And people questioned if this man should be the starter for the Hawks in the playoffs. (Photo: Bridget Samuels/flickr)

Going into tonight’s game two with the Kings, the Blackhawks were 10-1-1 in the second game of back-to-backs this season. Make it 11-1-1 on the season.

The only news of the pregame was the late scratch of the Kings’ Mike Richards who was hit late in game one by Bolland. He took warmups after Sutter said he was “fine” but then was scratched at the last minute. I know these guys don’t want to miss playoff games but I just don’t understand the thought process in him even being on the ice if there was a question of symptoms from the hit.

The Blackhawks came out flying again but the difference tonight – it took them less than two minutes to beat Quick. The Hawks kept the puck in the zone and then Viktor Stalberg pulled off a beautiful spinorama pass in the slot to a wide open Andrew Shaw who buried it to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead at the 1:56 mark.

» Continue reading “Quick Pulled As Hawks Win Game Two”

Ryan O'Reilly was almost as surprised as I was, apparently. (photo: screenshot/IIHF YouTube)

Seventh time’s the charm – Team Canada was eliminated Thursday morning (3 A.M., Pacific) when they lost to Team Slovakia, a team who hasn’t beaten them since 2002. Russia, Finland and the Czech Republic will all join Slovakia in the semis.

» Continue reading “Early Morning Elimination”

Michal Handzus joins the Slovaks for Worlds. (Photo Credit: KristenJerkins/Flickr)

Today three teams registered new players to their roster for the 2012 IIHF Hockey World Championships.  Canada, France and Slovakia all added additional members to help better their chances at winning it all.  Both Canada and Slovakia turned to North American teams for reinforcement.

Slovakia turned to the San Jose Sharks for an extra hand, welcoming center Michal Handzus. For the Sharks this season Handzus posted 7 goals and 17 assists for 24 points (via Yahoo!Sports).

Today Handzus is expected to make his Team Slovakia debut against the United States team.  Currently the Slovaks hold a 2-1 edge over the States in the first period. Goals being scored by Justin Faulk for the United States and Branko Radivojevic and Dominik Granak scoring for the Slovaks, Handzus getting an assist, not bad for a debut game.

Keep an eye out for a game recap later on after the game has concluded. Go Slovakia!

EDIT: UPDATE the Slovaks have now taken a 3-1 lead over the United States thanks to Andrej Sekera.