Super 8: Blackhawks keep win streak alive with win over Flyers

December 27, 12:09 AMChicago Blackhawks ExaminerDieter Kurtenbach

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The Chicago Blackhawks had six days off and were looking to extend their winning streak from seven to eight games. They did so, getting five goals from five different players in a 5-1 victory in front of a record capacity crowd at the United Center. 

And while the fire marshall was making sure the United Center was safe, someone should have alerted him that the fire was, in fact, on the ice, in the form of the Hawks and Martin Havlat. 

If the Blackhawks were on fire on Friday, the Flyers could have used some of their heat before the game, earlier in the day. The charter flight the team took to Chicago early Friday was forced to circle for an hour due to runway problems at Midway airport. The plane was redirected to O’Hare, but the typical NHL entourage of buses and equipment vans were not as easily diverted, forcing the Flyers to miss their morning skate.? 

The Blackhawks took full advantage of the Flyers’ lethargic start, scoring twice within the first 154 seconds of regulation. Andrew Ladd attempted to wake up the Flyers by putting home a rebound from a Martin Havlat shot that Philadelphia goalie Marty Biron was unable to control 92 seconds into the game, and Patrick Sharp added another tally a minute later. 

Sharp flattened Flyers rookie Claude Giroux on the left wing boards, and cut to open ice near the right wing circle. Patrick Kane was able to corral a failed Flyers clearing attempt and complete a tape to tape pass with a wide open Sharp, who, without hesitation, fired a wrist shot that beat Biron high gloveside. 

The result after two minutes and thirty four seconds was a commanding 2-0 lead that would not be relinquished by the Blackhawks, who have won 8 consecutive games for the third time in their franchise’s history. If they better the Minnesota Wild Sunday night in St. Paul, they will stand alone at the top of the team record book with nine consecutive wins. 

The Flyers showed some spunk when a workman effort from captain Mike Richards pounded the puck home to cut the Blackhawks lead in half. From then on out, the Blackhawks were in complete control. 

The tables had tilted in the second period, and the Blackhawks controlled nearly every second of attack; literally. The Flyers were only able to register one single shot on goal, and were held shotless for more than eighteen minutes. The Blackhawks controlled the puck with the greatest of ease, breaking down the Flyers backcheck like a 20 minute powerplay. The period was, in essence, Marty Biron versus the relentless Blackhawk attack. Biron won, stopping fourteen Blackhawks shots, most in spectacular fashion. 

Frustration amounted to anger late in the period, when Joffery Lupol was called for slashing giving the Blackhawks 56 seconds of powerplay to end the period, and when Simon Gagne took a holding penalty as the buzzer was to sound, the Blackhawks went to the dressing room with a two man advantage waiting for them when they took the ice for the third period. 

The Blackhawks capitalized on the opportunity, when Brian Campbell scored on a one time slapshot from the point, beating a shielded Biron. The Flyers killed the remaining penalty, but were a man down seconds after coming back to full strength when Braydon Colburn was called for hooking. On the subsequent faceoff inside the Blackhawks’ zone, Darroll Powe’s clearing attempt went over the glass, earning him a delay of game penalty. The Blackhawks had another two man advantage, that seemed to being going for naught until Kris Versteeg put home another Martin Havlat rebound, top shelf, to give the Blackhawks a 4-1 lead. 

And, in similar fashion to the Sharp goal in the first period, the Blackhawks struck exactly one minute later, when Dave Bolland joined the fun, as he pushed home a Brian Campbell centering pass with a diving stick poke in front of the net. 

Biron made 33 saves on the evening, but was unable to stop the five Blackhawk goals. His counterpart, Nik Khabibulin, had very little work, and could count on one hand how many times he was truly tested. But, a win is a win, and while Biron was not the reason of the Flyers’ woes, he was straddled with the loss. Khabibulin on the other hand, won his fourth straight game with 17 saves on the evening. 

Feathers in the Headdress 

The Blackhawks were firing on all cylinders Friday night, and not even a hot goaltender could stop them from dominating the scoresheet. And while Duncan Keith was not on that scoresheet, as he didn’t tally any points, his play tonight was laudable because it was different than a usual Duncan Keith day at the office. 

Aaron Johnson was activated from the Injured Reserve before the game, and Cam Barker, one of the NHL’s best powerplay pointmen, was scratched with an undisclosed injury. Keith, who is the Blackhawks’ number one defensive stopper on the blueline, filled the role vacated by Barker for the first two periods of powerplays. And while, again, he did not score any points, his ability to play the role on short notice, and without much practice, made him the Blackhawks’ third star of the game. 

Andrew Ladd was the second star of the game. It seems that Ladd is consistently in the stars, but his play has been so commendable over this winning streak that it would be a travesty to leave him out. Ladd had a goal on the evening, and was, again, the relentless engine behind the incendiary play of the HavBolLadd line (HavBolLadd copyright Dieter Kurtenbach 2008). It was HavBolLadd that completely shut down the Flyers all night, and led the Blackhawks to their eighth straight. 

But the real standout performer on HavBolLadd was Martin Havlat, who had two assists on the evening, but set the pace for the entire game, all while putting seven shots on net, requiring a superb effort by Marty Biron to keep him out of the goal scoring category. It might not be Havlat’s best game of the year, but it certainly is in the running. He is starting to show the game changing ability that the Blackhawks so desperately needed when they traded for him after the lockout. It was only after a “demotion” to the third line that his play has started to click. If the defensive stopping line HavBolLadd can continue to completely alter games singlehandedly, the Blackhawks are in for a whole world of success this season. Martin Havlat-first star. 

The Kurtenblog 

Eight? I would have never believed it. I will say right now that the Blackhawks will not get to the record the Penguins set in 1993, when they ran off 17 straight wins. I feel confident in that statement, but I would love to see this thing hit 11 at Wrigley Field. That also said, I would personally trade a loss versus Minnesota on Sunday for two straight wins over the Red Wings. Oh, how sweet that would be. This season though, anything seems to be possible. Perhaps fans can have their cake and eat it too. 

Looking into Friday’s game, great things stood out. First, the Blackhawks took advantage of an advantageous situation. For a team that usually gets off to a rusty start, I thought the Blackhawks would be the ones to go down early to the Flyers. It was great that they were able to change the trend. It was also great that the Blackhawks were able to burry the Flyers in this game. The longer you keep a struggling team in a game, the greater the chance they will stop struggling. Marty Biron kept the Flyers in the game for as long as he could, and when the Flyers gave the Hawks golden opportunities, the Hawks took them and never looked back. Brian Campbell deserves accolades for his performance. The assist might have been lucky, but the goal was vintage Campbell. The Hawks seem unbeatable when 51 is at the top of his game. 

I thought that Troy Brouwer and Craig Adams had great games. Aside from their fights, they were playing a smash mouth style of hockey that wore at the psyche of the Flyers very apparently. Brouwer seems to be coming into his own at the NHL level. It is only a matter of time before he really goes on a scoring rampage. 

Craig Adams’ play is going to make Joel Quenneville’s job very stressful when Adam Burish comes back. Along with his checking abilities and propensity to agitate, Adams has shown a nice scoring upside. It would be very difficult to scratch a player like Adams when his is playing at such a high level. Which brings me to my next point: 

The only thing Dustin Byfuglien can finish is a meal. He isn’t finishing his checks like he should and he sure as hell isn’t finishing his scoring opportunities. His physical play is there, but it means nothing if there is nothing of product happening. It seems as if Byfuglien is barely trying. That, or he is incapable of putting home a puck in a crease crashing situation. He doesn’t seem to want to stand in front of the net to screen and deflect, leaving that work to the much smaller, but much stronger willed Jonathan Toews. The worst part of it all is that Dustin Byfuglien might be the most talented winger on the squad not named Kane. Andrew Ladd has been setting a prime example on how to play on the defensive side of the puck, and Troy Brouwer is slowly becoming the teams best power forward, though Ben Eager dabbles a bit every once in a while. When Burish is activated, it might be good of coach Q to use him in big Buff’s place for a night, and give Eager a chance to play on an offensive line. At this point, it can’t hurt anymore than seeing Buff not being able to handle the puck off a pass or shoot wide of the net on  a one-timer from a great centering pass. 

I would also like to address the logjam on the blueline. Cam Barker’s injury was fantastically timed, and while I have never been the biggest fan of Barkers, I sure do miss him on the powerplay. I do think that Duncan Keith did a good job filling in until Wisniewski took over. If the Wiz can will the role well, I say let him have it, but Barker’s worth to this team is never ultimately realized until he’s not there, something we didn’t understand early in the year. 

That said, I love the pairing of Johnson and Campbell. Johnson was a +2 on the evening, bringing him to +15 overall on the season. And while +/- rating isn’t always the best judgement tool of a player, in this case, it speaks volumes for Johnson’s quietly confident play that seems to alway lead to great things for the ‘Hawks. 

Johnson was without a doubt playing his best hockey when he was paired with Campbell early in the year, and great things happen when Johnson plays well. Why screw up a good thing? 

I do think that Brent Sopel deserves to play over Matt Walker at this point. Walker’s performance against the Flyers was the definition of outplayed. He was somehow a minus one in a game where the Blackhawks were +10 on the Flyers. If you watch the Richards goal, notice how Walker is easily beaten. Brent Sopel might not be the best player in the league, but he is not a 5 on 5 detriment like Walker and I don’t think you loose a thing in the penalty kill with Sopel in the game. At some point the Blackhawks will likely trade one of the defenseman and Sopel deserves a chance to prove that he shouldn’t be the one moved. 

And finally-VERSTEEG! Oh how I missed Mr. Kris Versteeg. It’s good to have the number 32 scoring goals again. I thought that the little man was loosing a bit of his wind.  I’m glad to report that Versteeg’s offensive production was not dead, it was just resting. Now well rested, let’s see if he can take his game to the next level. I have a feeling he will be able to.

PS- I voted in the for the NHL All-Star Game. I only vote once, and this is my ballot that I filled out in good conscience