Remember Columbus?  Rick Nash, Sami Pahlsson and a bunch of other guys?  They seem to have the cure for what ails the Blackhawks.  Chicago came into this game with a serious man power deficiency, missing Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjlamarsson and Patrick Kane and bringing up Jassen Cullimore to fill the void.  Amazingly, the Hawks still beat the Jackets pretty handily, out-skating them all over the ice despite Joel Quenneville having to shuffle the lines constantly (John Scott dressed as a forward, but only played 3 shifts - one each period).  Time to post!

Patrick Sharp - Sharp was everywhere, blasting 13 shots in just under 17 minutes of ice time (although one "shot" was merely a clearing attempt that went on goal) and scoring two goals, including the Hawks first short handed goal of the year.

Tomas Kopecky - Kopecky had a very good night, tying up a Blue Jackets defenseman to give Marian Hossa the space to score the Hawks 2nd goal, and then picking up his first goal of the season when Hossa cleared out the front of the net and left the puck on the doorstep for Tomas to flip over a down and out Steve Mason.

Viktor Stalberg - Stalberg netted his first goal as a Hawk, using his speed to split a pair of Blue Jackets and bat a bouncing puck over Steve Mason.  He nearly added a second goal later on, and may have actually checked a couple of guys.

Penalty Kill - 4 penalties taken, 4 penalties killed and a short handed goal thrown in for good measure.

I'm not going to hand out much bad this evening.  The Hawks did look ragged at times, but that was to be expected considering that with all the personnel shuffling that Coach Q had to do, there was little continuity except for on the top line.

John Scott - Not Scott's play per se (because he barely played at all) but the fact that he can't be trusted.  In a game where the team needed all hands on deck, Scott saw only 2:32 of ice time in a game that was essentially over 15 seconds into the 3rd period.  If Coach Q can't give Scott minutes in the 3rd period of a game against the Blackhawks with a 4 goal lead, then he should be in the press box and somebody useful should have his spot on the bench.

Barrett Jackman, KNOWN PUSSY.

DID YOU KNOW:  Marian Hossa is on pace to score 65 goals and 131 points, which by my count is very good.

Up Next:  Hawks come back to Chicago to play the Sabres tomorrow night.  The Sabres, of course, will want REVENGE!