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Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: WGN, WGN-AM 720
Frustrated, Incorporated: Hockey Wilderness
With a three point Florida swing now in the books, the Hawks will return home for only their third divisional game so far this season. Tonight it comes in the form of new divisional opponent Minnesota, who some may or may not remember as being the first stop on a nice little tour last summer.
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Faceoff: 8:30pm Central
TV/Radio: CSN, CBC, NBCSN/WGN 720
Show Me One Night: Hockey Wilderness
Unlike last year, the Blackhawks now find themselves in an elimination game where they are the ones capable of sending a team off to their summer homes earlier than they’d hope. It’ll also be the first chance they’ve had at advancing past the opening round of the post season since the year they’ve brought home a bunch of hardware and a party that lasted all summer long.
The 3-0 shutout in last Tuesday’s game wasn’t exactly a dynamic effort but it still showed that the Hawks are capable of taking home a victory without really putting it all out on the table just yet. The Wild have started each of the games on a very strong note but the Hawks have been able to sit out the storm and even if they get behind, find a way to get back into it, even if that did take til just about the very end of regulation in Game 3.
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Game Time: 8:30PM Central
TV/Radio: CSN, NBCSN, CBC (Anglo), RDS2 (Franco), WGN-AM 720
File Under: Easy Listening: Hockey Wilderness
In the two days since the Hawks came out flat, taking far longer to dispatch the Wild than many were expecting or would have liked, the Blues and Penguins have already won the Stanley Cup a couple of times over, so tonight’s Game 2 between the Hawks and Wild is more than likely an exercise in futility. But in spite of all of that, the two teams are going to play anyway.
Full Recap: (AP)
Whew…(CTA)
Good, Bad and Ugly: (HockeeNight)
Holy Mother of God that was fun: (Chicago Tribune)
The good Ottawa boy is clutch: (Comcast Chicago)
Niklas Backstrom hurt: (PuckDaddy)
Harding played his ass off: (Minny Star Tribune)
Parise and Suter must lead for the Wild to succeed: (CBC)
Scum Jr. takes a 1-0 lead on the Kings: (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Grinding out wins on the first night: (TSN)
As Crosby turns: (SPORTSNET AP)
People with more talent than me explain the history of the chalice:(Visual Capitalist)
Remember where we all come from: (SPORTSNET)
In somewhat of a role-reversal, I couldn’t fucking sit still or stop swearing tonight (OK, I always swear a lot) and Fels was cool as a… well, not a cucumber. Maybe a zucchini? Are those cool? Some sort of squash or gourd, I guess. Are squashes and gourds even mutually exclusive? I don’t get horticulture.
While the Blackhawks didn’t make it easy for themselves, they never really seemed like they were getting outplayed. The early goal from the Wild (from Clutterbuck on a softie… because of course that would happen) didn’t inspire much confidence but it wasn’t a dagger in the hearts of the UC either. The Wild scored, we groaned but anyone who thought the Hawks would be shutout for the game was kidding themselves. The Hawks didn’t panic. They came back to their game and they found a way to score one on the advantage and then take it in a longish OT. 15.
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Game Time: 7:00PM Central
TV/Radio: The Artists Formerly Known As Versus, WGN-AM 720
Hey Big Spender: Hockey Wilderness
I’m not going to say that the insanely loose pocketbooks of the Wild led to the lockout that almost cost us the season… but I will say that it added at least 3 months to it. I always look for arbitrary or petty reasons to hate other teams but I’ve never really had a reason to hate the Wild (they’re still no North Stars) but I’m going to go ahead and have one now.
Either that or Cal Clutterbuck’s facial hair… that’s a good enough reason too.
