$3 We Used To Do A Little But A Little Wouldn’t Do It, So A Little Got More And More $3 The Committed Indian The REal Fan’s Program secondcityhockey.com December 26th, 2008 [email protected] FLYERS HIGH AGAIN Editor’s Note: Due to the holiday schedule of ing in a mirror. Only if that mirror projected ers, there are questions about the men in the our printer, we had to finish this off on the an angrier, bigger, and nastier reflection of mask. But Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki 22nd. So no info includes the Flyers game those looking at it. If you’ve ever been to The (took us three attempts to spell that) have against Ottawa on the 23rd. If Richards blows Illa-delph, you can certainly understand that. been just fine to good. Both have SV % above out a knee or Cote severs the head of a live The Flyers boast the same wealth of young, .900. goat on ice, you won’t find comment on it speedy, skilled forwards that the Hawks do. Oh, and another thing, the Flyers here. We apologize, but hope you understand. There’s so much to admire tonight about the are just as hot as the Hawks. As of Monday, Flyers’ game, such as Jeff Carter’s release, the they had taken 16 of the last 20 points on of- Has there been a better Christmas all-around play of Mike Richards, the vision fer. They also come in with the league’s best for a Hawks fan? We doubt it. 7 wins in a row of Simon Gagne, the speed and grittiness of power play, and a ridiculous 13 short-handed for the first time in a quarter-century, and Scott Hartnell, etc. In fact, this is the problem. goals. that hasn’t been boosted by a Skills Competi- The Bolland-line can only match up against Start The Fire But Don’t Miss The tion win and includes only one overtime win. one threatening Philly trio. If they take the Firefight The Hawks have separated themselves from top line, that leaves Hartnell-Carter-Lupul as For those of you who don’t have the rest of the Sharks and Wings-chasing someone else’s problem. That’s a big prob- tickets to the Winter Classic, this is hardly a pack by four points. That will come in handy lem. Well, that and the fact the Flyers play as bad consolation. These are the most thrilling, when the bumps in the road start ruining our if someone shit in their cereal every morning. young teams in the league, and both go for shocks. The Hawks will know they’re in a game quickly the throats from the opening whistle (in the There’s so much to glow about in tonight. Flyers case, somtimes literally). Combine that the recent play of the West Side Hockey Club, The one thing Philly doesn’t have with the Boxing Day crowd at the UC is always it’s hard to know where to start. The past few that the Hawks do is the dynamic blue-line a raucous one -- and there will be more than issues we’ve been quick to point out the play corps, but that’s not to say theirs is sub- a few Flyers fans stoking that -- and you get of the Hawks third line. But it’s not even close par. Kimmo Timonen has always been a nifty an occasion that has every chance of being to overstating how good they’ve been. Ladd- puck-mover. Braydon Coburn is a badass, memorable. Our only worry is recency. The Bolland-Havlat have been the best players on though we are fucking sick of his commercial Hawks have had three days off before today’s the ice, on both ends of the ice, during this on Versus. Okay, we get it, you like to break morning skate, whereas Philly played on streak. Ryan Getzlaf, Jason Spezza, Rich Nash, your face. Shut up already. Rookie Luca Tuesday. This is the sternest test the Hawks Ales Hemsky, Jarome Iginla, and the Sedin Sbisa, though suffering some growing pains, have faced since the last game against Scum. Children of The Corn have all found them- has plus-hands back there. Buckle up. - Santa’s Elves Union selves nullified by the triumvirate. All those As it always seems with the Fly- opponents have managed two points in recent Christmas At Your House Christmas At The Wisniewski House games. Though Havlat’s numbers don’t match Ladd’s, he’s been almost as good, and working harder in his own end than anyone can remember. Obviously, the contract push is on. However, it is time we use some space to trumpet Duncan Keith -- the Hawks MVP, and we’re not sure it’s even that close of a race. We couldn’t be happier that Keith’s signature performance on the trip came in Calgary, when he completely outshined the over-slurped Dion Phaneuf and left him feel- ing Minnesota. Phaneuf does all the easily- noticed things that makes the Canadian media spray their shorts, such as big hits, booming shots, and quick rushes up the ice. But he doesn’t have near the total game Keith does. Would #2 have let a player fake him out of his jock in overtime as Toews did to Phaneuf? Not a chance. If Calgary offered a straight-up trade of the two, we’d shoot them in the face for such an insult. The time of mentioning the words “Duncan Keith” and “Norris Trophy” in the same sentence is upon us. I Seem To Recognize Your Face When the Hawks look across the red- line tonight, they may think they are look- MUSINGS FROM THE EDITOR Some random things running through my head: and the bandwagon-jumpers we see at the UC, and what we fear - If Eddie O refers to Cristobal Huet as “The man from may happen in the future, I think it’s important that there’s no France” one more time, I’m going to cover my balls in meat sauce cooler fandom to be a part of than this one. and jump into a pen full of starving badgers...and I don’t mean As Hawks fans, we don’t have to deal with the inane Adam Burish. Christ’s sake Eddie, change it fuck- stupidity and devotion to past failures that Bears fans ing up once in a while. How about “The goalie from provide. There’s none of the ridiculous believing-in- Gaul?” Or “The Bastille-Backstop?” Fuck, I’d non-existent curses and drunken lunacy that accompa- even settle for “Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkey.” nies being a Cubs fan. There’s no inferiority complex - Speaking of which, didn’t the broadcast and shaudenfreude that comes with being a fan of the from Edmonton with Konroyd in the booth instead White Sox. And there’s none of....well, we’re not sure of Eddie sound so much smoother? No scripted what comes with being a genuine Bulls fan, we’ve sayings, no yelling, just a former NHL-er telling never met any...probably has something to do with us what he sees in a calm fashion. Or maybe that dealing with the whole Deerfield crowd. Oh, and that was just me, and all of Eddie’s yelling brings up your team fucking sucks. repressed childhood memories. Could be. For the most part, Hawks fans are the most - Last TV coverage bit: Pat Foley had his Sam Fels knowledgeable and realistic of any in town, and by a two best games in Vancouver and Calgary. Perhaps wide margin. Wearing an Indian-head jersey around he’s finally relaxed, or caught up, or something else, but he’s only town still feels empowering, as if you belong to a club that most added to the excitement of those games. There’s simply nothing are just too stupid to get, like listening to a great indie band. When better than Foley trumpeting a big save from a Hawk goalie. someone pulls you aside to talk about the Hawks, chances are they are just as passionate and informed as you are. At this time of year, I usually post a Holiday Thank-you to Now, we all have the shared bonds of surviving the dark my fellow Hawks fans on either or both of Blackhawk Zone or The days and moving into what could be the most glorious period we’ve 300 Level. But I have my own pulpit, so I’ll do so here. Though ever seen. So thank you, my fellow members of the West Side we’ve all become a bit worried about the McDonough influence, Legion. It’s still a thrill to be among your ranks. NHL STANDINGS *as of 12/23 Eastern Conference Western Conference ATLANTIC W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY CENTRAL W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY NY Rangers 22 12 2 46 96 94 12-6-1 10-6-1 Los Bastardos 22 6 4 48 119 97 11-3-2 11-3-2 Philadelphia 18 8 7 43 116 100 11-4-3 7-4-4 HAWKS 18 6 7 43 114 82 10-1-4 8-5-3 New Jersey 19 9 3 41 99 82 11-5-1 8-4-2 Nashville 16 13 3 35 84 92 9-4-1 7-9-2 Pittsburgh 18 11 4 40 113 100 8-5-2 10-6-2 Columbus 14 15 4 32 89 100 10-5-1 4-10-3 NY Islanders 10 20 3 23 81 120 5-8-2 5-12-1 St.