Meet Miss P!
By Rich Lindbloom
There are rare moments in life when the stars align, those nights when you fill those inside straights. Remember Patrick Kane’s hat trick in Game 6 against Vancouver on May 11, 2009 – that’s what I’m talking about! PK, my main dawg. It helped seal a wild, 7-5 victory over the vile, loathsome, hated Canucks in the waning moments of the third period.
Kaner scooped the puck up along the left boards and headed unimpeded towards Lu’s net. Kane rifled a wicked back hander over Luongo’s right shoulder to vault the Hawks into the Conference Finals against another group of mutts, the Wings. That game would probably rank third on my all-time favorite list, just behind “The Edmonton” game on Dec 23, 2007, and the first game I ever went to back in the early 60’s against the Leafs.
While not on par with the aforementioned games, Monday’s game at the United Center, against a desperate LA King squad, was one of those that send you home smiling. Just prior to the game, the Hawk organization rolled out the red carpet for the 2015 Westminster Best in Show champion, the gorgeous Miss P. It was only the second time in Westminster history that a beagle had claimed the Stanley Cup of dog shows. Take a look at that face! There is no doubt that is one regal beagle.
You may think I’m a little weird, but watching the Westminster Final, is almost as suspenseful as watching game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. (One judge decides who the winner out of the seven groups the dogs are classified in. And you think a hockey ref has a tough job.) The judge works the crowd, who are cheering on their favorites in an attempt to influence the judge. When he pauses to do a more thorough examination, the crowd holds their breath – “Is that the one?!” Miss P was a decided underdog to crowd favorites “Swagger,” an English Sheep dog and “Matisse,” a Portuguese Water dog. Described as taking a “devilishly long route to make up his mind,” Judge David Merriam made the surprising choice of Miss P.
Miss P actually watched the entire hockey game, sitting on her owners lap. This should not come as a surprise, as Miss P is a Canadian dog. At any rate, it was a special treat, combined with a solid hockey game contested by the men of four feathers. Many fans who were being coaxed off the window sill by their loved ones after Friday’s game, once again started to think about overcoming the Preds and Blues for first place in the Conference. Knocking LA a few more rungs down from the 8th spot in the Western Conference Playoffs was the icing on the cake. We all know what the Kings did in 2012 coming out of the eight hole.
Miss P might have stolen the show Monday night, but Cor-dawg and Scott (Great Dane) Darling remain our Big Dawgs on the porch. Although Corey gave up 4 goals on Friday and three on Sunday, I thought he was tested a bit more than Darling. Monday’s game was one of the better team defensive efforts of the season, smothering a desperate King attack. This is not to say that Darling was not called on to make some solid saves, just that the quality of scoring chances seemed to be significantly reduced on Monday. I could be wrong, but I don’t think the Hawks gave up one break away or 2-1 against the Kings. (The eye test tells me they been averaging 6.3 of those bad situations a game.) It will be interesting to see if “all the kings horses and all the kings men can put LA back together again.”
Maybe we should schedule more back to back games? I doubt you would have had many takers on a wager that we would defeat the Islanders/Rangers and then the Jets/Kings. The Winnipeg game was one that had us sitting on pins and needles for three hours. I didn’t see many red jerseys in Winnipeg barn – the Jets fans seem to be all in on their support of the thugs on their team. The Jets are huge, and that, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” axiom leads to a lot of the opposition dusting off their britches. There is some truth to the counter axiom, “The bigger they are, the farther you fly.”
It was a physical game, and I kept noticing Jets rookie, 6’3″, 198# Mark Scheifele throughout the game. The Kitchener, Ontario native has recorded 14 goals and 32 assists in his inaugural season. The kid plays with a bit of an edge. He caught a break when, in a perfect example of blind justice, Niklas Hjalmarsson was sent off for elbowing(?) It’s obvious the young pup is starting to feel his oats. Actually, #4 putting a legal, bone jarring check on Scheifele, reminded me of our older dogs putting our young puppies in their proper place. Hopefully this will be a harbinger of things to come when the Playoffs begin.
When I wrote in the last article that the Hawks are getting older, I noted we need some young blood bringing injecting some energy to the ice. Recently, I started thinking about the interactions between the puppies and older dogs we’ve had in our household. We have a 6 year old Newfie and a 1.5 year old Newfie. George, who is 6, is probably along the lines of Charlie Daniels dog; “Kind a like my old blue chip hound, he likes to lay around in the shade.” Digit exhibits much more enthusiasm and is always trying to get a rise out of the old boy. When he finally pushed George too far, our veteran lets Digit know who’s boss.
I bring this up because perhaps this is why Coach Q favors veterans over younger players expending their boundless energy. It’s giving me hope that our cagey old veterans can snap out of it when the Quarter finals begin. As Fifth Feather brilliantly noted in a piece after the Winnipeg game on thecommitteindian.com site, “If we’ve learned anything from this Hawks core, it’s going to take a very special effort to drive the nail through their coffin.”
While I have a tendency to jump on the “get a young pup up from Rockford to take Michal Rozsival’s spot,” I have to give credit where credit is due. The #32 car played over 16 minutes and was even on the plus side of the ledger in both games. His physical presence was certainly a plus against the Philistines on the Jets and Kings.
No, that is not Shaw hoisting Buff’s head.
Another very big positive as we head into the playoffs, is the tenacious defense of Hjalmarsson and fellow Swede Johnny Oduya. (Did you ever wonder if they talk Swedish or American when they are on the ice together. Up in the 300 level you can’t really hear them to well.) Oduya has been almost as good as the Chris Block-proclaimed best defenseman on the Hawks for months and months, Niklas Hjarlmarrson. I’m pretty sure I inspired that observation when I said Rozsival should not be paired with our #1 defenseman, Keith, in my last piece. Nice little dig there by my hockey sensei, Mr. Rex-Kwon- Block! I think we need to get the judgement of an unbiased bystander like Lane Myer to settle this debate!
Three last observations on the Jets game. First, what was up with Big Buff bitch slapping Andrew Shaw after his elbowing penalty. Is it just me, or does Buff need to pick on someone his own size. He may end up being suspended for a filthy cross check to the neck of J.T. Miller on the Rangers Tuesday night. Secondly as much as I hate the “tree tirty tree in da tird,” Foleyism, I actually shouted out, “I love you Pat Foley,” when he said “Patrick Sharp at tirteen tirty tree in the tird!” Lastly, Vermette/Richards/Sharp is officially a thing. It’s their thang, and they basically do what they want to do against the opposition. (Of course that means Coach Q will split them up against the Canucks!) Richards has been a beast lately. It was a joy watching Vermette “sock it to” Doughty early on.
Antoine Vermette, (Tony?), has not lit the lamp, but boy do I like this acquisition. A lot of you probably didn’t notice this moment, but the diabolical Drew Doughty had Vermette lined up for an all-expense paid trip to Saturn, I believe in the first period. Vermette saw the hit at center ice coming at the last moment. Instead of avoiding it, he put on his best Roger Ramjet imitation. From Wikipedia –
“Roger Ramjet is a patriotic and highly moral — if not very bright — hero, who is typically out to save the world, with help from his Proton Energy Pills (“PEP”), which give him “the strength of twenty atom bombs for a period of twenty seconds”. The world is invariably saved by defeating the various recurring criminals who populated the series.”
Not many fans may have noticed that play, but to me it was the turning point in the game. And I know hockey – “hit someone damn it!” It was a monstrous collision, and although “Tony” may have gotten the worst of it, it seemed to inspire the Hawks.
Another inspiration was the play of our reconstructed fourth line, Desjardins/Freddy/T-dawg. Teuvo had 8 shots on goal against the Kings, while helping Kruger and Desjardins stifle the Kings # 1 line. He made two ill-advised passes early in the first period which worried me that Q might put a leash on Teravainen. Fortunately, Coach Q let him play! Who said you can’t teach and old dog new tricks, or coaching strategies as the case may be!
One last observation on the King beatdown. While the entire evening was a howling success, just prior to Hossa’s goal, he chased the puck from the left faceoff dot to the right boards. In three thrustful strides, Big Hoss was pressuring a King player. He has to have legs like the pistons on a Ferrari. Moments later he grabbed hold of the puck near the blue line, reentered the King’s zone and fired a shot under Quick’s blocker. Observing those massive strides of Big Hoss made me note to my friend, “I feel sorry for Mrs. Hossa.”
In closing, although it was a resounding win for the Hawks, I think Miss P stole the show. Late in the third period they played one of those new songs where it seems kids have all the moves down. There was a young lady at the end of our row who mesmerized me with dancing ability. She’d throw her arms to the right, throw her arms to the left, spin her arms in front of her, and then start all over again; all the while gyrating her hips. I would have to say she stole a little of Miss P’s thunder. The camera actually panned to Miss P who appeared a bit lethargic at this point. Her owner took her paws and tried to mimic the moves – how could you not smile with the Hawks up 4-1 at this point?
The stars were aligned on Monday night. Whether it was Miss P, the Hawks or the young damsel at the end of the row, it was a memorable night. It almost made me forget it wasn’t too long ago we lost four out of five games to teams that are out of the playoff picture. As Abraham Lincoln noted though, “I am not concerned that you have fallen; I am concerned that you arise.”
Of course, the song of the game is a no brainer;
Other important stuff:
It appears to me that Michael Jackson may have stolen some of Elvis’s moves.
I vividly recall my dad calling Elvis’s gyrating hips “disgusting.” He led an entire generation of females astray.
A good ol’ boy in Mississippi that I used to sell steel to, drove me by Elvis’s boyhood house just outside to Tupelo. It was the size of a small garage.
He also told me, after Elvis had made it big he came back to Tupelo to see his old friends. Reportedly he said, “Now that I made it, how do I get back here.” There’s something to be said about anonymity.
Our first dog was a beagle mutt. After he passed away, my brother made a 3′ x 5′ blow up of Mac, laying in the back yard. He put it in this hole in the wall my dad made that housed our first TV. I guess it’s why I still have a special place in my heart for beagles. It’s probably why I still howl at a full moon.
The Winnipeg game was a great game to watch, after the first 15 minutes!
Winnipeg reminds me of a basketball team that full court presses the entire game. As we saw on Sunday night, that can be their Achille’s heel, resulting in a lot of odd man rushes the other way. Sharpie sure buried the bone!
Did Andrew Shaw go brain dead on Blake Wheeler’s short-handed goal? Not a real good time for a line change Chicken Hawk. Or, did the coaching staff call for him to come off the ice?
Saad and Toews on a 2-0 – I’ll take those odds every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
Someone needs to kick Big Buff’s ass. Reacquire John Scott.
I still hate the Canucks.
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Rich Lindbloom
