So...That Happened.
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.
Then the Islanders got hot, piling on four straight goals in the
second. Comeau, who had just nine goals on the year heading into
Tuesday night, lit up Antti Niemi twice and added a third goal against
Cristobal Huet en route to his first career hat trick and a 5-2
Islanders lead. A stunned Hawks team watched as fans tossed hats and
promotional beanie babies (a strange stuffed whistle wearing
headphones) onto the ice.
The goalie debate is sure to heat
back up, as neither Niemi nor Huet seemed comfortable between the pipes
last night. You can chalk it up to rust, nerves or just an off night.
Whatever it was, the entire team will have a chance to get back on
track against the 19-37-6 Edmonton Oilers tonight.
So let's
not all turn into Chicken Littles, screaming that the sky is falling.
Let the guys shake off the excitement of the Olympics a bit and get
their focus back on the
other championship--the one that really
matters. Last week was the 30-year anniversary of the last time the US
won the gold, but next year would mark 50 years--the golden
anniversary--of the last time the Hawks won the Stanley Cup. That's not
the kind of gold we want.
2 Comments
bigwhisker said:
Huet is your weak-link, Chicago! You gotta get more if you're going to get out of the West....
borg said:
Not really an off night for Huet. His save percentage since January 1 is .877.
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