For a minute on Thursday night at the UC, things seemed normal for the Blackhawks. Seeing Toews, Kane, Keith, and Hammer all back together on the ice sure did bring back some good memories. All that was missing was Hossa, Sharp, Seabrook, Crawford, and Coach Q behind the bench. Yeah buddy, the Blackhawks weren’t to be messed with once upon a time; these days it feels like forever ago. Still, seeing half the core reunited on one night… can’t help remembering when the Hawks were kings. The boys must have been feeling it too, transporting back in time, beating a good Oilers team in OT to cap this special night off. Too bad we couldn’t have been transported to the top of the standings after this 2 points…
Hjalmarsson (had to look up how to spell that…that’s why I always refer to him as Hammer) deserved his night. When you’re talking all-time Hawks defensemen, he has to be in the conversation, no? Sure, the other guy on the ice on this night may be THE all-time Hawks D guy, but Hammer certainly held his own. Of course, you think of the blocked shots… such an important part of defense; Sopel comes to mind when I think about that “stat” too. These guys sacrifice their bodies to keep that puck out of our net. Go ahead and put your body in front of a hard ass thing flying at 100 mph at times… Funny enough, when I think of Niklas, I think of the one goal that didn’t count. Yeah, he scored what would have been the game winning goal against the Red Wings completing a comeback from down 3-1, but… the refs blew the whistle on a fight taking place behind the scenes, as Saad lay on his back on the ice. The 3rd guy of the “big 3” defenders in the Cup era instead added this accomplishment to his resume when he scored in OT. It was good to see the Hammer back in the UC.
Same with Keith. I think I even liked his tribute video better. It’s great to look back, especially when you look back, you think about championships. Both 2 and 4 were here for all 3 of those Cups. Of course, 88 and 19 are still skating out there for us. Kane, in a down year, had an up night… obviously feeling all this mojo… with a goal and the assist on the game winning goal, by a new core member in Brinksy Cat. Of course, a “down year” for Kane still has him atop the team in points with 55 and assists with 38. Oh yeah, he’s tied for 2nd in goals too. He’s still one of the leaders of this team, and in a recent press conference, said he’d love to be a Blackhawk for life. Isn’t it nice to hear that? Not many guys can say they played their entire career with one team, especially nowadays. Sure, could we get some younger guys, some picks for 88; probably. Do you want to see 88 play in another sweater? Quite possibly the greatest Blackhawk player of all time… I don’t. It’s not Kane’s fault that we’re not playing at a high level this year. Just because his level just isn’t as high as it once was, doesn’t mean we discard him; his level is still a lot better than many. I’m all for Kane being here until he retires.
We had to see Keith play for the Oilers on this evening. We had to remember the Hammer trade, which pissed me the hell off, but at the end of the day, didn’t end up being so horrible. On this throwback night at the UC, on this night of good vibes, we remember the glory days. Not sure when they’ll return, the 3 Cups still DID happen, and that’s a whole lot more than some other teams’ fans have seen. Here’s to one day seeing another; here’s to Kane retiring a Blackhawk. Go Hawks!
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