As I probably may have mentioned the last time the Hawks were in Anaheim, I had the pleasure of living in LA last season, and attended both games at the Honda Center. There simply can’t be a more unpleasant place to see a game. A chore to get to, a soulless building, filled with just about the most ignorant, obnoxious fans you can find (the fact that these fuckers have a recent Stanley Cup banner to look at ahead of us makes my blood boil to the point that my skin has turned a crispy brown). The best way to illustrate what you deal with in Anaheim is a sketch of the toolbox I sat next to the second time, a gentelman with a leather Ducks jacket. The man had four season tickets, two on each side of the arena, so he could always sit on the side the Ducks were attacking. The fact that this dipshit goes home unhappy tonight makes me want to dance a jig.
To the game, then. Nice of Q that after I write something about his line juggling, he goes to the setup that makes the most sense after one period, i.e. Havlat-Bolland-Ladd and Sharp with 19-88 (speaking of which, we need to find an album that came out that year that we can refer to the two kids as. Wasn’t Living Colour’s Vivid that year? Appetite maybe? We’re open to suggestions). Speaking of, Havlat was once again on fire. We’re just going to copy and paste that sentence from here on out. But the desired effect was achieved, in that Kane and Toews got off the schneid (schnide?), and Sharp had a point as well, on one of the prettiest goals of the year.
On that note, welcome back, Dunc. Sure, there were a couple slips, but that was to be expected in his first game back. Having him back there makes such a difference, any attack eventually gets snuffed by Keith, and then there was the sweet dish to Captain Marvel for the winner. Please don’t go away again.
What the hell got into Burish? Oh yeah, job security. Not only the goal, but Burish was skating hard and forechecking as if his mother’s life depended on it.
This was a very good road game. The Hawks got it in and got it out, for the most part. They forechecked hard, and didn’t shy from being beat on by the Anaheim slobs. Big ups to Walker for taking on Parros, one of the league’s leading doofuses. Yes, they rode Khabby at times, especially when a man down. But points your goalie steals are points nonetheless. In the 3rd, the Hawks shut down the Ducks for most of it, save a few Getzlaf-inspired heartburn. But a lot of teams suffer from that affliction. Our weakness at faceoffs came to the fore in the last minute, but they got through it, and that’s all that counts. Oh, and your shift charts and Corsi.
A win is always a good start to a trip, and though the Staples Center hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Hawks, it’s still a game they should win. We’ll take 2 of 3 in Cali, Meatloaf. So let’s do that.