symptoms.  Even with two of their most talented players out, the Hawks pulled out another win against the Minnesota Wild last night.

30 seconds into the first period, former Hawk, Marty Havlat, deked his way past Hawks defenseman Brian Campbell and had a good scoring chance, trying to go five-hole on Cristobal Huet.  Huet stood tall and stopped Havlat in his tracks.  That was Havlat's one and only shot on goal for last night.  9 minutes into the 1st, Jordan Hendry sent a long pass to Dave Bolland who was at center ice.  Bolland entered the Wild's zone down the left wing boards, and passed the puck to Andrew Ladd who was in the slot.  Ladd shot it and Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom, gave up a rebound off of his right pad.  Bolland put the puck past Backstrom, giving the Hawks the lead.

8 minutes later, the Hawks were on a powerplay due to a Chuck Kobasew high-sticking penalty.  Kris Versteeg had the puck down low by the left circle.  He sent a pass over to Duncan Keith, who fired one from the top of the right circle.  Backstrom made a save through a Tomas Kopecky screen.  Fortunately, for the Hawks, the rebound from the save came right to Troy Brouwer, who sent it into the wide open net, giving the Hawks a 2-0 lead.

Backstrom kept the Wild in the game in the 2nd period, as he made some very good saves against the Hawks.  Huet did his job as well, keeping the score the way it was.

The Wild cut the lead in half in the 3rd period by a powerplay goal from Andrew Brunette.  Brunette was waiting by the left post for the puck.  He got the rebound from a Antti Miettinen shot and slid it behind Huet.

The Hawks came back 3 minutes later.  Patrick Kane took the puck away down below the right circle.  He waited behind the net for a play to develop, but nothing was happening.  He came out to the dot of the left circle, did a mini spin-o-rama, and fired it high stick side.  There was virtually no space between Backstrom's shoulder and the crossbar, but somehow, the puck found room and made its way in, giving Kane his 50th goal of his young career.  The Hawks would hold on, giving them their 2nd win in 3 games.

Kane said about his goal , "It's got to be a perfect shot.  It's lucky, too- kind of shoot and pray it goes in."

Tip In's: Coach Joel Quenneville gave the Hawks the day off of practice today after last night's win.
Jake Dowell's fight was only the Hawks' third fight all year.
Marty Havlat was -2, and had no points, and only had the 1 shot on goal early on in his return to the United Center, which he constantly had rocking last year.  He's now -10 on the year.
Jordan Hendry registered his first point of the season on Bolland's goal.
The Hawks are now 7-3-1 on the season, with 15 points.  They're 1st in the Central Division, and 3rd in the Western Conference.


Kane's reaction after his milestone goal

 

Preview: Wild vs. Hawks 10-26-09 [aka My 1st Hawks Blog]

Okay, well I feel like starting my own Hawks blog.

and i'll probably end up deleting previews and stuff like that the day after the game.
So here goes:

The Minnesota Wild roll into town tonite to take on the Chicago Blackhawks.  It's the first time Marty Havlat will be playing against the Hawks in regular season action.  Marty signed with the Wild on July 1st of this year, as he was a Unrestricted Free Agent and he couldn't reach a deal with the Hawks [ :( ].

Marty did play against the Hawks in two preseason games this year. And He had 3 goals.  And some assists. *sigh*...

Anyways, the Hawks could.. well probably will be without captain Jonathan Toews and defenseman Brent Seabrook for the second straight game tonite, as they both suffered concussion like symptoms after Wednesday night's game against the Vancouver Canucks.  The Hawks recalled forward Jake Dowell from Rockford today.  Jake was up last game against the Nashville Predators [which was a 2-0 Hawk win] to take up Jonny's spot in the lineup. [So, Jonny's a no go for tonite if you put two and two together.]

The Wild took 3 of 4 games against the Hawks last year.  The Hawks only win against them was in December, and was the last game of their 9 game winning streak.  It was in Minnesota, and Minnesota native, Dustin Byfuglien, had 2 goals.

Tonites matchup shouldn't be "boring" like last year. [Thanks, Kris Versteeg, for the wonderful quote.]  The Wild have a new coach, and they play more of an offensive game, unlike last year with coach Jacque Lamaire [spelled wrong probably, sorry] who liked to play the trap which, did, cause for a boring game.

The Hawks look to get their 2nd win in a row tonite, and hopefully, they can get started on another winning streak.

My prediction: Hawks win, but Marty gets a goal... or two...
Scorers for the Hawks: Andrew Ladd, Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp, Versteeg

Probable Lineup
Ladd-Bolland-Versteeg
Byfuglien-Madden-Kane
Brouwer-Ebbett-Sharp
Kopecky-Fraser-Dowell
Defensive PairingsKeith-Sopel
Hjalmarsson-CampbellBarker-Hendry
Starting GoalieHuet
LET'S GO HAWKS!!
P.S. Get well soon Jonny and Seabs.








 

My E-mail To Dave Kaplan

Dave Kaplan, host of Chicago Tribune Live on Comcast Sportsnet [for those who might not know], has been making me angry lately.

He has been spouting off false facts, been ripping Huet, and has been all bent on getting Cam Ward, and it's making me crazy.

I decided to write an email to CTL, to blow off some steam.

Here it is:


Hi Dave,

I'd just like to make a couple of points regarding the Hawks' goaltending situation and what you think about getting Cam Ward from the Canes.

About Cam Ward:
There is no denying that he is a great goalie.  He's excellent in net, and it is especially obvious when you watch him game in and game out like I do. [The Canes are my 2nd favorite team, next to the Hawks.]

There is no way, though, that the Canes would trade him.  Cam and Eric Staal are pretty much their two franchise players down there, and not to mention a fan favorite.

Also, Cam is currently hurt right now.  He suffered a back injury on the the 3rd of this month when the Canes were in Calgary.  He is going to be out for sometime, again, as he needs to go back to the doctor in 2 weeks to be re-evaluated, per the Canes' website.

Here is a link to the story:
http://www.hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=516824

Also, tonight during Chicago Tribune Live, you said that Cam was in Boston when he won the Cup and now he is in Carolina.

Cam won the Cup with the Canes, and was drafted by them in 2002 in the 1st round, 25th overall; he has never been anywhere else in his career.

Now I can see where you might have said why Cam was on Boston.
Aaron Ward, a defenseman on the Canes, was on Boston last year, and played against the Canes in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
Aaron was also on the Canes when they won the Cup in 2006.  They re-acquired him this summer when they traded Patrick Eaves for him, and then of course, Patrick was put on waivers and then he signed with the Red Wings.

Now about the Hawks' goaltending situation:

Huet is going to be the number 1 goalie for the rest of the year.  Niemi is not ready to be a #1 yet, not to say he might be in a couple of years though.

The game in Vancouver on January 23rd, when he started his 1st set of back-to-back games, is proof of why Niemi is not ready to be a number one yet:  3 goals allowed on 9 shots with bad rebound control.

Also, who's to say that next year, when the scouting report is out on him, he isn't going to do as well as this year. 
Just food for thought.

I think I know the reason why Coach Quenneville elected to start Niemi in net tomorrow against the Stars.  It is probably because Huet has had such bad luck with the Stars this year, that it can't hurt to start Niemi, to try his luck against them.

Also, you said tonight that Cam Barker was drafted with Bob Pulford behind the bench for the Hawks.
I looked it up in the Hawks' media guide, because I thought that that did not sound right.

In fact, it was not.

Brian Sutter was behind the bench when he was drafted.  2004 was his last year coaching and then Trent Yawney was the next coach, starting in 2005.
Also, Pulford would not have even been GM when Barker was drafted because there wasn't a GM in 2004.  Mike Smith was the GM from 2000-03 and then Dale Tallon took over in 2005.
The Hawks would not have been able to get the 2nd pick in the draft in 2004 either, because of the lottery.  It would've all been the luck of the draw.

Thank you for reading this, I really appreciate it.

Go Hawks!

Sincerely,
 Kim Wrona

---------------------------------------------------

I feel better now.(:

Observations About Some of the Prospects at the Hawks' Prospect Camp

I went to the last two days of the Hawks' Prospect Camp last weekend. It was pretty cool--it was my first camp that I've gone to watch.

Here are some of my observations/amateur scouting report, I guess you could say:

Kyle Beach

The Hawks' 1st round draft pick, taken 11th overall in the 2008 draft wasn't very impressive the days I was there.
On Sunday, he looked uninterested. He didn't hit much, didn't go to the net like he should use his big frame for, didn't turn on the jets, he just didn't do a whole lot.

The only thing he did do was fight on Sunday.
He fought Mathis Olimb twice. Beach didn't prove anything because he fought a guy half of his size.
During the 1st fight, as the refs were separating the two, Beach cheaply punched Olimb in the side. After they were separated, they were still yapping at each other.
The 2nd time they fought, Olimb fell awkwardly and hurt his shoulder [He now needs surgery on it and he will be out for four months.]

Beach was challenged by Scott Brannon, who was sticking up for Olimb.
Brannon landed some pretty good ones, but Beach held his own. Beach was then tossed with about 1:30 left in the scrimmage.

Monday he looked just a little bit better.
He was skating better and went to the front of the net.

But overall, he's not NHL ready. The kid might be physically mature, but mentally, he's got a lot of growing up to do.




 Shawn Lalonde

Lalonde looked really, really good. The 20 year old defenseman can skate like the wind and can move the puck out of the zone well. He was paired up with Nick Leddy and they played well together. He showed some real composure and the 68th overall pick of the 2008 draft could definitely have a legitimate shot at making the opening day roster.




Stephen Johns

Johns, the 60th overall pick in the 2nd round of this year's draft, looked great for an 18 year old. The young defenseman from Wampum, Pennsylvania showed a lot of great qualities. He had a good stick, made good outlet passes, had good positioning, and played very good defense. He wasn't as physical as he could be, but that will come with age and experience.

He reminded me of a young Brent Seabrook--except Johns is probably a better skater than Seabrook was at that age.

Unfortunately, I only got to see Johns on Sunday; he wasn't there on Monday.
He's going to attend Nortre Dame and will only turn into a better player. I personally can't wait to see him develop and one day be on the Hawks' blueline.
He has a very bright future.




Mitch Versteeg

Yes, this is the little brother of Kris Versteeg. Except, he's not so little.
Mitch is 6'2", 204 pounds compared to Kris, who is 5'10", 182 pounds. Also, Mitch is a defenseman, unlike his left winger brother.

Mitch looked pretty good. He had good positioning, really used his size to bang some bodies, and picked smart times to pinch and keep a play alive. His panic level is also very low.
The only possible knock on him could be that he is a tad slow. But he still got back to play defense in time.
On Monday, he broke up a 2 on 1 rush really nicely.
He was a free agent invitee, so we'll see what happens.




Jimmy Hayes

What is not to like about this kid? He's got speed, size, and skill. Jimmy was acquired from Toronto at this year's draft for a 2nd round pick. He's 6'5", 210 pounds and showed a lot of potential.
He found his way to open ice and normally found a way to score or get a very good chance to. Like Johns, he's not as physical as he could be for his size, but it surely will come eventually. But he's tough.
On Monday, he fought Rob Flick and he gave and took some pretty good blows, but got the best of the fight.




Kevin Hayes

Jimmy's little brother was the Hawks' first round, 24th overall pick in this year's entry draft. He had some really good hands and a pretty nice shot. He's also pretty big, not as big as Jimmy though [6'2", 201].
Him and Jimmy played on a line together for the most part, and worked well with each other.



Ludvig Rensfeldt

Rensfeldt was the Hawks' 35th overall pick in the 2nd round of this year's draft. He is very fast and has a great set of hands on him. He saw plays develop very well, also. The only thing he would need to do to get even better is add some muscle to his slender frame.




Brandon Pirri

The Hawks' 59th pick in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft wasn't very flashy, but looked very good at center. He has some wheels on him and can fight his way through checks pretty well. He can also see the play very well.




Jeremy Morin

The Hawks acquired Morin from Atlanta in the Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Brent Sopel trade. Morin is a fast skater, he's good entering the offensive zone and has a nice set of hands. Watching him, he seemed to do almost everything. It's no wonder the Hawks were so happy about getting him.




Marcus Kruger

Kruger was like Pirri: pretty quiet. But when you watch him with and without the puck, he's amazing. He was very good defensively. He was always in good position and could pick off a pass or strip a guy of the puck.
Offensively, he was good as well. He found his way into soft, open areas of the ice and could put the puck into the back of the net when presented the opportunities.




Nick Leddy

The Hawks acquired Leddy when they dealt Cam Barker to Minnesota. The young defenseman played with Lalonde and that pair made up a fast backend. Leddy can skate very well and fast and he made good decisions with the puck. He's a puck mover and chose the right times to pinch in to keep a play alive. He's still a year or two away from NHL action, but will have time to develop at the University of Minnesota.