Results tagged “chicagoblackhawks”

Don't be surprised if our Editor-in-Chief is a little jumpy this week. He's got this silly fear of clowns and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to town on Wednesday. Taking over the United Center from Nov. 18-29, the "Greatest Show on Earth" once again exiles the Bulls and Blackhawks for their annual "circus trips." The Bulls open their West Coast swing on Tuesday night against the Sacramento Kings, followed by games against the L.A. Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, Utah Jazz and Milwaukee Bucks over the next two weeks before returning to the Madhouse on Madison again. While the team's been able to return to Chicago to celebrate Thanksgiving with family between games, this year the Bulls play the Jazz in Utah on the holiday.

With all of the Olympics hoopla last week, we hadn't yet had a chance to preview the Blackhawks season, which opened in Helsinki, Finland against the Florida Panthers on Friday. After last season's renaissance on the ice, hockey has re-emerged as a sport we in Chicago care about, and we fans have high expectations for our Blackhawks in 2009-10.

Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane was arrested early Sunday morning, along with his cousin, after an altercation with a cabbie in his hometown of Buffalo. Allegedly, the dispute arose over 20 cents -- the cab driver handed back $1 from $15 on a $13.80 fare, but claimed he didn't have the coins to make exact change. According to the police report, James Kane tore the money from the driver's hand and both men began punching the him in the face and head. "They broke my glasses, they ripped my clothes ... all over 20 cents," cabdriver Jan Radecki said.

We guess new Blackhawks don't have to wait long for their company health insurance to kick in, because just weeks after signing the richest contract in team history, Marian Hossa will require surgery on his injured shoulder. The one he hurt while still a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

No harm, no foul... right? Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon took some heat recently for not sending the team's restricted free agents their offer sheets by the league-designated deadline. The team eventually signed all eight players to contracts anyway and the players' union withdrew its complaint. But the issues isn't over, as reports suggest that the team is expected to announce that Tallon has been fired on Tuesday. He will be replaced by Stan Bowman, who had been assistant general manager under Tallon.

One good drunken brawl video deserves another, so for this week's Friday Flashback we're taking a look a the beer-fueled brouhaha that broke out at the Chicago Stadium in 1982. The Blackhawks, who had managed to squeeze into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, had beaten the Minnesota North Stars in the first two games of the Division Semi-Finals and were looking for a sweep in game 3. Unfortunately, Minnesota had different plans and spanked the Hawks, taking a 7-1 lead by the third period.

The Blackhawks proved this past year that they're a team on the rise, and certain moves this off-season suggest the team is intent on building upon their success. But did another, inadvertent action, put their future in jeopardy? The 'Hawks may have bungled the tendering of qualifying offers to their restricted free agents -- clerical work that's typically a formality -- and the result might have serious ramifications for the team.

When we started getting into the NHL playoffs a couple months ago, we were surprised to see Chris Chelios was playing for the Detroit Red Wings, the same Chelios who had helped the Blackhawks to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992. The same future Hall of Famer who played for the Blackhawks from 1990-1999. Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour may have retired, but the defenseman, at age 47, was still skating (as is Roenick, who plays for San Jose).

                     

We admit, this year's Chicago Blackhawks team captivated us like no local sports team has in a long time. While the Sox and Bulls also overachieved (last year and this spring, respectively) - and the Cubs have underachieved - what's notable about the Blackhawks' run this season is the resurgence in their popularity. When Benjy previewed the team back in October, there was reason to be optimistic: they were back on TV locally, they were a young team already showing signs of improvement, hosting this year's Winter Classic. All the pieces were there for a breakthrough year for the 'Hawks...and it happened. Hockey is once again popular in Chicago, like it hasn't been since the days of Chelios, Roenick, and Murphy. We're disappointed in their playoff exit, but we'd be lying if we said we weren't already pumped for next season.

Well, it was a great run for the NHL's youngest squad but the Blackhawks' season came to an end Wednesday night. The 'Hawks didn't go down without a fight, but ultimately the Red Wings were too much for them in Game Five, beating the 'Hawks 2-1 in overtime and winning the series 4-1. Chicago, playing without Martin Havlat and Nikolai Khabibulin, gave Detriot a spirited fight for over 60 minutes with the two teams drawing to a 1-1 at the end of regulation. Neither team got on the board until the third period, when Detroit struck first when Dan Cleary knocked the puck into the net. A sweet backhand by Patrick Kane tied the game a few minutes later.

Following the Blackhawks' 6-1 pasting by the Detroit Red Wings, coach Joel Quenneville had some strong words to say about the officiating in the game, particularly a roughing penalty on Matt Walker at the end of first period Sunday. The penalty's ensuing power play led to a Detroit goal and put the defending champs up 3-0 in the crucial Game Four. “I think we witnessed probably the worst call in the history of sports today," said the Blackhawks coach. The NHL didn't much care for Coach Q's critique of the officiating and fined the 'Hawks coach $10,000 for his outburst.

Looking to avoid a virtually insurmountable 0-3 series deficit, the Blackhawks knew they needed to win on their home ice in Game Three of the Western Conference finals. In spite of blowing a three goal lead on the Detroit Red Wings, the Blackhawks won 4-3 after scoring less than two minutes into overtime.

The Blackhawks played a much better game on Tuesday night, and matched the Red Wings goal for goal in regulation, but that still was not enough as Detroit scored first in overtime to beat the 'Hawks 3-2 and take a 2-0 series lead. As in Game One, Chicago scored first when Jonathan Toews hit a shot off Jonathan Ericsson's skate past Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood. Brian Rafalski countered and the two teams again entered the locker room at the first intermission tied 1-1 on a pair of power play goals. Onetime Hawk Daniel Cleary continued to frustrate his old team, giving Detroit a 2-1 lead when he scored late in the second period. Toews scored his second goal of the evening -- redirecting a Kris Versteeg shot into the net -- to tie the game in the third period and help send it to overtime.

On Sunday afternoon, the highly anticipated Western Conference finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings got underway at Joe Louis Arena in the Motor City. In the end, the defending NHL champs won 5-2 to take a 1-0 lead in the seven game series. 'Hawks fans were the ones cheering early on, as Chicago scored the first goal of the game when Adam Burish backhanded a loose puck into the net. Former Hawk Dan Cleary evened the score for Detroit just moments later, and the first period ended with the score knotted at 1 goal apiece. Johan Franzen gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead in the second period.

For the first time since 1995, the Blackhawks will be playing in the Western Conference Finals after eliminating the Vancouver Canucks in six games, with a 7-5 victory at the United Center on Monday night.

The Chicago Blackhawks took a 3-2 lead on Dave Bolland's power play goal Saturday night and never looked back, beating the Vancouver Canucks 4-2 and taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

For the first time since 1996, the Blackhawks have won a postseason series, and will now be moving on to the second round of the NHL playoffs. They did so by beating the Calgary Flames on Monday 4-1 at the Pengrowth Saddledome, winning the series 4-2.

On Saturday night, the Blackhawks came out firing. Jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period, the 'Hawks beat the Calgary Flames 5-1 at the United Center, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Brent Seabrook initiated the scoring with a goal midway through the opening period. Moments later, Patrick Sharp found the net followed by a Kris Versteeg goal just 19 seconds later. Of course, the first team to score in this series had yet to win a game, so we'd understand if Blackhawks fans got nervous when Calgary scored their lone goal of the evening early into the second period. Chicago, however, answered with two more scores by Andrew Ladd and Cam Barker to extend the lead to four goals. Neither team was able to light the lamp in the third period.

In a wild six-goal second period, the Blackhawks fell behind the Calgary Flames by three goals before mounting a furious comeback attempt and tying the game before the second intermission. But it wasn't enough, as the Flames added two more goals in the final period to beat the 'Hawks 6-4 at the Pengrowth Saddledome, and send the series back to Chicago tied 2-2.

Playoff hockey returned to the United Center ice for the first time in seven years, as the Blackhawks faced off against the Calgary Flames in game one of their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinals series.

The Blackhawks closed out their regular season on a high note Sunday, shutting out the Detroit Red Wings 3-0. Now, it's playoff time. For the first time since 2002, the 'Hawks are among the 16 teams fighting for the Stanley Cup (just as we predicted).

Tigers, elephants and clowns [Ed.'s Note: God, I hate clowns. - M.G.] are filing into the United Center, which means only one thing for Bulls and Blackhawks fans -- the dreaded "circus trip." Each November, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus exiles the Bulls and Blackhawks from their home for an extended road trip. For the Bulls, the trip usually wreaks havoc with the young team's record and psyche -- since MJ left town, the Bulls are a cumulative 6-52. This year's squad, led by rookie Derrick Rose on the court and a rookie coach on the sideline, is off to a surprising 5-5 start. Will that give them the confidence to hold their own while away, or will the road trip derail their early success?

Dying to spend New Years Day at Wrigley Field watching the Blackhawks and Redwings face off? Want to give that sports nut on your shopping list the coolest gift ever? The NHL released details for ticket sales to the Winter Classic today.

Hockey's been pretty much off our sports radar for the past few years. Between the sour taste left by the lockout a few years back and our general hatred of how Bill Wirtz ran his team, we passed our time during the cold Chicago winters exclusively with the Bulls. Given the anemic attendance numbers at the UC for Hawks games, we clearly weren't the only ones -- it's not like the fans were instead watching on TV at home. But with the end of the Bill Wirtz era and an exciting young roster, we've thought about giving hockey another chance.

We're just one week into the NHL's regular season, and already the Blackhawks have made a change at the top. Following a sluggish 1-2-1 start to the season, Denis Savard was fired as head coach on Thursday. Savard's axing comes a day after the team won their first game of the young season, but it was too little, too late for GM Dale Tallon apparently. While many have high hopes for the team and they've been slow out of the gate, this change seems very premature.

The Blackhawks, and hockey in general, have pretty much been off Chicagoist's radar the past few years between the lost season of '04-'05 and the generally unfriendly fan treatment by Bill Wirtz over the years.

We're all getting over our excitement for the upcoming NHL Winter Classic on New Years Day. Blackhawks versus Red Wings at Wrigley? Hell yes, we say. But some of us are teeny bit more excited than others. For example, Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley. Quigley put together a resolution declaring January 1, 2009 as "Chicago Blackhawks Day" and designating Wrigleyville as an "Octopus-Free Zone." But our favorite part of the resolution? The clever Quigley tossed in a slam on the rival Red Wings by using red capital letters in the last line of the resolution that, when written out together, spell "DETROIT SUCKS." Buuuuurrrrrrn! Your move, Detroit.

New Year's Day outdoors? That's how Chicagoist usually spends it—but on a Mexican beach. At least until the Rose Bowl kicks off. We're not quite so sure we'd want to spend it outside in Wrigley Field, which could be a little cold. On the other hand, watching two of the "Original Six" NHL teams face off in the open air does sound pretty damn cool.

After two seasons of exile in Rosemont calling the Wolves, legendary play-by-play announcer Pat Foley is returning to the Blackhawks. He'll team up with with Eddie Olczyk to cover all of the 'Hawks games on — gasp! — TV.

The Chicago Blackhawks honored the NIU victims last night with above decal, which they'll wear on their helmets again tomorrow night in St. Louis and Wednesday night here against Minnesota. And Ozzie Guillen and co. were wearing NIU hats at spring training. [Blackhawks, Uniwatch]