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Blackhawks Thu Nov 18 2010
Hawks start circus trip with 5-0 shutout, Toews and Kane "sell" the Streak
Jonathon Toews' second career hat trick led the way for the Hawks victory over the Edmonton Oilers, but more importantly, last night's game was a dominating, full 60 minute effort, exacting revenge against a league doormat who embarassed the Blackhawks twice at the United Center the last two weeks. There's lots of positives to take out of the game, and still some things that need to be worked on and some players that need to step up (looking in your direction, Dave Bolland), but for now, combined with Sunday's overtime win against Anaheim, the Hawks have a two game win-streak for the first time in a month, and some momentum to build on.
Heading into the circus trip, it wasn't a stretch to say it could be a pivotal point in the whole season. By the time the Hawks return to the United Center November 30, they'll be almost a third of the way through the season, and if the kinks haven't been worked out by then, it provides for a pretty tough uphill climb. Getting the win in Edmonton is nice, because the Oilers are a team they should have no trouble with, but seeing the Hawks owning the shot differential (47-18!) and winning board battles is a welcome sight.
The trip only gets more difficult from here, as Chicago heads to Calgary tomorrow, followed by a tough matchup the next night against perennial playoff rival Vancouver. Then, turkey week sees the Hawks head to California to face the San Jose Sharks Thanksgiving eve, and the Anaheim Ducks and L.A. Kings that weekend. Other than the Flames, the other 4 squads all have winning records, with the Canucks and Kings leading their respective divisions. The Hawks have picked up an important 2 points; if they can finish the road trip with more than 6 it'd have to be considered a success. More games like Wednesday's effort makes that idea a little more palatable.
In other, less palatable, but more hilarious news off the ice, a commercial featuring Toews and Patrick Kane for the Dell Streak debuted on Youtube last week, only to be pulled shortly thereafter. Thankfully, the blog Subtle Like Seabrook managed to snag a copy and save it for all posterity. Enjoy, laugh, cry...actually, it'll probably make you do all those things at once. Think we can sign them up for acting lessons, fire their agents, or preferably, both?
