Blackhawks-Wild: Chicago Silences the Team of 18,000

The Chicago Blackhawks are playing like a team possessed. Tonight was no exception, as they went up to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and drowned any hope the Wild had in an easy 4-1 victory in front of 18,000 angry fans at Xcel Energy Center. 

Dustin Byfuglien scored the first two goals of the contest, and assisted on the final two as well. Kris Versteeg had two assists and an empty net goal at the end of the game, and Jonathan Toews also had two assists in the game.

Cristobal Huet had a relatively uneventful night in goal, giving up only one breakaway goal in a game that didn’t see him breaking a sweat. The Wild managed only 19 shots, which is one more than they managed in the teams’ previous meeting (a 3-2 victory for the Wild).

This game was pretty much over before it started, as the Hawks played their brand of suffocating defense and quick attack offense to overwhelm the more sedentary Wild. To illustrate how non-aggressive the Wild were, just look at their shot total for the first two periods: 10. That is a tiny number, and not one that will get you many victories.

The Minnesota Wild’s advertising slogan this season is “Team of 18,000,” a knowing nod to their very impressive streak of sellouts (well above 300 and climbing). But the extremely large team was not happy through the first two periods, raining down boos and catcalls on their favorite singularly-plural franchise.

Okay, enough insulting the opponent. Instead, I would like to make a couple of observations about the West Side Maniacs.

Coming off of a victory over the Flyers, one of the league’s hottest teams, in a game played in front of the biggest crowd in United Center history, it would have been expected that the Hawks would be flat for this game, but they weren’t.

Hell, they have two games coming up against the top team in their division, including one that is nationally televised AND outdoors, and yet they still maintained their focus and played a disciplined and offensively gratifying game.

With three days left until the Winter Classic, one of the biggest days in Hawks history, the Blackhawks are playing some of the best hockey in their franchise's history. They have won nine games in a row and are playing the sort of dominating hockey that fans in Chicago have been longing for.

Another great thing about the game was the performance of Brian Campbell, who picked up his 20th assist and was a fixture on the ice throughout the game. He mixed it up in the corners, and he also fluidly moved the puck around the ice, creating opportunities and living up to his place as the leader among defensemen for the All-Star Game.

Speaking of All-Star selections, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are still 1-2 in balloting with five days left. They are increasing their lead over Ryan Getzlaf, and they seem like shoe-ins for All-Star starts.

The Blackhawks next game will be at 6:30pm Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. The Winter Classic will be played two days later at Wrigley Field on January 1st. If you don’t have a ticket and want to go, then good luck.