Bring Me the Head of James Wisniewski: Blackhawks 2, Ducks 4
What bullshit. No, not the game, the officiating. For those who didn't see it, early in the second period, Brent Seabrook hit Corey Perry hard behind the Hawks net. The puck was held in, and former Blackhawk and Chris Block favorite, James Wisniewski made a run from the blue line, left his skates and used his forearm to drive Seabrook's head into the boards. Seabrook was out on his feet, Ducan Keith made a gallant attempt to defend his comrade, and when the dust settled, Wiz got...2 minutes for charging. Wow. Complete bullshit there, as if ever there was an intent to injure, that was it. The Hawks didn't even get a power play out of the deal, because Keith got some bullshit penalty as well. I spent the rest of the game hoping Burish or Eager would go knee-to-knee on Wisniewski's bad wheel.
Don't even get me started on no-call when Perry shoved Sopel from behind while Sope was trying to play a puck in the air that led the Ducks 3rd goal.
THE GOOD
The Offense: Despite the absence of Campbell, the Hawks puck possession game was in full effect and Anaheim managed a goal on a defensive breakdown and 2 more on fluke plays.
Jonas Hiller: The guy was incredible. The Hawks should have won this game in spite of the terrible officiating, and if anybody but Hiller was in goal they probably would have. Switzerland's Olympian made key stops on any number of Hawks, turning away chance after chance. The good news? Chicago likely won't see him in the playoffs. In fact, nobody will.
Nick Boynton: Boynton looked fine in his first game as a Hawk. He stayed home, and made the smart plays, and also ended up being the one who fought Wisniewski at the end of the game. Boynton definitely made a case for himself to remain on the 3rd pairing when Kim Johnsson returns from injury.
THE BAD
Officials: See above. A fucking travesty. I mean Jesus Christ, open your fucking eyes.
Ben Eager: Ben doesn't seem eager to do much of anything lately, be it hit, fight, score, instigate or whatnot. He's been terrible, and if anybody was going to wreak vengance on Wiz, it was him. Instead, Eager was the invisible man.
Defensive Depth: The corps of d-men is looking pretty thin after the last two games. Seabrook sat out more than half this game, and likely won' play tomorrow. This pressed Dustin Byfuglien into duty on the blue line, where we can all confirm that he still has a big shot and is still slow as hell. Brent Sopel and Jordan Hendry looked uncomfortable together, and Sopel looked terrible on the point for the power play.
THE UGLY
Wiz's hit was the ugliest thing here, but since I've already covered that, I'll go with the Ducks 2nd goal. With Byfuglien and Boynton manning the points on the power play, a puck got past them and Corey Crawford found himself racing Kyle Chipchura for the puck. Crawford won the race but completely flubbed the clear attempt, then couldn't get back to the net in time to prevent the shorthanded goal.
Up Next: Another late night for Chicago fans, as the Hawks take on the Kings at 9:30pm tomorrow.
Posted by CT at 3/17/2010 11:00 PM 
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks
Tags: Blackhawks Ducks
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks
Tags: Blackhawks Ducks
That was absolutely horrible. Hiller was great.
The Hawks have to get to the puck more rather than focus on possession. I understand we put shots to the net, but with Hiller playing this well...your best bet is just throwin' it their.
This team is in some serious trouble if Seab's has a serious concussion.
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get Block on the horn and record an impromptu puckcast based solely on James Wisniewski and why these fucking zebras should have their game checks donated to charity. Embarrassment.
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As much as we can fulminate over seeing Seabrook and Campbell knocked out in successive games (as fans did when Toews, Kane and Hossa were hammered earlier in the year), the ugly fact is that the players who did the hammering were doing what they are paid to do.
When Kronwall destroyed Havlat last year, he was also doing what he gets paid to do.
I'm reminded of watching the infamous Jack Tatum.
In a violent sport, the headhunter, especially if he has some skill, will always have a job.
Ovechkin, Wisniewski and Kronwall are all thugs.
Thuggery has been part of hockey for the half century I've been watching it, and it won't go away anytime soon.
The debate will rage on, but the Blackhawks--as they are presently constituted--don't have the answer to those thugs.
Nick Boynton is not Reggie Fleming, Bob Probert or Stu Grimson.
And rationale won't erase the injuries to Campbell and Seabrook.
Think last night's game was ugly? Just wait for the playoffs.
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The difference between Ovie/Wiz and Kronwall is, Kronwall's hit was clean, as was Mitchell's ragdolling of Toews earlier this year.
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Once again, I cite Jack Tatum's mantra: "I like to believe that my best hits border on felonious assault."
Dirty or 'clean'--they hurt bad. Real bad.
And hockey isn't 'fair'. We know that.
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I've got to agree with Dave on this one. Some of the great players in the games history (Gordie Howe, Bobby Clarke, Mark Messier, countless others) all played the game on the edge and sometimes crossed over it (I think I mixed a metaphor there).
Wiz's hit was just plain dirty. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. While Ovechkin's hit should have been a penalty, I think it was somewhat unfortunate that Campbell was in a bad spot.
I'm not a huge fan of fighting just for the sake of it, but someone should have made sure Wiz would be drinking his meals for the next few days.
They will need to weather this storm the next ten days. If they don't finish first in the conference, so be it, but they need to be healthy and in a right frame of mind.
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Kronwall's hit was clean so much as he led with his shoulder but it was intent to injure and he did leave his feet.
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Kronwall's skates didn't come off the ice until after impact.
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yes they did. if you have the software, keyframe it.
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Gentlemen, whether the Kronwall hit was 'clean' or otherwise, can we agree his intent was to separate Havlat's head from his body?
And if the Hawks had a mean headhunting d-man like Killer Kronwall, wouldn't yall be happy?
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well that's what I was implying when I said
"Kronwall's hit was clean so much as he led with his shoulder but it was intent to injure."
not like he made any attempt to play the puck. Krondouche did what he always does...which is only land hits when he can see an opposing players' nameplate or only when their head is down.
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This is more intriguing than the Kennedy assassination. Up and back. Up and back....
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And did anyone hear the Anaheim announcer who said he thought Seabrook was "selling it". Dickhead.
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he later recanted, and apologized, but it was still ignorant. Doesn't surprise me, most hockey broadcasters are awful at the profession. As much as people like Fork hate Edzo he's at least impartial most of the time...same with Kevin Weekes and Ray Ferrero...but they're in the vast minority.
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I could make a bad joke about Kevin Weekes being in the minority. But this site has standards.
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We have standards? Must be some shit CT started.
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It's not CT. It's all you (and maybe Dave).
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Dennis, I was watching the Anaheim feed of this game as well, and to be fair to Brian Hayward (who made the 'selling' comment), Hayward did retract his statement when it was clear Seabrook was badly hurt.
I agree with you that Hayward was out of line, but Hayward also apologized and said his comment was inappropriate.
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I heard the retraction, but it was BS that his first reaction was that the guy was faking. A color commentator should have identified all the things wrong with that play (player left his feet, interference, shot to the head, etc.).
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Dennis, no argument there. But there aren't many color commentators whose home team bias isn't obvious.
PS the NHL is looking into a suspension against Wiz.
http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nhl/news/story?id=5005504
For all the good that does.
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