On Gorging Ourselves and Sad Country Songs
“Oh where have you gone darlin’ Cory
With a dram glass in your hand
She’s a drinking away all her troubles
And a courtin’ some other man..” Doc Watson
By Rich Lindbloom
Before I get into the actual meat of this piece, I wanted to describe an image that came to me while getting ready for the two games per night, every night, during Round One of the NHL Playoffs. I love this round the most, because it is basically non-stop, balls out, hockey for almost two weeks. Getting to watch the third period of the Blues vs. Wild on Saturday afternoon almost made me forget about Friday night’s debacle. Damn the Wild look formidable. The Rangers/Penguins game is turning out to be a good old fashioned barn burner as I type this. Lundqvist just let in his fourth goal – is it time for a goalie controversy in New York? Anybody see the line dance in Vancouver last night? As I finish this up I’m watching taking periodic glances at the Jets/Ducks game, which closer resembles a bowling game.
This orgy of hockey viewing reminded me of something I read about eagles one time. When the salmon return to their rivers in Alaska to breed each year, they are eagerly awaited by an assortment of wildlife with dinner reservations. Unlike victories in the NHL Playoffs, the salmon are easy pickings. I recall reading one time that the eagles eat until they literally cannot force down another bite. Reportedly, you can actually hear these magnificent creatures belching! This may shatter the romantic view of the eagle soaring on high, eh?
Belching, farting and other bodily noises would be a pretty apt description of Hawk fans at about 11:30pm on Friday. That game had all the ear markings of “The Wreck of the Old 97,” an old country music staple.
Much like playoff hockey, country music is bathed in sadness. It has a tendency to tug at the heart strings now and again. Every time we play those Nashville cats, I get a hankering to listen to some of that music that so aptly describes life. The fact that you can actually hear the lyrics is a plus. I recall reading Dierks Bentley’s dad saying he liked country music because you could almost always guess what the next line was going to be. For instance, “My dog died yesterday” is easily followed up by “And left me all alone.” The themes seldom changes; old dogs, trains, jails, beat up pick-up trucks, goalies getting pulled or a Lucille leaving her man with 12 hungry kids and a crop in the field.
After Friday night’s late night collapse, I couldn’t help but sing, “This times the hurtin’s for real,” as I was bombarded with texts calling for Cor-dawgs head on a platter. One of my friends, who really knows how to get my goat, called our beleaguered net minder, Corey Huet. He really got me when he said, “Shoot high on Crawford and you can average 4 to 5 goals per game.” And this was after the first goal! I’m pretty sure this guy makes moonshine in his garage.
Now I don’t want you to think this whole piece is going to be doom and gloom. I’ve included one of my all-time favorite country songs at the end to brighten things up a bit before Sunday’s matinee. Fortunately, with the 2 pm start you’ll all be able to go to church first and pray diligently for the Hawks, among other things. As Willie Nelson once put it, “We’d sow are wild oats on Saturday night, and pray for a crop failure on Sunday morning. Careful when you listen to the song though, the last part had me crying! There’s such a fine line between joy and sadness.
Corey getting thrown under the bus reminded me of a story of my son Greg. He was in the semi-finals of Homewood baseballs Little League when he was 12. It was a tight game, and with runners on second and third, a fly ball was hit to shallow left field. Normally, Greg could catch the ball in his sleep, but the team’s aggressive short stop sprinted out and Greg hesitated. Regrettably, the ball fell between them allowing the two runs to score. Want to get away. I’d love to say the coach told Greg “it’s ok, you’ll catch the next one.” Unfortunately, Greg became the goat. He felt lower than “Lucille’s” abandoned husband.
When we got home, he broke down. I recall trying to assuage his severely bruised feelings, with little success. With every positive note I’d try to bring up, Greg lamented, “I cost us the game.” There are few times I felt worse in my life. I sat up and watched a movie with him, and I think talking helped a little – he was too young to drink at this point in his life.
That painful memory makes me wonder if one of the best goalies in the NHL found the solution to his woes in the bottom of a green bottle last night. Can’t say I would blame him. But, let’s be very clear about something; the Blackhawk problems run far deeper than a goalie “who should have had that one.” Eddy O and all the arm chair goalie pundits, quickly pointed out that Cor-dawg went down way too early on Wilson’s goal. First of all, why was Wilson all alone, with nary a Hawk defenseman in sight, for what appeared to be a short eternity. The goal reminded me of when Michal Handzus beat Howard in Game Six in 2013. Handzus could have lit a cigarette, before beating Howard to the far side.
Josi’s goal just can’t happen in the playoffs. How in the hell did he get so open with three seconds left? Does the term, “defensive breakdown” come to mind? All the other goals were from five paces or less. Point blank shots from wide open Predator forwards. If the Hawks only adjustment is to put Darling in the net on Sunday and hope he can stop another 40 shots that would be the equivalent of asking Bullwinkle J. Moose to pull another rabbit out of his hat.
These Nashville Predators are a talented bunch; there is a reason they finished ahead of us in our division – even with losing their last six games. If anyone thought this series was going to be a cakewalk, i’m sure they are having second thoughts now.
One last thing about Corey’s goaltending skills. I hear more and more fans telling Corey to stay in the net. I don’t know a heck of a lot about hockey, and even less about goaltending, but I’m pretty sure the goalie is supposed to try to intercept the puck on dump ins. Eddy-O noted in Wednesdays game that Rinne was leaving his net early on dump ins. On Kaner’s goal when the Hawks had about ten men on the ice, (not all were actively involved in the play so the referee wisely let it go), Rinne left the net early when Seabs faked a slapshot. I’m pretty sure he never did get set on Crazy 88’s blistering wrister. Rip City in Music City – you know that’s right.
Not all is dark for the Hawks. The Bickell/Shaw/Sharp line has been possibly our best line. I still think Vermette should be centering this line, moving Shaw to Nordstrom’s or Versteeg’s spot. 29/65/10 has been laying some heavy lumber on the Predators. I suspect a lot of the fans who have given up on one of the best goalies in the league, (I picked him with my third pick in both Fantasy Leagues I was in, putting my money where my mouth was), are the same fans who were saying Sharpie was finished in mid-season. I don’t think there has been a better Hawk on the ice in the first two games than the handsome one. Bickell is in clobbering mode – in the playoffs, when in doubt, Hit Someone!. There’s a weird chemistry developing within this line.
Kaner seemed to be a lot more confident in Game Two. A friend at work noted that it seemed like the Pred’s did not seem to go out of their way to try to label Kane in Game One – I’d have to agree. I think as the series progresses the Pred’s will start finishing their checks on #88. Luckily, he’s not the easiest guy to hit. I don’t have any advanced metrics to back it up, but it seemed Versteeg/Richards/Kane was once again our least effective line. I know this line clicked earlier in the season, but I really think Bickell or Sharp should be on Line #2.
Our fourth line is more than holding their own, although I wonder if Teuvo’s offensive skills are being constipated without a true sniper. Following is a description of my friend Ears on Teuvo’s assist to Hjalmarsson in Game One; “I hate to blow my own horn, (ha!), but I’ve been telling everyone what kind of tangibles and intangibles Teuvo brings to the table. The pass he made for Hjalmer’s goal is a perfect example. He waited, adjusted, then threaded a perfect softball to be buried. In his first playoff game, too. He belongs, and Q knows it , too.” Amen and amen.
It appears Coach Q is sticking with the game plan of not rolling with a third defensive pairing. While wondering if that is going to bite the Hawks in the butt eventually, there is some doubt whether Rozsival and Timonen can skate with Nashville’s utes. I’m going to give Rozi the benefit of the doubt on Wilson’s first goal on Wednesday. It looked like he thought Richards was going to seal the puck in the Nashville end. Watching Rozsival trying to generate backward speed to head Wilson off at the pass was like watching a 16 wheeler back into an alley in downtown Chicago – not good, but pretty humorous. It seemed on that play everything was in slow motion, with the exception of Wilson who had downshifted into warp speed. Of course, all the arm chair quarterbacks could have made the save on his pin point snipe – aaarrrggghhh!
Much was made of our face off problems in Game One. The Hawks improved considerably in that department, winning 42 of 82 faceoffs Friday. This would be a good question for JenLC, the statistical guru on the various Hawks blogs. What’s the difference in faceoff percentage in home and away games among the Hawk centers? It is harder to win a draw on the road, no? By the way, this was one of my favorite quotes after Game Two;
“I’m not saying this is by any means a good game for Crawford, I’m saying his terrific performance this season has masked how bad this team is.” -_Jen LC
The fact of the matter is, I can’t remember a Hawk team in recent history that has given up so many odd man rushes and breakaways. Watching Minnesota and St. Louis scares me – hell, the Preds scare me. Seven new teams made the playoffs this year – the beat goes on – and the beat is moving a lot faster.
I hope Corey gets a chance to redeem himself. As Michael Stipe of REM sang, “Not, everyone, can carry the weight of the world.” Maybe Darling can – although it seems like a lot a pressure to put on a rookie. The fat lady isn’t even close to singing in this series yet. But we better start battening down the hatches.
In closing, I’m reminded of one more Greg story. I was on the back deck one day writing something and Greg sat down and started talking about hockey. At one point he asked, “Dad, what was your all-time favorite goal?” For someone who has seen as many full moons as me, that’s a pretty tough question – although I answered it in about two seconds. “Greg, my favorite goal was your first goal.” Greg was playing in a summer league after his freshman year when he finally dented the twine. He didn’t start playing organized hockey until his freshman year in high school. He took a lot of lumps that year in the lengthy learning process.
He “stuck with it” though, and in a playoff game tallied the game winner. He came in on a 2-1 and his team mate feathered him a pass that sent him in, mano y mano, on the other team’s goalie. His initial wrister went off the blocker, but he banged home the loose change. Nathalie and I went wild in the stands, jumping up and down like we did when Bolland scored the game winner in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. I had no buttons left on my shirt.
The bottom line is any time we compete we risk the possibility of failure – sometimes of epic proportions. And as Jorma sang on his latest album, “No one knows you when you’re down and out.” Nothing would warm the cockles of my heart more than seeing Corey bounce back – he deserves it. In fact, it might make me “almost” as happy as watching Big G bury that goal.
Keep your head up #55, sunshine’s waiting for you, a little further down the road. Darlin’ Corey, we may be courtin’ another goal tender tomorrow, but it’s most likely just a little spring fling. You’re still our dawg.
Hopefully this Trisha Yearwood song can put a smile back on the Hawk faithful. It really has nothing to do with anything, but is one of my favorite country songs. If I can’t pull it out against Nashville, when can I pull it out?!
And don’t forget – pray hard tomorrow in church. There most likely will be a lot of Southern Baptists petitioning the Lord with prayer on the Preds’ behalf in the morning – we must counteract those prayers – just in case.
—————————————-
Rich Lindbloom
