Q-dawg, riding that horse hard
“Quit whining or I’ll put you in for Rozsival”
“I ain’t much for mowing grass
I’m too slow for working too fast
I don’t do windows, so honey don’t ask
But I’m pretty good at drinkin’ beer.” – Billy Currington
By Rich Lindbloom
I heard the song Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer while driving to work this week. Billy Currington sings about all the things he’s not too good at, (basically anything involving work), but ends each stanza by singing, “but I’m pretty good at drinkin’ beer.” I had to admire Billy in a way; life just seemed to make sense to him. It made me smile, perhaps it hit too close to home. Leave it to the country bumpkins, and I think you know who you are, to summarize a portion of my suds soaked life. C’mon y’all, you know we ain’t worth a plug nickel after a few beers.
The song stirred up a visual image of the laid back attitude in the south; I could envision a bunch of Predator fans sitting back on the “front” porch, with a tall Bud Light in their hands and the Carter Family on the radio. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve always appreciated the diehard hockey fans around Nashville – they are as passionate about their team as the nut jobs in Vancouver. For some reason though, I laughed harder every time that country crooner contently sang, “but I’m pretty good at drinkin’ beer.” Dare I say I could relate?
It did remind me of a time Patrick Kane was not too good at drinking beer. Thankfully, he’s good at hockey though. I had to laugh when one of the Pred’s bloggers said Kane’s pass to Versteeg was the prettiest garbage time goal you’ll ever see. I’m not sure if that was a compliment or not!
I visited the Predator bog site, On the Forecheck, after Game Five to see what the Mustard faithful had to say about the game. A lot of comments focused on the lack of respect for the Pred’s; other people commented on their blossoming young defensemen; some fans talked about laying hands on Weber’s banged up lower body part – don’t even go there you perverts. The fact that he was seen walking on crutches certainly called for the supernatural powers of a miracle worker. However, clearly what excited them the most was when Mike Ribeiro put a legal, solid hit on Crazy 88’s. One excited fan went so far as to say it was the turning point in the game. I’m pretty sure that guy was pretty liquored up when he made that comment. In my mind, Rinne slamming the door in Period One had a huge impact on the game.
Actually Kaner saw the Ribeiro assassination attempt coming and turned at the last second to roll with the hit. It looked a lot worse than it was, although it seems every time Kane gets hit these days there is a pregnant pause. After being sidelined for seven weeks, it appears Kane is quickly regaining the form that had him in the hunt for the Art Ross trophy for the NHL scoring leader. Despite missing seven weeks, he finished two points behind Toews, tallying 64 points, including 27 goals. There were also whispers of a possible Hart Trophy candidacy.
Kane’s time on the ice in this series is not what you would call easing someone back into the thick of things. Game One – 23:08, Game Two – 17:06, Game Three – 15:29, Game Four – 34:55 and Game Five – 19:09 probably put Kane in the lead for total minutes by a forward. Pretty impressive when you consider he plays very little penalty killing minutes. Its obvious Coach Q is going to ride that horse hard. I hope it doesn’t have the ending of that John Wayne movie True Grit. In that movie Rooster Cogburn rode the horse Blackie into the ground trying to save Mattie. Likewise, it appeared Rooster Quenneville played Kaner on all four lines at times in Game Four.
“Blackie, it’s time to see if you can get Tazer’s line going”
Apparently, it would appear Coach Q knows where his bread is buttered. Coming back after just seven weeks off a broken clavicle is truly, true grit. Quite incredibly, Kane seems to be playing in mid-season form after five games. That could probably be a bigger blow to Nashville’s hopes than losing the one of the best defensemen in the NHL, Shea Weber. Regardless of the outcome of this series, there is no doubt John Wayne would approve of Kaner’s “true grit.”
While the absence of Weber cannot be dismissed, it would appear that the young Predator defenseman have made a heroic effort to pick up the slack. Seth Jones -20, Roman Josi – 24, Ryan Ellis – 24 and Mattias Eckholm – 24 have played outstanding hockey. They all can skate like the wind, stick handle like Stan Mikita, make smart decisions like Bill White, and chew bubble gum at the same time. It has been “somewhat” of a joy watching these up and coming d-dawgs. Switzerland native, Roman Josi, was the 38th pick in the 2008 draft. I’d say a few teams missed the boat in overlooking that yodeler! However, not to diminish Ellis’s or Josi’s contribution, I have to confess almost a man love for the #4 pick in the 2013 draft.
Nathan McKinnon/ Avalanche, Aleksander Barkov/Panthers and Jonathan Drouin/Lightning were all drafted before Seth Jones. I first noticed Jones in the 2013 World Junior Championships. He was a dominant player for the American team that captured first place. Obviously, based on salaries alone, the GM’s around the league tend to pick the offensive stars. Look at the salary differential between Duncan Keith and the Chevy Boys. However, can any team in the NHL advance in the playoffs without a stalwart blue line? I don’t think I have to go out on a limb here and say without Duncs and Nacho Grande, the Hawks fortunes would have been greatly reduced. In fact, you take Keith off the Hawk team and I highly doubt there would be two new banners hanging in the United Center’s rafters.
That leads me to pose the following question. Would a team like Edmonton, or Buffalo had they been given the chance, take a Seth Jones over a Connor McDavid? I’d have to say there is a zero chance of that, but in retrospect, I can’t help but think the Avalanche, Panthers and Lightning would have all been a better “team” by making Jones their first selection. He is going to be that good someday, and trust me, that day is right around the bend. Personally, I would trade a player like Teuvo Teravainen in a heartbeat for the Sethster. And while Coach Q has nailed Teuvo to the bench for the time being, Teuvo will be a star in this league someday.
This is not to say that the Predators have an advantage over the Hawks on the blue line; yet. Keith, Seabrook, Hjarlmarsson and Oduya are about as good as a top four that you’ll find in the NHL. Nothing can be said about Keith that hasn’t been said before. Is it just me, or has Seabrook won a lot of big games with that cannon of a clap bomb he possesses. Niklas Hjarlmarsson should be nominated for the Norris Trophy one of these years. Maybe they should make a trophy for the most offensive, defenseman – the Bobby Orr Trophy perhaps, keeping the Norris for the best defensive, defenseman. Let me ask you, would you take Erik Karlsson or Dustin Byfuglien over Hjarlmarsson? You’re on drugs if you answered yes. There is not a GM in the NHL who would give his right arm for the fleet footed, human shot blocking machine. Defensively this past season, there was not a better Blackhawk on the ice.
However, the D-dawg I really have been impressed with is Johnny Oduya. He has played lights out since returning from his injury this season. The time off seemed to rejuvenate Swedish native. A little known fact about Johhny is in the 2013 lockout, Oduya played for the Flying Farangs in the 18th annual “Land of Smiles” tournament in Bangkok Thailand.
Just in case you thought I was pulling your leg
But the jersey of Oduya’s that really caught my eye was seen before the LA King game on March 30th.
There are a couple of observations I”d like to make on this jersey. First off, kudo’s to someone who recognizes Oduya’s considerable contributions to the Hawks fortunes. Secondly, the ladies husband on the right, was getting increasingly annoyed, for obvious reasons, as I struggled to find my camera on my cell phone. Lastly, I couldn’t help but notice how much more fashion conscious woman are than men. The lady has on red pants and red sunglasses to draw out the red in the Hawk sweater – very clever. Her black purse likewise accentuates the black in the sweater; again a win/win. Her husband on the other hand would make Kelly Chase look like Hugo Boss. Seriously? A green hat, black jersey, blue jeans and brown dress shoes? And you know he is wearing a black belt instead of a brown one to match the shoes – that’s a given. This guy is probably wearing Duluth under ware though.
Actually, all the announcers on the NHL Network are fashion disasters. Take a look at their sport jackets someday. The sleeves are as wrinkled as my 61 year old face. I’m thinking these guys make a pretty decent salary, maybe they should consider a Bistro suit from a friend of mine, Darshan Patel. He is developing a clothing line where the clothes are custom measured to your exact proportions. He takes 18 measurements, ensuring a perfect fit. As Darshan noted, “You will dominate any room you walk into.” Trust me, ladies like the I’lldoya one above will be attracted to you like iron to a magnet. I’m guessing the European players would gravitate more towards this line of clothing. A lot of them wear clothes that aren’t purchased off a discount rack at Marshall’s or Filene’s Basement. (If the truth be known, the last sport jacket I bought was from Filene’s!)
At any rate I digress. The Hawks have another one of those “biggest games of the year” tonight at the United Center. It will take a herculean effort to overcome this brash bunch of Predators who refuse to say die. The winner of this game will be the team who is the most hungry – the team who blocks a shot with any part of their body they can throw in front of a 100mph slapshot; the team who takes a huge hit to clear a puck – kudo’s to Kaner for clearing the puck on the Ribeiro hit; the team whose players take the punishment for going to the net; the teams defenseman who take a crushing blow from a dog breath grinder to get the puck out of their zone; the team who skates back on defense faster than they skate forward on offense; basically, the team willing to risk life and limb. This is hockey, this is war.
While not wanting to toot my own horn, I’d like to draw an analogy from my competitive volley ball days. I was a crushing right side hitter in my day. My spikes were as powerful as a Brent Seabrook clap bomb. I didn’t get the nick name “Rocket Rich” on the sand courts of Destin, Florida for nothing. There are times in matches where I felt invincible. I’d holler at our setter, “Feed me, I’m hungry!” This would make most of our team laugh who were woefully aware of my true abilities, but the setter knew I wanted that ball. I guess you might say I was the Andrew Shaw of the volley ball court.
It worries me that the Predators have developed that “feed me, I’m hungry” mind set – they are a ravenous bunch at the moment. They are not exactly what I’d call “laid back,” Being from the south and everything, they probably ate grits with their eggs this morning, which will no doubt enhance their grittiness. Hopefully the Hawks will play with a little fire in their belly tonight. When push has come to shove, as it will in a playoff game, this core group of Hawks has been a pretty hungry bunch over the last eight years. I like our chances.
Ride that horse hard Q-dawg! Gid
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Rich Lindbloom
