Chicago 5 San Jose 2
I am starting to write this after the 2nd period because two things really have bugged me tonight. The first, Vlasic yet again is not in the teams starting line up. Unless there is some injury that isn’t being reported or I just missed it, why are they keeping him in the press box? If you aren’t going to play him and give him NHL minutes, the least you can do is send him down to Rockford and let him get consistent minutes. The second, if you were watching this game on NBCSN Chicago, then you know where I am going. How do they do an entire game with the audio out of sync. Hearing goal calls before seeing the puck go in is beyond frustrating. Lets figure this out for the next game.
Ok end of that rant, let’s talk hockey.
The Hawks start this game hot, complete dominated the first period up until Strum was able to get the Sharks on the board. After that it was all San Jose and the period ended with the classic giving up a goal with less than a minute left. After that I was bracing myself for a long night. However, whatever Coach Richardson said in the locker room really got the guys going as they game out strong, get one back on a nice goal from the captain, and it was all Hawks from there on out.
As I mentioned in my preview, these are the games this team needs to win. They really stepped up in each situation and played extremely well. This was the first game in a long time that it was extremely fun to watch. While this is just the first win and it’s very early on, but the foundation for what Coach Richardson is looking to build within this organization is becoming clear 3 games into the season.
Congratulations to Luke Richardson on his first win as a Head Coach.
Three Stars of the Game
3rd Star Tyler Johnson
A healthy Tyler Johnson is a very good Tyler Johnson. He was extremely noticeable out there tonight, throwing his body around and even picked up a big assist on Tyler Radish’s goal after laying the body down to block a shot from the point. It was great to get a glimpse of vintage Tyler tonight.
2nd Star Jonathan Toews
The captain continues his good start to the season by scoring a mini breakaway goal to get the Hawks on the board, which also happened to be the first even strength goal of the season. Toews is really stepping up his offensive game so far this season, and just like Tyler Johnson, it is great seeing Vintage Toews.
1st Stars Sam Lafferty and Jason Dickinson
Raise your hand if you had these two taking over tonight. Keep it up if you had them scoring two short handed goals. Mercy was it fun watching these two work together on the penalty kill. I really love the high intensity style of play Lafferty (2 goals 1 Assist) brings to the table each and every night, so seeing it pay off like it did tonight was great. Jason Dickinson (1 goal 2 assists) who revealed he played most of last season with a broken hand and didn’t know it, really made a name for himself in his debut. I don’t expect this type of outcome each game, but I am already really liking him as part of the PK unit.
The Hawks play again Friday October 21st in their home opener against the Detroit Red Wings
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