Mar 10, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Nick Leddy (8) is pursued by Edmonton Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (93) during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Want to know what it looks like when the Blackhawks quit everything that sustained their 24 game point streak for just one period? A 6-5 regulation loss. That’s what happened Sunday night when the Chicago Blackhawks hosted the Edmonton Oilers who were finishing off a 9 game road trip in the city where it began.

Goaltending was questionable all night with both Ray Emery and Corey Crawford allowing 3 goals each. The Blackhawks great penalty kill that used to be the best in the league failed 3 out of 4 times on Sunday. The power play, which experienced a massive improvement from last year, didn’t have a whole lot of opportunity to shine and succeeded once out of 3 tries. But not when it mattered the most with over 7 minutes remaining in the third period and a chance to tie the game at 6 apiece.

After giving up 3 goals less than halfway through the first period (two of them 36 seconds apart), Emery handed the net over to Crawford who allowed one more to end down 4-0 after 20 minutes. It could have taken the rest of the game to match the 4 goals given up in the first, but this season’s Blackhawks team managed to return the favor and score 4 of their own in the second period alone. Patrick Kane started Chicago’s offense, followed by Marian Hossa from a nice Jonathan Toews dish, Sheldon Brookbank with a chest-bump deflection while shorthanded, and a falling Brent Seabrook. Unfortunately, they never tied it up and allowed 2 more goals against them to end the Oilers’ scoring at 6 and the second period down 6-4. In the third, Kane scored his second goal of the game to bring the Hawks within one, but they couldn’t capitalize on a power play or pull off any last-second heroics in the final seconds and lost their second game in a row in regulation.

Notes:

- All four goaltenders played in Sunday’s game. Crawford replaced Emery, and Oilers backup goalie Yann Danis replaced Devan Dubnyk who was injured after a teammate ran into him in the second period.

- Patrick Kane was easily the best player for the Blackhawks with 2 goals and 1 assist. The only thing that was missing was a hat trick to tie up the game.

- The Blackhawks have now lost 2 games in a row allowing 6 goals in each of those games.

Even though the Blackhawks were down 4-0 after the first period, their fans had every reason to hope for a comeback, and the team did not disappoint. They battled hard to set themselves up for a fantastic finish that just never panned out. While most of us were having flashbacks to last season during the first period, the Blackhawks proved that they are a different team this year and can adapt mid-game creating a chance to win. They still have a lot to improve (are they ever going to start off right against the Oilers!?), but they never quit in any situation making every game exciting for their fans. One thing’s for sure – the Chicago Blackhawks offer their fans the wildest ride in the NHL!

How do you feel after the Blackhawks’ second regulation loss of the season?

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Feb 25, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa (81) reacts to scoring the game winning goal against Edmonton Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin (35) during overtime at the United Center. The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in overtime. The Blackhawks set an NHL record for scoring at least one point in 19 consecutive games to open a season. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

It wasn’t the prettiest of the Chicago Blackhawks 19 consecutive games without a regulation loss, but their victory over the Edmonton Oilers was a victory none-the-less.

The Hawks, who were playing in their second of back-to-back games, while the Oilers had the previous night to rest in Chicago, while the Hawks were busy defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets.  In the first period, the Oilers and their fresh legs, really couldn’t keep pace with the surging Blackhawks, but the scoreboard did not reflected no such advantage.  The Oilers took a 1-0 league on a Jeff Petry shorthanded goal, after Duncan Keith lost his footing and coughed up the puck.  A minute later, Patrick Kane evened the score at one goal a piece with his Power Play goal.  The score would remain tied through the rest of the period, while the Hawks dominated play, but overall, failed to finish,

The second period consisted of both teams exchanging chances, with the Hawks getting the most of them.  However it was Edmonton who would break the tie, late in the second period, on rookie Nail Yakupov‘s Power Play goal penetrated the almost always reliable Chicago Penalty Kill.

The Hawks game flying out of the gate, to start the third period.  The game was evened up at 2 goals apiece, when Viktor Stalberg’s shot was ruled a goal after a brief video review for confirmation.  The Hawks, again piled on the scoring chances in the third, but again left with nothing to show for it.  Former Hawk, and current Oiler goaltender, Nikolai Khabibulin, was very strong in net for Edmonton.  The game clock eventually hit zero, with the score tied, each team earned one point in the standings, and the Blackhawks streak of games to start a season without a regulation loss had stretched to 19 games.

The game needed less than two minutes of overtime to reach a decision, as Patrick Sharp displayed some great moves and shot a puck that was eventually buried in the back of the net on a rebound by Marian Hossa, giving the Chicago Blackhawks a 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Notes-

Ray Emery got the job done tonight, but wasn’t exactly spectacular.  He made a few very nice saves, but gave up some juicy rebounds, but he did enough to earn the win to extend his record on the season to 8-0-0.

Hawks captain Jonathan Toews, had a slightly “off” night.  He missed on several clutch shot attempts, and took an ill-timed offensive zone penalty.  Havign said that, the captain always makes his presence felt, even on his rare “off” nights.  Toews was 12 for 21 in the faceoff circle, and made some nice passes on the night.

Daniel Carcillo continues to make his presence felt as a phyiscal force, since returning from injury.  Carcillo was credited with a team-high 6 hits on the night.

The Blackhawks hit the road for their next game, in what should be an interesting matchup against the division-rival, St. Louis Blues.  Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM Central Time.

Today’s trip down bad memory lane takes a look at my #7 least liked Blackhawk of all time, defenseman Boris Mironov.  In March of 1999, the Hawks sent  Chad Kilger, Daniel Cleary, Ethan Moreau and Christian Laflamme to the Edmonton Oilers for Mirnov, Dean McAmmond and Jonas Elofsson.  That seems like an awful lot of talent going to Edmonton but at the time of this trade Mironov was one of the top offensive defensemen in the game.  He had scored 16 goals in 1997-98 and had 11 goals for the Oilers in 98-99 when he was traded to Chicago.  He would go on to score only 18 goals while spending parts of 4 seasons with the Blackhawks.

Mironov’s game went on a steady decline from the second he arrived here.  When Boris was on the ice he was lazy and looked out of shape.  Or maybe he was drunk.  After all, he didn’t earn the nickname Boris Smirnov for nothing.  It was no secret that the Chicago night life was a major reason for Mironov’s drop in production.  He cared more about the post game cocktails than talking to the media about his poor play on the ice.  He was one of many reasons the Blackhawks were spiraling right down the toilet in the late 90′s and for much of the 2000′s.

Mironov always seemed to have small nagging injuries that would keep him out of the lineup.  A nagging knee here or a bum shoulder there.  It was more like and major hangover here and no heart there.  Mironov missed 66 games between 1999 and 2002 due to these “injuries.”  Thankfully, the Blackhawks shipped Mironov to the New York Rangers in January of 2003 for a 4th round draft pick, much to the displeasure of Chicago night club owners .

Thank you for reading, be sure to follow me on Twitter @SAMotherPucker

Timothy T. Ludwig-US PRESSWIRE

The Edmonton Oilers will go to arbitration with their 23 year old center Sam Gagner.  We all remember Gagner in Chicago for putting up 8 points against our Blackhawks on February 2nd, last season.  The Oilers have been a bit disappointed with Gagner’s production after drafting him 6th overall in the 2007 entry draft.  Gagne had his best output in his rookie season of 2007-2008 when he finished the year with 49 points (13 G, 36 A).  He scored a career high 18 goals this past season, but has never shown the scoring ability he had when he scored 35 goals and added 83 assists with the London Knights of the OHL.  Gagner’s name was flying around the trade rumor sites at the deadline last year but was not moved.  Sam struggled down the stretch scoring just seven points in the Oilers last 23 games of the season.  There have been many reports since January that Edmonton wants to move Gagner, including after his arbitration hearing.

I think Gagner would be a perfect fit for the Blackhawks and could fill the need for the elusive 2nd line center.  My guess is Gagner will be awarded a salary between 3 and 3.5 million dollars.  That would be a fairly affordable contract for a 23 year center.  If the Oilers are serious about moving him the Hawks are an ideal trading partner.  The Oilers have loaded up on young scorers like Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins but are lacking on the blue line.  The Hawks have a young defenseman in Niklas Hjalmarsson that can make an immediate impact in Edmonton.  I think Gagner can reach his full potential centering a line with Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp on either side of him.  This would be a win/win trade for both sides.  Both teams would be filling a need while moving a player that has disappointed them in the past.

Thank you for reading, be sure to follow me on Twitter @SAMotherPucker

2 years ago today Kaner scored the Championship winner! (Jerry Lai-USPRESSWIRE)

On This Date-Two years ago, Patrick Kane scored the greatest goal for the Chicago Blackhawks  in our lifetime!

Unless your 60 years old or older, your Blackhawk memories until June 9, 2010 were filled with disappointments! While watching as  a kid Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Al Secord and company were a very good team that routinely made the playoffs, but there was one obstacle that they could not get pass to win a Stanley Cup.  Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers crushed many a good Blackhawks team in the 80′s and detoured all the Stanley Cup aspirations that this unit  had in that era.  A young Jeremy Roenick led the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992, but another superstar was waiting for them in the Finals, and Mario Lemieux delivered four straight wins and the excitement of the 92 team reaching the finals was quickly vanished! (Luckily Michael Jordan was around in 1992 to help raise a banner that summer for a Chicago team.)

Flash forward to 2010 and  the young and exciting Chicago Blackhawks team ran threw the Western Conference to advance to the Finals to play against the Philadelphia Flyers.  To say that the series was a defensive battle or a goaltender series would be laughable. 57 goals were scored in the series, and the series also had the Blackhawks chasing the Flyers goaltenders twice in 6 and 7 goal efforts in winning games 1 and 5 in Chicago at the United Center.  The  two things I remember most about the series is how many goals were scored in Game One, and then the huge emotional swing of Game 6.

Being a Chicagoian and especially a Cubs fan, I take absolutely nothing for granted while watching a sporting event, so when Andrew Ladd scored late in the 2nd period of Game 6 to give the Hawks a 3-2 lead it seemed almost impossible that the Hawks would be able to hold that lead throughout the entire third period.  The Hawks played a seriously cautious third period ,and it seemed like the Flyers had a million chances to tie the game even though if you look at the box score it states shots on goal were 12-9 Philly.  Finally with less that 4 minutes remaining Scott Hartnell tied it up on an odd looking play in front of Antti Niemi and Game 6 was heading to overtime.  From four minutes to the hoisting the Cup, to overtime, and the chances of Game 7 in Chicago was a tremendous change of emotions.

Overtime gave us the greatest Stanley Cup clinching goal that nobody saw from Patrick Kane.  With a football juke at the side boards at a very bad angle  Kane got the puck past Michael Leighton (he didn’t stop much in the series).  And just like that 48 seasons of disappointment were erased!  It never gets old watching the goal so here is NHL.com link to the winning goal http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=72168

So even though the past two seasons have ended in disappointment, June 9 will forever be a one of the greatest days as a Chicago Blackhawks fan!!

There is only one goal for each NHL season.

Brad Mill-USPRESSWIRE

Enjoy the memories and here’s to Stan Bowman getting all the right pieces on the roster this off season, and Coach Quenneville to coaching them up to their highest potential to regain the best trophy in sports at the end of 2013 season.    Expecting a Stanley Cup needs to be expected and everything that possibly can be done, including throwing in the “kitchen sink”, to raise it over Jonathan Toews head again needs to be in the works this and every off season!!

Happy Stanley Cup Anniversary Day!! Hopefully there will be more than one date to celebrate in the future…

Let’s Go Hawks!!

Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

#8 Los Angeles Kings   vs  #6  New Jersey Devils

Regular Season meetings:

10/13/11 LA 1 @ NJ 2 (SO)

10/25/11 NJ 3 @ LA 0

Stanley Cup Final Schedule:

Game 1 Wed 5/30 LA @ NJ 7pm NBC

Game 2 Sat 6/2 LA @ NJ  7pm NBC

Game 3 Mon 6/4 NJ @ LA 7pm NBCSN

Game 4 Wed 6/6 NJ @ LA 7pm NBCSN

Game 5* Sat 6/9 LA @ NJ 7pm NBC

Game 6* Mon 6/11 NJ @ LA 7pm NBC

Game 7* Wed 6/13 LA @ NJ 7pm NBC

* if necessary

Los Angeles Kings

Regular season record: 40-27-15   95 Pts.

How the Kings got to the SCF: 

1st round: defeated the #1 Vancouver Canucks in 5 games

2nd round: defeated the #2 St. Louis Blues in 4 games

Western Conference Finals: defeated the #3 Phoenix Coyotes in 5 games

Ex-Blackhawks Factor:Colin Fraser and Head Coach Darryl Sutter

The Kings have steamed rolled their way through the top 3 seeds of the Western Conference, on their way to their first SCF since 1993.  They are only the 2nd 8th seed to make the Final, and the first one since the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, who lost to the Carolina Hurricanes.  The Kings are not your typical 8th seed.  They are a team that was picked to contend for the Cup at the beginning of season but underachieved.  It took a coaching change in December, that brought in former Blackhawks player and head coach Darryl Sutter to right the ship.  The Kings lost both regular season meetings versus the Devils, but this is not the same team it was in October.  The Kings have been the best team in the Stanley Cup playoffs and enter the Final an astonishing 8-0 on the road.  They have everything clicking and are going to be very tough to knockout at this point.

(more…)

As the playoffs wind down, it is time to look to the future and the lead writers around the league get to play GM.  Each team will get to chose who their teams should pick and give great analysis on the up and downsides of each player.  This will give all our NHL readers a good look at who could be the future stars of their favorite teams.  It will be fun to see how close we come to the actual draft.  You can follow every pick of draft on our main NHL site, Too Many On The Site.  The Edmonton Oilers have made their traditional number one overall pick, so let the fun begin.

How to end your season (Rob Grabowski-USPRESSWIRE)

Season Stats

Games-28

Goals-2

Assists-9

Points-11

+/- +10

Penalty Minutes-82

Hits-76

Fights-5

Season Review-

The most questionable signing for the Chicago Blackhawks entering the 2011-2012 season had to be that of Daniel Carcillo.  After trading away Troy Brouwer the Hawks didn’t have a physical presence besides Bryan Bickell so one has to assume that they brought Carcillo in to be the presence for the season.  Nicknamed the “Car Bomb” he is more like a ticking time bomb for opponents and teammates alike.   While starting the season with good behavior while getting to play on the 2nd line most of the nights everyone was waiting for something to change.  January 2 at the United Center was that changing night for Carcillo.  Carcillo boarded Edmonton Oilers defenseman Tom Gilbert and in the process tore up his knee and ended his season.  Carcillo was suspended for seven games and if you forgot about the hit, here is Brendan Shanahan’s video link http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=147177.  The Hawks left him a scratch for the 7 game suspension before putting him on injured reserve and announcing his season ending surgery.

The Hawks desperately need a physical presence on a nightly basis, but does Carcillo really fit? His age fits the Hawks need, but his skill set is questionable, but he does have the drive and energy and endless motor to be a successful Hawk if he doesn’t become selfish and put himself above team and possibly injuring opponents and himself.

Contract- Carcillo signed a 2 year extension with average of $825,000 per season

Future-Carcillo will have to tone down the Car Bomb antics and become a physical player in control.  He can be a successful bottom 6 player, but if he’s in top 6 then the Hawks will be in trouble and so will some random opponent.I was really hoping that this was a one year experiment gone bad, but GM Stan Bowman thought otherwise giving Carcillo a 2 year extension.  Now it’s like the family member that no one discusses at family events. People know about him but wish he wasn’t around, Out of sight out of mind well until training camp!!

Grade-INCOMPLETE

(Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Oh boy, where to start?

Well first, congratulations to Sam Gagner for making history, tying the Oilers franchise record for most points in a single game. Remember this is a record held by guys like Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey, so give him a ton of credit. He was sensational. By the end of the game I was rooting for him to get one more and break the record. Didn’t make a difference at that point.

As far as the rest of the game goes, I would rather not discuss it. Instead, I would like to talk about where to go from here.

(more…)

Sometimes, watching hockey truly is poetry in motion. After reading the tweets of @TheBearsInHaiku, I got some inspiration for this post. I decided to preview 30 NHL teams with 30 unique haikus, staying true to the 5-7-5 syllable rule.  Everyone in the blogsphere will have their previews, so I thought I would throw in a twist and veer away from the norm. Without further ado…

Anaheim Ducks
Eighth-seeded upstart
Bobby Ryan has emerged
“Mighty” Ducks again?

Atlanta Thrashers
My name is Ilya
Management doesn’t help me
Can we win games, please?

Boston Bruins
Game Seven stunner
Got rocked by a Hurricane
Still one of East’s best

Buffalo Sabres
Count on Ryan Miller
Injuries cost them playoffs
Need to stay healthy

Calgary Flames
Picked up Bouwmeester
But Flame burns with Iginla
Will miss Cammalleri

Carolina Hurricanes
Surprise playoff run
Can they carry momentum?
Now’s not time to Staal

Chicago Blackhawks
Pat beat up cabbie
Hossa investigated
Won’t matter one bit

Colorado Avalanche
A brand new GM
Plus a spankin’ new head coach
Equals no more mess?

Columbus Blue Jackets
Nash got big contract
Young Mason won the Calder
Jackets on the rise

Dallas Stars
Modano’s last round?
Crawford now behind the bench
Veterans drive team

Detroit Red Wings
Wings on the decline?
Everyone keeps saying that
Still the team to beat

Edmonton Oilers
Got spurned by Heatley
But built Khabibulan Wall
Hoping to regroup

Florida Panthers
Just missed the playoffs
And now have a revamped team
Still optimistic

Los Angeles Kings
Held first Hockey Fest
There is hockey in L.A.
Kings need to prove it

Minnesota Wild
Spent big for Havlat
Lost Marian Gaborik
Is that improvement?

Montreal Canadians
High expectations
For Habs after tough season
And are a safe bet

Nashville Predators
The team is aging
With no true starting goalie
Headed toward last place

New Jersey Devils
Brought back Jacque Lemaire
From past Stanley Cup glory
But lost key players

New York Islanders
Tavares gets hype
But Isles have nothing else
On that crappy team

New York Rangers
Back to big spending
To bring Gaborik on board
Hoping for big things

Ottawa Senators
Unhappy Heatley
Says he’ll play out his contract
But is still an ass

Philadelphia Flyers
Sexy pick to win
By acquiring Pronger
To bolster defense

Phoenix Coyotes
Big off-season Clash
“Should I stay or should I go?”
NHL says “stay”

Pittsburgh Penguins
Sid the Kid brought Cup
Malkin added heroics
But can they repeat?

San Jose Sharks
Crushing first-round loss
President of West needs to
Step it up come playoff time

St. Louis Blues
Young and talented
Looking to make move in tough
And loaded Central

Tampa Bay Lightening
Cut off The Mullet
Rolled dice in free agency
For coach Gambler

Toronto Maple Leafs
Burke rebuilding team
And it’s all about defense
To instill toughness

Vancouver Canucks
I hate the Sedins
I hate the Sedins a lot
Can’t stand the Sedins

Washington Capitals
Ovechkin thinks sex
Helps before and after games
I tend to agree

Follow me on Twitter: @blackhawksup