Shutdown Pair

Tag: Chicago

  • A Pound of Flesh

    In the aftermath of last night’s horrible scene, I wonder:  where do you stand on on-ice vengeance?  There are several levels it can get to, where do you stop looking for blood?

    1. Immediately after the play.  In this case Connolly was on the ice and went after Hjalmarsson.  Not too satisfying to most fans, as a skilled player giving the offender what amounts to a hug with some face slaps isn’t what they want.  Stafford, at least, did a solid job on Neil after the Drury hit.  Goose, too, after that Ovechkin hit on Briere a few years ago.
    2. The rest of the game.  If you have any sort of tough guy on the roster, this one’s going to happen – a fight with someone on the offending team.  Not all that satisfying last night, as Hjalmarsson was kicked out and couldn’t take his lumps, which leads to…
    3. The next game.  Buffalo travels to Chicago on Saturday, which (barring a Stanley Cup Finals matchup) is the last time they’ll see each other this year.  There are two games in between, so if the disciplinary decision comes down today, and it’s 0-2 games of suspension, Hjalmarsson could get targeted then.  These fights are usually a letdown, though, if the offender is not normally a fighter.  Somebody swinging wildly at him, while he covers up and ‘fires back’ a few times to make it look good.

    That’s your choices, really.  The only thing that can complicate them is a rivalry, which is tough to build up with a team from the other conference.  How far do you want your vengeance to go?

  • Sabres and Pominville Fall to the Champs

    Most discussion of the game action went out the window when this happened:

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-4aH7nnPjc[/youtube]

    It was worth a 5min boarding major and a game misconduct for Niklas Hjalmarsson.  Definitely warranted that, and I believe it’s worthy of suspension.  If you watch the video, especially the angle from behind 29, you can see Hjalmarsson’s elbow/shoulder land straight in Pominville’s back, between the numbers.  He had plenty of time to adjust his route, go for the puck, or just not give the upward thrust with his shoulder (a la the Drury hit).  As a first time offender, I don’t see the 5-10 game suspension happening, not for a Blackhawk fresh off the Cup win, but there WILL be a consequence.  One game off, three if Colin Campbell’s wheel of justice spins a bit more wildly.  That said, this has completely removed any positive feelings I used to have for the Blackhawks, the first time I ever rooted for, before I moved up here.

    As for the rest of the game, the power play faltered, especially when they had a 5 minute long one.  Vanek is still snakebit, Derek Roy is a beast (?!), and Miller was stuck in no-man’s land on the Hossa breakaway.  After the mess in the first period, I’m inclined to just toss the rest of this one aside and retry things on Wednesday.

  • Gameday 2010-2011 – Blackhawks at Sabres

    Patrick Kane and the defending Stanley Cup champs, here in Buffalo, TONIGHT.  This could be a good measuring stick for the Sabres, after an uneven first two games.  I’m still waffling about going tonight, as there are some good deals on tickets out there, and I would very much like to see Chicago.  I used to follow them pretty close back in the days of Roenick, Belfour, Amonte and so on.

    As for changes tonight, Gerbe out, McCormick in.  Didn’t see anything about the goalie but I imagine Miller, since he had one whole night off.  Be interesting if Lalime got in there, he seems to hold his own (sometimes) against his former teams.

  • Congratulations to the Blackhawks!

    Congratulations are in order to you 2009-2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks!  The OT winner was a Buffalo connection, with former Sabre Brian Campbell assisting on Buffalo native Patrick Kane’s goal, which slipped underneath Leighton somehow.  It was a great series, pretty darn good playoffs all around, save for the Sabres’ first round exit.  Now the retooling can begin in earnest.  Next season can’t begin soon enough.

  • Stanley Cup Finals – Blackhawks and Flyers

    Well, the NHL has a matchup favorable to them, even if it doesn’t include Ovechkin or Crosby.  Two huge TV markets, lots of Canadian-born players for HNIC viewers, no Sun Belt towns (or Detroit) who won’t sell out their building right away and embarrass them.  Like I mentioned at the old place, both teams have some Buffalo connections, giving you someone to root for or against, however you like.  I think the Blackhawks have the advantage here, Nieme is solid, good scoring, and they have guys that can goad the Flyers into taking penalties.