Is the United Center becoming a fortress? Will teams fear coming to the West Side? A 5-0-2 record would indicate that very well may be the case. The Hawks roll into tonight off of a 3rd period mauling of the currently-hapless Avalanche (if the Hawks are eyeing last season’s playoff teams to see whose spot they can take, our first nomination is Colorado-they’re a mess). Yes, one could make the point that Colorado was on the sec-ond of back-to-back games. But that’s easily countered by the fact that the Hawks were on their third game in four nights, meaning their legs couldn’t have been that much fresher. And yes, one could argue that the Hawks are a better team than Colorado, and beating them is no great accomplishment. But we would say that the way the Hawks so easily pimp-slapped the Avs aside in the last 20 minutes are exactly what a good team does to inferior opposition. (What a lively debate, considering we’re arguing with imaginary people!) Our favorite moment of Monday night wasn’t any of the goals, but rather a two-minute passage midway through the 3rd, when Kane, Toews, and Havlat put on a Globetrotter-like display. Not only did Colorado not come close to clearing the zone, they didn’t even come close to touching the puck. Hawks fans responded with a minute-long standing ovation. (Which brings us to a sidenote: Dear UC scoreboard operators, piss off with your “Let’s make some noise!” graph-ics. We know exactly when to get loud, when our team needs our support, and when our appreciation is deserved. We aren’t a bunch of Deerfield shitbags hoping to catch a t-shirt from an ugly-ass Luv-a-Bull. [Yes, we know, ugly-ass Luv-a-Bull is redundant] Give us some respect.) Our second favorite moment came after Hejduk scored to cut the Hawks lead to 3-2, the Hawks responded with their best hockey of the night. Last season--even earli-er this on-- we would have seen some jitters. Clearly this is a team playing with confidence, judging by their, “You’re not fucking winning this game,” attitude, and their prompt, pump-ing in of three more goals to prove the point. There’s one aspect of this year’s Hawks we found intriguing, and one of the reasons the Hawks are winning recently; Ac-cording to “On The Forecheck” (a Predators blog but also one that focuses on weird, un-known NHL stats), the Hawks are the 5th best team in the league when it comes to giving up rebound shots. Only 8% of saves made by Khabibulin and Huet are resulting in rebound

shots, which are usually prime scoring chanc-es. Credit goes to the goalies for gobbling up shots, but also to the d-men and forwards for clearing anything that may be lying around. I Went Down, Down, Down, And The Flames Went Higher Tonight’s intruders are the Calgary Flames, which means Mike Keenan is back in town. In his second season, Keenan has been given a team more to his liking, i.e. slobs over stars. The Flames are built to grind you into dust, and then win 2-1 or 3-1. Another Keenan staple is well in effect, and that would be playing his #1 goaltender until he vomits blood, a lung, and possibly a small organ-ism. Mikka Kiprusoff had played every minute for the Flames until last night. We weren’t even sure this Curtis McElhinney -- the backup -- existed until he started last night in Columbus. There may be signs that Kipper is already feeling fatigued, as he gave up 6 to Nashville in a cartoon of a game Thursday night. Hopefully, that’s the Kipper we’ll see tonight. But that isn’t to say that the Flames don’t come in…well…hot. (Ugh, we really didn’t want to write that) They’ve won 7 of 10, and are getting contributions from odd sources. Douchebag/monster Todd Bertuzzi is second on the team with 7 goals. How-ever, Flames fans are angrier at his wandering

around the defensive zone like John Daly at 2 AM than happy with his offensive production. Rene Bourque has even become a prominent player for the Flames, skating on their second line and seeing penalty-kill and power-play time. But as we all know, any team with Rene Bourque on its second line can’t be all that good.Ain’t It A Shame? To Be Shot Down In Flames Calgary always poses a struggle for the Hawks. They’re considerably bigger, and are fast enough to not get out-skated by a wide margin. The Flames will do their best to clog everything up, and keep the game along the boards as much as they can -- where they will hold a big advantage over the smaller Hawks. However, despite the 7-goal outburst vs. Nashville, the Flames are thin on scoring, and if the Hawks can limit turnovers and mis-takes, they shouldn’t face too many chances created by Calgary. Though they currently rank 7th in scoring, the Flames don’t have that much offensive imagination. Another Keenan staple is at work with the Flames, and that is, like Ron Jeremy, they can’t stay out of the box. They’re 3rd worst in the league, and they took 12 penalties last night. They were also extremely sloppy in their own zone. Let’s see that again.

-The Merry Pranksters

Playground Tactics, No Rabbit-In-A-Hat Tricks

committedindian@gmail.comNovember 9th, 2008

The Committed Indian

The REal Fan’s Program

THAT LAST STEP IS A BERTUZZI

$3

blackhawksblog.blogspot.com

$3

So, I’m a regular on the Blackhawks messageboard, but I suppose you could call me a snooper. Rarely do I post, and mostly when I do, it’s not all that intelligent. Regardless, it’s wonderful to read all the ridiculous trade garbage and sal-ary cap fixes sprung from a twelve pack of High Life the night before. To be honest, it was kind of surpris-ing to find out that Ottawa was considering trading Spezza, Chris Neil, and Gerber for Nik and Petri Kontiola. But, alas, it is true. Also, I didn’t know that along with Spezza, we were also going to nab Sundin, and maybe even Shannahan. Look dudes, I’m as excited as you are that people are considering Chicago a contender and a team to play for. I agree, it’s nice to have rumors swirling this early in the year that don’t involve us losing our best players. But, people, can we temper this with a little dose of…I don’t know…reality? Let’s set our sights on a player the likes of Vermette or Mike Comrie and then when we sign Craig Adams 2, the fall won’t be so harsh. Let’s not set ourselves up for disappointment by ordering our Winter Classic jerseys with Spezza on the back just yet, o.k.? Cue Martin Brodeur. Great, now I’ll have to listen to all these bozos talk

of getting Madden for Khabibulin. Really? Yeah, the Devils need a goaltender. Yeah, Nik is playing well, but there’s about 6.75 million problems with that transaction for the Devils. Come to think of it, we might as well go ahead and say that for the rest of the league too. What happens when an unstop-

pable force (Tallon and Bowman) meet and immovable object (Khabi’s contract)? Um, well, NOTHING happens. Yeah, sure, I’ve played armchair GM too. It’s tempting. But screamin, “Tallon’s head on a plate if we don’t score a 2nd line center…,” is getting a little tedious. I know you likely majored in hockey operations or payroll management at JJC, but shut the fuck up and watch the game. I don’t care how many times you’ve been to the Edge to see them practice, or that you knew Denis was gone because you saw Marc Bergevin

talking to DT outside by the Jordan statue. Your job is to cheer when we score, not to pretend that you’re so gifted you could run the team. Besides, Spezza’s kind of a pussy.

Kevin is the guitarist/singer for Mannequin Men, Chi-cago’s Most Dangerous Band.

Erectile Dysfunction?The New Cure For The Phallic

Blues...ROCKY!I erected a real organization from my dad’s scorched

Earth, imagine what my pill can do for you!

Reviving The Most Lifeless Objects Since

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“I never learned to stop, why should you?”

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Tragically Hip Hockey

Kevin Kujawa

Hockey Fans Can’t Be Trusted

Adrian The Groin, D, Calgary: Yet another shining moment for Dale Tallon. However, this one wasn’t completely his fault. Aucoin, after spending the lockout doing...well, not much, wasn’t up to the rigors of play-ing hockey again. Naturally, his groin gave out, and kept giving out. The Hawks got 92 games over two seasons out of Aucoin, and a -35. Good times. After being dealt to Calgary, Aucoin marveled at how differently the train-

ing staff there treated him, focusing on flexibility instead of strength and weights, as the Hawks training staff had. The Flames received a full season and 35 points. We haven’t noticed much change in the Hawks training staff, but we hope this is one of the things Scott Bowman’s “consulting” takes care of. There have been shenanigans from the trainers for years, from Daze’s back to numbing Chelios’s nuts in the play-offs, (causing him to miss a crucial Game 4 against the Avs in 1996), to Aucoin’s struggles to stay healthy.

NHL STANDINGS

ATLANTIC W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY NY Rangers 11 5 1 23 45 37 7-3-0 4-2-1 Pittsburgh 8 4 2 18 41 36 4-2-1 4-2-1 New Jersey 7 4 2 16 36 33 4-2-1 3-2-1 Philadelphia 4 6 3 11 45 47 2-4-1 2-2-2 NY Islanders 4 8 2 10 37 49 2-5-1 2-3-1

NORTHEAST W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY Boston 8 3 3 19 42 34 4-1-1 4-2-2 Buffalo 8 3 3 19 43 33 4-2-1 4-1-2 Montreal 8 2 2 18 43 34 4-1-0 4-1-2 Toronto 6 5 4 16 47 54 3-2-3 3-3-1 Ottawa 6 6 2 14 38 35 3-4-1 3-2-1

CENTRAL W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY Scum 9 2 2 20 47 40 3-1-1 6-1-1 Columbus 7 6 2 16 46 49 5-2-1 2-4-1 Chicago 6 3 3 15 42 34 5-0-2 1-3-1 Nashville* 6 6 1 13 44 49 5-1-0 1-5-1 St. Louis 5 6 1 11 38 40 4-4-0 1-2-1

Top 10 Reasons Girl Hawks Fans Are Hotter Than Girl Bulls Fans

10. Girl Bulls fans don’t drink beer. Girl Hawks fans drink your beer.9. Girl Bulls fans want to sit close to get on TV. Girl Hawks fans want to sit close so Datsyuk will hear her call him a fag.8. Nothing sexier than a woman in a Hawks jersey and nothing else.7. Girl Bulls fans annoy us. Girl Hawks fans scare us.6. Girl Bulls fans make you pay for a $12 salad. Girl Hawks fans make you pay for bail.5. Girl Bulls fans have Prada bags. Girl Hawks fans have tattoos.4. Girl Bulls fans screw. Girl Hawks fans fuck.3. Pictures of the Luv-a-Bulls require blinders. Pictures of the Ice-Crew require Kleenex.2. Girl Bulls fans like Coldplay. Girl Hawks fans like Tool.1. Their ability to suck-start a lawn mower.

PUCK DROPTOP 10 LIST

If you would like to ruin your organization’s credibility and advertise with us, please email us at committedindian@gmail.com or call 773-470-8921

SOUTHEAST W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY Carolina 8 4 2 18 41 40 3-2-0 5-2-2 Washington 7 4 2 16 39 39 5-0-1 2-4-1 Tampa Bay 5 4 4 14 29 34 2-2-3 3-2-1 Atlanta 5 7 2 12 40 53 4-3-0 1-4-2 Florida* 4 7 1 9 27 38 3-2-0 1-5-1

Eastern Conference Western Conference

NORTHWEST W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY Minnesota* 8 3 1 17 33 26 3-1-1 5-2-0 Calgary 8 6 1 17 46 47 5-2-1 3-4-0 Vancouver* 8 6 0 16 46 38 4-2-0 4-4-0 Edmonton 6 6 1 13 34 41 2-0-1 4-6-0 Colorado* 5 8 0 10 38 45 3-4-0 2-4-0

PACIFIC W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY San Jose * 12 2 0 24 50 33 8-0-0 4-2-0 Anaheim 9 6 1 19 51 51 4-4-1 5-2-0 Dallas* 5 6 2 12 40 52 2-1-2 3-5-0 Phoenix* 5 6 0 10 25 29 3-2-0 2-4-0 Los Angeles* 4 6 2 10 30 33 3-4-2 1-2-0

*late game not included

Chicago Blackhawks 6-3-3

# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary

10 L The Sharp-Shooter 6'1" 197 26 12 9 7 16 2 18 2 0 2 43 20.93% 3,900,000

88 R Patrick Kane 5'10" 187 19 12 6 9 15 1 4 3 0 1 38 15.79% 3,725,000

24 R Martin Havlat 6'2" 217 27 12 4 7 11 4 6 2 0 0 32 12.50% 6,000,000

32 L Kris Versteeg 5'10" 180 22 12 2 8 10 6 6 1 0 0 20 10.00% 491,667

51 D 51 Phantom 6'0" 188 29 12 2 7 9 6 0 0 0 0 20 10.00% 7,142,875

19 C Jonathan Toews 6'2" 209 20 12 0 7 7 -1 6 0 0 0 36 0.00% 2,800,000

2 D Duncan Keith 6'1" 194 25 12 2 5 7 3 6 0 0 0 23 8.70% 1,475,000

36 C Dave Bolland 6'0" 188 22 12 0 6 6 3 2 0 0 0 15 0.00% 845,833

33 R Dustin Byfuglien 6'3" 247 23 12 1 4 5 -1 7 0 0 0 24 4.17% 3,000,000

23 D Aaron Johnson 6'1" 211 25 10 2 3 5 8 4 0 0 0 5 40.00% 525,000

16 L Andrew Ladd 6'2" 198 22 12 3 2 5 2 8 0 0 0 23 13.04% 1,550,000

7 D Brent Seabrook 6'3" 220 23 12 3 2 5 0 16 1 1 0 17 17.65% 3,500,000

22 R Troy Brouwer 6'2" 213 23 6 1 3 4 3 4 0 0 0 9 11.11% 675,000

25 D Cam Barker 6'3" 213 22 4 2 1 3 0 4 2 0 1 9 22.22% 2,768,587

46 C Colin Fraser 6'1" 188 23 12 1 1 2 -1 23 0 0 0 6 16.67% 500,000

5 D Brent Sopel 6'1" 211 31 11 1 1 2 -5 2 0 0 1 7 14.29% 2,333,333

55 L Ben Eager 6'2" 220 24 8 1 0 1 -1 26 0 0 0 3 33.33% 600,000

11 R Jack Skille 6'1" 208 21 6 1 0 1 -2 5 0 0 0 12 8.33% 1,275,000

37 R Adam Burish 6'1" 189 25 12 0 0 0 -2 44 0 0 0 14 0.00% 712,500

28 R Craig Adams 6'0" 197 31 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0.00% 600,000

8 D Matt Walker 6'3" 214 28 2 0 0 0 -1 5 0 0 0 2 0.00% 600,000

6 D Jordan Hendry 6'1" 194 24 8 0 0 0 -1 4 0 0 0 1 0.00% 625,000

4 D Niklas Hjalmarsson 6'2" 200 21 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% 643,333

Totals/Averages 6'1" 203.9 24.17 41 73 202 11 1 360 11.39% 42,686,462

# Goalie HT WT AGE GPI Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary

38 Cristobal Huet 6'1" 205 33 5 308 2.73 2 2 1 0 155 14 0.910 0 0 0 5,625,000

39 Nikolai Khabibulin 6'1" 209 35 7 428 2.38 4 1 2 1 209 17 0.919 0 1 2 6,750,000

Totals/Averages 6'1" 207 34 2.61 6 3 3 0 364 31 0.914 0 1 2 12,375,000

*not on roster

TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $56,119,795

CAP SPACE: $314,000*

*space also affected by buyouts and injured players

16 years ago, David Stern sent me to ruin the NHL. I have done every-thing I can think of to drive the core

fan away, strip hockey of all that’s great about it, and eliminate any at-tention by the mainstream media...

I am so close to completing the task Stern charged me with....

There’s been tons of talk of Toews not getting his first goal, but we’re rooting more for Bolland to get his. Bolland has been everything we could have hoped for, skating his ass off every shift. He’s got the 3rd best +/-/60 min. on the team, according to Behind The Net. He’s constantly making things happen, and we’d like to see a goal to mark his contribution.

Andrew, if you can roof a wrister like that, why don’t you do it more often? Actually, Ladd’s been more ef-fective than you might think. He’s the team’s leader in Corsi Rating, which measures how many shots the Hawks attempt vs. how many opponents attempt while he’s on the ice, which basically means he’s been spending a whole lot more time in the offensive zone than the defensive. Either that or he’s been firing from between his own circles and we haven’t noticed. But we drink a lot, so that may be...

# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary

12 R Jarome Iginla 6' 1" 207 31 15 9 10 19 -3 18 5 0 1 52 17.31% $7,000,000

13 C Mike Cammalleri 5' 9" 185 26 15 4 10 14 -2 6 2 0 1 36 11.11% $3,550,000

7 R Criminal 6' 3" 231 33 15 7 6 13 -9 14 5 0 1 30 23.33% $1,950,000

22 C Daymond Langkow 5' 10" 183 32 15 4 7 11 1 8 1 0 1 39 10.26% $4,500,000

3 D Dion Phaneuf 6' 3" 214 23 15 2 8 10 -2 19 2 0 0 62 3.23% $6,500,000

17 L Rene Bourque 6' 2" 213 26 15 3 6 9 2 29 0 0 0 32 9.38% $1,350,000

24 C Craig Conroy 6' 2" 193 37 15 3 5 8 1 16 0 1 0 21 14.29% $1,050,000

25 R David Moss 6' 3" 200 26 15 2 4 6 1 2 0 0 0 24 8.33% $550,000

20 L Curtis Glencross 6' 1" 195 25 15 2 3 5 2 10 0 0 1 18 11.11% $1,200,000

16 C Dustin Boyd 6' 0" 187 22 14 3 2 5 -5 6 1 0 1 20 15.00% $741,100

5 D Mark Giordano 6' 0" 203 25 15 0 5 5 2 11 0 0 0 21 0.00% $861,667

33 D Adrian Aucoin 6' 2" 212 35 15 2 2 4 -3 8 1 0 0 20 10.00% $4,000,000

19 C Wayne Primeau 6' 4" 225 32 14 0 4 4 -2 12 0 0 0 13 0.00% $1,400,000

29 C Brandon Prust 5' 11" 195 24 13 1 1 2 -3 49 0 0 1 5 20.00% $500,000

28 D Robyn Regehr 6' 3" 225 28 13 0 2 2 -2 10 0 0 0 14 0.00% $4,020,000

23 L Eric Nystrom 6' 1" 193 25 9 1 1 2 -1 12 0 0 0 12 8.33% $687,000

18 C Matthew Lombardi 6' 0" 198 26 8 1 1 2 -1 2 0 0 1 10 10.00% $1,816,667

6 D Cory Sarich 6' 4" 207 30 15 1 1 2 -3 17 0 0 0 10 10.00% $3,600,000

4 D James Vandermeer 6' 1" 211 28 15 0 2 2 -3 31 0 0 0 6 0.00% $2,300,000

27 R Andre Roy 6' 4" 229 33 3 1 0 1 1 17 0 0 0 2 50.00% $550,000

55 D Adam Pardy 6' 2" 206 24 2 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00% $500,000

Totals/Averages 6'2" 205.33 28.14 46 80 -31 297 17 1 447 10.59% $48,626,434

...IS THIS THE YEAR?

# Goalie HT WT AGE GPI Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary

34 Miikka Kiprusoff 6' 1" 184 32 14 840 3.14 8 5 1 1 418 44 0.895 0 0 2 5,833,333

1 Curtis McElhinney 6' 2" 193 25 1 60 3.00 0 1 0 0 28 3 0.892 0 0 0 500,000

Totals/Averages 6'1" 189 28 15 900 3.07 8 6 1 1 446 47 0.893 0 0 2 6,333,333

TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $54,049,167

CAP SPACE: $1,883,000**space also affected by buyouts and injured players**stats do not include last night’s game

calgary stampede 8-6-1We’re sure this water will seek its own level eventually, but so far, Bourque has been one of the Flames best players. He’s leading them in +/-/60. However, he gifted the Blue Jackets their 1st goal last night with a hilarious turnover. Old habits die hard. ‘Tuze can’t keep this rate up, and his num

bers won’t look as good, es-

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Fight Stats provided by Hockeyfights.com

TEAM PPG PPO PCT

Detroit 17 51 33.3

St. Louis 15 55 27.3

Philadelphia 14 57 24.6

Buffalo 16 72 22.2

CALGARY 16 72 22.2

Boston 11 50 22

Ottawa 14 64 21.9

CHICAGO 11 52 21.2

Minnesota 11 54 20.4

Pittsburgh 12 59 20.3

Anaheim 13 64 20.3

Toronto 12 64 18.8

Atlanta 12 64 18.8

Edmonton 10 56 17.9

Montreal 10 56 17.9

TEAM PPG PPO PCT

Vancouver 13 74 17.6

Carolina 11 65 16.9

Colorado 11 65 16.9

Phoenix 7 42 16.7

Nashville 11 67 16.4

Tampa Bay 8 50 16

Dallas 10 63 15.9

NY Rangers 13 82 15.9

San Jose 11 72 15.3

NY Islanders 9 60 15

New Jersey 7 47 14.9

Washington 8 54 14.8

Los Angeles 9 63 14.3

Columbus 9 70 12.9

Florida 5 49 10.2

Power Play Ranks*

TEAM TSH PPGA PCT

Minnesota 36 3 91.7

NY Rangers 57 5 91.2

CHICAGO 49 5 89.8

Los Angeles 52 6 88.5

Buffalo 54 7 87.0

Pittsburgh 45 6 86.7

Ottawa 51 7 86.3

San Jose 43 6 86.0

Montreal 57 8 86.0

St. Louis 38 6 84.2

Phoenix 59 10 83.0

CALGARY 51 9 82.4

NY Islanders 54 10 81.5

Carolina 71 14 80.3

Washington 45 9 80.0

TEAM TSH PPGA PCT

Anaheim 60 12 80.0

Detroit 54 11 79.6

Tampa Bay 54 11 79.6

Philadelphia 49 10 79.6

Columbus 34 7 79.4

Vancouver 58 12 79.3

Boston 45 10 77.8

Nashville 53 12 77.4

Dallas 53 12 77.4

New Jersey 43 10 76.7

Edmonton 49 12 75.5

Florida 57 14 75.4

Colorado 56 14 75.0

Toronto 51 13 74.5

Atlanta 35 9 74.3

Penalty Kill Ranks*

GAME FIGHT TIME Bloody Nose

Black Eye

Bruised Ego

Just Dancing

Analysis

3-16-08 Burish v.Nystrom

1st.3:10 √ √ A straight-right from Burish rocks Nystrom to

sleep, sending him down faster than the GOP. KO for our hero.

2-7-08 C. Adams v.Hale

2nd.12:07 √ Like a cougar on the prowl on Rush St.,

Adams invites 3 Flames to dance on one shift, Hale finally accepts. Not much results.

Draw.

2-7-08 Burish v.Smith √ Square dance.

2-6-07 Seabrook v.Phaneuf

1st.5:08 √ √ Solid bout, as two Western Canadian boys

show us how they bond out there. Strange to see Phaneuf fight anyone near his size,

though.

HAWKS vs. FLAMES

Fight Stats provided by Hockeyfights.com

The Fight Card

What To Watch For: Any Keenan team certainly comes with a chip (or six) on their collective shoulder. Hell, these guys are probably pissed they have to share a plane with the dude. The main antagonist has been rookie Brandon Prust, who leads with 6 fights this season. Other than that, the Flames have been spreading around their pugilistic duties, with Iginla, Phaneuf, Nystrom, and even Rene Bourque once dropping the gloves. (insert spitting out drink here) Nystrom

may want to avenge his paddling at the hands of Burish, and there’s a possibility, given the Flames general nastiness, of one or two more.

*not including last night’s games*not including last night’s games

Spotlight

Iggy

If Gary Bettman had any clue what he was doing, Jarome Iginla--not Sidney Crosby--would be the face of the game. (it’s at this point that Dan Rather would point out that if a frog had pockets he’d carry a gun and wouldn’t fear blacksnakes, but we digress) Iginla is the Metallica song that hockey should be, not the Justin Timberlake song that Bettman so wishes it was. (pre-1991 Metallica, not the utter garbage you hear from them today) Iginla is big, fast, highly skilled, a leader, a hit-ter, and he will pound your pretty face to hell if you look at him funny. He is everything we love about hockey. If he played in any of the major markets in the Eastern Conference, instead of the outpost that is Calgary, we’re sure he’d be plastered on any ad or promo the NHL could get him on. Iginla is this decade’s leading scorer, and when you look at the centers he has played with, you realize he’s been doing it on his own, for the most part, and against opponents’ best checkers, as he’s always been Calgary’s main threat by a mile. Craig Conroy, Daymond Langkow, and an under-developed Marc Savard are pretty much the highlights. Jarome has also consistently showed up when it matters most, as in the 2004 playoffs, where he was pretty much the lone offensive threat and still guided his team to one game short of winning the Cup. In the 20 playoff games since then he’s thrown up 21 points. Iggy has struggled of late, going through a 5-game goal drought. Yet he’s still the Flames’ leading scorer. Iginla is the player that every opposing fan watches and wishes that their team had...and every community. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of stories of Iginla being ridiculously generous with his time for fans and kids, to go along with his ample charity work. Unfortunately, it seems Iginla is destined to only be appreciated by core hockey fans, and not by the entire sports universe, which is hockey’s loss.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Hawks-Flames: the Last 4

Mar. 16th, 2008: Flames 4, Hawks 2Completeing 4 victories for the road team in the

season series, the Flames score 3 unanswered in the 2nd period, then hold on after being outshot 17-5

in the third period. Loss puts major dent in Hawks doomed playoff push.

Feb. 7th 2008: Hawks 3, Flames 1Khabibulin hangs his voodoo sign over the Flames

once again, making 28 saves. Keith and Sharp score for the Hawks, Yanic Perreault adds empty-netter.

Which is pretty much all he added last season.

Dec. 8th, 2007: Flames 3, Hawks 2Cory Sarich and Daymond Langkow score 3rd

period goals to break a 1-1 tie, and Kiprusoff turns away 18 of 19 3rd period shots. Which sounds

exactly like what happened later in March. Man, were these games dull.

Nov. 22nd, 2007: Hawks 2, Flames 1Hawks manage all of 14 shots, but get two unas-sisted, short-handed goals from Dowell and The

Sharp Shooter, and steal one out of Western Canada. Flames fans demand their money back.

Tonight,KentfromFiveHoleFanatics(fiveholefanat-ics.blogspot.com) takes some time to give us the low-down on the Flames.

Q: So what’s the clock that counts down when the team tunes out Mike Keenan currently standing at?A: Good question. It looked to be ticking down to it’s final seconds when the team started 1-3-1, but the reversal of for-tunes has stayed his execution. Sutter got rid of two players the coach hated (Tanguay, Huselius) this summer and brought in more “Keenan friendly” players (see - Todd Bertuzzi). I think that added some time to the clock. In the end, I think things will depend on results. The management and coaching staff are on a short leash this season and are expected to get results. If things start going badly, I can imagine the environment in the room turning poisonous, hastening Keenan’s eventual firing. If not, he should stick around till then end of his contract (one year left after this one I believe).

Q: Can Kiprusoff still handle all the minutes Keenan seems intent on giving him this season?A: Hard to say. Kipper has been a work horse since he became the Flames starter, but Keenan’s reliance on him has been pretty excessive thus far. Only time - and results - will tell, but I know I’d be far more at ease if the back-up got a start now and then.

Q: Hawks fans turned on Vandermeer after a while, when his play wasn’t nearly as nasty and tough as it used to be. Has he rediscovered that in Alberta?A: Vandermeer has actually been decent during his limited time here. He gets to play with Dion Phaneuf at even-strength, which helps, but he’s also been fairly consistent in the nasty play/willing to drop gloves department. My only complaint with Vandermeer is his cap hit, which I think is a tad too high ($2.3M). That’s not really his fault, however.

Q: Please tell us you haven’t bought in to Rene Borque....A: I have. (HA! FOOOLS! -ED) I dont know what his repu-tation was in Chicago, but I really like the guy. He has hands of stone, but his speed and forechecking have proven to be pretty valuable assets the first dozen games. He plays on both the PK and PP and doesn’t get scored on too often at 5on5. For $1.3M, he looks a steal of a deal.

Q: The Flames won 6 in a row last month, what was the biggest reason why?A: Three primary reasons: 1.) Soft schedule. The Flames oppo-nents during the streak were: Washington, Nashville, Phoenix, Colorado, Boston and Los Angeles. A couple of bottom feeders and nary an elite opponent in sight. 2.) Miikka Kiprusoff. He was dreadful for the first five or so games, but seemed to get in a groove during that span. 3.) Improved forward depth. Calgary has cobbled together some decent lines behind their primary guns (Iginla, Bertuzzi). Calgary’s third unit of Boyd, Moss and Glencross have been particularly effective, while Mike Cammalleri is second on the team in points. Speaking of which...

Q: We thought Cammalleri was an astute pick-up this sum-mer, has it been that way thus far into the season?A: So far, so good. Cammalleri has played on the “second line” with Daymond Langkow and has quietly been effective at both ends of the ice. He’s been very efficient at scoring at both even-strength and the power play and hasn’t been a defensive liability. If he ever starts playing with Jarome Iginla with any kind of regularity, his point totals will be even better.

Q: Does it rile your rivals in Edmonton, and delight you, that three of your most important players, Phaneuf, Iginla and Langkow, are from Edmonton?A: Yes. And yes. Although both parties will tend to you use just about any leverage to rile the other.

The Making of The Chicago Blackhawks

YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Brian Campbell (BUF 6th round 1997

Cristobal Huet (LA 7th round 2001)Matt Walker (STL 3rd round 1998)Aaron Johnson (CLB 3rd round 2001)

2007-2008 Patrick Kane (1st round) Ben Eager (PHO 1st round 2002) from PHI for Jim Vandermeer (FA PHI 2000)Craig Adams (HAR 9th round 1996) from CAR for future considerations.Andrew Ladd (CAR 1st round 2004) from CAR for Tuomo Ruutu (CHI 1st round 2001)

Brent Sopel (VAN 6th round 1995)

2006-2007 Jonathan Toews (1st round) Martin Havlat (OTT 1st round 1999) from OTT and Bryan Smolinski (BOS 1st round 1990) for Tom Preissing (FA SJ 2003), Josh Hennessy (SJ 2nd round 2003) and Michael Barinka (CHI 2nd round 2003)Kris Versteeg (BOS 5th round 2004) from BOS for Brandon Bochenski (OTT 7th round 2001)

2005-2006 Patrick Sharp (PHI 3rd round 2001) from PHI for Matt Ellison (CHI 4th round 2002) and CHI 3rd round pick 2006

Nikolai Khabibulin (WIN 9th round 1992)

2004-2005 Cam Barker (1st round)Dave Bolland (2nd round)Troy Brouwer (7th round)

2003-2004 Brent Seabrook (1st round)Dustin Byfuglien (8th round)

Colin Fraser (PHI 3rd round 2003), Jim Vander-meer (PHI FA 2000) and 2004 2nd round pick from PHI for Alex Zhamnov and 2004 4th round pick (WIN 4th round 1990)

2002-2003 Duncan Keith (2nd round)James Wisniewski (5th round)Adam Burish (9th round)

COACHESHead Coach-Joel QuennevilleAssistant Coach-John TorchettiAssistant Coach-Mike HavilandAssistant Coach- Marc BergevinGoaltending Coach-Stephane Waite

GM HISTORYDale Tallon (2005-Present)Bob Pulford (Too Fucking Long, Too Many Fuck-ing Times)Mike Smith (2001-2004)Bob Murray (1999-2000)

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The Making of The Calgary Flames

YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Michael Cammalleri (LA 2nd round 2001) from LA for 2008 1st

round pick.Todd Bertuzzi (NYI 1st round 1993)Rene Bourque (CHI Undrafted FA 2004)Curtis Glencross (ANA Undrafted FA 2004)Andre Roy (BOS 6th round 1994)

2007-2008 Adrian Aucoin (VAN 5th round 1992) and2007 7th round pick from CHI for Andrei Zyuzin (SJ 1st round 1996) and Steve Marr (?)Jim Vandermeer (PHI Undrafted FA 2000) from PHI for 2009 3rd round pick

Anders Eriksson (DET 1st round 1993)Cory Sarich (BUF 2nd round 1996)

2006-2007 Craig Conroy (MON 6th round 1990) from LA for Jamie Lundmark (NYR 1st round 1999), 2007 4th round pick, and 2008 2nd round pickWayne Primeau (BUF 1st round 1994) with Brad Stuart (SJ 1st round 1998) from BOS for Andrew Ference (PIT 8th round 1997) and Chuck Kobasew (CAL 1st round 2001)

2005-20062004-2005 Dustin Boyd (3rd round) Daymond Langkow (TB 1st round 1995) from PHX for Denis Gau-

thier (CAL 1st round 1995) and Oleg Saprykin (CAL 1st round 1999)

2003-2004 Dion Phaneuf (1st round) Mikka Kiprusoff (SJ 5th round 1995) from SJ for 2005 3rd round pick

2002-2003 Eric Nystron (1st round)Mattew Lombardi (3rd round)Curtis McElhinney (6th round)

2001-2002 David Moss (7th round)

1997-1998 Robyn Regehr (COL 1st 1998), Rene Corbet (QUE 2nd round 1991), Wade Belak (QUE 1st round 1994), and 2000 2nd round pick from COL for Theo Fleury (CAL 8th round 1987) and Chris Dingman (CAL 1st round 1994)

1995-1996 Jerome Iginla (DAL 1st round 1995) with Cory Millen (NYR 3rd round 1982) from DAL for Joe Nieuwendyk (CAL 2nd round 1985)

GM HISTORY2002-Present: Darryl Sutter2001-2002: Craig Button1996-2001: Al Coates

COACHESHead Coach: Mike KeenanAsst. Coach: Jim PlayfairAsst. Coach: Rich PrestonAsst. Coach: Wayne FlemingAsst. Coach: Rob CooksonGoaltending Coach: David Marcoux

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Playing at home............ 5-0-2Playing on road........... 1-3-1Scoring first.......... 2-2-2Opponent scores first........ 3-1-1Shoot the puck bimbo scores...... 2-0-1Shoot the puck bimbo doesn’t score...... 3-0-2Shoot the puck bimbo blows editors of Commited Indian..... 0-0-0ANYONE blows editors of Committed Indian ................. 0-0-0Playing on a Monday.............. 1-1-1 Playing on a Tuesday................ 0-0-0Playing on a Wednesday........... 2-0-0Playing on a Thursday.............. 0-0-0Playing on a Friday................ 1-1-0Playing on a Saturday............. 1-1-2Playing on a Sunday................ 1-0-0Savard changes lines during game... 1-2-1Coach Q keeps lines as they are..... 5-1-2Are out-muscled by opponent.... 2-3-1Outshoot opponent....... 3-2-1Are outshot by opponenet.... 2-1-2Havlat shies from contact......... 5-3-3Patrick Kane scores............... 2-1-2Jonathan Toews scores.......... 0-0-0Martin Havlat scores............. 2-0-1Patrick Sharp scores............ 5-1-1Dustin Byfuglien scores......... 1-0-0Dustin Byfuglien turns down a hit...... 6-3-3Andrew Ladd scores............. 2-0-0Dave Bolland scores......... 0-0-0Adam Burish scores....... HA!51 Phantom scores....... 1-0-1Duncan Keith scores........ 0-2-0Brent Seabrook scores...... 3-0-0Scoring a Power Play goal....... 5-0-3Not scoring a Power Play goal... 1-3-0Power Play looks like it has a clue... 5-0-1Allowing a Power Play goal...... 2-1-3Not Allowing a Power Play goal....... 4-2-0

Scoring a short-handed goal........... 1-0-0Allowing a short-handed goal......... 1-0-0Taking 30 or more shots......... 4-2-1Taking less than 30 shots..... 2-1-1Allowing 30 shots or more...... 2-1-1Allowing 30 shots or less......... 4-2-2100 Level doesn’t cheer for anthem. 5-0-21st of a back-to-back...... 1-1-12nd of a back-to-back..... 2-1-0Opponent played night before.... 1-1-1Seabrook gets a flat-footed penalty.... 1-1-1Burish takes a penalty....... 3-2-1Keith takes a penalty......... 2-1-1Sharp takes a penalty....... 5-1-1Sopel takes a penalty...... 1-1-0Sopel looks 6 steps slow...... 3-3-251 Phantom blows a coverage...... 4-2-3Toews is trying too hard...... 3-3-2At least 1 fight in 300 Level... 0-0-2No fights in 300 Level..... 5-0-0Playing Eastern Conference..... 0-2-0Playing Western Conference..... 6-1-3Playing Central Division...... 1-0-3Playing Northwest Division.... 3-1-0Playing Pacific Division 2-0-0Playing Atlantic Division 0-1-0Playing NASCAR Division 0-1-0Playing Northeast Division 0-0-0Playing in October.... 6-3-3Playing in November.... 0-0-0Playing in December...... 0-0-0Playing in January..... 0-0-0Playing in February..... 0-0-0Playing in March...... 0-0-0Playing in April...... 0-0-0UC plays really stupid goal song..... 5-0-2Huet’s five-hole open like Lindsay Lohan’s..... 1-2-1Getting obliterated on face-offs....... 1-2-1

Are even close on face-offs..... 4-1-2Eddie O tells crew to Stop It Right Here....... 6-3-3 Eddie O tells us D have the forwards and forwards have the D during 4-on-4........ 6-3-3We fantasize about shooting Eddie O.... 6-3-3We’re ecstatic Pat Foley is back...... 6-2-3Ice-girls wear skirts....... 1-0-2Ice-girls wear pants....... 4-0-0Ice-girls wear hideous pink outfit....... 1-0-0Leading after 2 periods...... 6-0-2Losing after 2 periods...... 0-2-0Tied after 2 periods......... 0-1-1In overtime.......... 0-0In shootout....... 1-3Cam Barker plays....... 3-1-0Cam Barker is in Rockford due to GM incompetence..... 3-2-3Lacking a #2 center........ 6-3-3In 1-goal games..... 1-1-3In 2-goal games...... 1-2-0In 3-goal games....... 3-0-0In 4+ goal games...... 1-0-0Scoring 3+ goals..... 6-0-2Scoring less than 3 goals...... 0-3-1PA plays Ministry....... 0-0-0PA plays Modern Cock-Rock..... 6-0-2PA plays Classic Cock-Rock....... 2-0-2PA plays P.J. Harvey........ 0-0-0Frasier fights...... 3-1-0Burish fights....... 3-0-0Seabrook fights..... 0-0-0Keith fights......... 0-0-0Buff fights......... 0-0-0Sharp fights........ 0-0-0Eager fights.......... 3-0-0On Comcast...... 5-1-2On WGN....... 1-1-1Josh Mora looks scary..... 5-2-2On Vs........ 0-1-0

The Hawks Record When...

Hawks Odds & EndsAs you’ve probably noticed, we really like these stats from Behind The Net. They’re a little more effective than straight-up +/- because they take ice-time into account as well. For example if Player A and Player B are both -3, but Player A has done it with more time on ice, he’s not giving up goals at the same rate as Player B. We’ve also included Corsi Rating which, as mentioned in the stats page, measures shots attempted by a team vs. shots attempted by the opponents when a player is on the ice. What’s interesting is how Ladd’s numbers are so much better than Byfuglien’s, even though they’ve been on the same line since Brouwer’s call-up. Really let’s you kow how bad Buff was at the start of the season. If you’d like to peruse the site yourself, check out www.behindthenet.ca.

NAME TOI/60 CORSI GOALS/60 PTS/60 GFON/60 GAON/60 +/-/60

TROY BROUWER 11.47 3.5 0.87 2.62 5.23 1.74 3.49

AARON JOHNSON 12.26 3.9 0.98 1.96 3.92 0.98 2.94

KRIS VERSTEEG 12.48 0 0.4 2.4 4.01 2 2.01

DAVE BOLLAND 10.88 11 0 2.3 3.68 2.3 1.38

BRIAN CAMPBELL 18.45 13 0.27 1.08 2.98 1.9 1.08

MARTIN HAVLAT 13.95 7.9 0.72 2.51 3.58 2.51 1.07

ANDREW LADD 11.6 14.2 1.29 2.16 3.02 2.16 0.86

DUNCAN KEITH 19.98 4.8 0.25 1 3.5 2.75 0.75

PATRICK KANE 15.06 9 1 2.66 3.32 2.66 0.66

BRENT SEABROOK 18 4.4 0.28 0.83 3.33 2.78 0.55

PATRICK SHARP 13.55 6.6 2.58 3.69 4.06 3.69 0.37

CAMERON BARKER 14.55 17.5 0 1.03 2 2.06 -0.06

JONATHAN TOEWS 14.33 1.7 0 1.74 2.44 2.79 -0.35

DUSTIN BYFUGLIEN 12.5 4.8 0.4 1.6 2.4 2.8 -0.4

COLIN FRASER 6.75 -3 0.74 1.48 2.22 2.96 -0.74

JORDAN HENDRY 8.45 -2.7 0 0 1.77 2.66 -0.89

BEN EAGER 5.86 -6.4 1.28 1.28 1.28 2.56 -1.28

ADAM BURISH 6.52 -6.1 0 0 0.77 2.3 -1.53

JACK SKILLE 9.57 5.2 1.04 1.04 1.04 3.13 -2.09

BRENT SOPEL 10.97 -9 0.5 0.99 2.49 4.97 -2.48

Key:TOI/60- Time on Ice, per 60 min

Corsi- Rating of team’s shot attempted while on ice vs. shots attempted against

Goals/60- Goals scored per 60 min. on ice

PTS/60- Points per 60 min. on ice

GFON/60- Goals for Team per 60 min. on ice

GAON/60- Goals against team per 60 min. on ice

+/-/60- Plus-minus per 60 min. on ice

ALL STATS ARE 5-on-5