Blackhawks-Avalanche: One Sharp Ladd Has Chicago Blackhawks Streaking

After a 6-2 Blackhawk victory Monday night at the United Center, there is much reason for optimism in the Windy City.

Even level-headed minds such as mine were criticizing the team little more than four days ago, before a three-games-in-four-days journey that started with the Stars, stopped off in Columbus, and finished up Monday night before a raucous crowd hungry to topple the Avalanche.

Each victory had its ups and downs, and Monday was no exception. Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd both scored two goals, and Nikolai Khabibulin was once again outstanding in net, earning another victory and stopping 24 shots. Troy Brouwer also joined the fun by scoring his first career goal.

Patrick Kane also received his Calder Cup trophy in front of a screaming throng at the UC, and 10,000 Kane Figurines and 21,000 fans looked on as he stood in his glorious black jersey (God, I love those jerseys) and held up a trophy that shone like a beacon toward a glorious future for hockey in Chicago.

Excuse me for waxing poetic there for a moment, but it was certainly a breathtaking sight seeing a young man accepting an award that signifies not only a good season, but also the potential for many more. I think that we as Blackhawks fans should take this moment and drink it in, because the unbridled optimism that the moment symbolized is certainly something to remember and draw upon during the tough times to come on the West Coast trip to Hell.

Moving away from Patrick Kane's night, we move to the real reason behind the success of the Blackhawks tonight—Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd. Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn normally, but last week I made a list of Blackhawks that you should know, and on that list was a young man named Andrew Ladd. I said, and I quote:

"On a side note, when the Hawks take the ice tonight against the Stars, keep an eye out for Ladd. He has two goals in three career games against Dallas. Thus far this season he has only one assist, but look for him to break out of his slump soon, possibly tonight."

That he did. After scoring a goal in that game, he proceeded to also score twice tonight. He has three goals, an assist, and a plus-three in the last three games since I opened my prophetic mouth.

Okay. Seriously. I need to shut up. I don't want you all to think that I am just a fantastic prognosticator with an ego problem. I merely like to celebrate when one of the millions of shots in the dark that I take actually hits the mark.

Patrick Sharp also had an excellent night, and he really has been a solid player the entire season. He has picked up the slack while captain Jonathan Toews has struggled to find the net. He is proving that last season was not a fluke, and he is showing his stripes as one of the top wingers in the game. He is on pace to score almost 60 goals, and he is currently tied for second in the league with nine tallies so far this season.

While the play of these two over the last couple of games has certainly aided things, there is alas a dark side to the goodness. The Blackhawks have been committing an inordinate amount of penalties in these three victories. They gave Columbus ten power plays on Saturday, and tonight against the Avalanche was no different. They committed six penalties against the Avs.

One of them was another one I put in the "dumb" category—too many men on the ice.  This follows another too-many-men penalty on Saturday, and two delay-of-game penalties on Friday for players shooting the puck over the glass.

These small mental errors may not have cost the Hawks victory in any of the three games, but it certainly could be a sign of a lack of mental discipline that could affect the team in the future. Hopefully Joel Quenneville will work on that during this five day stretch of no games.

Finally, in one other sad note, a woman attending tonight's game at the United Center was rushed to the hospital after collapsing. She unfortunately died at the hospital. Her identity has not been released, but I would like to ask you to pray for her family in this difficult time for them. I cannot imagine the horror that they felt when, at a festive event designed to bring people together, someone that they loved just all of the sudden collapsed.

Let this be a reminder to all of us how short life is, and to enjoy every minute of it as though it were our last.