Hawks open in Hollywood fashion
By PAUL LADEWSKI – editorial@nwherald.com
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| The Blackhawks' Andrew Ladd celebrates after scoring the winning goal in a shootout as the Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche in an NHL hockey game at the United Center on Saturday. (Charles Cherney (FRE)) |
CHICAGO – The Blackhawks were puttin’ on the ritz in their home opener Saturday night, but that’s a given for a team that treats every home game like it’s a Hollywood on Ice production.
The question is whether the Hawks are more about style or substance, and that remains to be answered after what Joel Quenneville called an “ordinary effort” for his team.
The Hawks got the best of a young Colorado Avalanche team, 4-3, but it took a marathon shootout to pull if off in front the Hawks’ 53rd sellout crowd at the United Center.
Quenneville called on everyone except Denis Savard in the extra session before forward Andrew Ladd finally iced it in the ninth round, a team record.
“As a group, we’d like to have a better effort,” said Ladd, who also scored a goal in the second period. “But we’ll take the two points and try to get better from here.”
Although their talent level was obvious for extended stretches, the Hawks resembled much the same team that the Detroit Red Wings outclassed in the playoffs last season.
There were too many mental lapses and not enough big saves in goal to suggest that this is the stuff of Stanley Cup champions.
“I don’t think so,” defenseman Duncan Keith said when asked whether his team had lived up to the hype yet. “At the same time, it’s only four games. The centers and forwards will tell you that, when you haven’t played with a guy, it takes time to get used to him.”
Goaltender Cristobal Huet didn’t come up big until the shootout, when he stopped five of the last six chances.
Meanwhile, if not for ex-Hawks goalie Craig Anderson, who made 23 stops, the visitors would have put it away earlier. The Hawks selected Anderson in the third round of the 2001 draft, but they gave up on the Park Ridge native five years later.
Players blamed the pre-game build-up for the sluggish start.
“You always want to put on a show,” forward Kris Versteeg said. “When the fans are out in full force, it’s fun for us, but it’s a bit nerve-wracking, too.”
The Hawks were more impressive before the game.
Two hours before the first puck-drop, the players arrived in limousines at Gate 2, where a red carpet was rolled out. Forward Dustin Byfuglien dressed for the occasion in a red blazer and slacks.
In advance of the national anthem, Hawks greats Tony Esposito, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Denis Savard skated to the blue line in full team gear.
Then the Hawks were held without a shot on goal for nearly 6 1/2 minutes, as the Avalanche controlled the puck for much of the first period.
“Everybody gears up for it, and sometimes you overhype yourself a little bit too much and it causes you to think too much,” defenseman Brian Campbell said. “Mentally, you’re a little tired. It’s nice that it’s over with and we can move on now.”
Notes: After a season in which the Hawks advanced to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 14 years, they enter the new one with heightened expectations. As far as forward Patrick Kane was concerned, it beat the alternative. “You want the fans to expect you to win [the Stanley Cup] rather than hopefully get to the playoffs,” Kane said. The Hawks haven’t advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals since the 1991-92 season. ... Forward Jack Skille was recalled from the Rockford farm club. The move took place after the Tampa Bay Lightning claimed forward Radek Smolenak on waivers. The past two seasons Skille totaled six points in 24 games with the parent club. ... According to the team, the pregame ceremony marked the first time that Esposito, Hull, Mikita and Savard had skated on the same ice surface together. ... Defenseman Jordan Hendry was a healthy scratch.
