Posted by I have failed to provide any actual game recaps or previews thus far, and for that, I apologize. Hopefully, this is just the first in many more to come.
For those of us, like myself, who have not paid a lot of attention to the Chicago Blackhawks this season, we were very rudely wakened to what the ‘Hawks are capable of doing. Last night, it was a 4-0 win over the Panthers. Florida kept it tight for the first 2 periods, trailing just 1-0 after 2, but Chicago was clearly the better team. A game that got out of hand in the end, but was thoroughly exciting for the first 50 minutes. Two high paced, aggressive, offensively minded teams going at it, chances for both sides. Good stuff.
But for the first time in awhile, a team looked faster and hungrier then the Panthers. The Blackhawks defense looked better then Florida’s, and that’s saying something. Quicker, more aggressive, Chicago took it to Florida from the drop of the puck. Florida prides itself on being the faster, harder working team. Tonight, they met their match. Florida never got their forecheck going. Chicago’s blue line speed wouldn’t allow it. The Panthers got out of their system and started chasing, and never really got back to their style. Instead, it was Chicago who played Panthers’ hockey and showed why they are one of the top teams in the league.
It wasn’t for lack of effort from the Panthers, though. Florida had chances, but it just wasn’t to be. Cristobal Huet was outstanding. On another night, Florida gets a couple bounces the other way, and it’s a different game. But Huet was on his head all night, and never moreso then the dagger save midway through the 3rd period. That save, on Nathan Horton, was incredible. In one second, I’m yelling at Horton for trying the fancy pants, pretty, showy move to get around a defender, 1 on 1, and not shooting the puck! Come on, Nathan, shoot! Then I’m screaming, “WOW!! HE PULLED IT OFF!! WHAT A MOVE!! WHAT A GOAL!!” The next… silence. I couldn’t believe it. Huet somehow did the splits, stopped the first shot, then lifted his glove and saved the rebound. That was the end of the game. The final 10 minutes was just a chance for the Blackhawks’ scorers to show off.
A couple of good postgame quotes from DeBoer and Vokoun; “I think we got the deserved result tonight,” Panthers coach Pete DeBoer said. “I think they were the better team and that’s a team that we have to bring our A-plus game against or they expose you, and they did tonight.” And from T-Vo; “Obviously, you’re going to play only good teams from now on,” Vokoun said. “If you want to make playoffs, you’ve got to beat good teams too. So I don’t care how good they are, I think we could have played better — all of us. And we just didn’t.” So true. So true. Florida was not going to win every game, and this was a chance to see how they measured up to a top tier team. For 3\4 of the game, Florida skated with the ‘Hawks. You are going to run into hot ‘tenders now and then. Now it’s time to learn and move on.
There was kind of, sort of good news from around the league last night. Montreal and Buffalo lost, so the Panthers are in the same spot they were before tonight’s game. But Carolina and Pittsburgh both won, so they are now 2 points closer to the pack. Florida will try to close out the 5-game homestand with a win Saturday when the league leading Bruins come down. From there, it’s on the road for the most important road trip of the year. But first things first, Boston on Saturday.
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