Really, no way?: CSN
Wait, What? Suntimes
Unhappy in the ‘Peg: The Score
4 more years of not going to Rays games: TSN
I can’t wait to see what Grapes says about this: Sportsnet
It was only a matter of time: Twitter
Fantastic: HockeeNight
Yup:SCH
Call it whatever you want: Chicago Tribune
Clutch in the shootout: SunTimes
A new look: TSN
vs 
Game Time: 7:00PM
TV/Radio: CSN, NBCSN, TSN2, WGN-AM 720
Somebody To Shove: Hockey Wilderness
After an excruciating and seemingly interminable three days off filled with speculation and meatballery, the Blackhawks at long last get back to actually playing games that matter in the standings, rather than those more concerned with second guessing and dick measuring. They’ll do so against the visiting Wild, who have for the most part owned the Hawks this year, and are looking to get closer to clinching their second straight playoff berth.
While everyone associated with the Hawks was in a tizzy over Jonathan Toews’s injury and mourning the end of this season figuratively, another somewhat important story slipped through the cracks.
We all noticed, and so did the NBCSN broadcast (you think the CSN one would have?), that on Sunday night Michal Handzus basically didn’t play the second half of the game. He was on the bench, but we didn’t know if he was hurt or simply benched.
We now know that he was benched, though we had to pry that out.
While everyone associated with the Hawks was in a tizzy over Jonathan Toews’s injury and mourning the end of this season figuratively, another somewhat important story slipped through the cracks.
We all noticed, and so did the NBCSN broadcast (you think the CSN one would have?), that on Sunday night Michal Handzus basically didn’t play the second half of the game. He was on the bench, but we didn’t know if he was hurt or simply benched.
We now know that he was benched, though we had to pry that out.
Fraser on Toews: TSN
More like healing: Comcast
Keeping the kids close: Chicago Tribune
Not worried: Globe and Mail
I’m hesitant to do yet another post about the neanderthal way of thinking about hockey, because I feel that it would just add to the cacophony of idiocy we’ve already heard. And yet we can’t let it go away without addressing. I guess.
Here’s why people want some sort of “justice.” Because it was a name player. It was the Hawks’ best player. It was the Hawks’ most important player. It leaves a fan feeling raw. Why? Because no one else’s most important player went down like that last night. Or recently. Sidney Crosby takes hits all the time, he’s still playing. The Hawks had just lost Patrick Kane to a freak accident, basically. It feels unfair. You want to “set the world right” in some way after something that feels unfair.
vs. 
FACEOFF: 6:30pm Central
TV/RADIO: NBCSN, WGN Radio
YINZER YAHOOS: Pensburgh, The Pensblog
Two darlings of the midseason that have started to cough and wheeze (well, “started” isn’t correct but you get it) meet up tonight near the confluence of the Monongahela River and the Allegheny that form the Ohio River (I’ve watched far too much baseball in my life). While the reasons for the loss of titan status for both, they’ll recognize the struggles of each other.
Jonathan Toews: “Everyone seems to be a part of the bad habits that are kind of running contagiously through our lineup.”
DING DING DING. That also applies to the captain himself, though obviously he’s taking it upon himself as well.
Tonight was a perfect microcosm of what’s been this Hawks team lately, and honestly for most of the season at this point. Structurally they are off, not allowing them to play the game they need to, but their star power enables them to have a chance to win. Either Hossa, Sharp, and Toews drag them by the gonads to victory, or they lose. Lately, it’s been the latter more often. It’s disheartening because we all thought after being truly thumped last night due to structural problems there would be a response. There usually is from the Hawks. Tonight, they got worse. WAY WORSE.
And tonight, another layer of simple laziness was added to the mix (or is it lethargy?). The same breakout bullshit we’ve seen all year was still present, with forwards doing a flash mob in the neutral zone instead of breaking in packs and being available for their d-men to easily find. The Hawks then added a simple refusal to get back and pressure the Ottawa forwards from behind, consistently subjecting their d-men to odd-man rushes and open ice. Even Toews was guilty, as he wasn’t exactly busting it back to help out with Spezza in the middle of the ice for what really was the killer third Sens’ goal.
