I never let a statue tell me how nice I am
Comin with more hits than the braves and the yankees
Livin mad phat like an over sized bam-bi
The wackest crews try to dis, it makes me laugh
When my track records longer than a dc-20 aircraft
Back in 89, I simply slid into place
Buddy, buddy, buddy all up in your face
A lot of kids was bustin rhymes but they had no
Taste
Some said quest was wack, but now is that the case
Sit down, indian style, as we recite these hymns
See, lyrically Im mario andretti on the mo-mo
Ludicrously speedy, or infectious with the slow-mo
Heard me in the eighties, j beez on the promo
On my never endin quest to get the paper on the
Caper
vs. 
GAMETIME: 7pm Central
TV/RADIO: CSN for the locals, NHLN for the outsiders, WGN 720 for the dead
WAITING FOR THE GOPHERS: Hockey Wilderness
The Hawks embark on a pretty ridiculously packed schedule the next 10 days here. There’s three games in the next four days, five in the next eight, and seven in the next 12. Only after the 17th’s trip to Nashville will the Hawks get as much as three days off. And the roster is looking a bit stretched tonight with both Michal Handzus and Andrew Shaw not making the trip.
It came a little sooner than I expected it, but I think we all saw it coming once Brandon Pirri was kicked off the second line as soon as Handzus was removed from his iron lung. Today he was sent down, along with Mike Kostka who will be on a conditioning assignment. In their place Joakim Nordstrom was called up, as was Jeremy Morin.
The call-up of Morin is curious, as this was a player we’d all pretty much figured Q had written off and was never going to warm up to. It’s obvious Morin is too good for the AHL but he may not be good enough yet for a serious Cup contender in the Hawks (though I think he will be one day). Nordstrom has already gotten a few cartoon hearts to float of Q’s chest in preseason, and has played very well in Rock Vegas.
How this shakes out on the roster? I’m not sure I can tell you.
We should all be aware of this now. This isn’t the last game the Hawks will loose in truly goofy circumstances. Maybe the Avalanche loss kind of falls into this category, but not nearly as deeply as tonight. When you outshoot a team 50-18, and keep the play in their end for seemingly 7-8 minute blocks, I don’t know what else you can do. That’s not to say the Hawks were perfect, but obviously these are Kari Lehtonen’s two points.
While watching this one I couldn’t help but think of the phrase “drunk on power.” Because that’s what it felt like the Hawks were. In some ways that’s a good thing. They didn’t intentionally fall down three goals, but they certainly never looked like they thought they couldn’t pull it back instantly. I feel like all the revivals on the road trip have the Hawks feeling like there’s nothing they can’t overcome, which is good. But it also feels like that’s allowing them to be sloppy for stretches. Was there a d-man tonight not guilty of a boneheaded mistake? Maybe Keith. And yet they can always light a team up in a hurry when they need it, or it feels like that.
You can’t win them all. Sometimes the other team gets the bounces when you need and you don’t. Nothing to see here. Move on to the bullets.
Haven’t done one of these in a bit, so we’ll kind of wrap up the past two weeks instead of just the previous one. And boy is there so much to get through.
The Dizzying Highs
Duncan Keith – I mean, what else is there to say? Did you know he’s only taken two minors on the year? As for the absurd amount of assists he’s racking up, I can’t help but feel it’s all a result of his defense. He’s not a playmaker or kickstart my heart rusher like Karlsson or Subban (though he skates as well). Keith’s assists mostly spring from closing down opposing threats quickly and rapidly getting the puck up to the forwards to do their thing. It’s why 17 of his 24 assists are secondary. In his Norris year he put up 69 points. The next two years when his defense definitely slipped, he couldn’t muster more than 45. Last year he was just about on pace for 50 over a full year when his defensive game returned. You know he’s playing his game on the back end when he’s racking up points on the other.
Stop you’re trying to bruise my mind
I can do it on my own
Stop you’re trying to kill my time
It’s been my death since I was born
If I took you for a ride, would you take it wrong?
Or would you make it right, make it right?
Looking for a pedestal that I can put you on
And be on my way, on my way
Painted blue across my eyes and tie the linen on
And I’m on my way, I’m on my way
Looking for the paradigm so I can pass it off
Is it on my side, on my side?
