Hard Hawk Hockey

Hawks look to get back on track

What a great feeling to be able to write about my favorite Hockey Team the Chicago Blackhawks! I grew up in Chicago and was a season ticket holder for about 10 years with my brother John from 82-93 and we saw some great hockey with some very exciting players. I can’t tell you how much I miss going to those games with him.
Even though I now live in Florida I catch most of the games on the dish, I am glad to see that they are apparently back on track and competitive again.

This season has started out promising but of course due to injuries and some inconsistent play they have fallen behind the pack a bit and now face a tough climb to get back in the playoff hunt. The emergence of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Sharp is exciting to see as is the larger crowds. I know that when the stadium is full that can really energize them and get them playing the way they know they can. They have struggled recently probably for a few reasons, injuries as mentioned previously and some pretty inconsistent play from Khabibulin, as well as the pressure of the youngsters to play with the same consistency night after night. It’s a long season and for Kane and Toews it has been a rollercoaster of emotion that hopefully can be settled down soon.

Also, as Havlat goes, so go the Hawks. He is really quite a catalyst and when he is going at full tilt, so are they. He needs to stay healthy from here on and finish the season with some big production. The goaltending situation is curious. Is he the answer or should Khabibulin be traded and we ride it out with Patrick Lalime? While Kahbibulin’s contract is a problem from the amount of money that he makes, maybe if he strings together a few good games and shows his value they can move him for a forward and defenseman that can help. I would have no problem with Patrick Lalime as the number one goalie right now if it meant freeing up some cap space and getting some offensive minded players, and or a top draft pick. Could he go back to Tampa? They have played very inconsistently since he left and have a definite goalie problem.

Congrats to Duncan Keith for being added to the allstar game in his first appearance and representing the hawks. What about Patrick Sharp? He’s on pace for at least 40 goals and I’m a bit surprised that he hasn’t been named.

Tonights game against the Wild is a must win. It’s a conference game and the Hawks need the 2 points badly so hopefully they will be a the top of their game and start a bit of a winning streak and get back in the thick of it!

Go Hawks!