Faxes from Uncle Dale

Recent Posts

  • Fireside Chat – 1st Round Playoff Edition

    Fireside Chat – 1st Round Playoff Edition

    Aren’t we all glad the regular season slog has ended? I know I am. If I had to turn NBCSN on one more time to see the Bruins and Flyers play in front of 17,000 comatose fans, I was going to go mental. More than usual, at least.

    It is funny how quickly the regular season became a sideshow around these parts. It seemed like every outcome during the ’08-09/’09-10 seasons had life-changing implications. The 5 goal comeback vs. Calgary. Hossa’s 2 goal debut in a Silicon Valley spanking. The Toews hat trick on construction hat night vs. Pittsburgh. Vancouver thumping the Hawks 4-0 towards the end of the ’08-09 season to lock up home ice, put them on the fast track to the Pacific Division title and an ending which helped put Alex Burrows down in infamy.

    I would be hard pressed to come up with three memorable regular season games in the past six years since. Maybe the game vs. Colorado where Carcillo scored in the final minute to extend the Hawks unbeaten streak to however many games and…I don’t think I can think of anything else.

    If that’s not First World Hockey problems, I don’t know what is.

    But that’s not why you called.

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  • Morning Links 4/13/16

    Morning Links 4/13/16

    Game One

    Edging ahead

    Bloodbath

    Why?

    Perk of the Bulls being a joke

    For my fellow degenerates

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  • Take Me To The River, Take Me To Where All The Poisons Go – Blues Series Preview: The Forwards

    Take Me To The River, Take Me To Where All The Poisons Go – Blues Series Preview: The Forwards

    We keep moving along through the river, well to be more apt this underground garbage fire of a preview that is slowly encroaching on nuclear waste, to the forwards of the St. Louis Blues. And once you get past the first line, it gets pretty automaton, but you probably already knew that. It’s a raft of palookas and hired goons that are meant to make a bunch of sounds flashed on the screen from the Batman TV series (live-action, Pure West, not the cartoon, which I haven’t seen but am told isn’t bad). You know the plan, you know the players, it’s just a question of if the Hawks can execute the plays.

    Alex Steen-Jori Lehtera-Vladimir Tarasenko

    I’ve spent so long thinking that Alex Steen is just a guy that’s taken about two years for me to pivot and finally admit that he’s a plus forward. Is he really a first liner? No, probably not. But he’s struck up an understanding with Tarasenko that’s become pretty deadly and really Steen doesn’t do anything wrong. He’s always in the right spot making the right play, he just doesn’t do it with any flash so you have to really pay attention to him.

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  • Morning Links 4/12/16

    Morning Links 4/12/16

    You’ve heard by now it’s the Missouri Mouthbreathers

    Looking Back

    Hawks healthy

    and killing penalties

    okay then

    Well isn’t that nice

    Vote Minot, for a lot of these kids it’s their only chance to see NHLers live

     

  • Take Me To The River, Take Me To Where All The Poisons Go – Blues Series Preview – Goalies & Defense

    Take Me To The River, Take Me To Where All The Poisons Go – Blues Series Preview – Goalies & Defense

    And so it begins anew, and the braintrust of the NHL gets what they ultimately want again with the divisional playoff format with a perennial occurence of legacy NHL rivalries along with an effort to fabricate new ones. The Hawks and Blues will meet in the first round for the second time in three years, with the Blues once again having home ice advantage thanks to their usual solid regular season. But even the florid, toothless cretins along the river are beginning to realize that that type of success and $2.50 gets one on the bus.

    Because everything the Blues does is predicated on the prevention of quality chances against, it’s appropriate to take a look at their back end of the blue line and their goalies first.

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  • High On The Hog: Who’s In Goal For The Playoffs?

    High On The Hog: Who’s In Goal For The Playoffs?

    The Rockford IceHogs reserved their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs this week. However, Chicago’s AHL affiliate continued to scuffle along as the regular season comes to a conclusion this week.

    Rockford dropped three of four on the road this past week. Three points in Charlotte early in the week assured the Hogs of a postseason appearance for the second consecutive season. This team is not giving off the shine of a group that will get out of the first round, though.

    It’s hard to expect much from this group the way the latter half of the season has progressed. There are lots of new faces and probably more coming before the regular season ends. There are also a lot of questions for this team to answer in the final week of action.

    First and foremost, who starts in net for Ted Dent in the playoffs?

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  • One More Special Message To Go: Hawks at Jackets…. Preview? Maybe? I Guess?

    Hawk Wrestler vs. Chief_Blue_Meanie

    PUCK DROP: 6pm 

    TV/RADIO: WGN for both

    WAITING TO DOT THE I: Jackets Cannon

    Jackets Stats

    Jackets War On Ice

    As has been the case for the past three seasons, the Hawks last game of the season doesn’t amount to much more than a glorified scrimmage. There aren’t even individual milestones to grab. Hossa isn’t going to play, so 500 will have to wait until October (and none of us thought that would happen when this season started), Kane already has his 100 points. I guess they could go David Robinson here and try and get Kane six goals to get to 50. About the only thing worth watching is Corey Crawford getting one dress rehearsal before the playoffs. And considering the amount of players that the Predators are putting in suits, you can be pretty sure it’s going to be in St. Louis.

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  • Friday Funnies

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    Screen Shot 2016-04-08 at 3.20.17 PM

  • Morning Links 4/8/16

    2-1

    Healthy for the playoffs

    Yeah good luck with that

    Well ok then

    What a finish

    Really Russia?

  • Three Feet High And Not Rising: Blues 2 – Hawks 1 (OT)

    Three Feet High And Not Rising: Blues 2 – Hawks 1 (OT)

    Boxscore

    Event Summary

    War On Ice

    There are several ways you could look at this one. I’m not sure any of them matter. On the one hand, the Hawks kept one of the better Western Conference teams to barely a threat without their best d-man and three forwards. They had chances to make it a bigger lead. In another way, they only put up one goal, weren’t a constant threat, got pretty well stepped on in possession and coughed up a lead to lose for just the second time when leading after 40 minutes. You could say that the Blues haven’t beaten the Hawks without a gimmick this year. You could try and project what it means for next week. In the end it all seems a bit futile.

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