CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Capitals 4, Blackhawks 3 (OT)
This was the hockey equivalent of getting your prostate checked by Captain Hook.After the nut punch in Philadelphia yesterday, Dame Misfortune apparently thought there was a nut left unpunched, so the Chicago Blackhawks had their giveaway day, where 10,000 lucky fans were given baseball caps, and the Washington Capitals were given two points, a 4-3 overtime win over the Hawks in the United Center in a game where the Hawks took a 3-0 lead into the third period, and the Caps were without Alexander Ovechkin.
Ovechkin got a game misconduct for driving Brian Campbell into the boards from behind. While his skates weren't moving, he drove with his upper body and arms. The only people who thought it was a bad call were Caps' coach Bruce Boudreau, Caps fans, and Pierre McGuire. So congratulations to Bruce and the Caps fans. You're moving in some pretty fast company.
Let's get to it...
THE GOOD:
Jonathan Toews. After yesterday's loss, the Hawks really needed someone to step up and take charge. Who better to lead the way than the Captain? Toews was off the scoresheet for a couple games, but came up huge in the first period, getting two goals. This is what a Captain does.
Antti Niemi. For two straight games, the Blackhawks have taken an outstanding effort from their goaltender, and wiped their asses with it and flush. As it was with Cristobal Huet yesterday, Niemi stood up and gave an outstanding effort, but turnovers and dumb penalties (a 4 minute high stick by Jordan Hendry) left Niemi hanging out to dry. Sure, the Caps' first goal was on the type of rebound that gets Huet-bashers all damp in the drawers, but he was asked to make chicken salad out of chicken shit. His play on the 5-on-3 was absolutely unconscious.
The third line. John Madden got the goal today, a great redirect from the high slot. The line of Madden/Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg has been nothing short of outstanding.
THE BAD:
The third period. So it's the third now? After putting together a solid 40 minutes (in a row!), the Hawks didn't show up in the third. As bad as allowing a 3-0 game to be a 3-3 tie in the space of 2:16 was, getting outshot 11-1 in a game you're winning on home ice is unacceptable. The consolation here is there's still time to sort this shit out before the playoffs start.
Dustin Byfuglien in overtime. Big Fugly took out Troy Brouwer in the offensive zone, allowing Niklas Backstrom to go end-to-end in an odd-man rush. QStache needs to shorten up the bench in those situations.
Edzo. Fucking guy gives out more active sticks than Pfizer. Only the Douche Canoe himself, Pierre McGuire, kept Olczyk from sounding like the biggest dope in the building.
THE UGLY:
Ovechkin's hit on Campbell. This is Ovechkin's third game misconduct. Of course, the Caps will appeal, and Colin Campbell will review his flowchart for giving out suspensions. Ovechkin drove a player (who didn't have the puck) from behind into the boards. Tuomo Ruutu got 3 games for it earlier this season. Ovie will probably get an apology from the NHL.
Next for the Hawks is a swing through the West, with a game Wednesday night against the red-hot Anaheim Ducks in the Pond.
Posted by Forklift at 3/14/2010 5:05 PM 
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks,Game Recap
Tags: Chicago Blackhawks Pierre McGuire is a Douche Canoe Edzo's Active Stick Antti Niemi Jonathan Toews Brian Campbell
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks,Game Recap
Tags: Chicago Blackhawks Pierre McGuire is a Douche Canoe Edzo's Active Stick Antti Niemi Jonathan Toews Brian Campbell
There was one other guy who didn't like the call...Mike Milbury.
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That's TWO thus far Shooter!
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More bad news...from the Herald:
"Further complicating matters for the Hawks, defenseman Brian Campbell suffered what could be a severe shoulder injury in the first period when he was shoved into the end boards from behind by Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. Campbell, the Hawks' sixth leading scorer and a plus-18 defensively, won't make the upcoming three-game West Coast road trip and could be sidelined much longer."
So the Blackhawks are missing their best forward and one of their top d-men to start the game, and end it missing another top d-man...and for who knows how long.
I'd say that's the worst of the bad and the ugliest of the ugly.
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With the injury to soupy and Johnson does this mean they call up Lalonde to fill Hendry's 7th dman spot?
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Either Boynton or Cullimore will get the call.
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How did I forget about Boyton? I'm a dope.
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I'd prefer Boynton over Cullimore.
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This never would have happened if Matt Walker was around to intimidate the opposition.
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I can't wait for the meatball angst that Stan Bow waited too long to sign Cheli.
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Christ I hadn't thought of that. I think it'll only take 1 person to spout this nonsense for me to lose it.
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I had the grave misfortune to watch the debacle in third period in person.
The only saving grace was not having to listen to Milbury or McGuire.
Washington is a good team for sure, even without Ovechkin, but come on. That period was crap.
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Mister Rizzo, without two of their best defensemen, the Blackhawks weren't going to beat the best offensive team in the NHL.
Even given the limitations of watching it on television, it seemed to me the Hawks put up a good fight under the circumstances.
The 'debacle' may have just begun.
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Point taken about the hurt d-men, but jeez, one damn shot in the third period.
Washington WAS missing their best player.
Time for Stache to earn his money and for everyone (especially the d-men without Campbell) to step-up.
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The last thing this site needs with Campbell out for the season is $700 woman's shoes.
What the hell?
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Fork advises that CT wouldn't be caught dead without his Christian Louboutin shoes.
On a more serious note...here is what we know so far about Campbell's injuries, from the Tribune, ESPN, and Montreal's Corus Sports:
Chris Kuc/Tribune: "The Blackhawks' Brian Campbell was scheduled to meet with team physician Michael Terry on Monday to further assess the defenseman's injury. Campbell sustained a broken collarbone and will be sidelined at least through the end of the regular season. The Hawks are expected to provide an update on Campbell's condition Tuesday with the team in California preparing for Wednesday night's game against the Ducks."
ESPN says broken ribs as well.
Corus Sports reports Campbell also suffered a 2nd degree concussion.
So to answer Mr. Rizzo's question, there's only so much 'stepping up' that substitute d-men can do. As for the rest, how they looked against the Caps is probably how they will look against other serious contenders.
Hope that Kim Johnsson isn't badly hurt.
As for Q, he earned his pedigree a long time ago, and he's done pretty darn good with this team so far. Don't expect him to lace 'em up again, though.
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Fork is wrong, CT wouldn't wear those shoes...unless they matched his handbag.
You won't replace Campbell that's for sure, but they need to re-dedicate themselves to a defensive team effort. This team has some depth and now is when that needs to payoff.
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Dennis, the team is dedicated to defensive effort, wouldn't you say, based on their standing as 4th best overall in that department?
As I am watching the replay of the game on NHL Network right now, I am reminded of the turning point.
This occurred in the third period when (a) Jordan Hendry took a four minute high sticking penalty while he was paired with Brent Seabrook and the Caps scored; and (b) when Colin Fraser took a high sticking penalty creating a 5 on 3 disadvantage, leading to the next Caps goal.
These two careless penalties by a substitute defenseman and a 4th line player gave the Caps all the momentum they needed while exhausting the Blackhawks.
The next goal, with Hjalmarsson and Hendry taking the shift on D, was not a surprise.
There is only so much depth on the Blackhawk defense, and with Campbell out and Johnsson ailing, that ain't much.
Against the best club in the league, the Hawks were lucky to get to the OT.
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Dave,
The five on three hurt for sure, but you still have to muster more than one shot in your own building.
Also, after 40 games, the Hawks goals against was 2.13. Since then, it has been 3.03. Still good but even before Campbell went down, they seemed to be losing their focus a little bit.
While Soupy's injury does hurt their long-term playoff chances, they are deep enough (if Johnsson is healthy) to still give it a good run.
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Dennis, give credit to the Capitals in this case.
They were already starting to swarm the Hawks towards the end of the second period.
The Hendry and Fraser penalties, and the resulting goals, were part of an onslaught that ate up almost eight minutes.
Watching the replay of the game--and BTW turning the sound off in order to not be distracted by the commentary--one could see the Hawks were forced to go into full defensive mode for almost the entire 3rd period.
You haven't mentioned the fact that with strong defensive players like Dave Steckel, Eric Belanger, Jason Chimera and Mike Knuble, to name a few, the Caps can counter a team like the Hawks.
You also haven't mentioned the fact that the Hawks' top offensive weapon, Marian Hossa, was not available to them. His presence, and Johnsson's would have made a major difference.
As for the rise in the GAA, as the season goes on, it would be unreasonable to expect Chicago to maintain a 2.13 team average, with (a) the intrinsic weaknesses and inconsistencies of Cristobal Huet manifesting themselves, and (b) opponents figuring out how to score more often against the Hawks.
Add that to the fact that the quality of shooting througout the league is such that more than a few goalies can be made to look bad on any given night.
One of the big factors working for the Blackhawks has been that ability to 'flip the switch' on offense, due in part to Campbell's skill at turning defense into offense.
Campbell's injury, in principle, not only hurts the Blackhawks' long term playoff chances, it obliges Quenneville to try and reconfigure the team's overall approach with less than a month to play in the regular season.
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