It's nice to have a Backup

It hasn't been the ideal situation in net for the Hawks this season. Don't get me wrong, things are going fine, you just don't want to be paying two goaltenders like they're starters is all. I guess it's not such a bad thing though when one of those high paid goalies gets hurt. That's what happened toward the end of the Hawks game last night against Atlanta when Nikolai Khabibulin suffered an undisclosed injury.

I was just about to write a post about how Khabibulin has turned into the every day starter, and for good reason. It's not clear yet how serious the injury is, but Khabibulin is considered day-to-day. Chicago has called up Antti Niemi from Rockford to fill in as Huet's backup for a while.

Niemi will be up tomorrow night when the Hawks conclude their eight game road trip in St. Louis. Huet will start and should be pretty rested for the extra responsibilities. Khabibulin had started four of the last five games, including the last three.

Huet and the Blackhawks still have a lot of work to do without Khabibulin even though the road trip is ending. Five of the next seven are still away from the United Center. Without the Huet signing though, this stretch would be a hell of a lot scarier. Maybe with Toews and Sharp scoring last night the stars will get back to putting the puck in the net.

Hawks Outshoot, Outscore Oilers

The Blackhawks started the Canadian portion of their road trip with a win last night against the Edmonton Oilers. Falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Hawks rallied for two in the second and an insurance tally in the third to win 3-1.

Cam Barker and Dave Bolland provided the scoring in the second period with long blasts. Barker's came on the power play about three minutes into the second and Bolland scored his with about four minutes left. On Bolland's goal, Matt Walker made a great play to retain possession for the Hawks and Bolland displayed great patience faking twice, then unloading a bullet into the net.

The Hawks had some anxious moments in the third period while holding onto a one goal advantage. Outshooting the Oilers 32-13 after two periods, it was still only a one goal lead and when you don't take advantage of chances on the road, the game usually ends in an unfavorable fashion. Even with a couple good Edmonton chances, the dominance continued through the final period and the Hawks ended up with a 20 shot advantage. We know Canadians can take some shots, but enough was enough.

Cristobal Huet was in goal for Chicago and the only goal he let in looked like it was straight out of a Jordan-Bird commercial. From behind the net the puck bounced off what seemed like 10 things, then somehow went off Huet's brain-case and into the net. Other than the Globetrotter action, Huet was great. I always hear how hard it is to not face a lot of shots, and though I understand the principle that it's hard to stay alert, I also find that when you face less shots, you typically let in less goals, so I don't know how much I agree with all those announcers. But if they're right, he had a hell of a game.

Now it's on to Calgary Thursday night and to Vancouver this weekend.

One Man's Musings on His First Hockey Game

Yes, you heard that right. I went to the Blackhawks game last night. I know hockey games are supposed to be fun live, but my skepticism about hockey has been well-documented here. Surprisingly, I had a great time. I'm not saying hockey is awesome, but it was definitely a good time. There were some funny moments mixed in with some sheer confusion. Here are a few observations I made:

• The pre-game montage was not as cool as the Bulls montage.
  


• Why does everyone scream throughout the national anthem? Seemed a bit disrespectful to me. What exactly was everyone cheering about? America? The Hawks? I don't get it.



• I think I finally get offsides. I mean I understand the rule and how it works. Offsides was called at least three times in this game and I still could not pick up on why it was called.



• Those girls that clean up the ice are very sexy. That being said, are they nuts in those skimpy outfits on the ice? Speaking of which the whole United Center was freezing. I would have brought a scarf and a sweater if I had known. Very uncomfortable.



• The whole thing about not being able to see the puck, especially around the goal? Not as big a deal as I thought it would be (at least live, on TV its still impossible). Regardless, when they were around the crease, I just watched the net to see if the puck ended up in it. Why did they get rid of that thing on TV where the puck was a different, brighter color?
  


• What is interference? How come some hits are interference and some aren't? It sounds like a lame penalty anyways.



• Some guy won the "Upgrade Your Seat" prize. They showed him up on the big screen. He had a mullet.


• I love saying "Huet". Hue-Ay! Hoo-Ey! Hwe!
  



• At some point during the game, Ben Eager got a penalty for something. The second he came out of the penalty box, he made a beeline for one of the Sabres and came flying in and punched the guy in the head in front of both benches. Awesome. He then got 6 minutes in the box. Why 6? I don't know, but the Hawks were down a man for what was essentially 8 minutes but it felt like they were the ones with the power play. They looked very sharp. Nice "Kill".
  



• I was NOT the most ignorant hockey fan there. With the score 3-1 Hawks and about 10 minutes left in the 2nd period, some idiot behind me turned to his son and said "They are probably going to pull the goalie soon". He was serious.



• The Blackhawks had 6 guys on the ice at least 3 times, though they only got called for it once. Is that normal? Seems to me that would reflect poorly on the coach.
  



• In between the 2nd and 3rd period they had some kind of contest where a fans get three shots to make a goal. One of the contestants was a gorgeous woman from Orange County. She had high heel knee high hooker boots on and an extremely skanky outfit. She made the goal.



• I think it was the 3rd period when the Hawks had a 4 on 3. It was only for about a minute, but everyone got really excited. Why? All I could see was ice. Why would people want less players on the ice?

All in all, the game was exciting and fun. The Hawks won 4-1. The crowd was definitely a lot more into the game than any NBA crowd I've seen outside the playoffs. I'm not fully sold on hockey yet, but this game definitely went a long way towards making me appreciate it more. Go Hawks!

Blackhawks non-Red Wing Winning Streak Rolls On

Make it 12 out of 14 for the Hawks as they mopped the...ice...with Phoenix last night. The Coyotes have been playing some good hockey lately, so this was a good win.

Adam Burish started the scoring for the Hawks a little more than midway through the first period. It was his first goal since last April. The Hawks then added three more goals in the following four minutes to lead 4-0 after the first. Jonathan Toews added a goal in each of the final two periods for the 6-0 win.

Another highlight of the game was a fight with about nine minutes left in the game. Well, it wasn't so much a fight as it was Matt Walker going all early career Mike Tyson on Coyote defenseman Ed Jovanovski. Walker knocked the veteran to the ice with one nasty right after Jovanovski came up a little high with the stick on Walker. So, after the Hawks killed the penalty, during which they scored a shorthanded goal, Todd Fedoruk went out of his way to hit Cristobal Huet pretty hard behind the net.

To the Hawks credit, nothing really happened after that besides what looked like a lot of man-hugging in the corner just to let Phoenix know they were upset.

Theatrics aside, the Blackhawks are on an absolute tear. Even with Patrick Kane out the last two games, it is clear the back-to-back losses to the Wings are an afterthought. They'll try to keep it going tomorrow night in Colorado in another match-up with Joel Quenneville's old team.

Hawks get a Significant Win

The Blackhawks had lost three straight coming into a couple games against Anaheim and Detroit. It was a three game losing streak with what seemed like an opponents' option for five.

Patrick Sharp scored late in the first period to give the Hawks a lead going into the first intermission. Then the Ducks tied it up in the second when Selanne scored. Chris Pronger gave the Ducks the lead less than a minute into the third period and the Ducks started to shut things down for Chicago. Anaheim has turned this into an art the past few seasons. They control the puck and get physical when they don't have it, making it seem like you have no chance to score.

When Anaheim went on the power play with just under eight minutes left, it looked like they had a chance to put the game away. However, Ryan Getzlaf picked up a slashing penalty about halfway into the power play to make it 4-on-4. Chicago took advantage and showed that these are not your 2007-08 Blackhawks.

Duncan Keith jumped into the play, took a pass from Kris Versteeg, then fed Martin Havlat for a one-timer to tie the game. After most of the period was dominated by Anaheim, Chicago had stolen the momentum. With 1:35 left in the game, Versteeg made a great pass through the crease and found Jonathan Toews open for the game winner. Cristobal Huet, who made great saves all night, made one last point blank stop and the Hawks added an empty net goal for the 4-2 win.

This is the kind of win that gives you confidence the rest of the season. Sure, Giguere wasn't in net for the Ducks, but to come back against a team of this caliber after you've lost three straight lets you know that it can be done again.

Blackhawks Week in Review

Well I missed the last week in review, so we'll just focus on the three game winning streak the Hawks are on now. Ah, sure there was a loss to Minnesota in there, but who remembers? Positive thoughts!

The first victim on the streak was Dallas. The Hawks beat the Stars 5-2, behind three points from Patrick Kane. The penalty kill helped seal the win, denying Dallas on all five of its chances, including a 1-minute-plus 5 on 3. Quenneville pointed out that not scoring on a two man advantage usually leads to a loss. I don't know how good his research is on that, but I'm taking it as gospel at this point.

Columbus was next on the Blackhawk pain train, as Chicago prevailed in a shootout. Cristobal Huet made 48 saves, including eight in overtime and all three in the shootout. Quenneville called it a "goalie win," but everyone still wins, right? The Blue Jackets were 1 for 10 on the power play and their 51 shots...wait, 1 for 10 on the power play?!! Man, how do you lose with 10 power plays? You shouldn't even be able to call them "power" plays if you're 1 for 10. After the start of this season, it's good to see other teams struggle with the man advantage.

The latest win on the run came Monday against the Avs. The Hawks moved to 6-3-3 at home on the year, which is great news since the next four games will be in the United Center. Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd each had two goals and an assist, helping push the Blackhawks to their best start in seven years. Quenneville must feel good to get the win against his old team, as he moved to 5-1-2 as head coach.

Even if this thing ends at three games, these streaks are typical of playoff bound teams. You string wins together and take care of business at home, and you'll be growing healthy playoff beards in the Spring. Unless you're Patrick Kane.

Looking Ahead:

Three games coming up this week as Calgary, Boston, and St. Louis will all come to the United Center. The first two should be good tests against teams that should battle for their respective division titles. Then the Blackhawks had better beat St. Louis a week from today. You should never lose to St. Louis.