HokkeyNutt

"Here Comes the Hawks, the Mighty Blackhawks!"

Lindenhurst, IL • United States • 46 Years Old • Male

Head Out on the Highway...

Well, I missed the live broadcast of the Hawks game last night and had to settle watching it on DVR. No problem, right?

The Mighty Blackhawks were trying to give themselves a bit of a cushion in the standings and succeeded before heading out for their annual circus road trip that start Wednesday in Canucklehead land.

A quick recap of the game against the Oilers, the power play is finally producing (another goal last night) and the O-lines and D-pairings finally look balanced (although the injury to Seab's lower body could impact the blueline). The Hawks' top two lines had five points a piece and the defense six points, behind two more goals from Montador. I just hope that against stronger teams the PP continues to improve and score.

So everything looks good going into the brutal 6-game West Coast Circus Trip, right? Well not really.

Seabs suffered what appears to be a left leg injury in the second period after losing a skate edge on a rush for the puck and crashed hard into the end boards. If Seabs can't play on this trip, the additions of Montador, Lepisto, and O'Donnell will need to pay dividends...Big Time. Scott has done his job for the most part but everytime he is on the ice its a crap shoot... will it be lucky 7 or will he crap out.

I am going to set a goal for the Hawks on the Circus Trip, that they must at least get seven points or better (out of 12). But it won't be easy. In addition to the Canuckleheads, this road swing goes through Los Angeles, San Jose, Edmonton, Calgary and Anaheim. The Hawks generally play their best hockey in Couver so maybe it’s a good thing the trip starts there. Lets wait and see, we all no payback is a beyotch. In my opinion getting at least seven points out of 12 (especially if they’re without Bolland and Seabs) would suffice and anything better than that is just freaking awesome.

Odds and Ends:
- Not taking anything away from the Hawks but the last three games have been convincing victories over the worst team in the league.

- With 25 points (11-4-3), the Hawks have the best record in the NHL, although numerous teams hold games in hand, and it can be argued this has been the easiest part of the season schedule to this point.

Did you know?
- The Hawks defensemen have scored six goals in the last three games. Previously, the defense combined for just two goals in the first 15 games.
- The Hawks went 7-1-2 in their opening 10 home games, collecting 16 out of a possible 20 points. What more can we ask out of this team?
- The Hawks are 7-0-1 when scoring first this season.