Wayne Gretzky said his team wouldn't forget what happened after the Hawks drubbed the Coyotes 7-1 on December 7th.  Well, I don't know if they remembered or not, but the Blackhawks did their best to remind them, handling Phoenix easily once again(and chasing their opponent's starting goaltender for the 2nd straight game).  Gretzky, of course, was specifically referring to Kris Versteeg's beating of Kyle Turris during the closing moments of that game, which I will address in The Ugly.  Anyway, not much to say about this game, as it was pretty much over after the first period.

THE GOOD

The 4th Line:  These guys provided scoring support once again, with Adam Burish getting his first points of the season, a goal and and 2 assists, including one on a goal by Colin Fraser.  Ex-4th liner Ben Eager netted a goal as well, but he's Mr. Big Shot on the 2nd line now, so I'm going to expect a point game from him now*.

The 1st Period:  The Hawks got in gear early, scoring 4 goals in less than 5 minutes, and Phoenix seemed to be in no mood to play after that.

Jonathan Toews:  Toews had 2 goals and an assist.  I'd be more effusive in my praise, but honestly, the Hawks performance seemed so workmanlike (ho hum, we've got to curb stomp the Coyotes again) that it didn't even seem like anything out of the ordinary occurred.

THE BAD

Phoenix:  These guys didn't put a body on anybody.  Adam Burish was allowed to set up and shoot untouched on his first goal, and Toews wasn't touched either on his shorthanded goal that closed the scoring.  I have no idea how these guys have the 6th playoff spot, because they've looked like shit against the Hawks all year.

Power Play:  The Hawks were 0-4 on the man advantage, and while they were just playing out the string during the third period, I would have liked to seen more urgency on the 2 power plays they had in the 1st period (especially since they were so dominant at even strength).  It's in these situations that Patrick Kane's absence has been most glaring.

THE UGLY

The last 10 minutes of the game featured several ugly incidents, starting with Matt Walker punching Eddie Jovanavski in the face after being cross-checked.  I think Walker expected that Jovo was going to drop the gloves, but Eddie never made any attempt to defend himself and earned a bloody face for his pacifism.  Later on in the period, Cristobal Huet was run by Todd Fedoruk, which resulted in a huge scrum, which the officials managed to keep from becoming a brawl (it probably helped that the Hawks didn't have much in the way of brawlers on the ice at the time).

A quick word on the Walker incident.  While Gretzky was upset with what happened (any coach would be) I can't help but think he's partially at fault on this.  Wayne was the one who told the press that the Coyotes would remember what happened with Versteeg from the last game, essentially announcing that some sort of retribution was going to be sought.  I'm sure his statement, combined with the score getting out of hand had the Hawks a bit on edge, and Walker probably thought that Jovo's cross-check and yapping were the prelude to the fight that everyone thought was coming.  Instead, Jovo just let Walker punch him in the face.  Yeah, I don't think Walker was right, but I don't want to hear Gretzky bitching about this one tomorrow.  You can't fucking tell a team you're coming after them, and then be surprised when they're ready to fight.


Next up for the Blackhawks are the red-hot Colorado Avalanche.  Which means that the guys over at From Abel to Yzerman will be Hawks fans for one night, anyway.


*because I'm an idiot