Another taste of what we are missing

Another rematch against the goalie that was a large part of the Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup run, another loss against said goalie. Antti Niemi said no all 34 times the Hawks put a shot on him in his most impressive performance against his former team.

And yes, it bears repeating: THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS LET NIEMI WALK AFTER SALARY ARBITRATION TO SIGN FOR LESS MONEY ELSEWHERE. However, this was set in motion when San Jose posted a 4-year offer sheet to defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson, forcing the Hawks to show their hand. In a salary cap bind, they went with a D-man who wouldn’t crack the top D line…over the goalie who in his ROOKIE season posted a very solid .912 SV% during the regular season and a .910 SV% in the postseason making all 22 starts.

I’ll admit, savvy move by Sharks GM Doug Wilson. In my relatively moderate NHL knowledge, I do know enough that great goalies don’t come around too often, and when the opportunity presents itself, you have to act on it. Last I checked Martin Brodeur enjoys a long storied career as the Devils netminder. Let me be clear, I’m not expecting Niemi to end his career with 600 career wins, 10 All Star Games and 3 Stanley Cups, but I’m not putting it out of the question.

And yeah, let drag it down all the way. Here’s a game log of the 5 times Niemi has faced the Blackhawks:

Date

Site

SV

Shots

SV%

Dec

11/24/10

SJ

30

32

.938

W

12/11/10

SJ

28

29

.966

W

12/30/10

CHI

26

29

.897

W

3/4/11

CHI

14

18

.778

L

11/23/11

SJ

34

34

1.000

W

I would take that 5-game stretch at any point in a season. Pause….ok. I’ll stop now before I run myself into a deeper depression. What are the positives from tonight? This was way different that the previous two losses on the west coast (5-2 and 9-2 thrashings by the Flames and Oilers respectively). The offense is put in a good position when the defense only allows 1 goal. Chicago won the shot differential–what I think is one of the more influential keys to a win–34-21.

So there’s positives. Up next the Blackhawks head to The Pond to face to Anaheim Ducks. In their first meeting this season, the Hawks won a 3-2 shootout decision (their first shootout win of the season), with goals coming from Hossa and Sharp, and Kane notching the shootout clincher.

PS: Once I have more time to devote to research, I’ll be looking at exactly how influential shot differential is on the outcome of NHL games.

>Top and Bottom unchanged: NFL Power Rankings Week 6

>So I’ll admit I had the Bears too high at #8 last week. They’re my biggest dropper, but still deserve to be in the top half of the league. The Saints did more than I thought they were against the G-men, and hit home my point of being the top team. Broncos gain even more legitimacy and climb to #3 behind Indy on the bye.

What did we learn? Week 6 further proved the point that there are a handful of REALLY good teams (Saints, Colts, Broncos, Vikings, and Giants if you generous), and a bunch of REALLY bad teams (Rams, Bucs, Titans, Browns, Chiefs, Redskins, and Raiders). Leave it to the 11 teams that are either 3-2, 3-3, or 2-3 to muddle up the middle of the rankings.

Rank

Week 6

Last Week

1

Saints (5-0)

1

2

Colts (5-0)

2

3

Broncos (6-0)

5

4

Vikings (6-0)

4

5

Eagles (4-1)

6

6

Giants (5-1)

3

7

Falcons (4-1)

7

8

Patriots (4-2)

12

9

Steelers (4-2)

11

10

49ers (3-2)

13

11

Ravens (3-2)

14

12

Bengals (4-2)

10

13

Cardinals (3-2)

17

14

Bears (3-2)

8

15

Dallas (3-2)

16

16

Jets (3-3)

9

17

Dolphins (2-3)

18

18

Texans (3-3)

20

19

Packers (3-2)

19

20

Chargers (2-3)

15

21

Panthers (2-3)

24

22

Seahawks (2-4)

21

23

Jaguars (2-4)

23

24

Bills (2-4)

26

25

Raiders (2-4)

29

26

Redskins (2-4)

22

27

Chiefs (1-5)

30

28

Browns (1-4)

28

29

Lions (1-5)

27

30

Titans (0-6)

25

31

Buccaneers (0-6)

31

32

Rams (0-6)

32

>Weekend of 10/16 on CentSports

>Bet #1:

$.40 on Colorado (+10) over Kansas
Colorado 34, Kansas 30 :)
Bet #2:
$.40 on under (54) Texas v. Oklahoma
Texas 16, Oklahoma 13 :)
Bet #3:
$.30 on Minnesota (+17) over Penn State
Penn State 20, Minnesota 0 :(
Bet #4:
$.30 on Bears (+4) over Falcons
Falcons 21, Bears 14 :(

>100-0 Texas HS Girls basketball score is a disgrace

>On January 13, Dallas Academy lost to the Covenant School 100-0 in a Texas girls high school basketball team. It’s a disgraceful show of sportsmanship as it is, but consider this: Dallas Academy, who fields a team of 8 and only has 20 girls in the whole school, is a school for kids with learning disabilities. You can charge me for political incorrectness, but what good can come from beating a team of retards 100-0?

And Covenant didn’t back up. In a game that was 35-0 after 1 quarter, 59-0 at half, and 88-0 after the 3rd, they continued a full court press and jacking up three-pointers, even in the 4th quarter. Covenant parents fueled the fire by cheering loudly as the team approached 100 points. How can you say you’re setting a good example for your kids when you are cheering them on to a not only humiliating defeat, but beating Dallas Academy to a pulp?

If you step back and throw your third stringers in there, play a soft zone, run a whole offensive play in a possession before taking a shot and you still end up with that score, that’s a whole different story. But the starters were in for pretty much the WHOLE game. I read in one story that at the end of the game turned into a layup drill where the guards were just waiting to steal the ball. That’s a statement about yourself, not about the team you are playing. What interests me is whether or not the coach who didn’t call off the onslaught will keep is job.

Wouldn’t you have made your point when the lead reached 50? I mean, what is the biggest deficit overcome in any high school basketball game? Not only was Dallas Academy over-matched, but they were humiliated. They know they stink, they haven’t won a game in 4 years. And to those who say why schedule that kind of game I say: Have a heart!! I give them all the credit in the world for even fielding a 8-girl team.

Oh, and what an honest Christian attempt at amending the situation Covenant is doing. All that there is for an apology is a short blurb on the school’s website. They haven’t commented publicly on the game since a story was printed in the Dallas Morning News. This isn’t just a sports story, it’s reflects what kind of people we are.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.