Blackhawks at Rangers (recap)

The Chicago Blackhawks moved into Madison Square Garden with a young, finesse team.

Maybe Dale Tallon didn't want fans to think that when he proclaimed at the Blackhawk Convention over the summer that the Hawks were going to be able to "...beat you on the ice, or beat you in an alley."

Really, Dale? You really expect us to believe such drivel?

The Hawks looked so young Friday night at Madison Square Garden, that you would've thought a U-22 league was holding NHL tryouts.

Obviously, the talent of the Hawks' forwards is undebateable. Kane and Toews are two of the best young players in the game, and Patrick Sharp plays like a man with a mind 10 years older than his actual age.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming youth is a bi-product of Dale Tallon's drunken summer spending spree that was as much needed as it was destined to keep the Hawks mediocre.

John McDonough and Rocky Wirtz pretty much handed Tallon an open checkbook and said, 'Go!'. Tallon responded with two key signings of Cristobal Huet and Brian Campbell. From a P.R. perspective, these signings were a marketing coup. The Blackhawks now had viable veterans to join the star youngsters. They had a core to let the public know that they were serious about winning.

The problem was that the overly ambitious contracts left the Hawks with no choice but to dump the large salary of Nikolai Khabibulin. Looking for buyers all season, the Hawks couldn't agree to a deal. Now, they are left with his large contract, and an overabundance of youngsters. Cam Barker, a defenseman who has shown exponential growth over the past year, was forced to go to Rockford for the season opener. The Hawks have been forced to dress an woefully unready Niklas Hjalmarsson, instead. All of this was due to the mishandling of the salary cap.

If Tallon can't dump Khabi soon, the Hawks will be left without that veteran second line scoring presence that they most definitely need. The Hawks have only three players older than the writer of this page. Considering the writer of this page only graduated from college five years ago, the Hawks are in trouble.

I used to not buy into the whole 'veteran presence' garbage. Just keep in mind GOEL isn't talking about signing a Martin LaPointe, we're talking about grabbing a Nylander/Sundin. The Hawks need that Dirk Graham signing to give them some toughness/stability in their ladder lines. The only way this can happen is if Khabby's salary is dumped.

GAME NOTES

"1. Cristobal Huet is going to be exciting to watch. He's also going to be
maddening. Huet comes out of the crease quite a bit to play pucks, and that
makes for some breathtaking hockey. The problem with this style, however, comes
when your fellow teammates continue making silly turnovers in the neutral zone.
The Rangers pounced on multiple giveaways by the Hawks, and turned them into
goals.

2. The Hawks had many scoring chances, but just couldn't get the
puck to the net on most occasions.

Did anybody notice the horrendous
surface of Madison Square Garden tonight? I saw a kid behind the Rangers bench
wearing shorts, so it gave me the impression it was warmer in NYC, today. This
had to have had some sort of impact on the cruddy ice surface that the game was
played on. The finesse Hawks didn't seem to be able to move the puck with much
gusto, and multiple times the Hawks found pucks skipping over their sticks on
easy scoring opportunities.

3. The Hawks may have lost the game early.
If you get behind Lundqvist, just head for the exit. It's nearly impossible
coming from behind against this guy. He stays in net so well, and more
importantly gives offenders very little space to shoot. It's as if he knows
where the puck is going to be on every possession. It's that sixth sense that
makes him a special goaltender.

4. Dustin Byfuglin is just a maddening
player. He does a lot of things well. Then, one second later, and he's creating
a maddening mistake.

5. Marty Havlat needs a veteran to play with. Sound
stupid? Okay. I don't care. I'm telling you, it's the truth. Give this man a
veteran.

6. Brian Campbell makes things happen. This from the obvious
department. The Hawks have never had a defenseman garner this much attention
when he has the puck. And that's saying something.
"

Overall, it's one game. Hawks looked thin, young, and, well, young.

Hawks head to the Verizon Center tomorrow night in Washington, hopefully they'll get things done.