December 21, 2014: Heat Check

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It was the Blackhawks turn for center stage on Saturday night as they travelled to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets.  It was a matchup of 2 of the hottest teams in the NHL right now.

Yes, that’s right, Columbus has been playing great.  It was definitely news to me.  Known more for the Horseshoe and their zoo, the Blue Jackets are the only professional team to play in Columbus.  We had a good time on our road trip to Columbus a few years back.  Unfortunately, it did not include a Blackhawks game, but we did visit the Horseshoe and the zoo.  Definitely NOT an Ohio State fan, I do have to admit the Horseshoe was impressive.  I’m sure it’d even be more impressive full of 100,000 people.  The zoo was pretty cool too.  The home of Jack Hanna, frequent visitor of the David Letterman show, the Columbus Zoo was worth the trip.  If you’ve never seen him on Letterman, you’re missing out; some good stuff there.  Another interesting fact was that the Wendy’s corporate headquarters is located just outside Columbus in Dublin, Ohio.  I love me some Double Stacks.  OK, back to the game.

It was an entertaining one, that did not end well for the Hawks.  This game marked the return of Corey Crawford in net.  Finally recovering from a drunken fall at a concert (just keeping it real), Crow played well.  The 1 goal in regulation that was tipped in by ex-Blackhawk Jack Skille, he had absolutely no chance.  The other was scored behind a solid screen; not impossible to save, but definitely not an easy one.  He wasn’t bad, the Columbus goalie was just better.  Recording 39 saves, 22 more than Crow, Bobrovsky was the MVP of this one.  It’s tough when you run into a goalie who stands on his head.  Sharpie had a nice one, and the reviewed Ben Smith goal was a classic pileup at the goalmouth, but that was it.  Still, the game headed to OT, and eventually a shootout.

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The game featured the Hawks #1 penalty kill vs the Blue Jackets #6 power play.  The Blue Jackets won this in-game matchup as well, scoring a power play goal with 1 second left.  Meanwhile, the middle of the road Hawks power play failed to convert on its 4 attempts.  If there’s anything that I can never understand about these great Hawk teams, it’s their power play struggles.  When you have more skill than any team in the NHL, and are given a man advantage, I would like to think you’d be at the top of the power play rankings EVERY year.  It just doesn’t add up.  Then to see this Columbus team, who unless you really follow the NHL you’d be hard pressed to name more than a couple guys on their roster, thrive in this situation, makes me confused… but that does happen from time to time.  Minor complaint about a Hawks team still near the top of the NHL with 46 points.

The Hawks will be back in action at the UC on Sunday night in an original 6 matchup with the Maple Leafs.  Toronto has been playing well as of late too, with a 7-3 mark in their last 10.  The Hawks have only lost twice in a row all year to this point, so load up on that Hawks play tomorrow, and get yourself a little extra Christmas money.  They haven’t lost 3 in a row yet, so worst case, double it up on Tuesday at home against Winnipeg.  Let’s get this train moving boys, and get back on track at home.  Now if we can only improve on that damn power play…

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