Fans barely knew he had stepped on the ice before his presence was felt in the box score. Adam Burish, playing in his first regular season game after tearing an ACL in the preseason, came flying off the bench for his first shift in over five months. He skated straight to the back of the net, got his stick on the puck, and pushed a gorgeous wrap-around pass to Patrick Sharp in front of the net for the first goal of the game.
Only 2:34 had come off the clock when the goal was scored, and Burish hadn't yet been on the ice for ten seconds this season.
At 2:54, Burish brought the other part of his game that fans had missed. Just 20 seconds after notching his first assist of the season, Burish drew his first penalty of the season. And, of course, it was a five minute major for fighting Richard Clune.
When the term "energy player" or "impact player" is used, fans need look no further than Burish for a definition. After throwing, and receiving, a few punches, Burish skated away from Clune with a smile on his face, pumping his fists with obvious excitement. This was the player Hawks fans had fallen in love with over the past couple years, and his emotion on the ice set the tone early.
In case you missed it, Milton Bradley shot his mouth off again. This time, it was on ESPN, and he was once again throwing the city of Chicago under the bus. For those that are late to the party, here's the video:
Elliott Friedman of CBC has an intriguing couple bullet points in his latest blog. He says:
"... Strongly believe there was one, possibly two teams who were willing to take Cristobal Huet from Chicago. (Should clarify: I'm more certain about one than the other.) But the Blackhawks decided to stand pat, much to the surprise of other GMs. Unloading Huet's contract (two years remaining, $5.625 million cap hit) would have cost at least a first-rounder and an established player. (I know you're going to ask, but I'd be guessing on whom. The source wouldn't tell me.)...
Why did Chicago decline? Scotty Bowman believes strongly in the Detroit model: If you don't have a top-three goalie, you protect him with great team defence and puck possession. The Blackhawks – disciplined and talented – have a shot. But, to duplicate the Red Wings' success, they will have to show two things: their forwards are as committed to back pressure as Detroit's and their defensive corps is as good. As great as the Blackhawks look, we're talking Lidstrom/Rafalski/Kronwall/Stuart here. What a tough, tough call to make."
This will raise red flags all over Chicago. "You mean to tell me the Hawks could have dumped that piece of garbage at the deadline and didn't?" Let's hold that emotional response for a moment...
After Tuesday morning's skate, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville told the media that Antti Niemi would start in net against the Los Angeles Kings.
Round and round we go...
The staggering issue the Blackhawks continue to deal with is that neither of their netminders appears ready/willing/able to grab the top of the depth chart. Niemi has had a handful of opportunities to become the undisputed number one, and has struggled with each chance. Meanwhile, Cristobal Huet has defined mediocrity all season, especially since the beginning of the calendar year.
When the trade deadline passed as quietly as a far in an elevator for the Blackhawks, the stink every fan now has to deal with is the situation between the pipes. Niemi has shown flashed of ability to become the man, but hasn't consistently brought that effort to the ice. Indeed, Niemi's goals against average has increased in every month since November (1.44) by just enough that while December was still exceptional (1.74), January (2.41) and February (2.84) have allowed doubt to creep into the minds of Hawks fans.
Um, Cristo... that little black thing that's behind you? Yeah, about that...
Andrew Ladd had the first hat trick of the season for the Blackhawks, scoring three of the Hawks' four goals. Unfortunately, four goals wasn't enough on Sunday, as the Hawks lost to Detroit 5-4.
Cristobal Huet ripped the heart of the team out by folding liks a sheet of notebook paper in the second period, allowing four goals on just eight shots in the period.
Despite all of the positive thinking and forced attempts to paint the Blackhawks goaltending situation as survivable, until one of the two settles down and grabs the job for himself, the Blackhawks achilles' heel could keep them from achieving their One Goal this year. After Sunday's debacle, coach Joel Quenneville indicated that he won't comment on the starting goaltender situation until after practice, which means the Hawks still have a question mark on their most important position.
