Return Of the Blackhawks

Well in the second game against the Coyotes, the Blackhawks have finally started to show why they were picked at the beginning of the season to win it all. They played great defense, passed the puck around, made some stupendous shots, and with a small bit of Niemi playing some solid goaltending, the Blackhawks pulled of a 2-0 win over the Coyotes to remain above the rest in the West.

With the return of Seabrook tonight, the defense let up 28 shots and provided Niemi with some great support that was needed to grab this shutout. The saves that Niemi had tonight were some of the best that I've seen from him so far this season. You can watch the highlights from the game here. The glove save that he made while flat on his stomach was just unbelievable. He is showing us why he is the goalie that we are to rely on for the rest of the season and through the post season. Niemi has had some rocky points through the middle of the season, but has finally gotten past those points. I am actually glad he had those terrible games in the middle of the season and has emptied them from his system, rather than save the shitty games for now at the end right before the playoffs. A few goalies who are in the middle of their terrible runs are Nabokov and Miller who have let up an unbelievable amount of goals in the games since the Olympic break. Niemi is playing very solid and can be relied upon for the playoffs.

For those of us who have been anxiously awaiting Seabs return, we no longer have to worry. He has come back to a great defense, took up his spot besides Keith, and added some of the depth back to the defense that has had to rely on more people than they have been used to. He contributed to the great play that provided Niemi with his 6th shutout for the season. He made some great checks on the Coyotes and even defended his team and threw down a 'Yote when he poke-checked Niemi a few times too many. The defense is still missing a few players, but is managing very well without them.

Patrick Kane showed his amazing ability once again with a snapshot goal. He has always made us aware of his vision on the ice and his accurate passing, but what we all have wanted from him was more goals. Yes he has the most goals on the team, but Kane has the ability to be one of the league leaders in goals scored. Marian Hossa followed up with a very sweet wrist shot after gaining control of the bouncing puck. He quickly settled the puck and slid it between Bryzgalov's pads. For the rest of the game, the Blackhawks handled the puck and kept it for the majority of the game. The Hawks also held the Coyotes to no goals despite being shorthanded 4 times.

The next game for the Hawks come against the Bluejackets who are almost 29 points lower than the Blackhawks. I wish Joel will continue starting Niemi and maybe Niemi can make a run at being the league leader in shutouts, despite playing 24 games less than Bryzgalov, the current leader with 8 shutouts. With the way that the Hawks have just played against the Coyotes, and how they have been playing more consitenly opver the past few games, I see the Hawks remaining on top of the list, and even forcing the Capitals to win most of their games so that they can be on top with the most points at the end of the season.