Much like myself due to horrific traffic, (Jesus god do I now empathize with those of you who travel to the UC from the burbs regularly. I would have gone on a spree killing if I had to do that trip more than once), the Blackhawks arrived at the UC about 25 minutes (real time) late. When they finally got there, they found themselves down two to the Jets. Then someone on the bench probably pointed out, “Hey, these are still the fucking Thrashers,” and the Hawks zoomed on by. Then it was just a matter of if third gear would be enough to get to minute 60 with the lead, and it turned out it was. October hockey at its best. Pretty nondescript, but a win nonetheless.
-The first thing noticed, when the Hawks actually bothered to show up, is the difference in speed. From minutes 10-about 47 or so, the Hawks simply wolfed down the Jets on chases for the puck, on the backcheck, and in the offensive zone. It was a noticeable gap. Thankfully, this won’t be the only team the Hawks can do this too. When they’re interested at least.
-At first, i thought Ray Emery had just whiffed on those two goals. Then after watching the highlights it was clear that those were nifty tips from Big Jim Slater (check ya later). The first off a pretty bad giveaway from Toews (who was horsed on CORSI tonight to the tune of -9). The second came after Keith and Leddy performed their nightly “Krusty through the Loop” act. Not that Emery was all that confidence instilling besides that. As my brother The Ombudsman pointed out, Emery was a bit like sunspots on your satellite, where everything seemed to be happening a fraction of a second later than it should. You could almost hear him saying, “Whoa shit there it is!”. Whatever, it was good enough to win, and I have to believe 27 saves in his starts will lead to a majority of them being wins.
-Y’know, if they’d just said this Kane at center thing was all about getting Kane and Hossa on the same line, I think we’d all have been immediately down with it.
–Michael Frolik was flying tonight, though he won’t have a point to show for it. Bolland’s goal came after a rush where Fro faked a drop pass that had Ron Hainsey swimming. You can’t help but be juiced by what Bolland, Frolik, and Bickell are creating these days. Bickell’s even throwing his weight around at the moment.
-I admire Jets fans. Not only will they be risking hypothermia on their way to the MTS Center, but they’ll do it to watch a team that really is kind of in the damp cereal section of the NHL grocery.
-That first Hawks power play looked like five guys waiting to get their driver’s license renewed, and they still scored.
-Hey, the kill didn’t give up anything.
Different test on Saturday, but no complaints with tonight. Onward.