On the tail end of a home and home, the Hawks finally corrected a few things and got some bounces that were seemingly long overdue. With the quick turnaround coming back to the west side to face the Senators tomorrow night, it’s bullet time right from Jump St.
vs. 
FACEOFF: 6:30pm Central
TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN Radio 720am
CAT SCRATCH FEVER: Litter Box Cats, Panther Parkway
There probably are few Hawks fans who aren’t a little pissy that the Hawks do the Florida swing in October instead of January or February when we could really use it. Thankfully (not thankfully), the temps here have dropped quickly and thoroughly enough to make us all want to go to Florida now. Well, not actually. Nothing makes me want to go to Florida. That place is batshit crazy. This is why you should follow the twitter feed @FloridaMan. Then you’ll know.
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Game Time: 6:00PM Central
TV/Radio: CBC, NHLN, WGN/WGN720
46 Years And Counting: Pension Plan Puppets, Down Goes Brown (kinda)
Well clearly, the biggest story coming into this game is the return of our old friend, Fabulous Weapon and potential psychopath himself, Dave Bolland. Drafted 32nd overall in the 2004 draft by the Hawks, Bolland was an integral part of the 2010 team, coming alive in the playoffs to become a major shutdown force and overall annoying pest to the Sedins and exhibitionist in waiting Joe Thornton. After a disappointing season last year capped off with the incredible game winner in Game 6, it came as no shock to see the rat shipped out of town. He landed in Toronto where he seems to have settled in pretty well. He’s got 6 points in three games, mostly skating on the Leafs third line.
And somehow, the Leafs actually find themselves in damn good standings so early into this season. They’re tied with Detroit for first place in their division and trail only Pitt and San Jose for the overall NHL lead. How is this possible? Fuck if I know.
We’ve grown accustomed to seeing the Blackhawks come out and roll over opponents from the start. Usually, when we see the third line work over opponents like they’re playing a bunch of peewees and the Hawks come out of the opening twenty up two, we start eyeballing DLR in the bullpen.
And sometimes that comes right back to bite us in the ass.
vs. 
FACEOFF: 6pm Central
TV/RADIO: CSN, WGN 720am
MUD WITH THE CAPTAIN: Canes Country
The Hawks continue their tour through the Eastern Conference (with only brief stops to play the Blues, apparently), but this time take it on the road and head down to Tobacco Road where the residents are killing time before Coach K yells at children.
It’s been an uneven start for the Caniacs, as they’ve filled out the dance card equally at 2-2-2. Their most recent effort saw them get fairly well clocked at home by the Coyotes, which is not something they hand out merit badges for.
Apologies for the late wrap. Saturday night’s tilt was a theme we should see plenty of this year. Hawks severely outplay opposition. Opposing goalie plays incredibly well. Hawks win anyways. In that vain, let’s not waste any more time. On to the bullets.
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PUCK DROP: 7pm Central
TV/RADIO: NBCSN, 720 WGN-AM
WASTED AND CAN’T FIND THEIR WAY HOME: St. Louis Gametime
It’s all going down in downtown St. Louis tonight (and I don’t mean that in the usual sense, the residents doing so for meth). Within a mile of each other, the Blues will take on the Hawks and the Cardinals will be engaging in a Game 5 decider against the People’s Champ Pirates. Where are all the trailers and carriages going to fit?
I’ll leave the baseball for other people (THIS IS YOUR TIME, CUTCH!!!) and just deal with the hockey. While I find it’s generally better to slowly wade into the hockey season in October and not really amp up the energy and emotion until there’s snow on the ground, there’s always one or two games that remind you of the coming storm. Tonight would obviously be one of those.
Well, we’re about to embark on it all. Before we head into the dress rehearsal tomorrow (please Brandon Pirri, have like four assists), and before we roll out our Central Division special on Monday and then it all kicks off on Tuesday, there’s a few questions we should wrap up. So, let us away, friends.
Will Patrick Kane crack 100 points?
He’s going to make a run at it, that’s for sure. There’s something that happened to Kane last year. He seemed to thrive in cementing himself as a top five player in the league, at least offensively. There seems to be a new determination in him to do things he hasn’t done before. He wants an Art Ross, he wants to be in the Hart conversation, he seemingly wants to erase what he used to be known for. But, as good as he was last year, he was only on pace for only 95 points.
Two preseason games left, and two at the disposal of our throbbing brains Friday and Sunday. Did we learn anything? Do we ever? Let’s try anyway….
-Let’s get to the biggest debate or competition coming into camp first. And we really haven’t cleared anything up at all. Thanks to Brandon Pirri’s injury (though he’ll play tonight and I bet he sticks around long enough to get a look in the last preseason game, too), Drew LeBlaahhhhhh had a chance to seize the #2 center derby by the throat. I can’t really say he did. He hasn’t been good on draws, and other than his assist to Sharp against Pittsburgh, I haven’t really seen him do much in the two away games. He’s tidy if nothing else, but it’s been far from inspirational.
And it might be that the Saad Experiment is over, because yesterday he was playing on a wing with Toews. If they really wanted to push it they would give him all the game time at center they could. Maybe jumping to conclusions, but that’s just the way it looks. Which is fine, because Saad didn’t show much other than confusion at the pivot anyway, and I want my Rick Tocchet back.
All of which leads me to believe that either Handzus or Kruger is going to be centering Sharp and Hossa (if he can stand up) on Oct. 1. The only way that doesn’t happen is if Pirri blows them away in the next week. But I would bet some combo of Smith, Handzus, Kruger, and Shaw fill out the three spots behind the captain. I’m rooting for Pirri, though. Just cuz.
We’ve been looking inward for a bit now, and you know what happens when you look inward for too long. You start thinking you have complexes and shortcomings that aren’t there, and deciding this or that is the reason you can’t love or can only get off by being spanked with a cricket bat and then you dump all your money to some therapist before you end up sitting on the floor in your apartment with a bucket of chicken wearing nothing more than your underwear as you smear the grease on your chest and….oh, wait, this was just my Saturday night. Ok then…
But sometimes, it’s best to look at everyone else and point out their faults. Well, maybe not best but it sure is a hell of a lot more fun. And it’s easier to blame others for your problems than yourself (unless you’re Catholic). So let’s start that process today by examining what should be the Adams Division or maybe the Northeast except for that thing where the two Florida teams are involved because Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa fans love to go to Florida in the winter if they don’t live there already. Seriously, have you been to that stretch between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami in January? It’s lousy with French-Canadians. They’re everywhere, interspersed with the old Jewish men who constantly looked bewildered. Probably because they are. Oh, and Scum. Because Detroit is so far Northeast.
