Chicago Blackhawks lose to Columbus Blue Jackets in shootout

The Blackhawks and Blue Jackets took the ice Wednesday night for a game that had great meaning for both teams.

[Kirk BlackHawk]

Jeese!!! Can anyone tell me why i see all week on the sportsnews that the "Blackhawks are in fourth place" when the stats say they are ahead of van and calgary?????? Are they not in the third slot overall in the west or not...they have more points than van or calgary....so why are they not listed as in third in the west....? I mean the divisional structure is to me irrelevant....the first in a division dont play the last in the division...that has been replaced with first plays last in the conference, not the division. I loved the old Norris/Patrick/Smythe/Adams... . that made sense. But i am so tired of commentators and sports channels saying the Hawks are in 'fourth" place or trying to clinch fourth...they are IN THIRD!!!!.... So can anyone tell me why that is being broadcast that way...cause I dont know or understand why.

[Firearm]

Incredible game; both the 'Hawks and Jackets showed a lot of heart. In the end, the team who gained what they had never gained before won out.

[Chris]

Disappointing to leave that extra point out there. A little letdown in the second cost us. Bad break on their tying goal when Seabrook lost his stick. Still had plenty of chances to win it at the end, especially in overtime. Why wasn't Havlat in the shootout?? One word to Kane, SHOOT THE PUCK MORE! He had a wide open net if he would have one-timed the puck instead of passing it back into the slot. Congrats on reaching 100 points, first time since the early 80s I believe.

[Chris]

Kirk BlackHawk wrote:

Jeese!!! Can anyone tell me why i see all week on the sportsnews that the "Blackhawks are in fourth place" when the stats say they are ahead of van and calgary?????? Are they not in the third slot overall in the west or not...they have more points than van or calgary....so why are they not listed as in third in the west....? I mean the divisional structure is to me irrelevant....the first in a division dont play the last in the division...that has been replaced with first plays last in the conference, not the division. I loved the old Norris/Patrick/Smythe/Adams... . that made sense. But i am so tired of commentators and sports channels saying the Hawks are in 'fourth" place or trying to clinch fourth...they are IN THIRD!!!!.... So can anyone tell me why that is being broadcast that way...cause I dont know or understand why.

Division leaders get the top three seeds no matter what the point totals are for any second place teams. The Hawks are stuck in fourth since they can't catch Detroit. A regulation tie or loss by Calgary or Van in one of their last two games or one more point by the Hawks and we clinch 4th.

[ThinThe Herd]

Kirk BlackHawk wrote:

Jeese!!! Can anyone tell me why i see all week on the sportsnews that the "Blackhawks are in fourth place" when the stats say they are ahead of van and calgary?????? Are they not in the third slot overall in the west or not...they have more points than van or calgary....so why are they not listed as in third in the west....? I mean the divisional structure is to me irrelevant....the first in a division dont play the last in the division...that has been replaced with first plays last in the conference, not the division. I loved the old Norris/Patrick/Smythe/Adams... . that made sense. But i am so tired of commentators and sports channels saying the Hawks are in 'fourth" place or trying to clinch fourth...they are IN THIRD!!!!.... So can anyone tell me why that is being broadcast that way...cause I dont know or understand why.

I don't really like seeding a division winner above a team with more points, but that's the way it's set up.

Until that changes, everyone is going to refer to the 3 division leaders in the conference as having the first 3 places.

[ThinThe Herd]

Not often you see Toews -2 for a game.

Great pass by Campbell on Seabrook's goal.

Would have been nice to pick up the extra point, but we'll get it against Detroit Saturday.

[USMCVet]

Check out Seabrook's soft hands. I tell you, he is a natural goal scorer..ha! I think I might have to get my Chelios jersey changed over to Seabrook.
It was a pretty tight game. There were a couple of bad goals, but overall a pretty good effort. I am disappointed with the shootout. Out of three players, only one had a shot on net.
By the way, for the guy who said that he wishes Kane would shoot more. Kane leads the team in shots on goal, and is about 22d in the league. Not bad! And yes, I had to look that up.

[paul]

Nash,Mason,Bolland,Kane all 4 are former London Knights and Williams is a local guy all are playing great in the NHL.It is hard to be humble.
I wish Nash and Mason had picked another game to really shine but c'est la vie.It was a good game but we have to keep our boot on an opponents neck when we have him down. Losing after a 2 goal lead is troubling. On to the Wings and we owe them a butt kicking. Time to pay up.Saturday, Sunday B-T-B's life just don't get any better for an April weekend.GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!

[Indy Hawk Fan]

Hey hockey veterans,

Did Walker play as bad a game as I thought? I thought the one goal by the BJ's was due to him not tying that guy up in the goal area. He just stood there and reacted late. Also he seemed to make several mistakes throughout the game.

What did your trained hockey eyes tell you about Walker's play last night?

Thanks.

[Bryan]

paul wrote:

Nash,Mason,Bolland,Kane all 4 are former London Knights and Williams is a local guy all are playing great in the NHL.It is hard to be humble.
I wish Nash and Mason had picked another game to really shine but c'est la vie.It was a good game but we have to keep our boot on an opponents neck when we have him down. Losing after a 2 goal lead is troubling. On to the Wings and we owe them a butt kicking. Time to pay up.Saturday, Sunday B-T-B's life just don't get any better for an April weekend.GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!

Edzo called it "london calling" when Bolland banked one off Nash, past Mason, haha... Had Kane given him the pass, the irony would have been complete.

[Frustrated Hawks Fan]

Can someone explain to me why Coach Q fails to put arguably his best player, Martin Havlat, on the ice during the shootout? The guy was all over the ice last night - Again!- yet he rides the bench at the most critical time. Kane has been less than impressive in the shootout this year and I love Dave Bolland, but picking him over Havlat? I'm not saying Havlat would have definitely scored, but jeez, the guy has got to at least be given the chance to do so. I don't know if he's been given an opportunity in the shootout all year and that's ridiculous.

On a lighter note, where are the Hawks buying their stick? I don't think I've ever seen a team break a stick as often as this team does - and it always seems to happen at a critical time, like when we have a chance to clear our zone or when we are already playing shorthanded.

[Mel]

It's a good thing when the Blackhawks are playing meaningful games at this time of the year. Everybody the Hawks play are fighting for playoff position.
As a hockey fan I wouldn't want it any other way. Now come the Detroit Redwings, the bullies of the past 10 years. Right now the Redwings are still a better club but it's time the Hawks rise to the occasion.

[Tim - Hockey Rules]

Chris Kuc where is the positive heading in your article?? Blue Jackets deny Hawks' bid to clinch 4th spot in West. How about the Hawks break the attendance record, or how about the Hawks have 100 points first time in 15 years they have done that. Why always a negative if they lose.

I was wondering about the Sticks the Hawks have been using all year. It was a good game but 2 of the BJ goals should have never happened. The Ref got in the way of a clearing attempt by #4 (I am not going to spell that name) that lead to a 2 on 1 and they scored. Then when Seabrooks stick broke, he could not clear the puck with his hand they scored, cause guess what he didn't have a stick.

Even with the shootout loss I am still very happy with this team. 100 points, That has not happened in a LONG time and they did it this year. They set the attendance record at the UC that was huge. I have a hard time picturing the Hawks not getting the 4th spot when it is all said and done. I think that Nash got the 1st star cause he scored for the Hawks and for the BJ's. I loved that 2nd goal by the Hawks. And at least they got PP goal, eventhough the stupid announcer at the game said it was a short handed goal.

[RamRod]

Kane is broadening his game. Scoring is down, because he's taking shots of opportunity (SOG) only when the rest of his game doesn't suffer. If he focused on nothing but scoring, trust me, he'd be scoring. As it is, it's more quantity than quality, that way.

Havlat was on the bench a lot more than usual, last night. I don't know why, but, there was a good reason for that. Versteeg is the guy that should have had a go at the shootout, but it's team moral that was served by Bolland having a go at it. We'd be on "Q's" genius bandwagon if Bolland had managed to get it through the "5 hole".

Did I mention that I hate shootouts?

I HATE SHOOTOUTS!

"They're OUR kids, damnit!"

[iheartsharp]

Writers don't write their headlines. Copy editors do.

[Tim - Hockey Rules]

iheartsharp wrote:

Writers don't write their headlines. Copy editors do.

Ok well I have no idea who writes the headlines, but no matter who writes them why can't they be positive. I could care less if it is a copy editor, or the author of the story.

So since you seem to know so much why do they always bury the Hawks in the sports section? Me and the other regulars here would love to know the answer to that.

[Indian Head Crest]

Frustrated Hawks Fan wrote:

Can someone explain to me why Coach Q fails to put arguably his best player, Martin Havlat, on the ice during the shootout? The guy was all over the ice last night - Again!- yet he rides the bench at the most critical time. Kane has been less than impressive in the shootout this year and I love Dave Bolland, but picking him over Havlat? I'm not saying Havlat would have definitely scored, but jeez, the guy has got to at least be given the chance to do so. I don't know if he's been given an opportunity in the shootout all year and that's ridiculous.
On a lighter note, where are the Hawks buying their stick? I don't think I've ever seen a team break a stick as often as this team does - and it always seems to happen at a critical time, like when we have a chance to clear our zone or when we are already playing shorthanded.

I'm not sure what was going on with the lines last night. Eddie O pointed out at the beginning of either the second or third period (I don't remember which...my powers of observation may have been dulled by copious amonts of vodka) that the Toews/Kane line missed at least one shift and Havlat's ice time was certainly down. I don't know if Q saw something in their games that wsan't there or what. Curious, i thought. And what about that crazy open-net save Khabby had last night? Post-to-post. It was beautiful.

Now we need just one friggin' point from the dastardly Wings. This weekend should be fun. Maybe I'll stick with beer, though. I would like to remember what happens.

[Frustrated Hawks Fan]

Indian Head Crest wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm not sure what was going on with the lines last night. Eddie O pointed out at the beginning of either the second or third period (I don't remember which...my powers of observation may have been dulled by copious amonts of vodka) that the Toews/Kane line missed at least one shift and Havlat's ice time was certainly down. I don't know if Q saw something in their games that wsan't there or what. Curious, i thought. And what about that crazy open-net save Khabby had last night? Post-to-post. It was beautiful.
Now we need just one friggin' point from the dastardly Wings. This weekend should be fun. Maybe I'll stick with beer, though. I would like to remember what happens.

Yeah, I remember Eddie asking Pat if Havlat had been on the ice as they hadn't seen him for awhile. I'm not sure if he was being benched or if he had an equipment problem or something. I certainly didn't see any lack of effort by him at any point in time.

That save by Khabi was awesome!

[Chico17]

From the Crease: Khabby is very capable of carrying the Hawks a long way. Put the load on his Russian shoulders and play deep into the spring! One point in the next two games! Keep the feet moving boys!!

[Tim - Hockey Rules]

RamRod, I have nice cold Labatts in thr fridge waiting to be consumed watching the Game on Saturday. I hope the Hawks go to Detroit and come away with 2 more points.