By Jim Coffman
The Blackhawks played well in the first period of an actual home game against the Dallas Stars on Saturday night (their first contest back in the United Center after a marathon road trip). They played even better in the second. And it wasn’t just me who was sayin’ it, it was still splendid play-by-play man Pat Foley, who referred to the initial 20 minutes as “good” and the time between intermissions as “great.” But it was the first 2:19 of the third period that provided yet more conclusive evidence that this team is something special.
No matter how many times even the best hockey teams repeat the old saw that “the best defense is a good offense,” squads retreat into defensive shells when they have leads heading into third periods. But even with a 3-0 lead at the start of the final 20 minutes, the Hawks kept the pressure on, pushed the puck into the Stars’ zone, crashed the net and soon were celebrating a typical Jonathan Toews’ goal (he parked himself in a good spot in front of the net and was ready to fire when a loose puck skittered into his stick’s space).
At this point I do have a confession to make: I missed Toews’ goal on television because I was checking in on the NBA All-Star Game’s slam-dunk contest. I believe it was at that point that I saw the 5-foot-8 Nate Robinson jump over the 6-foot-10 tall and almost as wide through the shoulders Dwight Howard (seriously, he has the biggest, squarest shoulders in the history of the NBA) before throwing down the best jam of the competition. And if he pushed himself up on Howard’s shoulder before slipping over the man-mountain-from-Orlando’s head, so be it. In switching channels from a perfectly good Hawks game to the dunkfest, I know I violated an important code. And all I can say is, forgive me sports deity for I have sinned. Fortunately, a few hours later I was able to review the goal on chicagoblackhawks.com.
I was back in time on Channel 9 to see, a little more than a minute later, Colin Fraser knock in a really, really lucky goal. James Wisniewski, returning to the lineup after spending a couple games in coach Joel Quenneville’s doghouse, attempted a shot but it barely got started before it ran into a defenseman and deflected away. Sure enough the puck found Fraser, who knocked it in a moment before Stars back-up goalie Brent Krahn finished spreading his legs into a scary sideways splits. But Krahn’s extreme flexibility was too little, too late. The Stars eventually scored a couple goals to avoid the shutout but the Hawks had already taken care of business. And after several flat performances at the end of the aforementioned eight-game road trip, the longest for any team in the NHL this season, the Hawks notched a highly satisfying triumph.
The commentary was solid throughout, with plenty of positive feedback for the team that still sits comfortably in the fourth spot (out of the eight that will make the playoffs) in the Western Conference. But the voices of the Hawks didn’t hesitate to criticize when warranted. Early in the game, Foley and analyst Steve Konroyd were all over Patrick Kane when he not only failed to cash in on a glorious scoring chance but also appeared to sulk a bit, giving the Stars a bit more time to operate when they moved the puck down to the other end of the ice. But they didn’t cash in and overall Kane did yeoman’s work for much of the first two periods after Patrick Sharp was injured only 39 seconds into the game. Sharp suffered a lower-body injury that appeared to be an at-least sprained knee but that information is top-secret. You didn’t hear it here. Kane ended up piling up ice time by double-shifting for long stretches (playing with two of the Hawks’ four lines) and he finished with a pair of assists.
Ridiculously enough, the Hawks head back out onto the road for three more contests in a row this week. But then they play the rest of their regular season at home, almost.
As for the Bulls . . .
So general manager John Paxson will abandon ship either after the trade deadline or after the season. Don’t let the plank hit you in the butt after you jump off, John. In a perhaps related note, we received the shocking news late Sunday that the Suns almost certainly won’t trade All-Star Amare Stoudemire to the Bulls for All-Underachiever Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden’s expiring contract, and the Bulls’ next five first-round picks, or whatever it was they were supposedly offering.
Exciting young general manger candidates, including ones who are helping pioneer new, more objective methods of evaluating basketball talent, are out there. But Jerry Reinsdorf will need to venture outside the organization to find them. Considering Reinsdorf’s track record, I’m reasonably confident he won’t venture outside of Paxson’s office, i.e. he ask Paxson which of his minions should serve as the next GM. And that next guy will take on the new coach.
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Posted on February 16, 2009