Crapfest: Hawks 2, Blues 3
No excuse for this one. The Hawks returned home from their 8 game road trip and promptly took a dump on home ice against the St. Louis Blues. The Blackhawks seemed content to allow St. Louis to dictate the tempo of the game (SLOW), scoring a goal on a Patrick Kane breakaway off a Troy Brouwer shot block, but other than that, not much doing on offense. The Blues seemed to sit back and wait for the Hawks to do something stupid, and damned if the Hawks didn't oblige them. It was 3-1 going into the third period, and St. Louis was content to fall back into the neutral zone trap and ride it out. The Blackhawks managed to draw it to 3-2 when Jonathan Toews broke 6 ankles driving to the net and dishing to a wide open Marian Hossa for a short handed goal, but the Chris Mason kept everything else out. Bleah.
THE GOOD
Marian Hossa: Hossa was the best Hawk all night, making plays left and right. Unfortunately, nobody could finish any of them. Hossa did get a short handed goal off a terrific assist from Jonathan Toews however.
Dave Bolland: Bolland was back in game action for the first time since his back surgery in October. He looked decent, and Quenneville moved him around a bit, starting him on the 4th line, giving him some shifts on the 3rd and playing him between Sharp and Hossa in the third period. Good to have him back.
THE BAD
Unforced Errors: The Hawks made a ton of bad turnovers, some due to pressure from the Blues, but most of them coming on ill-advised passes like the long breakout that Andrew Ladd attempted that was picked off and promptly put in the back of the net.
Duncan Keith: Keith was the king of this shitfest tonight. His terrible drop pass handed the Blues a breakaway in the waning seconds of the first period, and he had several other turnovers, including one forced by Paul Kariya that led to a Blues goal. This isn't one that Keith is going to put on his resume.
THE UGLY
Drop pass. Lots and lots of drop passes. I've made no secret of my hatred of this play. Yes, it can be useful at times, but when every guy on the team is trying to make a fucking drop pass, something's going to go fucking wrong. So the following is my list of Blackhawks who can make drop passes until further notice:
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa
The rest of you should stuff that shit in a sack.
THE GOOD
Marian Hossa: Hossa was the best Hawk all night, making plays left and right. Unfortunately, nobody could finish any of them. Hossa did get a short handed goal off a terrific assist from Jonathan Toews however.
Dave Bolland: Bolland was back in game action for the first time since his back surgery in October. He looked decent, and Quenneville moved him around a bit, starting him on the 4th line, giving him some shifts on the 3rd and playing him between Sharp and Hossa in the third period. Good to have him back.
THE BAD
Unforced Errors: The Hawks made a ton of bad turnovers, some due to pressure from the Blues, but most of them coming on ill-advised passes like the long breakout that Andrew Ladd attempted that was picked off and promptly put in the back of the net.
Duncan Keith: Keith was the king of this shitfest tonight. His terrible drop pass handed the Blues a breakaway in the waning seconds of the first period, and he had several other turnovers, including one forced by Paul Kariya that led to a Blues goal. This isn't one that Keith is going to put on his resume.
THE UGLY
Drop pass. Lots and lots of drop passes. I've made no secret of my hatred of this play. Yes, it can be useful at times, but when every guy on the team is trying to make a fucking drop pass, something's going to go fucking wrong. So the following is my list of Blackhawks who can make drop passes until further notice:
Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa
The rest of you should stuff that shit in a sack.
Posted by CT at 2/3/2010 10:58 PM 
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues
Tags: Blackhawks Blues
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues
Tags: Blackhawks Blues
Ugh, yeah, could have done without seeing that one (which I wanted to attend for the Keith bobblehead, I admit--so much for playing a great game on your bobblehead night).
I heard this was the first time a certain Blackhawks blogger ever saw the team lose in person...uh, yes, that was me, and no, I didn't *just* start going to games.
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Dunc succumbed to The Curse of The Bobblehead last night.
Young Mr Keith found himself suddenly compelled to make a drop pass to nowhere...his normally sensitive hands turned to cement. His Hawk-like vision of the game blurred, as The Curse worked its evil. He tried to shake the demons by making an end-to-end rush, but t'was to no avail.
"Burn the bobbleheads" , said the team's witch doctor. "Burn them all, or feel the wrath of Bubbeleh, the wicked spirit that preys on famous hockey players."
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HUET SUCKS ZOMG!!!11!!!
THEY SHOULD OF STARTED FALLON!!1!!1!1!!
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Fallon starts against the Dogs of Phoenix Friday.
Special K makes his debut as a Hawk, with Sharp, Barker, Versteeg and Huet to Atlanta.
Georges Laraque has signed a deal with the Ice Hogs and is expected to join the Hawks after the Olympic break.
Stay tuned for more news from HockeeNight Sports Network.
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Keith is probably my favorite player, but I couldn't defend him last night and could only cringe at how reticent Foley seems to be in calling him out when he's having a bad game while, on the other hand, giving out what seems to me backhanded compliments to Campbell whenever he does something well. I'm generally aligned with Pat's sentiments (not THAT way, Fork), but there was no sugarcoating Keith's performance last night. Fugly. Kinda wished he wasn't on the Olympic team, because I'm afeard a little of him running out of steam like last year.
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It was a bad game no question but I'm not ready to push the panic button yet (or trade Kane and Toews for Marty Broduer).
The do, however, need to tighten up team defense. Keith had a bad game for sure, but in general, they haven't been as crisp in their own zone the last ten or fifteen games.
That being said, it is more likely just a lull in the middle of the season.
Good to see Bolland back. Sharp will start filling the net going back to wing.
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This just in from ForkSports.com>
W. Rockwell 'Rocky' Wirtz has named Ilya Kovalchuk as President and Chairman of Wirtz Wines and Spirits Russia. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
"Ilya is not only a great hockey player, he's a terrific salesman,' said Wirtz in a press conference this morning. "Ilya will be instrumental in developing our business in the ever expanding and very exciting Russian market."
This comes on the heels of a 12-year deal for Kovalchuk with the Chicago organization, which will see Special K added to the already scary Blackhawks lineup.
Details to follow.
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Stay tuned to ForkSports and The HockeeNight Sports Network.
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