Man, that was fun.    I thought after the first period that this had the making of a frustrating game.  The Hawks had for a large part of the first skated circles around the Sharks, but were down 2-1 after the first 20 minutes, aided in part by a bad call that gave the Sharks a 5 on 3 power play on which they scored their first goal.  And with a surging Antti Niemi between the pipes, I thought for sure we'd spend the rest of the night cursing him as he turned aside chance after chance.

And that friends, is why we play the whole game.  The Hawks decided to take it easy on us the rest of the way, scoring 3 times in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd period, chasing Niemi from the net, and then putting 2 more goals past Antero Niittymaki, leaving the Shark reeling and making the 3rd period largely academic.




THE GOOD

Patrick Sharp - The Handsome One tied a franchise record with 4 assists in a single period.  He got them during the Hawks 2nd period explosion.  Last Hawk to do it?  Jimmy Pappin in 1973.

Marian Hossa - Hossa got the Hawks into the game in the second by scoring their first two goals in that frame, both on power plays.  When the Blackhawks play a bigger, more physical team like the Sharks, it is imperative that their power play click.

The So-Called 4th Line:  Actually, I'm referring to Ryan Johnson, Tomas Kopecky and Viktor Stalberg and I'm not entirely sure they were the 4th line tonight (what with Dowell/Pisani/Bickell being the other option).  Whatever they were, they did a good job.  Johnson won his faceoffs (86% on the night) and Stalberg and Kopecky were physical with Stalberg making a nice play to bat a puck out of the air for the Hawks first goal.

THE BAD

Ex- Blackhawks - Antti Niemi was blitzed for 4 goals on 18 shots and pulled midway through the 2nd period.  Ben Eager 's bad decision in the offensive zone allowed the Hawks away on a 2 on 1 break that netted them their 4th goal and Eager the ire of Eddie Olczyk, who nitpicked everything Eager did for the rest of the period.  Eager also managed a dumb penalty and tried to pick a fight with John Scott and failed.  That's the meathead we all know and love.

Chris Campoli - Watching Campoli is giving me an ulcer, the guy races around in the offensive zone like he's Phil Fucking Housely.  Is the NHL still testing guys for Sudafed usage? 

THE UGLY

I got nothing for ugly tonight.  Instead, enjoy this: