SB Nation - Patrick Sharp

Great Kid, Don't Get Cocky: Blackhawks Shut Out Red Wings, 3-0

Matthew Dirt — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 06:51:51 -0000

More photos » by Charles Cherney - AP

Smell the glove

As Sam pointed out in the Indian - there's little to no bragging rights for this game. The Wings are so beat up right now and missing so many players that Wings fans have an ultimate trump card. We basically beat their AHL team... who the hell is Kris Newbury anyway? That doesn't mean we can't feel good about this one though - even with their injuries, the Red Wings are still the Scum and taking two points from them is always sweet, especially as it increases the Hawks lead in the Central Division.

This game started out with the Hawks looking off - either they were as hung over as I was or they were just trying to be too damn cute. The passes were too risky, the stick handling too cute and the fire wasn't there... Whatever the problem was, it was solved during a shift when the teams were playing 4 on 4. Patrick Sharp, Kris VERSTEEG!, Brian Campbell and umm.. someone else... played like they suddenly had some life to them and began to take control of the game. Once Patrick Kane's penalty ended and the Hawks had the man advantage, it didn't take long to gain the lead they'd keep for the rest of the game. Duncan Keith controlled a puck along the blue line, brought it towards center ice and fired a shot that somehow found a way in, it may have hit a stick along the way..

The second goal was a bit of karmic justice - Patrick Sharp laid out Justin Abdelkader behind the Hawks net. Afrogator took exception to the hit and came after Shooter along the boards. It looked like a clear roughing penalty on the Wings, but somehow Sharp was the only player sent to feel shame for two minutes. No idea how that wasn't at least coincidental penalties but the Hawks killed off the Scum's attack. About 4 minutes after the bullshit penalty, Sharp grabbed the puck in the neutral zone and was left alone by the Wings defense along the boards just long enough to find Brian Campbell charging into the zone. Soupy's brought the puck into the faceoff circle and shot it from the dot - it hits Osgood's pads but bounces over and in.

The final goal of the game was probably the most ridiculous and softest we've seen in a while. Buff took a shot about 60 feet away from the net and oddly it beat Osgood past his skate and in - we'll take it. Not Ozzy's best game, but we never see those in December anyway.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention this... but fuck Jim Belushi. You may have noticed that while George Wendt was signing copies of his new book and shooting the puck during the second intermission, he wasn't around to drop the ceremonial first puck. According to a friend who knows things, that's because after Belushi acted like a jagoff the other night, the NHL sent a warning to the Blackhawks, saying they could no longer have celebrities dropping the puck, as it potentially delayed the game start times. Now, I normally wouldn't have a problem with getting rid of this sideshow before the games, but Wendt, a Chicago native, has based his career on being a guy hanging out in bars drinking and watching sports, is it any surprise we like him? Belushi has once again fucked up something for everyone else... You sir, can eat a bag of dicks.

Random Thoughts

It took over 13 minutes for the Red Wings to finally register a shot on goal. I noticed this about 10 minutes in and mentioned it to my friend - I wasn't sure if the Hawks were playing that well or if the United Center's scoreboards were just malfunctioning again... I never should have doubted the Hawks.
Following that - yeah, this defense is good. Cristobal played well and made a few great saves, but it's pretty easy to rack up wins when the players in front of you never allow the other team to take shots.
I don't know how it seemed on TV - but the crowd tonight seemed pretty quiet, especially for Detroit's first appearance in Chicago this season.
Marian Hossa didn't get a shot on goal tonight but had a couple of pretty passes - including one that led to the breakaway for Toews and the subsequent hooking penalty/power play goal.
The only major stat category the Wings had the advantage in was hits - everything else the Hawks dominated... well the Wings blocked more shots but that's simply because the Hawks didn't allow the Wings to take shots.
Datsyuk was only 38% on the draw... Sharp, Toews and Madden were all over 60%.
Three shutouts in 4 games - second in a row for Cristobal Huet... just sayin'
The Red Wings won't have to wait long to get their revenge - next time the Blackhawks will be the ones on the second leg of a back-to-back. I went to the Whirlaway after the game for a Christmas party and Maria said they'll have a nice little spread out for us... you should really plan on being there.

Player of the Game

Yeah - for the second game in a row we're giving the honor to Brian Campbell. Campbell's really playing the best hockey of his time here in Chicago and man it is fun to watch. Soupy led the team in ice time tonight and while his goal won't end up on a highlight reel, it gets the job done. This is also a bit of a thumb in the eye to the guy sitting behind me, who while mostly decent, was one of the many morons claiming Campbell sucks seemingly just because it's the thing to do nowadays I guess... also, Sam said I'd be banned for a week if I didn't give Campbell the spot. Duncan Keith easily could have been the player of the game though with both a goal and an assist, plus plenty of his brilliant stick work.

This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic - Hawks 5, Bruins 4 (SO - Hawks win shirtless slap fight)

McClure — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:09:48 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Hey! Is that a ninja up there?

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The biggest United Center crowd of the year got to see the Hawks' most entertaining game of the year, outside of the obvious asterisk that the Calgary comeback ever shall be.

The Hawks' lineup looked quite a bit different on Friday, with Antti Niemi starting in net, Niklas Hjalmarsson sitting out because of feeling under the weather (rumor has it he hurt his knee in the Peterborough game), and Ben Eager sitting out presumably because he's a steakhead. Personally, I would have sat Tomas Kopecky again in favor of Eager, but I'm not the guy with the mustache...YET. Both teams traded chances in the opening minutes of the first, with the Hawks once again moving the puck very well, but only seemed to be able to manufacture shots from the perimeter against Tim Thomas, who appeared to be on in the early going with his Hasek-esque style. In their own zone, however, the Hawks were an adventure. Joel Quenneville very quickly into the game rearranged his defensemen, pairing Jordan Hendry with Brian Campbell in order to keep two pairs consistent in Hammer's absence- a result which paid dividends. It did not prevent David Krejci from opening the scoring, however, as Niemi failed to smother a dump in with his catch glove (which was suspect all evening), and the puck came to Krejci out front to poke home.

Early in the second, Kris Versteeg potted the Hawks' equalizer off of a careless pass from Andrew Ference which VERSTEEG! alertly snapped past Thomas. The ice then began to tilt in the Hawks favor, as Patrick Sharp gave the Hawks the lead banging home a rebound crashing the left post. After having some issues with the referee in the corner at the other end of the ice Brent Sopel (at his Sopel-est tonight), coughed up a turnover that led to Daniel Paille tying the game at two. However, in the waning moments of the second, Troy Brouwer threw a goal line pass from the corner to Jonathan Toews, who harpooned the puck between Thomas' legs to give the Hawks the lead after 40. All three Hawks' goal scorers in the period potted their tenth goals of the year.

The Hawks' assault on Thomas continued into the third, but Boston once again drew even, as Johnny Boychuk slapped a cross ice feed undereath Niemi's right arm. Less than two minutes later, Andrew Ladd received credit for redirecting a Brian Campbell point blast into the net after some fine perimeter puck movement by Campbell, Hendry, and Sharp. It would not be a lead the Hawks would hold onto. With less than three minutes remaining, the Bruins found themselves on a 3-on-2, with both Sharp and Marian Hossa late to return on their backchecks, which let Krejci pot his second of the night to tie the game up. After relatively uneventful OT, the contest needed to be decided with a couple rounds of rochambeau, with Q deciding to let the B's shoot first. Patrice Bergeron ran out of room on Niemi, and Toews made him pay with the now trademark snapper at the other end. Blake Wheeler got Niemi down and out but drew iron, which made Patrick Kane's backhader at the other end hold up as the winner. Hawks win.

Observations

Outside of Sharp and Hossa's lackadaisical backcheck, Niemi's glove, and Sopel being Sopel, I found very little to complain about from anyone else. No passengers for this game whatsoever. Even Tomas Kopecky's general invisibility was not for lack of effort.
I was very impressed with Jordan Hendry's ability to step in and play with Brian Campbell, one of the more difficult defenseman in the league to partner with, arguably the most. Credit to Quenneville as well for realizing very quickly that Cam Barker simply does not have the foot speed to recover in time to be paired with Soup at even strength, and making the change. As Sam said, why screw up two pairs with Hammer out?
The Hawks dominated in shots in the second and third, and give credit to the Bruins for capitalizing on the opportunities they got. This game could have been a case of water finding its own level with Antti Niemi, who did make some very good saves when they counted, but a couple of the B's goals - Krejci's first and Boychuck's - could and should have been stopped.
Apologies for the obtuse headline. I know it's a reach, but please bear with me. See what I did there?
I know the Hawks have two games in hand, but how the fuck are they only two points ahead of goddamn Nashville? That Barry Trotz really is something.
Credit the Hawks for not shying away from the monster that is Zdeno Chara. I witnessed Kane, Toews and VERSTEEG! initiate contact with that pituitary case, with Toews retaliating a bit on Versteeg's behalf at one point near the benches, and at one point Troy Brouwer and Chara came to within a hair on my sack from scrapping. It would have been a fight that Our Boy Troy would have been destroyed in, but the courage is admirable.
All eight goals came at even strength. For the top two PK units in the league, I know that's a shock.
Thanks to you, the reader, who now seems to understand that if there's a game on a weekend evening, it's pretty well implied that the wrap isn't coming until the following morning due to this blog's propensity for getting itself banged up before, during, and after games. The fact that the weekday games are now a coin-flip as well could be cause for concern, however. Knowing us, though, we'd make the inevitable intervention an open invite event at the Whirlaway.

Player of the Game

While this award could have gone a number of ways, I'll give it to everyone's, including seemingly Q's, favorite $7 million dollar whipping boy. Even with his Swedish security blanket out of the lineup, Brian Campbell managed to be a +1 with an assist during nearly 28:00 minutes of ice time in a back and forth game. Campbell created opportunities in the offensive zone, had an assist on a redirected slap shot, and was solid in his own end.

Coming To Chicago This Summer: Cap Reality

The Falconer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:48:43 -0000

More photos » by Larry Macdougal - AP

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For those of you who don't pay much attention to the Western Conference the big news this week was that the Chicago Blackhawks managed to get three of their young stars resigned this week. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane both signed for 6.3 million per year and Duncan Keith for 5.5 per year. Blackhawk fans were falling all over themselves in self congratulation with the news.

However, the team is going to have to perform "roster reduction surgery" to clear away the foolishness that former GM Tallon committed in the Summer of 2008. This coming summer the Blackhawks are going to have to move a lot of salary just to field a roster of 21 players for the 2010-2011 season. Below is 21 man roster chart of players currently under contract with Chicago and their cap salaries (or Qualifying Offers for RFAs this summer).

A couple of technical notes. RFAs who make under 1 million must be offered a 10% raise in their qualifying offers (which they don't have to sign). Young players on Entry Level Contracts (ELC) will have all bonus money count against the cap next year because it is the final year of the CBA. I have used a 21 man roster instead of the NHL minimum 20 man roster because it is virtually impossible to go with just 20 players. If a guy is out a few days, he doesn't quality for Long Term Injury Replacement, but someone has to to dress--so I budgeted for 21 roster spots. The minimum NHL salary is half a million dollars currently.

OK and now for the really ugly part. If we assume that all of the current Blackhawks RFAs were to simply accept their qualifying offers and no trades were made, then I have Chicago sitting at $66 million in cap hits with a salary cap expected to remain largely unchanged (currently $56.7 million). The team is projected to be over by $8-10 million depending on where the cap is set next season.

SALARY	FORWARDS
6.300	Toews
6.300	Kane
5.275	Hossa
3.900	Sharp
3.375	Bolland
3.083	Versteeg
3.000	Byfuglien
1.550	Ladd	RFA Qualifying Offer
1.200	Kopecky	ELC
1.070	Eager	RFA Qualifying Offer
1.025	Brouwer
0.770	Fraser	RFA Qualifying Offer
	DEFENSE
7.142	Campbell
5.500	Keith
3.500	Seakbook
3.083	Barker
2.333	Sopel
0.700	Hjalmarsson	RFA Qualifying Offer
	GOAL
5.625	Huet
0.800	Crawford
0.500	Bench Player
66.031	2010 TOTAL
56.700	Current Cap Max
9.331	Difference

Ch-ch-changes

The good news for Blackhawk fans is that their young core players were signed last week. The bad news is that several current members of a Cup-contending squad will have to be traded this summer. Let's play amateur GM and see how this works out.

The non-Campbell, non-Huet Scenario

Let's assume that both the Campbell and Huet contracts are too costly to move. In this situation the Hawks need to deal away 4 guys making some serious coin. If they moved Cam Barker ($3.08 million), Dave Bolland ($3.375) and Dustin Byfuglien ($3.0) and replaced them with three players averaging just $0.700 a piece that still leaves the team $2 million over the current cap. Assuming the cap doesn't rise, they would need to a) move either Versteeg or Sharp; or b) exchange their entire checking group (Kopecky, Eager, Brouwer and Fraser) for 4 guys making the NHL minimum. This scenario involves the most carnage for the existing lineup of skaters, as it would essentially gut the team's depth.

The Campbell Traded Scenario

The two most egregious contracts are those given to Brian Campbell (7.142 million) and Christobal Huet (5.625 million). To move either of this contracts Chicago would probably have to include either a 1st round pick or a top prospect to make another team swallow either of them. Let's suppose that Chicago was able to swing Campbell + 1st round pick to Dallas for a pick or prospect. If Cam Barker moves into the top 4 D for Chicago, and a journeyman making .6 million fills Campbell's roster spot, that still leaves them $2.8 over the cap. To clear that much more salary they would have to swap a player making $3.3 million for a guy making the league minimum or basically Dave Bolland or Patrick Sharp.

The Huet Traded Scenario

Most teams only have one starting goalie--there are only so many starting jobs around the NHL. Few teams can afford afford to lavish All-Star money on a non-All Star talent, which means that the Cristobal Huet contract is probably tougher to move than the Campbell contract. But let's suppose for a moment that Chicago can find a taker. Who would take Huet's place? That's a key question and one that is hard to predict. Almost any starter of any quality is going to have a cap hit of $3 million or more. The team might find a cheaper option such as Theodore, Biron or Emery on the UFA market, but those cheaper options come with a serious downside risk. Let's assume that the Blackhawks go very cheap at the goal position and only spend $2.5 on Huet's replacement. That still leaves them $6 million over the cap. Trading away Barker ($3.08), Sopel ($2.3) and one medium priced forward (perhaps Bolland $3.0) and replacing them with players making just $700,000 gets them under the cap with some money for a Hjalmarsson raise.

The Dream Scenario: Campbell and Huet Traded

The least disruptive solution to the Blackhawks depth would be to move both fat contracts next summer. The biggest question is whether they can find any suckers (call Bob Gainey?) or whether they are willing to part with high draft picks or top prospect Kyle Beach to purchase cap space. Assuming that they can make these two ugly contracts vanish and replace the D slot with a cheap defenseman, that would leave about $2-3 million for a starting goalie. This is easily the least disruptive scenario for the current roster--but presumably would come at the cost of future talent (picks and prospects).

Concluding Thoughts

Trying to game plan the future is always challenging. At this point, we have no idea what the final cap number will be (but attendance is flat and tickets are being discounted in many cities). We also have no way of knowing if RFAs like Ladd and Hjalmarsson will demand more money than their qualifying offers. Despite these "known unknowns" I've tried to get a sense of how things might play out this summer in the Windy City.

Hawks 3, Blow-Jays 3 (Hawks win staring contest after 11 arduous rounds)

McClure — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:45:18 -0000

More photos » by Charles Rex Arbogast - AP

Was it ever in doubt?

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I apologize for not getting this up sooner, but I was out enjoying myself before, during, and after the game last night because a very prolonged period of unpleasantness finally came to a close at work.

Last night's game was a little bit more wide-open than we've come to expect out of Columbus, which one would think would play into the Hawks' favor. And for the most part it did (from my perspective), with the Hawks dictating the play, despite being severely outshot in the first period. The first period also contained a slick shorthanded goal from VERSTEEG!, who performed the same toe drag move twice and managed to fake out three Blue Jackets, including goaltender Steve Mason.

Columbus took the lead on two unanswered goals in the second, neither of which was as pretty as VERSTEEG!'s, but they certainly got the job done. The second goal is one Cristobal Huet would undoubtedly like to have back, as a weak shot from a fading-away Sammy Pahlsson eluded him. Patrick Sharp would even the score on the man advantage, however, off of a feed so sweet from Patrick Kane that he actually had time to flub the pass, shank the shot, and still bury it.

I didn't get back to my seat in time to see Kris Russel's goal, so if you need a description of it, I'm sure you can find it elsewhere on the intertubes. However, the power play once again equalized things about four minutes later when Jonathan Toews redirected a Duncan Keith shot from the point. There were never any real threats going either way for the remainder of the game, both in regulation and OT.

Once again, the Hawks found themselves involved in a marathon shootout, mostly due to their own ineptitude. With Coach Q electing to defend first, Huet rose to each challenge, giving the Hawks a chance to end the spank-fest with the puck on their stick. However, the Hawks, for all the skill they possess, look like a dachshund dry-humping a throw pillow in the shootout. Only Marian Hossa dented the twine before Brent Seabrook, who is starting to have a knack for OT theatrics, mercifully ended things with a backhand that got past Mason.

Observations

I like beer

Player of the Game

While he did let in a softie against Pahlsson, stopping 10 of 11 in the shootout is quite fucking impressive.

Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Olympic Preview

Matthew Dirt — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:00:13 -0000

by Jeff McIntosh - AP

I don't think it's possible to take a picture of Toews on the ice without some stupid look on his face

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We've covered the Olympics on here a few times before and it's safe to say we're all a little concerned about them. All of the SBN Hockey blogs have once again teamed up though to give everyone a good glimpse at who on the teams they cover could be heading to Vancouver for two weeks in February to play for their countries. Please check out the other sites info on this page - it's a good read

We here are SCH are already pretty late with this preview so here we go..

Pack Your Bags

Patrick Kane (USA) - Kaner is an absolute no-brainer to play for the Americans. Kane is just one of the many young stars like Phil Kessel, Bobby Ryan, T.J. Oshie, Erik Johnson and maybe even James van Riemsdyk that could be leading the Men's team back to glory (or at least relevancy). As we've seen throughout this season, few players in the NHL (and therefore the world) can match Kane's vision and IQ out on the ice. It'll be an uphill battle for the USA team to get to any medal rounds but it's players like Kane that will give them a chance.

Marian Hossa (Slovakia) - According to NHL.com - there are only 12 skaters in the NHL from Slovakia that have played this year so my knowledge of who is going to be on this team is pretty damn limited. Regardless, from what we've seen in just 2 games, Hossa would be a lock to make any team in the country so Slovakia is sure to love having him.

Tomas Kopecky (Slovakia) - As I said above, there are very few players from Slovakia who have made it to the NHL - so somebody like Kopecky is pretty much a lock. While he wouldn't make other power house teams, or most teams really, he's a pretty good lock for the Slovak team.. so good for him.

Nearly A Lock

Jonathan Toews (Canada) - I debated putting Toews in the "pack your bag" category but since he's not a 100% sure thing, I thought he should go here. There's very little doubt that Toews will make the team, especially given Yzerman's fondness for Captain Marvel. The fact that Toews might not crack Canada's top 4 centers tells you how deep their team is going to be. With Toews' injury earlier in the year and not exactly lighting the world on fire so far, his stock may have dipped slightly but there's still very little chance we don't see Toews on the team.

Duncan Keith (Canada) - Keith is almost certain to join the team in Vancouver as well - we know that Keith is one of the best defenseman in the league and I'm sure Yzerman does too. Keith is 4th overall in points for d-man and 3rd overall if you take out the Czech Tomas Kaberle.. Keith logs big minutes against tough competition in all situations. It'd be surprising to see him miss the games.

Work To Do

Dustin Byfuglien (USA) - Buff rode an outstanding end of the regular season and even more impressive playoffs to get himself an invitation to the Men's Olympic Hockey Camp this summer. However it was pretty clear to anyone who went there that Buff was at least a step behind every other player in that camp. Brian Burke has an unexplained soft spot for tough guys who can't do much else (read: The current Maple Leafs) - so there's an outside shot that Buff makes the Men's squad. If he had played with the same intensity we saw late last year I think he'd be much closer to making the team but instead we've seen him revert to the player who takes games off at a time, only to have a shift or two of interest. Probably won't be enough for him to make the team but weirder things have happened before..

Brent Seabrook (Canada) - I don't know if Biscuit actually has much "work" to do but he's a dark horse at this point to make the squad. If he could be assured to play with Keith I think they'd obviously be a force during the games. It's not a stretch to say those two are at least in the top 5 of defensive pairs in the league and having a pairing with that level of familiarity could give the Canadian squad a major leg up over players that rarely ever get to play with their teammates for any extended periods of time. I'd think it'd be foolish not to take him but I'm biased...

Patrick Sharp (Canada) - Sharp got off to a red-hot start this year - 9 points in his first 6 games. He's settled down a lot though with only 12 points in the games since that start. Canada's absolutely loaded with snipers that are better than Shooter. He'd pretty much be a lock to make the US squad but the Canadian squad might just be a bridge too far.

Niklas Hjalmarsson (Sweden) - I don't really know much about Olympic hockey squads - I enjoy watching it when it happens but don't follow the build up too far beforehand. So I don't know what Hammer's shots are but in my slight research on the issue, I've only seen Hammer's name thrown out there on message boards so I'm thinking he doesn't have the greatest shot to make the team for Sweden. The Swedes won the gold last year so their team is going to be tough to crack but we've seen how Nintendo has upped his game from the start of last year, especially in the playoffs. If he can play there I don't see a reason why he wouldn't be a great addition to the Swedish team.

Mark It Eight, Dude: Blackhawks Crush Sharks 7-2 for Their Eighth Win in a Row

Matthew Dirt — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:09:50 -0000

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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In the history of Second City Hockey, we've probably had some pretty terrible game recaps - this might be one of them. McClure and Fels are obviously still over at the Whirlaway plowing down drinks and eating whatever delicious food Maria has made for the horde that made it out to the bar.

Meanwhile, I got back to my parent's home just in time for the second period to watch the Sharks game go absolutely down the toilet. Of course, I had to watch the game on a shitty internet connection and Yahoo's feed kept fucking up so I don't have any great insight as to how the game actually went - as if I ever do anyway though, eh? I've had several Yuengling's though - so I'm good to go.

Since the feeds out here sucked, all I've really got to go on are the stats and the game thread... and by the way the game thread had over 700 comments - I'm very fucking proud.

There are two things that obviously stand out - the Hawks scoring 3 short handed goals and Hossa netting two goals in his return to the ice... Honestly - I'm not sure which is more impressive. Short handed goals are always a mix of great play and a bit of luck. Due to the poor feed, I can't remember who but I remember seeing Sharks D-men falling down allowing at least one of the shorties. It was almost the bizzaro version of the game against the Flames where the Hawks scored their goals on the power play. This time they got them with a man feeling shame in the box - word is Brouwer, Sharp and Hossa all grew goatees too... Regardless - awesome. Hossa immediately making his presence felt, that could be even sweeter. This team is scary good at the moment, hopefully it's this fun for a lot longer.

Hossa ended the night with 2 goals on 4 shots in 16:35 minutes of ice time - Quenneville obviously didn't have any problems pushing Panda (alliteration!) tonight, only Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews had more ice time among the forwards.

On the Sharks side of things - it didn't look too good. Danny Boyle, Dany Heatley, and Joe Thornton were all -4 tonight. Patrick Marleau had a team leading 4 shots (one less than John Madden and a few other Hawks) on goal but was still -3. Speaking of shots on goal - The Sharks only managed 11 through the first period, though they did more than double that total in the third once the Hawks foot was clearly off the gas and settled into cruise control.

Scoring a touchdown (the extra point is good!) on the road is good - doing it against a team that hadn't lost in regulation at home, that's better. If you read the Power Rankings post I had yesterday, you saw that this was had the potential to be a statement game. These are two of the best teams in the NHL - and the Blackhawks absolutely dominated the Sharks. Happy Fucking Holidays.

Don't know how the other two are going to be feeling tomorrow but if they're not too annihilated they may have a few more thoughts before settling into a traditional American food coma. If not, let this be the Second City Hockey message to all of you saying we're very thankful to have all of you as readers and we hope you have a great day. Enjoy.

Player Of The Game:

Once again, this could have gone to a lot of players. Troy Brouwer had a goal, an assist and two hits. Duncan Keith had another 3 assist game. Both Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook had goal and assist games - Biscuit also had 5 hits. Cristobal Huet had another great game - he came out with only a .917 SV% but deserved better since the Hawks got sloppy in the waning moments. I think we've got to go with the new guy though. 2 goals on 4 shots in just over 16:30 minutes TOI.

Thanks again to GMH for the image - which is slightly terrifying but awesome at the same time.

Rangers Analysis: Mistakes hurt Rangers

Joe Fortunato — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

about 1 month ago: New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, of Sweden, makes a save during the first period of an NHL hockey game Florida Panthers Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Like a bad dream the Rangers poor play continued Saturday night. But unlike a bad dream I didn't wake up in a cold sweat and breath a heavy sigh of relief when I realized that it was not reality. I mean I did wake up in a cold sweat, after the Rangers play put me to sleep in the seats of Madison Square Garden, but the poor play was all to real. (I hope you enjoyed this joke because this are about to get real dismal here real fast).

Today I opened up Newsday and guess what I saw. Four full pages of jubilant Islander chat. And you know what? Good for them. Good for the Islanders who have started a real rebuilding program and are actually starting to show some signs of life. They have relied on high draft picks and some well planned free agents, the real essence of a rebuilding program. Good for their general manager Garth Snow who-dare I say it-may actually be building a pretty good team over there? And for you Ranger fans who want to jump down my throat that I am commending the Islanders, guess what? They are tied for us in points and showed more heart in the second half of their season so far then we have all year.

The New York Rangers have no secondary scoring. Thus far every one of John Tortorella's "plans" to get secondary scoring has failed. Newsday outlined that Chris Drury is coming back soon ... big deal. He isn't scoring either and although his penalty killing is solid the Rangers need something more than him, unless he can find the Chris Drury of old and start potting a few goals.

Join me after the jump.

At the beginning of the year I commended Glen Sather. I thought that the moves that he made for Marian Gaborik, Vaclav Prospal, Ales Kotalik and Matt Gilroy were great moves. I even endorsed the Donald Brashear signing when it happened. And both Jim and I swore up and down that both Wade Redden and Michael Rozsival would have bounce-back years. Wow we were wrong on Rozsival and Brashear.

Recently I have been calling for Glen Sather to send Michael Rozsival down. And many of you have said "he never will because he doesn’t want to admit that the signing (4 years 20 million dollars) was a mistake." Really? So let me get this straight: playing the poor excuse for a defenseman, and allowing his 5 million dollar cap hit to squeeze the Rangers up against the ceiling is not a much bigger mistake? At least Redden has been solid, he will never live up to his contract but he’s been okay thus far.

Glen Sather needs to man up, he needs to make some moves and he needs to fix this team. Honestly I have no idea why I am even writing this. We all know what will happen. Sather is going to sit pat, wait until the trading deadline, and then make a move for some secondary scoring (giving away vital draft picks and prospects) when it’s too little too late.

This team is his product, his concoction, his mistake; I would be embarrassed if I were the GM. Hell I am embarrassed and I’m just a fan. Yesterday was the first time in my life I have wanted to remove my Ranger jersey after a game. I didn’t want to talk about it on the train, I didn’t want to hear other people talking about it after woods and the 35 dollars I spend on beer sure didn’t help either.

Anyway I plead to you Sather to make some changes. Maybe Patrick Sharp or someone like it. But please don’t be afraid of admitting to a mistake because thus far this team is a mistake. I am so sick an tired of reading John Tortorella saying: "We just need to stick with it the wins will come." Or a player saying: "We played pretty good hockey we just didn't get the result tonight."

Some of you might blame Tortorella, and I agree he needs to shoulder some of the blame. But you know what? If a coach isn't getting the job done it's the general managers job to take him into his office and talk to him. It's the general managers problem to fix. Sather is Tortorellas boss, he better start acting that way.

I just want to see a team that goes out there and competes for 60 minutes. I want to be entertained I want to love my hockey team again. Help me out Glen Sather, fix your mistakes!

Bomb.Repeat.Bomb. - Blackhawks 7 - Flames 1

Matthew Dirt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:15:03 -0000

Its become something of a tradition around these parts - but every time the Blackhawks absolutely dismantle the Flames we get an appearance of a vastly under-appreciated Simpsons character

That my friends, was a paddlin' indeed.

During the first period it seemed like the Hawks were having a bit of trouble getting things going. They grabbed the lead when Troy Brouwer was left alone in front of the net on the Hawks first power play but it didn't seem like somthing you'd want to rest on. It was obvious the winning team would need more than just one goal that resulted after an even first. The shots on goal were tied and if not for a few great saves by Huet, it could have been tied. Then the Flames started the second on a power play and wasted only 14 seconds before Olli Jokinen snuck the puck past Cristobal Huet. With the game tied we started to settle in for nail-biting close game.

And then Hammer absolutely ruined Rene Bourque.

We'll set aside the fact that Niklas Hjalmarsson may have left his feet to make the hit (haven't seen a good enough replay of it yet) because this was the breaking point in this game. Nigel Dawes came to defend Bourque (who didn't really skate again after the hit) and was given 2 minutes for roughing. Shockingly, the Blackhawks scored on that power play too and didn't look back. Even Dustin Byfuglien decided it was just about time for him to do something again to keep himself from getting benched and had a nice takeaway and goal. Don't expect to see him again for at least 6 more weeks. After Hammer's hit the Flames wilted and died - We didn't see anything close to the game we were expecting.

How good were the Hawks in the second period? They finally fucking scored on a 5 on 3... that's how good. They were something like 0 for 5 with the two extra men but had continually been shut down until tonight. The Hawks exploded for the most goals of any period this year, got their first player with a multi-goal game (VERSTEEG!), were 80% on the power play, and finished with 13 players getting at least a single point... There's just about nothing poor to say about the men of four feathers in this game. Everything went as well as you could hope.

Well - I guess Seabrook could have made Dion Phaneuf bleed. That would have completed the night. In case you needed any more evidence that this frankenstein is one of the biggest shitbirds in the league, look no further than picking a fight with someone while wearing a visor. Even the zebras called bullshit on that move and gave him a phantom 2 minutes for roughing. So VERSTEEG! followed it up by scoring his second of the night.

Oh, and as is being pointed out - Hossa is almost ready to make the Blackhawks even more dangerous.

Other Thoughts:

The Flames ought to be ashamed for leaving Brouwer alone on the crease for so long. It's one thing to ignore a player while the puck is being cycled around the zone but I think Troy got three shots off before netting the final one without so much as being breathed on by a Flames player.
Seabrook was a force all over the ice tonight.
Has Colin Fraser ever won a fight? Dude, you're a center and I think we've seen the end of the Ebbett experiment - I think your spot is safe at least until Dave Bolland comes back.
This was the first game of the year where the Hawks were outshot but still won. They also lost the face off battle (EDIT: Just kidding - they actually won 53% of the faceoffs, I misread)

Player Of The Game:

Fuck.. how do you choose? Duncan Keith had three assists and was the usual monster in the Hawks end. Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist on his 21st birthday (first carbomb is on me, kid). Kris Versteeg had 2 goals on the power play. Patrick Sharp added two points. Hammer changed the tempo of the game with a huge hit on a player I'm quickly growing to hate (and added an assist). And of course Cristobal Huet had a brilliant game making big stops to keep the Hawks in it when it was close and stayed focused when it got out of control - this was also his best SV% (.964) in a non-shutout game.

So we're going to let you pick. Time for the first poll in a while.

Poll

Who should the Player of The Game be?

Cristobal Huet - .964SV %

214 votes

Patrick Kane - 1G, 1A

60 votes

Kris Versteeg - 2G

97 votes

Duncan Keith - 3A

136 votes

Niklas Hjalmarsson - 1A, 2 Hits (both on Bourque)

196 votes

Someone else

5 votes

708 votes | Poll has closed

Friday Morning Fly By: Recaps of a rout, Pronger is nasty

Travis Hughes — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:03:26 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

View full size photo »

Your daily dose of Philadelphia Flyers news...

Last night's NHL scores... Flyers 5, Senators 1 - FLA 1, BOS 0 (SO) - ATL 5, NYR 3 - NJD 4, PIT 1 - TBL 4, MIN 3 (SO) - DET 3, VAN 1 - NSH 3, STL 1 - MTL 4, PHX 2 - DAL 3, SJS 2 (SO)
Recaps of last night's 5-1 win from the AP, NHL.com, Canwest, Inquirer, Daily News, Courier-Post, CSN, Bucks Co. Times, Bill Meltzer, Phinally Philly, Silver Seven, and the Ottawa Citizen.
According to another Ottawa newspaper, Ray Emery is looking like a different hockey player. [Ottawa Sun]
Chris Pronger, meanwhile, is looking the same. The Hockey News calls him the leagues' nastiest defenseman. [DN]
Who is leading the Flyers' league-best power play? A bunch of newcomers. [Bucks Co. Times]
Bobby Clarke will be on NHL Live today. The show airs from 12 to 2 PM ET on XM 204, Sirius 208, and NHL Network. [NHL]
The Flyers have won five straight, but the Devils have done them a few better, winning seven straight overall and nine straight on the road. [In Lou We Trust]
Remember when old man Owen Nolan beat down Braydon Coburn in a preseason fight? It seems he's still got some wheels, too. [From The Rink]
Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro is rehabbing and eying a return, which means Martin Biron or Dwayne Roloson could be on the way out. [NY Post]
Glen Metropolit could shoot an apple off your head. [Puck Daddy]
We already knew that about Jeff Carter. [BSH]
The Avalanche unveiled their third jersey yesterday. [Avalanche]
Patrick Sharp = Chicago's Sexiest Athlete? [Second City Hockey]
Don't forget -- BSH Radio debuts Tuesday night at 7 PM ET.

Is Patrick Sharp Chicago's Sexiest Athlete?

Matthew Dirt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:24:26 -0000

I'm sure most of you have seen this by now - but in case you haven't (or you just like really fucking awful auto-tuned song parodies), here:

McClure thinks Sharp is a shoe-in but I'm not so sure. No word on what Fels thinks but for some reason I feel like if I asked him, he'd just insult the two of us for even debating this.. But I'll put this up here anyway to spark some debate that doesn't revolve around the perceived laziness of certain players...