Everything Else

Swingin Party: Blackhawks 4 – Wild 3 (Hawks Sweep Series 4-0)

By 1390 0

Box Score
Event Summary
War On Ice
Natural Stat Trick

When McClure and I were in our seats prior to Game 1, I asked him how he felt about facing the Wild this time around. Like many Hawks fans, I was a little nervous this time around. There was no hotter team in the league than the Wild (save for maybe the Sens) and there was just a bit of thought around the league that the Wild might just have the Hawks number this year. McClure however just argued that the Wild were pretty much a paper tiger… it’s annoying when he’s so right, isn’t it?

Everything Else

Kick Your Door Down – Game 4 – Hawks at Wild Preview, Pregame Thread, Asphalt Resealing

By 1363 0

oldschool vs wildthings

Game Time: 8:30PM Central
TV/Radio: NBCSN, SportsNet (Anglo), TVA2 (Franco), WGN-AM 720
Blood Makes The Blade Holy: Hockey Wilderness

Mark it 2-9 in road Game 3’s now. On Tuesday night the Hawks won their first road game three since 2010 in the second round against Vancouver, and even in that series it was to take a 2-1 series lead. And now for the first time in the Renaissance Era the Hawks have the opportunity to end a series unblemished on opposition ice.

Everything Else

Beard Of The Day – May 7th – Jon Wurster

By 1335 0

jon wurster

Few drummers in rock and roll stay as busy as Jon Wurster. The mop-topped and bearded percussionist has not only been a member of indie rock standard bearers Superchunk since 1994, but also has also been a permanent member of The Mountain Goats since 2007, and has played drums on both of the legendary Bob Mould’s last two solo releases. Both of those artists are also currently releasing records on the label Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballard founded, Merge, which is not a coincidental given the common thread of the bearded Wurster behind the kit.

Being the true renaissance man he is, Wurster is also prolific in the comedy world as well, having written episodes for such Adult Swim oddities as Tom Goes To Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show. He is good friends with comedian Tom Scharpling, and the two have the very widely listened-to podcast The Best Show, which had previously aired on WFMU out of New Jersey prior to this December. And one thing the bearded Wurster’s prolific body of work makes abundantly clear is that there are never a lack of diverse projects to take on.

Everything Else

Angry At Numbers

By 1872 0

Haven’t done one of these in a while, and as the Hawks sit on the precipice of being halfway to another Grant Park Drunkening, seems like a good time to do it. Let’s get to it.

63%

That’s the third line’s Corsi-percentage over the past two games. In case you’re new to us and/or these analytics, 55% would be considered dominant. Now, only one of those games did that line see heavy offensive zone starts, and last night their zone starts were pretty evenly split between the o-zone, neutral zone, and d-zone. That’s the third line. 3rd. #3. In case you want to know what separates the Hawks right now.

447

That’s the career goals currently on the Hawks’ third line. It doesn’t really mean much, it just makes me feel good to see.

Everything Else

Beard Of The Day – May 6th – Lou Barlow

By 1447 0

lou-barlow-091813-download

There are few musicians as important or as prolific in throughout the course of independent and alternative rock as Lou Barlow. As the original bassist for Dinosaur Jr., Barlow and guitarist (and former BotD) J. Mascis created a wall of distorted sound that deafened and delighted modern rock audiences. But the two butted heads frequently and Barlow was kicked out of the band in 1988. They reunite with Mascis 17 years later, and they have since produced arguably the finest work (Farm, I Bet On Sky) in their entire catalog, a true rarity among nostalgia driven cash-grab reunions.

In the years in between, Barlow helmed two acclaimed projects of his own: the low-fidelity outfit Sebadoh, and the cleaner, pop flavored sounds of The Folk Implosion. The latter of the two groups spawned one of the most unlikely modern rock radio hits of the 90s in the eery “Natural One” from the soundtrack to the equally disturbing film Kids. During that time Barlow has intermittently donned a full, admirable beard to compliment his consistently shaggy hair and glasses. And it is for all of those reasons he is honored here today.

Everything Else

The Silence In This House, It Echoes Through This House: Hawks 1 – Wild 0 (Hawks lead series 3-0)

By 1445 0

Box Score

Event Summary

War On Ice

Natural Stat Trick

Seven straight Game 3 losses on the road, huh? Maybe the Hawks pulled this one out just because they were sick of that stat. Or maybe they pulled it out because they basically gave the Wild the Million Dollar Dream for the first 40 minutes, and then Crawford proved why he’s still the best goalie in this series for the 3rd (although he didn’t have to make that many highlight reel saves). Or maybe because Hjalmarsson. Oduya, Keith, and Seabrook were at or near their best. Or maybe all of the above. Still, this series kind of feels like the Hawks listened to all the chatter about how the Wild really meant business this time, and said, “Oh? Watch this.” And now they’ve got Minnesota’s nuts in a vice.

This one will go down in the end as a goalie win, but you don’t get through a deep run in the spring without a couple of those. The encouraging thing is that Crawford was aggressive, not getting too deep in his net and standing tall among the scrambles that took place in the 2nd and 3rd. He could have gotten caught a couple times early when he again dropped down too early and lost his net, but as the game went on that happened less and less, the prime examples being coming out to meet Granlund on his breakaway and stopping the Finn again late in the 3rd on a high rising shot. Also helped that Pominville once again lost his radar on where the net it. Most of all, Crow’s rebound control was superb, and that’s where the Wild really profit. Not so tonight.

Let’s go through the rest: