Feb 22, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks left wing Viktor Stalberg (25) is congratulated by center Andrew Shaw (65) and right wing Patrick Kane (88) for scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Another Friday night at the United Center and another victory over the San Jose Sharks, this time 2-1. 

With this win the Blackhawks break the record for longest streak to start the season without a regulation loss.  It’s pretty cool that the record comes on the 33rd anniversary of one of the greatest hockey victories of all-time, the Miracle On Ice. The game started with a lot of pressure from the Sharks as they were out to get some revenge for their losses earlier this month. 

It looked ominous for the Hawks when Patrick Marleau was able to break a scoreless first period with a goal with only 14 seconds left.  It really could have been a lot worse in the first period because Ray Emery was way out of position multiple times but the Sharks were not able to capitalize on any of those opportunities. The Hawks out shot the Sharks in the first period but didn’t have many quality chances even though they had put great pressure throughout a lot of the period. 

The second period was much more of the same but many including myself were not too happy at the start of the 2nd period when Daniel Carcillo was put on the first line and Brandon Saad was put on the fourth line with Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik.  After no penalties in the first period, the 2nd period was  penalty filled with neither team being able to cash in on their opportunities.  The Sharks were 0-4 for the night on the power play.  Late in the 2nd period Viktor Stalberg opened up the Hawks scoring when appearing to be making a pass on the goal line the puck somehow got pass Antti Niemi.  Niemi was solid for most of the night, but both goals were pretty soft but style points don’t go up on the scoreboard just good goals.

The third period started with a Brent Seabrook penalty, Seabrook, who returned from his “midsection injury” seemed just a fraction off all night,the penalty was just about over when Saad took the puck down the sideboards and shot one just under the glove of Niemi and the tally gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead.  The Hawks would not give up this lead.  Emery was very sketchy in the first settled down and was extremely solid in the third period especially when the Hawks were on the penalty kill.  Stalberg had a great chance but was not able to finish.  The Carbomb effect seemed to be a positive one on Friday night because all the Hawks seemed to be throwing their bodies around from Byan Bickell to even Patrick Kane.  When the horn finally sounded the Hawks found themselves a 2-1 winner and the new record holder of undefeated in regulation to start the season.

The Hawks have now bypassed the 1943-1944 Montreal Canadians, 1984-1985 Edmonton Oilers and the 2006-2007  Anaheim Ducks, which by now you all now all won the Stanley Cup after their great starts to their seasons. History Is Made! What a Great night! 

Next Up-Columbus Sunday night at the United Center

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THANKS for reading and Way to Make History Blackhawks!!!

Feb 19, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa (81) is congratulated by his teammates for scoring a goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Blackhawks have have tied the NHL record for most games without a loss to start the season, by defeating their bitter rival, the Vancouver Canucks, in a nail-biter of a game that ended in a shootout.

The first period was a wild one.  It can be summed up as a “breakaway fest”, as there were 5 total breakaways in the period, 3 from the Blackhawks(2 of which were shorthanded!) and 2 from the Canucks.  None of those ended up in the back of any net, as goaltenders Ray Emery and Corey Schneider each made clutch saves to keep the game scoreless.  The Canuck’s Power Play looked flat-out awful, as the Hawks Penalty Kill looked spectacular.  It was the Canucks however, who drew first blood, as Daniel Sedin snuck a backhander past Emery, giving the Canucks a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period.

The second period belonged to the Hawks.  The officials clearly missed a call on the Hawks, for too many men on the ice, but the Hawks took advantage seconds later, as Patrick Sharp fired a slap-shot past Schneider, to even the score at one goal apiece.  A bit later in the period, the Hawks were on the Power Play, when Marian Hossa gave the Hawks the lead on his slap-shot, to make it 2-1 Hawks.  Less than 4 minutes later, it was Hossa again, but this time a hard-worked, out-muscled, well deked moves lead to his backhander finding the back of the net to give the Hawks a 3-1 lead at the end of the second period.

The 3rd period opened with some controversy.  Vancouver winger, Jannik Hansen landed a nasty elbow to the back of Marian Hossa’s head, leaving Hossa face-down on the ice for several minutes.  Hossa went back to the locker room and did not return to the game.  The 3rd consisted of lots of activity after the whistle(which is to be expected in a Blackhawks/Canucks game) and several penalties.  It appeared the Hawks were on their way to a regulation victory, until Michal Rozsival took an ill-timed hooking penalty, which lead to a Canucks’ Power Play goal off of Alexander Edler’s slap-shot, making the game 3-2 Hawks with less than 3 minutes to play.  The Canucks evened the score with the extra-attacker and an empty-net, with a minute to play, on Kevin Bieksa‘s goal.  Regulation ended in a 3-3 tie, and each team was rewarded a point in the standings.

The 5-minute Overtime period came and went, and the game was headed for a shootout.  In the first round, Jonathan Toews and Jordan Schroder each failed to score.  The second round was the exact opposite, as both Patrick Kane and Chris Higgins scored goals.  The third round turned out to be the decisive one, as Andrew Shaw scored for the Hawks and Ryan Kessler failed to score for the Canucks, giving the Blackhawks a 4-3 shootout victory, and a share of the record for best start to an NHL season.

Notes-

Ray Emery played fantastic, with several clutch saves that kept the Blackhawks in the game.

Duncan Keith ended the game with a team-high of 29:18 minutes on the ice.

The Blackhawks have earned 29 out of a possible 32 points so far this season.

Next up for the Blackhawks is the San Jose Sharks, who will be in Chicago to take on the Hawks on Friday.  Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM.

Mar 21, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane (88) is defended by Vancouver Canucks defenseman Andrew Alberts (41) during the second period at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Game #16- Vancouver Canucks(8-3-3, 19 points) Vs.  Chicago Blackhawks(12-0-3, 27 points)

Game time- 7:30 PM Central Time

TV- CSN-CH

Radio- WGN 720 AM

Season Series- 2/1/13 VAN 2- CHI 1

Preview-  The Chicago Blackhawks will tie the 2006-2007 Anaheim Ducks’ record for the NHL record for best start to a season, and it would be extra meaningful if such a feat would be achieved through a victory over the hated Vancouver Canucks.

The Vancouver Canucks are currently sitting in first place in the Northwestern Division standings with 19 points on the season.  The big story for the Canucks has been their ability to thrive through their awkward goalie controversy.  In the offseason, the Canucks commited to goaltender Corey Schneider, by signing him to a 3-year, $12 million contract, delegating veteran Roberto Luongo to backup duties, and the star attraction of many trade rumors.  As the puck dropped on the 2013 season, Schneider struggled, and Luongo has thrived, and re-taken his starting job in the crease for the Canucks(although Schneider has recently improved his play).  However, tonight Schneider will be getting the start for Vancouver, as he tries to get his season back on track, and thwarting the Blackhawks’ scorching-hot start to the season would do him wonders.

The Canucks are lead by their annual lamp-lighters in brothers Daniel Sedin, and Henrik Sedin.  The Canucks’ blueline has proved to be productive as well, as Alexander Edler has put up 10 points in 13 games played.  The Canucks have the 4th best Goals Against per Game average in the NHL(2.14).

The pressure will certainly be on for the Chicago Blackhawks, as not only are they playing against hated rivals in the Vancouver Canucks, but the idea of making history is looming in the balance.  The Hawks are off to a fantastic start, and cannot seem to be stopped by anyone.  It is worth noting that although they have not lost in regulation yet this season, one of their two overtime losses this season came in their only previous meeting with the Canucks, earlier this month.

Tonight’s game will be extra challenging for the Blackhawks, as they will have to play without Defenseman Brent Seabrook, who was injured in the previous game against the Los Angeles Kings.  Also, it looks like Ray Emery will be getting the start in net tonight for the Hawks, as Corey Crawford is nursing an upper-body injury.  Emery has played very well in relief of the red-hot Crawford.

The Blackhawks are lead by the continually red-hot Patrick Kane, who leads the team in points with 21.  No overview of the Chicago Blackhawks is complete without mentioning Captain, Jonathan Toews, who has put up 15 points on the season.  Don’t let the points total fool you, Brandon Saad has been one of the more effective Blackhawks on the ice, and continues to play great.  The Hawks are ranked 2nd in the NHL in Goals Per Game at a rate of 3.33 goals.  They lead the league in Goals Against per Game, at an outstanding clip of 1.87 goals.  The Hawks success this season thus far is lead by their potent Penalty Kill unit, which is 3rd best in the league as it has killed 89.1% of opposing Power Plays.

Blackhawks Vs. Canucks is always an exciting matchup, as these two teams really dislike each other.  Tonight’s game will be no exception, and with the possibility of history being made, or the possibility of just missing out on making history will certainly add another exciting chapter in the Blackhawks/Canucks rivalry.

Tom Szczerbowski-US PRESSWIRE

As the initial frenzy of free agency winds down I needed to think of some ideas to help pass the slow summer days of the NHL offseason.  Today is the first look into some of the sweater numbers in Blackhawks history.  I will look at some of the best and worst players to wear the sweater number of that particular day.  Today we will look at some of the most notable players to wear number 2 in Blackhawks history.

One of the first players to wear #2 was the great Jack Stewart who played for the Hawks from 1950 to 1952, after 12 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.  He was part of the 1943 and 1950 Stanley Cup winning teams in Detroit.  Stewart was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.

Al Arbour wore #2 for 3 seasons starting in 1958 and ending with winning a Stanley Cup for Chicago in 1961.  Arbour played 14 seasons in the NHL with Detroit, Chicago, Toronto and St. Louis.  He went on to coach the St. Louis Blues for 3 years from 1970-1973.  He then moved on and took over the New York Islanders in 1973-74.  Arbour is best know for leading the Isles to four straight Stanley Cups between 1980-84.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986.

Bill White was one of the players to wear #2 for longest as he played for the Hawks for six seasons in the 70s.  White had a career high 38 points (9 G, 29 A) in 1972-73.  He suffered a career ending neck injury during the 1975-76 season.  The following season White was the Blackhawks head coach for 46 games leading them to a 16-24-6 record.

Former Blackhawks assistant GM and current Montreal Candians general manager Marc Bergevin wore #2 during his playing days in Chicago. Beregvin played the first 4 1/2 seasons of his 20 year career for the Blackhawks.  He scored a career high 7 goals during the 1985-86 season.  In November of 1988 he was traded, along with Gary Nylund, to the New York Islanders for “Sleepy” Steve Konroyd and Bob Bassen.

Bryan Marchment wore #2 for 2 1/2 seasons in the early 90′s.  Marchment is better known for the two trades he was involved in more than he was for anything he did on the ice while in Chicago.  He was acquired from the Jets in July of 1991 as part of the deal that sent Troy Murray to Winnipeg.  Fast forward to 1993 where Marchment was traded along with all time great Steve Larmer to the Hartford Whalers.

One of the players the Hawks received in that Larmer deal was Eric Weinrich, who wore #2 from 1994 until 1999.  Weinrich was a solid defenseman for the Hawks as he played on the 2nd defensive pairing behind Chris Chelios and Gary Suter.  In 1996-97 he posted a career high 7 goals, 25 assists and 32 points.  He was a +11 in 32 career playoff games in Chicago.

From 2000 to 2003, Blackhawks fans had to deal with Boris Mironov wearing the #2, or as we called him in the 300 level, Boris Smirnoff.  For some of you younger fans, if you think Drunken Keith is bad when he shows his ugly face, you had to see Smirnoff.  Mironov was involved in a pretty big trade with the Edmonton Oilers in March of 1999.  He came to the Hawks along with Dean McCammond and Jonas Eloffson for Chad Kilger, Daniel Cleary, Ethan Moreau and Christian LaFlamme.  Boy, what a bunch of garbage being exchanged there!

Currently #2 is being worn by 2010 Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith.  Keith has taken a bit of step back since his dream season of 2009-2010 when he won an Olympic gold medal, the Stanley Cup and the Norris in the same season.  Even though he played has declined a bit from that season he is still a highly skilled defenseman.  Keith could go down as the greatest #2 in Blackhawks history if he can recapture a little bit of that 2010 magic.