HAPPY EASTER!!
TOP TIP:
Tune in to Sunday’s Blackhawks game on WGN to catch cameos by me and my
Chicago’s Best co-host Brittney Payton! She’ll be shooting the puck,
I’ll be chatting about the show during the 2nd intermission!
FRIDAY FUN:
Drinks, apps, live music, art & flirting = First Fridays. [Museum of Contemporary Art]
Head over to the Red Ivy in Wrigleyville for tonight’s Hawks Road Watch. [Red Ivy]
I’m pretty sure Wisniewski is a Polish name, and yet somehow James Wisniewski had the luck o’ the Irish on St. Patty’s Day. The Ducks defenseman sent former teammate Brent Seabrook to the locker room with a brutal, totally B.S. hit on Wednesday night and he was awarded a mere two minutes for charging on the play.
It all started when Seabrook put a clean hit on the Ducks’ Corey Perry midway through the second period. Moments later, well after the puck had left Seabrook’s stick, he was drilled into the boards by Wisniewski, who had his arms and stick above his head and left his feet to deliver the hit. Seabrook was knocked out immediately and slumped down to the ice, but was able to skate off on his own.
Watch video of the hit to see for yourself. (I recommend watching on mute, as the idiot announcers see Seabrook’s getting KO’d as “selling” the hit at first.)
The hit was a head shot, clearly delivered with the intent to injure AND Wiz left his feet. It was a disrespectful, dangerous play and something you never wanna see a former Hawk do to an old teammate.
• Want to know what professional sport you should play? Let Sports Pickle help. [Sports Pickle]
• 48-year-old Chris Chelios headed back to the bigs. [Chicago Breaking Sports News]
For the first time this season, Blackhawks forward Adam Burish will take the ice with his team.
Burish, sidelined with an ACL tear in the preseason, has been forced to watch his team play 65 games without him. Barring any last-minute hiccups, Burish will finally make his season debut tonight, when the Hawks host the Los Angeles Kings at the UC.
Get fired up.
Sunday afternoon the Blackhawks blew a 2-0 lead over Detroit, allowing five straight second period goals en route to a 5-4 defeat. Andrew Ladd scored two of his three goals on the day in the third period to help bring Chicago within one, but their comeback ultimately fell short. The first career hat trick for the Hawks’ forward was soured by another disappointing performance between the pipes.
The loss snapped a three-game win streak over the Red Wings and reminded fans that Chicago’s division dominance will be tested come playoff time. The Red Wings may be clinging to the eighth seed in the Western Conference, but they certainly don’t play like an eighth seed opponent.
Detroit’s offensive onslaught Sunday shined a spotlight on the Hawks’ biggest weakness this season: goaltending. Of course, a netminder doesn’t work alone–like an NFL quarterback, he’s likely to get too much praise for a win and too much blame for a loss. For instance, a cursory glance at the box score of Sunday’s game won’t reveal the several costly turnovers that led to easy looks for the Red Wings. But whether he deserves all the blame or not, Cristobal Huet, who surrendered four straight goals before being pulled Sunday afternoon, will continue to be the most criticized Hawk.
In 46 games played, Huet’s .898 save percentage puts him 42nd among qualifying NHL netminders, while his 2.38 GAA is 10th best. So basically: of the shots he sees, he doesn’t stop enough.
In 24 games played, Antti Niemi is 26th in the league with a .909 save percentage, and fourth with a 2.25 GAA. He may be young and inexperienced, but his numbers are better.
Chicago fans foaming at the mouth for NHL hockey during that long Olympic break will have to wait at least a few more days for a Blackhawks win. Tuesday night, in their first game back after the games, the first-place Hawks dropped a 5-3 decision to the lowly New York Islanders.
The Blackhawks looked sharp early on, despite the fact that four of their players had been across the country competing in the gold medal game just 48 hours before the puck drop Tuesday. Brian Campbell scored early and New York winger Blake Comeau and Patrick Kane traded goals to finish out the first with the Hawks up 2-1.
Early Saturday morning a bunch of diehard Blackhawks fans met at the beach in Evanston for the Law Enforcement Torch Run Polar Plunge. Former Blackhawks defenseman Cam Barker was originally set to do the plunge, which supports Special Olympics, but after Barker was traded to the Minnesota Wild, forward Andrew Ladd stepped in.
Hawks fan Steve Popp, who first won my admiration when he let me turn a meeting with his hero, Jeremy Roenick, into a hilarious video, once again stole the show. Popp donned a coconut bra and grass skirt for Saturday’s plunge, bringing some much-needed comic relief to a very, very, chilly swim.
Check out video of Ladd and Popp’s plunges, taken by the gorgeous Ashley Popp, then check out some of Popp’s photos from the event!
[HT to the Popps–Steve, Ashley & Susan–for the photos and video!]
Before Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane left for Vancouver to play with the US Olympic hockey team, he got one last tune-up on the ice, taking shots at NBC’s Kevin Tibbles. Netminder Cristobal Huet gave Tibbles a few hints (like how to put on his pads correctly), but the correspondent was clearly no match for Kaner.
You gotta love the fact that they used the Hawks’ goal song, Chelsea Dagger, for the intro…
All this week, ABC 7 News is letting viewers peek inside the pads of Chicago athletes and celebs for a segment called “Sweet Homes Chicago”. In one such feature, meteorologist Tracy Butler joined Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell at his home for a game of pool, Top Gun, a closet raid and some lazy time on the couch.
Here’s the piece from Wednesday’s ABC 7 News.
Photo Courtesy of Blackhawks Blog (http://nhlblackhawks.wordpress.com/)
In Part One, find out why the wives won’t be setting up Burish with their sisters anytime soon…
…and in Part Two, hear about Brouwer’s very special relationship with his dog…
No Spain, No Gain 