So That’s What A Win Feels Like….

The biggest waterfalls start with a drop of water.  Tonight, the Jonathan Toews penalty shot a mere 65 seconds into the game was that drop of water.  It gave a team that was desperate for some sort of break just what they needed….a chance to grab some momentum in the hands of their best player and captain.  Big players make big plays and as The Captain went five-hole to give us the lead we would never relinquish, he proved again that he’s a leader.  That was the biggest 1-0 lead I can recall right now.  Then, we saw a waterfall of hockey awesome.

In less than ten minutes of game time, the Hawks had potted 3 more beautiful goals and played some of the most inspired hockey I’ve seen.  Sticks were active, players were digging hard on the boards, the Slap Shot lines were flowing.  After building that 4-0 lead, they basically played standout defensive hockey and basically shut down a top team in the NHL, something we have had issues with recently.  When you only give up 21 shots, you give yourself a shot at winning.  I can’t stress this enough.

Tonight, our best players were just that…our best players.  Even our depth players like Scott and Lepisto were solid.  But what kept momentum on our side were 2 things had had been struggling….Corey Crawford and our penalty kill unit.

Crawford made the huge saves when he needed to and looked very confident in challenging shooters and controlling his rebounds.  Goalies games revolve around their confidence level and his looked as sharp as I’ve seen in a bit.  We needed him to have a big game tonight and he came through.  He just needs to not revert to being a huge pile of suck.

The penalty kill, in the midst of one of the most horrible stretches of play I’ve seen since God knows when, not only killed all seven penalties called on us, but killed off a key 4 minute double minor that would have been a death knell last week to boot.  It’s amazing what a little effort and desire can get you when it’s required.  There were plenty of pk minutes to go around, but Dylan Olson, all 20 years old of him, got over 4 minutes of it and looked good  He got almost 16 minutes and earned it.  It would be nice if we could keep him up here and get some real contributions from him.

Two early afternoon game for the weekend.  I’ll be at Sunday’s nationally televised game vs St Louis.  Game time is 11:30 am….look for me in the stands.  I’ll be the one wearing the red Hawks sweater and Stanley Cup hat.  Let’s hope they come home on a 2 game winning streak.