I'd Like Your Hair Long: Blackhawks 3, Panthers 1
The Blackhawks and their fans braved the worst winter storm since the last one to face off against the team that people who are stuck in the past refer to as "Blackhawks South" but who are officially called the Florida Panthers. See, they have a few players that used to be on the Blackhawks. One such player is Brian Campbell who makes a lot of money and was judged harshly for it instead of being judged for his hockey ability which is ample. Another player is Kris Versteeg who you might remember from such films as "I Will Carry This Goddamn Puck Across the Blueline Myself" and "Skullet: A Tribute to Rihanna From a Balding, Tiny White Person". Seriously, I think I saw Kris Versteeg on the undercard at Summerslam '88. There are a few other players who used to ply their trade here in Chicago but the only one I'll mention is Jack Skille who is absolutely terrible.
This was a game the Blackhawks really needed to win and I say that will all due respect to the Panthers who have been terrible on the road as of late. With the schedule about to get a lot tougher here shortly and the rest of the division winning on a regular basis, the Blackhawks need to take two points from these kinds of games at home. So they did that with relative ease. They played a solid, unspectacular (for the most part) game of hockey and stifled the Panthers almost completely to walk away with a 3-1 victory as the seesawing in the Western Conference continues. Let's go to the ins, outs and what-have-yous:
THE GOOD (TOEWS):
- Patrick Kane finally broke his scoring drought by doing the right thing and not passing to Viktor Stalberg on a 2-on-1 breakout that was started by Kane niftily passing to himself off the boards to bring the puck out of his own zone. Hopefully the pucks start going in for Kane from here as he's shooting more than he ever has and also finds himself with his lowest ever shooting percentage. Odds are he's about to get red hot.
- Team play was a highlight tonight as the Hawks basically were in the Panthers shadows all night long allowing very little space for them to do much of anything. The Panthers ended the night with just 19 shots on goal. This probably could have been the Blackhawks first shutout this year but alas...we will hopefully celebrate that milestone soon.
- Jonathan Toews scored again. His 27th goal of the season puts him second in the NHL behind Steven Stamkos. Toews is the greatest. You're all very lucky to have him.
- No ex-Blackhawks scored meaning, as the retired Kelly Reardon said, we didn't have to endure bouts of pointless nostalgia or shoulda wouldas.
THE BAD:
- Well traffic sure sucked tonight. Other than that what can you say? A quiet, unassuming 3-1 win won't get you a replay on ESPN Classic but it more than gets the job done here.
THE UGLY:
- Kris Versteeg is doing for long hair what what your mom did for jeans. F minus, buddy.
- Jack Skille is really the worst player ever.
That's about it for this one. A pretty forgettable game which is pretty ideal at this point in the season. The Blackhawks are going about their business with quiet confidence that a championship contender should have. It's also nice to know that Patrick Sharp can hopefully genuinely heal instead of being rushed back into the lineup like last season.
Next up for the Hawks are the Nashville Predators tomorrow night. Central Division games are crucial because it's by far the best division in the league and no one seems to want to lose. Let's beat them in regulation. Also, St. Louis sucks.
Posted by Slaky at 1/20/2012 11:37 PM 
Categories: Game Recap
Tags: Kris Versteeg Chicago Blackhawks Florida Panthers
Categories: Game Recap
Tags: Kris Versteeg Chicago Blackhawks Florida Panthers
Nice touch at the end there Slak.
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Versteeg has a kind of Michael Bolton bald in front, party in the back thing going on.
Was watching with the sound off (as usual, so I didn't have to hear Foley's constant inane guffawing at his own meathead stories), and actually turned up the sound on Kane's breakaway and 5 hole goal. Also watched "Shoot The Puck" after the 2nd period, and was almost expecting the Bear's punter to profess his love for Sarah Kustok.
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When we split up season tickets this season, poeple eyed the Blues games as a second tier choice. is it possible those games will find scalpers getting the same amount for a tickey that they do for the Wings?
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For whatever it's worth I have an alert set up on Stubhub for tickets to that next Blues game at the UC. They are EXPENSIVE.
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Any column that ends with the line St. Louis sucks I'm gonna read. And it's not just their Blues, have you ever been to St. Louis? It sucks.
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