Still a Thorn in Our Side

The Blackhawks lost their U.S. debut today, falling to the despised Detroit Red Wings 3-2. The Hawks started playing loose and fast. They did a good job of chasing down and controlling the puck in the 1st period, going into the first intermission tied at 0. Then, in the 2nd, Patrick Sharp took a beautiful pass from Kris Versteeg to put the Hawks ahead 1-0. They then had an opportunity to really make a statement when they had a 5 on 3 power play for 1:53. Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize. Later that same period, the good passing and offensive pressure started to fold and lead to 3 straight Red Wing goals. The first was a Lidstrom shot that deflected off of John Madden's skate, the second a wrister from Kris Draper, and the third a Johan Franzen tap in after the puck had squeaked through Cristobal Huet's legs. The Hawks then pressed in the 3rd period and ended up with a Versteeg goal at the 10:24 mark. Further, they had a great chance to tie it up after a stupid holding penalty on Kronwall at the 18:24 mark and pulling Huet gave them a 6-4 advantage. But, they could not put the puck in the back of the net and fell 3-2.

The Hawks again out shot their opponent 34-23 but went only 1-5 on the power play. Their inability to take advantage of the extra man has been a major problem to this point and needs to be remedied for them to be considered a strong power in the West. Also, Huet did an okay job at best in net. Nothing, not a single stop or upice pass or anything, in his 2 games (0-1-1) has really wowed me to this point, making me wonder whether it was justified to pay him $5.6 million this year. Hopefully, he'll turn that around and not allow 3 goals/game as he has done thus far. Now with a 1-1-1 record, the Hawks will look to regroup and prepare for their home opener at the United Center this Saturday against the Avalanche. GO HAWKS!