Weekend Recap

November 12, 2007

This is probably the best I’ve felt about the Hawks in years. Coming off the good win over the Blue Jackets on Wednesday, the Hawks had a gimmie against the Blues on Friday before another showdown against the Red Wings (the first home game on TV no less). It would have been easy for them to look past the Blues game with the Wings looming, but they came out and played another great game. Before I get ahead of myself, here’s the thoughts on Friday’s game.

Bloghawks’ favorite Patrick Lalime came out and played another great game, stopping 23 shots and giving up two goals. After going down early in the first, the Hawks roared back on the power play with goals from Patrick Kane (I think I’m going to need to start a Kane/Toews man-crush blog) and the continued scoring from the defense with Jimmy Vandermeer adding his first of the season. The power play, which was a huge, huge problem for them last year, has been a strength for this year’s team, which really can be pinpointed on Kane and Toews. Another Bloghawks’ fav, Patty Sharp clinched it with a shorthanded goal. Sharpie has been relatively quiet this year, but it’s also nice that he doesn’t need to carry as much of the load. In all, a great game and one they should have won. And for them to start winning games that they’re supposed to, that’s really the key to making the playoffs.

Now to the big one. The Hawks have owned the Wings this years, taking both the games they’ve played against them so far. The Wings came into the United Center on a nine game winning streak, and sure to be seeking revenge for the two earlier season losses. And with the added bonus of being a home game on TV, you had all the makings of a big game.

Nikolai Khabibulin got the nod and stepped up to the challenged, stopping 30 out of 32 shots against the high-powered Wings offense. Once again, the power play was the story. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both scored with the man advantage (did I mention that I love these guys?) and a couple of old Wings in Robert Lang and Jason Williams both had two assists to lead the Hawks to a 3-2 victory. Yanic Perreault continues to show some signs of life, adding his third goal on the season.

Before a packed house, the Hawks have now won three in a row, including their third win of the year against their arch rivals. They now stand with a 10-7 record. I don’t want to jinx anything, but this can really be a turning point in the season. Plus the days are looming until Martin Havlat returns. The way the offense has been lately, Havlat will make it pretty explosive. They’ve now won five of their last six. It’s good to be a Hawks fan today, enjoy it while it lasts.

The Hawks now take to the road for the annual ‘circus trip’ for six games before finally returning on the 28th. Luckily one of those games is against the Wings.