THe Chicago Blackhawks are a unique team in that they possess an embarrassment of riches with so many future first ballot hockey Hall of Famers like Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Keith, and Seabrook. They are the rock stars, the A-list guys who get all of the attention from Hawks fans and the worldwide hockey media. And rightly so.
On Saturday night, the Hawks will get a boost when one of their lesser-known, unsung heroes skates back into their lineup. The rascally Andrew Shaw makes his return after he missed the past seven games with an unspecified lower-body injury. Shaw's energy and tenacity will be greatly appreciated by Joel Quennville on Saturday night as the Hawks look to flip the script and correct the third period mistakes that led to their 6-2 loss in Game 2. The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead, however, late in the second period, a Jonathon Quick sick save on a 2-on1 breakaway breathed new life into the Kings who themselves went the other way and scored moments later. The Hawks took a 2-1 lead to the room after 40 minutes, then without warning nor resistance, allowed five third period goals to the re-energized Kings. The Hawks will have to clean up their PK and 5 on 5 play in Game 3. Shaw will bring his patented brand of piss-n-vinegar to the party to make life miserable for the Kings and their skilled forwards and D. Opponents have to hold their heads on swivels when Shaw is on the ice.
The Hawks are a better team with Shaw on the ice, yapping at opponents and snowing their goalies than they are with him seated 150 feet above the ice on press row, eating popcorn.
The Hawks' stars love Shaw and a few of them pumped the kid's tires to the Blackhawks' website on Friday.
“I mean this as praise,” offered Patrick Sharp. “As much as we miss him on the ice, we miss him in the locker room, on the plane, on the bus. He’s all energy all the time, and it’s positive energy. After a game like we lost in Chicago the other night, a game that bothered us all, he would have said something, made us forget it, probably made us laugh. He’s a fun guy.”
Shaw wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth, nor was he a tap-in putt to make it onto an NHL roster. Shaw took the scenic route to the NHL's best team's lineup. He paid his dues and has defied all of the odds that were stacked against him. Thats why its so easy for the elder statesmen on the defending Stanley Cup champs' roster to respect the kid. Shaw was a fifth-round selection, 139th overall, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. That’s after he went untouched and in 2009 and 2010 drafts. Talk about persistence wearing down resistance. Its like Shaw has won the lottery by earning his role in the NHL as an crasher-banger-smack talkin-ballbuster. Every NHL team needs a guy or two like Shaw to keep the mood light in the room and on the bench.
“Yeah, so he really wasn’t picked 139th,” piped up Patrick Kane. “He went seven rounds of 30 teams twice without getting a call. So, he’s really the 559th overall selection.”
Kane, not for the first time, uttered these words within range of Shaw because that’s the way it is when guys live together for nine months.
Kane loves Shaw. He embraces the kid for his warrior spirit and his dogged determation.
“You have to respect the way he plays,” said Kane. “He puts his body in tough areas, takes the punishment and is fearless. He’s a big part of what we do.”
Thanks, Blackhawks.com
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