Tag Archives: Jonathan Toews

Hawks soar on, beating the Oilers 3-2 in Overtime

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Brad Vandenberk| Leave a comment

By Brad Vandenberk

Now that the dust has settled after a weekend of NHL record setting, it was time for the Blackhawks to shift the focus toward the young guns from Edmonton.  This was the first meeting between these two teams this season.

If we take a second to remember last season, the Oilers dominated the Hawks with Sam Ganger recording an 8 point night during one of the contests in northern Alberta.  So, it would be sort of fitting if the Hawks were to have their record streak broken by the hands of these Oilers.   However, the Oilers were missing one of their top forwards in Taylor Hall.  He was serving his second game of a 2 game suspension for a vicious open ice hit on Wild’s forward Cal Clutterbuck.  This would slightly deplete an already star-studded Oilers’ line up.

On the other hand, the Hawks were missing second line center, Dave Bolland, who suffered an upper body injury during the Sharks game on Friday and missed Sunday night’s game against Columbus.  Read more »

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Hawks hold on to beat LA 3-2, within one game of NHL record

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Brad Vandenberk| 2 Comments

By Brad Vandenberk

Hockey Day in America was celebrated Sunday and the Blackhawks entertained the United Center with some matinee action.  The Stanley Cup champions, LA Kings, were in town and looking to take some revenge over the Hawks.

Game one of this season had the Hawks spoiling the Kings’ Championship banner raising ceremony, winning 5 -2.  On Sunday, the Hawks were looking to maintain their dominance throughout the NHL.  They currently have recorded a single point or better for 14 straight games.  They are also playing their third home game over seven straight.

After a big win against the Sharks on Friday evening, the Hawks were looking to keep the momentum high against the Kings.  Read more »

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Lindbloom’s View: Bickell and Ovid, Toews and Thornton, Kruger and Salvador Dali

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Rich Lindbloom| Leave a comment
image001(1)Metamorphoses: Basher unleashes his inner butterfly

By Rich Lindbloom

The Roman poet Ovid wrote a book called Metamorphoses about 2,050 years ago on people changing into new bodies – trees, rocks, animals, constellations etc. It’s a great read covering some 250 Greek and Roman myths, man’s feeble attempts to explain the why for and the where for of his existence. (Or as David Byrne sang, “You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?”) Ovid states in his opening sentence, “I want to speak about bodies changed into new forms.” With those enticing words, the hook is set.

The transformation of Bryan Bickell this season was enough to send me to see if I could locate Ovid’s classic Metmorphoses in the attic. In its day, it was one of those books that you couldn’t put down. Who would have thought 40 years ago that I would be mentioning Bickell’s name alongside Ovid in a hockey piece?  Bickell has always been a bit of an enigma to the throngs pining for blood in the 300 section during the past two seasons. Read more »

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Hawks keep rolling, top struggling Sharks 4-1

Posted on February 16, 2013 by Brad Gardner| Leave a comment

By Brad Gardner

The San Jose Sharks came to Chicago losers of six straight games, and they met an unfavorable host in the unbeaten Blackhawks.

The home team never trailed, getting another solid goaltending performance from Ray Emery. The scoring was provided by depth players, in most cases known more for their defensive acumen than offensive game, with goals from Dave Bolland, Marcus Kruger, Andrew Shaw, and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

It was not scoring, however, but fisticuffs that got the Chicago crowd into the game early. Jonathan Toews was whistled for a boarding penalty on Joe Thornton in the corner, and shortly after, things boiled over between Toews and Thornton and the captains squared off for a first period fight. Read more »

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Anaheim Spoils Hawk Homecoming; Ducks prevail 3-2 in the Shootout contest

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Jon Fromi| Leave a comment

By Jon Fromi

The Chicago Blackhawks returned to the United Center Tuesday to take on the team directly below them in the Western Conference standings, the Anaheim Ducks. The ‘Hawks led after two periods, but lost the lead late and suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to begin a seven-game home stand.

Viktor Fasth won his sixth straight start this season, stopping 28 of the 30 shots managed by the Blackhawks.

In the opening period, Chicago had a nice chance created by Brandon Saad, who won a battle for the puck, took it into the Ducks zone and passed to Jonathan Toews. Toews got behind the net and set up Saad in front of the net, but Fasth stopped the attempt. Read more »

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Crawford claims 1st shutout in almost 2 years; Hawks win 3-0 in Nashville

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Brad Vandenberk| 2 Comments

Brad Vandenberk

One week since the Super Bowl claimed its victor, it was time for the Blackhawks to claim victory on the final night of their 6-game road trip on Sunday night in Nashville.  The team has been on a two week road trip covering western Canada, the sunny south and now the home of country music.

The Predators played on Saturday night in Minnesota and went all the way to overtime and then a shootout where they came up short losing 2-1.  The Hawks already had a practice in Nashville and were awaiting the Sunday night central division grudge match.  It was said the talk around the locker room was that the energy was high and the excitement of returning home to Chicago and a seven-game home stand was even more enticing.  The Hawks have only played at the United Center twice this season and rolled into Nashville on Sunday with a 9-0-2 record, the best in the NHL.  Read more »

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Kane scores two, ‘Hawks blow through Phoenix 6-2

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Brad Gardner| Leave a comment

By Brad Gardner

The Chicago Blackhawks earned their seventh road win of the 2013 season with a 6-2 victory in Glendale over the Phoenix Coyotes. Patrick Kane scored a pair of power play goals in the first period and Ray Emery had another reliable outing in net as the Blackhawks improved to 9-0-2 on the year.

The game marked the first time that Raffi Torres would be on the ice against the Blackhawks after his high hit on Marian Hossa in the 2012 playoffs knocked the Hawks star winger out of action for months.

Retribution was quick against Raffi Torres, who answered the bell on his first shift of the game. Jamal Mayers initiated the scrap as soon as he stepped off the bench, and Torres was ready for him. Read more »

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Wild hand ‘Hawks first decision loss on season, Minnesota prevails 3-2 in a shootout

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Jon Fromi| Leave a comment

By Jon Fromi

Hey, it was bound to happen.

The Chicago Blackhawks picked up a point Wednesday to open a six-game road trip, but came up a few inches short as they dropped their first game of the 2013 season.

Niklas Backstrom recorded 28 saves in relief of Josh Harding as the Blackhawks lost 3-2 in a shootout.

Minnesota got on the board quickly.  Just ninety seconds following the opening faceoff, the Wild won a draw in the Chicago zone.  Mikael Granlund, who bested Marcus Kruger for possession, fired the puck on goal and Corey Crawford allowed a rebound in front of the net. Crawford stopped a put-back by Matt Cullen, but Cullen pounced on a second rebound attempt to give his team a 1-0 advantage. Read more »

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Blackhawks edge ‘Jackets; 5-0 start best since 1971

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Brad Vandenberk| Leave a comment

By Brad Vandenberk

Domination and determination is what wins Stanley cups.  This, we witnessed in 2010 when the Blackhawks became champions.  Playing with confidence, and having their superstars turn in multi point nights, sometimes with questionable goaltending helps too.

This year is much of the same.  Even the players understand that this could be one heck of a year if they are determined to dominate the opposition.  The Blackhawks come from behind win in Dallas on Thursday shows that they are determined once again.

The Hawks were on the road again on Saturday night playing another Central division opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Read more »

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Stars giveth and Blackhawks taketh-victory away

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Brad Gardner| 2 Comments

By Brad Gardner

The Blackhawks extended their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 comeback win in Dallas, capped off by Marian Hossa‘s league-leading fifth goal of the season less than two minutes into overtime. The Stars got out to a 2-0 lead in the second, thanks in large part to a stellar performance from goaltender Kari Lehtonen, but the Blackhawks offensive pressure proved to be too much to handle.

The Blackhawks outshot Dallas 12-6 in the first period, but they came up empty on two power play opportunities and, just as the period was coming to an end, gave up a shorthanded goal to Loui Eriksson. Read more »

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