Pittsburgh Penguins (30-26-6) @ Chicago Blackhawks (34-17-8)

5 – 4 OT Loss

The Hawks finally return to the UC for a home heavy schedule for Mach, playing host in 11 of the next 15 games. Tonight, the Hawks play a Crosbyless Pittsburgh Penguins. They still have an offensive weapon in Malkin, and new acquisition Kunitz should be in the lineup. The Hawks have lost 2 straight and look to turn things around in front of another sell out crowd.

This was a crazy game, and one of the most entertaining ones of the year.The game saw a couple firsts; Toews first career hat trick and the first appearance of Rockford callup Antii Niemi in relief of Huet. This is also the first time I have seen a player (Toews) score a hat trick, hats (helmets in this case) clutter the ice, then the goal is reviewed and called back. Only to have Toews regain his hat trick just 7 minutes later. Helmets again cluter the ice. I an curious as to what JT will do with 500 Blackhawks helmets.

In general, the Hawks out skated the Penguins. They had the advantage in puck possesson on the offensive zone. They out shot the Pens 45-28, many generating quality scoring chances. The Hawk were sloppy in their own end. Many of the goals were in tight and a result of some scrambling. Huet continues to let up rebounds, some that turn costly.

The Hawks didn’t get off to a good start and it took them a good 15 minutes and a man advantage to get on the board. They played from behind the entire game, but never displayed any panic. It wasn’t until the last 5 minutes of regulation, that the Hawks finally tied the game up. Once “Captain Serious” started pumping in goals and expanding his hat collection, the UC crowd was loud.

Huet got the start and didn’t look good. He let in 4 goals, and didn’t see the third period. Antii Niemi relieved Huet and faced all of 4 shots in the 3rd, a testament of the Hawks dominance in the 3rd. After gaining momentum with a late game-tying goal, the Hawks lost it just as quick with a soft tripping call on Versteeg with 22 seconds left in regulation. So, what should be a game breaker, was. Not many teams can survive an OT PK, even against a team with a poor power play.

On individual performances, Byf was brutal. I don’t understand why he doesn’t like carrying the puck. His best one-on-one move is a slap shot from the blueline. Brouwer is ineffective on the top line with Toews and Kane. Skille was called up and bounced around a little, skating with Fraser, Burish and Eager and Byf. Jack had limited ice time and skated less than 5 minutes TOI. Soupy didn’t look to be on his game and appeared to have missed some shifts, only skating 18 minutes and change. Duncan Keith had an off night as well, and I didn’t think that was possible. Best face off man for the night was Versteeg, winning 7-of-10. As for good performances, Barker assisted on all 3 of Toews goals and had a decent night defensively. Havlat continues to turn in solid games. As mentioned, Huet could have been better.

As for the officiating, someone needs to send Koharski and company a rule book. With 1:30 left in regulation, Havlat and Gonchar each went to the sin bin for roughing calls and felt shame. That should have been offsetting, but they skated 4-on-4.  Then, Versteeg gets a penalty that carries into the OT. So instead of skating 4-on-4 in the OT, with the penalties carried over, they should have skated 3-on-2 (if the Havlat/Gonchar penalty was not offsetting). Instead they started the OT period 4-on-3. Once the “not” offsetting penaltie expired, we seemed to have a 5-on-4 situation in OT. Then at the next stoppage, the lines were again set to 4-on-3, It was on this PK that the game winner was scored by Malkin.

Blackhawks were lucky to get one point out of this, even though they skated with the upper hand. Working towards the playoffs, every point  is a big opprotunity. The Hawks are really going to need to tighten things up

Positives:

× Down by 2 goals twice in the game, the Hawks had the confidence and patience to come back.

× Toews

× Niemi got his first NHL appearance in the books. On the flip side, we didn’t see enough of him to know what we have got in him.

Negatives:

× The Hawks failure to close a game once they tied things up.

× The Hawks inability to clear the zone.

Game Notes:

× Promotional Giveaway for the night was “Blackhawks Construction Hat Night”. On the 2 occassions Toews scored, the ice was filled with construction hats.

× Jack Skille was recalled from the AHL Rockford IceHogs.

MVB (Most Valuable Blackhawk):

× Jonathan Toews – Toews should have had 4 goals on the night as one was called back. This was his first career hat trick.

Next Matchup:

March 1st, Los Angeles @ Chicago Blackhawks

Record:

34-17-9 . . . 77 points

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008020920

Chicago Blackhawks (34-16-8) @ Nashville Predators (28-28-4)

5 – 3 Loss

The Hawks travel down to Nashville for a matchup with the Predators. The Preds have gotten solid goaltending from Rinne but really lack any offensive punch. Nashville has always been a team that gives the Hawks a difficult time, and has taken 2 of 3 this season, including the Hawks disappointing home opener.

This game opened with a slow and uneventful first period. The Hawks only generated 7 shots in the first. Early on, the Predators had several scoring opportunities, but the offensive troubles for the Preds were clear. They failed to connect on one-timers, redirects and open nets. Once the Hawks found their scoring touch, they jumped out to a 3-1 lead going into the 3^rd off of goals from Byf, Havlat and Kane.

As the 3^rd opened, he Preds had good pressure and you could feel the Preds were finding their way back into this game. Just as the Hawks found their scoring touch, the Preds found theirs. After a generous penalty call on Eager, the Preds made this a game again, tying it at 3 off a slapper from ex-Hawk DuMont. As the game went on, the Hawks just seemed to weather the Preds power plays and close calls. Then, in the last 5 minutes of the game, the Hawks collapsed.

The Hawks performance was disappointing, as they were out skated by a lesser skilled team. The Predators look to be the better team and had a handful of quality scoring chances. The Hawks defense was sloppy in the third. Campbell was caught out of position on 2 of the Preds goals. On the other end, the Hawks had problems creating scoring opportunities, making it easy for Rinne and the Preds.

Now, back to the UC for some home cooking. Hawks host “Sid the Kid” on Friday.

Positives:

× Not much, the Hawks were just out played.

×

Negatives:

× The Hawks didn’t skate their best game.

× The Hawks had a 2 goal lead going into the final 20 minutes.

× 4 unanswered goals for the Preds in the 3^rd.

× The Hawks failed to finish a game that was theirs.

× As mentioned in the post game, the officiating was horrible.

Game Notes:

× None

MVB (Most Valuable Blackhawk):

× None – poor performance across the board

Next Matchup:

February 27^th, Pittsburgh Penguins @ Chicago Blackhawks

Record:

34-17-8 . . . 76 points

http://www.nhl.com/ice/boxscore.htm?id=2008020899