glad I don't have to write sports headlines, #16 in an ongoing series

are the headlines for the west coast games written by severely sleep-deprived east coast writers? I don't know, but this seemed like a goofy one, highlighting L.A.'s Dustin Brown's second career hat trick, in a 8-3 drubbing of Vancouver. (two of the Canucks goals were Kyle Wellwood's; I kind of hoped he'd get the hat trick too.)

 

 

replaced by a duller headline later:

 

congrats to Brown! though as a Blackhawks fan it's less about the Kings having a big win than the Canucks having a huge loss. I enjoyed this one so much (was on the phone at the start of the game; tuned in in the second when Kings were up 4-0) that I put both the Kings AND Canucks feeds on online (well, and it was the only game on by that point).

 

although the Hawks lost to the Blue Jackets last week by as bad a score, at least in that game "only" 7 of the goals were when Huet was playing, and one during Niemi's shift. I wonder if this is the most goals allowed by one goalie this season...

Hockey Day in Canada, in odd screenshots

I posted a nonsensical preview of Hock--excuse me, Tim Hortons Hockey Day in Canada a couple posts ago. here are the almost equally nonsensical screenshots of a day spent watching all 3 HDIC games (plus some others) online and following along on Twitter, which as of last week offers the glorious option to look at trending topics by country/US city. (Canada has had at least one, and as many as 8, of the 10 TT's be hockey-related virtually every time I've looked, and Tim Hortons has trended at least 3 times in the past week). but I did in fact go out for a couple hours that afternoon! so, not yet a total shut-in!

 

  

lots of quaint outdoorsy stuff. OMG a Nordiques jersey sweater!

  

HDIC is #1! first up was Canadiens @ Senators. I actually wanted Canadiens to win, because Sens were coming into this game on an 8-game winning streak, and 3 of those wins were against Boston & Chicago, and that just pissed me off...

  

 

 

Sens took the lead, but Habs eventually tied it and it went to overtime. Sens won (9-game streak) and the Habs' Cammalleri was injured and will be out for weeks.

  

 

 

yeah, uh...next up: Canucks @ Maple Leafs. this was...um. I wanted Leafs to win regardless, and I especially wanted them to beat the Canucks because of Chicago's loss in Vancouver, and just on general principle. Leafs were off to an amazing start--2 goals by Phil Kessel in the first few minutes. a fight about 4 1/2 minutes in. Leafs went into the second period 3-0, and Canucks pulled Luongo (always fun to see) for Andrew Raycroft, and--

  

Leafs lost the game 5-3. at home. 5 unanswered goals. I'm glad I was too busy commenting on the Blackhawks game online to follow along with the Leafs fans...

  

  

 

I have NO IDEA how Raycroft was a TT in the U.S., after a game involving two Canadian teams.

 

  

  

not Canada: a scene from the Wild @ Sharks game. Minnesota took the early lead, went on to lose 5-2.

 

late game: Oilers @ Flames. I heard this was some sort of record for losing-est teams facing each other--Oilers with 12 in a row, Flames at 9. one of them HAD to win, giving Alberta a grand total of two wins for January. I wanted it to be Oilers because I felt sorrier for them, and because if Flames lost then both teams would have hit double-digit losing streaks...

  

Flames won. boy, did they win. 6-1. Jarome Iginla got his 900th NHL point in this game. and, perhaps inspired by the recent NHL.com Gordie Howe hat trick story, got two goals, two assists, and one fight (against Sheldon Souray, who broke his hand. ouch) 

  

it also meant they swept the 6 games of the "Battle of Alberta" this season, first time ever. 

in other news: I never found an online feed of the Kings @ Bruins game. I would have seen a shootout loss if I had. at least Bruins got a point. and Mark Stuart had a very impressive hit on Anze Kopitar (except now he's out for 4 weeks due to an injury from a fight after the hit). I'm sorry I missed Jack Edwards confusing Johnny Bucyk and Johnny Boychuk during the game, as mentioned at Fire Wagon Hockey (now I'm wondering if Boychuk is of Ukrainian descent, by the way--could be).

oh, and the Blackhawks lost the last game of their 8-game road trip. to CAROLINA. oh well, Hurricanes have been on a winning streak, and a 4-2 loss isn't the worst (it was exciting to see Hawks tie it late in the game, 2-2, with a goal by former Hurricane Andrew Ladd. then Canes scored two more goals in like the next minute or so). for more on the game you can see the story of a Chicagoan who made the trip (braving a snowstorm in the Raleigh area) at Blackhawks Down Low, a new addition to the blogroll.

so...on Hockey Day in Canada all 3 Canada matchups turned out the opposite of what I wanted. and the two teams I follow (well, 3, you can sort of count Leafs) lost, all in games where they had a lead or were at least tied at some point. and I learned I do eventually get tired of listening to Canadians talk about hockey...

Blackhawks in California (& mood swings) recap

so, after winning the first three games, all in Canada, on their circus trip...
game 1 in California, Hawks vs. San Jose Sharks:
Second City Hockey puts on another Chicago blogger-and-blog-commenter get-together. I head out to the Whirlaway, a terrific neighborhood bar that's a mile walk from my place. lousy weather but I want to watch this with people, especially since the last get-together (my first with this group) was the Hawks getting beat by the Coyotes. there's often homemade food there (thanks!) and since it's Thanksgiving eve, there's a full spread. a big table of savory dishes and a small table of desserts. I get beer and food and oh right, there's a game... 

Hawks score a zillion times. shorthanded goal, then another and another (Hossa's first goal for the Hawks and then one by Sharp happening within thirty seconds of each other on the Sharks' power play...I am speechless). Hawks aren't the greatest at scoring on their own PP, but if they want to score a bunch of times on their opponents', I'm fine with that. then four more goals, including another by Hossa. this is ridiculous. I expected maybe a Hossa goal and a close game (with either team winning), not THIS. (since both the other teams I follow--Maple Leafs and Bruins--had won that night, I wasn't sure Chicago would too.)

but by late in the game, I'm expecting a Hossa hat trick AND a Huet shutout AND for members of the Sharks to have to come clean out the mildewy parts of my pantry I've been afraid to touch. but then, Sharks quickly score twice in the last few minutes (oops to all the Sharks fans that understandably had left the game by then) and turn our hilarious 7-0 shutout into a mere 7-2 blowout.

mood: giddy, drunk, exhilarated, drunk, disbelieving, actually I wasn't all that drunk, happy, arrogant, prideful, what are the 7 deadly sins? pretty sure I covered them all that night (had several plates of food at the bar, anyway). the mood lasts, well, at least I have a good 16 hours or so till I find someone making an obnoxious rape "joke" about the Hawks win in comments on a Hawks blog. BUT! never mind that now, I'll just repress my rage put on a smile and work on my revenge address that later. moving on, game 2 in California, Hawks vs. Anaheim Ducks:

with all due respect to the real Hawks bloggers out there, this screenshot was the best description of the game. how nice of them to write this recap--and during the first period, too! okay, the game came back on (Ducks scored their first goal while it was off) and it wasn't pretty.

except for the above. the only good thing I got out of this game--noticing what a truly handsome (or hjandsome, if you prefer. no, you don't.) fellow Hjalmarsson is. game winds up Ducks 3-Hawks 0. zero? ZERO? I don't even know what that means anymore!

mood: stunned, angry, humiliated. headed out immediately to catch the Chicago Wolves game (of which more later. I'm glad I went, but DAMN I wish I'd seen the Maple Leafs 6-4 win that night). and so, game 3 in California, Hawks vs. L.A. Kings:

seriously, Yahoo? technical difficulties again? they did switch to the game about 5 minutes in. it doesn't seem super eventful (it was late and I was getting distracted, though). Kings score first. Toews scores a power play goal much later and I'm giddy we at least won't be shut out again. OT, nothing happens except a penalty. shootout (one of the 6 last night, as noted in the prior post). Kings get one, Hawks don't, Kings get one, Hawks don't, it's over.

(bonus Hjalmers, to distract me from thinking of any attractive talented Swedish guys who might be on other Midwestern teams. must forget that...forget that...)

mood: disappointed, but not wanting to seem greedy. 9 out of 12 possible points on the road trip is VERY good. I honestly didn't expect to win this many. psychologically, with 6 games, I would have preferred the losses in, say, games 2 & 3, or 3 & 5, though...

overall, great job on the trip and I'll be at the Blackhawks vs. Blue Jackets game Tuesday. Hossa's first home game with the Hawks! free winter hat night! third jerseys debut! and I got a game ticket for $13.50! really, $13.50!

oops

came home from the Hawks-Leafs game and checked on the other scores, saw this typo? joke? Freudian slip? that was still on the NHL site the next morning. one of many high-scoring and/or lopsided NHL games this week (9-1, 7-0, 7-4, 8-2, 6-5). I missed a day here! back to my regular posting frequency here soon…

the sweet potato fries I mentioned a couple days ago...

were they SO GOOD they were worth missing the first goal of Monday’s game for? no, they are fucking not. but the Hawks were considerate enough to go on to score 3 more against the Kings (including two—TWO!!! power play goals) that night, winning 4-1. I got to see the Kings star scorer Kopitar get one, too, which is fine as long as we ended up beating them. lots of penalties, Toews & Eager’s return from injuries, Toews looked good and scored a goal and wasn’t even one of the 3 stars of the game…I’m glad I bought a last-minute ticket!
oh, and the fries ARE good, I’m just annoyed they’re only sold on the 100 level at the United Center so a trek from the 300s takes nearly the whole time between periods. here I am waiting for a break in the action. some guy who must not have been to a hockey game before was wondering why he couldn’t get through us. no, we’re just idiots standing here to block YOU…
part of my theory (theory!) behind starting a sports blog thing is that it’ll force me to post frequently and in a timely fashion, something I’ve failed at in my other Internet endeavors. you’re seeing how well THAT’S turned out…

the captain is back!

Toews (and Eager) will play the Kings tonight, and I’m off to the United Center now. was all set to buy the cheapest single-seat I could find ($24) when in the few seconds I searched for my account password, a $17 one came up. nice. someone’s going to splurge on sweet potato fries tonight.