NEW YORK, NY -- As my dad always says, "It's alive."
Yes, I'm finally back at it again, hockey blogging like there's no mañana. Tonight's game is... an interesting match-up, to say the least. Before I get into the game, let me explain why I was gone and why I came back to this blog.
Why this game, you may ask? A few reasons.
The first being that next to the Blackhawks, the New York Rangers are definitely one of my favorite teams. They're the first team I saw play live, which is a memory I'll never forget. The other thing that drew me to this game in particular was the rivalry.
Yeah, yeah, it's not the Blackhawks and the Red Wings, or the Hawks and the Blues, but come on. Original Six match-ups will always, always be stellar games to watch. The history there is just... awesome.
This is also an early game that I can actually manage to stay awake for the entirety of. So, there's that.
Enough chattering about me and my motivations, let's get into this game.
If I'm being honest, the Hawks have really not impressed me this season (which may be another reason I've been too lax with blogging). They just don't seem consistent enough to really string together some good wins and get back into this season.
And, boy, does it show some nights. To start, Jonathan Toews took two minor penalties in the first--which, frankly, I was a little surprised by. He's definitely not a fresh face in the penalty box, but two within minutes of each other? It just seemed off. But, the Hawks managed to kill off both penalties (that PK is actually looking pretty good--it's hovering around 80%, so that's not terrible) by some miracle. Aside from Toews' penalties, that top line was dangerous tonight.
Vinnie Hinostroza notched the first of the night in the waning minutes of the first period, which was his 2nd goal this season in the NHL--mind you, he's only been playing with the Hawks for a few weeks now. He's definitely impressed me thus far, and I'm kind of curious to know why the Hawks waited on him for so long--clearly, he was playing amazingly well in the AHL with the Rockford Icehogs, so why the Hawks took so long to call him up is beyond me.
Then, with about two minutes to go, the Rangers knotted up the scoring, Nick Holden grabbing his 3rd of the year. Despite this late Rangers goal, the Hawks actually did play pretty well in the first period. I thought they held their ground, and Jeff Glass has certainly been impressive lately. He made one save (I believe on a Holden shot, actually) this period that had me up off the couch!
How do you match Henrik Lundqvist, though? He's absolutely incredible, and he showed that in the Winter Classic last weekend, and frankly in this game as well.
That next goal, though... I'm not sure it was a goal. I mean, Marc Staal did knock it in, but I think the whistle blew before it went in. It would've been Nick Schmaltz's goal--oh, they... allowed it? This league confuses me.
Hawks have a 2-1 lead about midway through the second, and it just goes to show, not all goals are pretty. But, as per the Hawks' M.O., there's another penalty--this time on Brent Seabrook for cross-checking. I could say a lot about the penalties in this game, but I'll just keep my mouth shut. (You all probably could guess what I'd say--I've been saying it for a year and a half now).
Just as they nearly kill it, with about 25 seconds left, Glass gets a delay of game penalty. The Hawks bench goes crazy, but it doesn't matter because literally right off the face-off, Mika Zibanejad sneaks one just over Glass' shoulder.
Stupid, stupid mistakes will kill this team.
And, the Rangers still have 1:40 on the powerplay, but at least it's just 5-on-4, not 5-on-3. To make things more interesting, JT Miller high-sticks Connor Murphy, and it's 4-on-4 for about 30 seconds. The Hawks kill their portion and head to their first powerplay of the game.
Shockingly enough, the powerplay is just a lot of passing and virtually no shooting. Then, to end the powerplay, Tommy Wingels decided he wanted a piece of Mats Zuccarello, but the referees hate fun and break it up before much happens.
The Blackhawks (namely, Patrick Kane) had a great look with only a few minutes left, but Lundqvist is a hockey robot and made a pretty incredible save.
Look at that. Lance Bouma takes a penalty with just over a minute left in the second period. If only you could hear my sigh through the computer. The Hawks manage to make it out of the second period alive, but there's still a good almost 40 seconds on that Rangers powerplay when the third period starts.
To start the 3rd period, Patrick Sharp rips one past Lundqvist, and there's a reason his nickname is Sharp Shooter--that was just unbelievable. I'm happy to see him score again--as a huge Sharp fan, it really sucked to see him play the way he was playing, then to see him get scratched for a few games--so this is a welcome change.
But, lo and behold, with just six and a half minutes left, the Hawks took the one penalty they always seem to take when I watch them--Too Many ******* Men.
Every single time.
But, they kill it and there's just over four minutes left.
The Ranger take a timeout, win the faceoff, but still manage to let Wingels pass up to Brandon Saad for a beaut of an empty-netter.
Now, this is how my Hawks play. This is the team I know.
Even when I think that's it, Patrick Kane backhands (show-off) the puck into the second empty net, and suddenly, with 5 seconds left, it's 5-2 and they're back in this.
The Hawks are now just two points out of a playoff spot, and if they can keep playing like this, they'll get there.
Sometimes all it takes is a good win to get momentum going again and to kick off a string of wins.
We'll just have to see how they play on Friday against the Golden Knights, who have unexpectedly been destroying the Western Conference. It'll be interesting, that's for sure.
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