Atleastit’sover.TheHawksdefi-nitelycaughtacaseofBus-Is-Running-ItisinNashvilleonTuesdaynight.We’vebeenalittlerose-coloredwhenitcomestoHawkssubparperformances,buttherewasn’tanyexcuseforthatbilgethatwashedupinMusicCity.Yes,itwasthethirdgameinfournights,andattheendofasilly12roadgamesin14.It’salmostasurethingtheywereeyeingthehomestretchcomingup,wherethey’llbarelybeoutoftheCentraltimezonefortherestoftheseason.Butthatwasaprettyinexcus-ableeffortonTuesday.Laziness,silliness,stupidness,andanyother-nessyoucanthinkofwereondisplay,leadingustohavetohearthefuckingPredatorsgoalsongfartoomanytimes--oneofthetwogoalsongsworsethantheUnitedCenter’s(theKings“ILoveLA”isprobablyworsethanTheFratellis,thoughatleastRandyNewmanhasahilariousappear-anceonFamilyGuytohisname).Whatever,it’sovernow,andthere’sprobablynopointindwellingonit.Special Teams A Go-Go Oneareaofconcernistheplayofbothspecialteams.We’llstartwiththepowerplay.Specifically,ahardeyemustbefocusedonthesecondunit.Ithasproducedexactlyonegoalinthelast12games.Versteeg,forwhateverreason,hasfallenoff.NotonlyisAlbatrossthenameofakick-assCorrosionofConformitysong,butitaptlydescribesDustinByfuglien.Hecan’t,orwon’t,getinfrontofthenetenough,doesn’tretrievethepuckwithanysortofeffort,andhismovementisakintothatofanoldwino,slowandunfocused.Itmightbetimetochangethingsup.DaveBolland,whilenotasflashyasVerStudcanbe,isabetterpasserandprobablyhasbetterfeel.AndrewLaddcouldn’thelpbutbebetterinfrontofthenetthanBuff,andweknowhiseffortwillbe.TheD.LaddSoulline(Bolland,Ladd,andHavlat)hasobvious,destructivechemistryateven-strength,itstandstorea-sonitwouldwiththeman-advantage. Muchmoreworrisome,though,isthepenaltykill.IthasfallenfromaTop5Unittothebottomhalfoftheleague.Ithasbeenasieve.Frankly,it’stimetoputCaptainMarveloutthere,iffornootherreasonthantowinaface-off.Justthatalonewouldkillanaddi-tional20-30seconds,atleast.ToewswouldprovidethesamethreatthatVersteegdoes--whichistheonlyreasonwecanconceivethatQputshimoutthereamandown.Be-cause,honestly,Versteegjustisn’tthatgoodonthekill.Toewswaseffectiveontheunitlastseason,noreasonhewouldn’tbenow.If

he’sgoingtomakeaMikeRichards-likecaseatcontracttime(andbetyourasshewill)he’dbetterplayinallsituationsasRichardsdoes.They Were The NHL’s Number One Son, They’ve Treated It Like #2 Tonight,theClownCollege-On-FirethatisthePittsburghPenguinscomeacallin’.There’sbeensomuchgoingwrongalongthethreeriversit’shardtoknowwheretostart.Suspectoff-seasonmoves,injuries,dodgygoaltending,abstractdefending,quittingonacoach,firingsaidcoach,thelistgoesonandon. Thingsstartedtogopear-shapedonthePenswhentryingtoreplaceHossa,Ma-lone,andRecchiwithMiroslavSatan,RuslanFedotenko,andMattCooke.Itwasalwayskindofaridiculousnotion.Thingsdidn’tgetmuchbetterwithSergeiGoncharandRyanWhitneygettinghurt.Evenwiththem,Pittsburgh’splayonthebluelinehasbeenhi-lariousforalltosee--unlessyouwearblackandgold.There’snotmuchdefending,andthere’shardlyanytransitiongametospeakof.Thatleavesitalluptotheforwardtodoit,andoutsideofMalkin,Crosby,andSykora,theirforwardshaven’tbeenuptothetask.ThisisclearlysomethingtheytriedtoaddresswiththetradeforChrisKunitzforWhit-neyyesterday.Kunitzmaybeinthelineuptonight.ThePensaredeadlastinshotspergame,whichletsyouknowhowmuchtroublethey’vehadcreatingoffense. Nothelpingmattersisthatthevery

toothyMarc-AndreFleuryhasn’tbeenbailingthemout.Inhislast10gamesMr.EdhasaSave%of.884.BackupMathieuGaronhasn’tbeenanybetter. Obviously,thePensareafront-load-edsquad.OnlyScumandSanJosecanmatchatop-twoforwardsofCrosbyandMalkin.Butwhentheyplaytogether,there’snosecondlinescoring.JordanStaalhasbeenjustthissideofawful.Whensplitup,Crosbyhasnosupportandbecomesisolated,astherearenowingerswhocankeepupwithhim.Allofthisaddsuptoateaminserious,serioustrouble.Desperate Pens Call For Desperate Measures It’shardtofathomthattheHawkswillfaceamoredesperateteamthanPitts-burgh.Theysitoutsidetheplayoffpicture,andmissingthemwouldhavefinancialconse-quencesforafranchisethatalwaysseemstobeteeteringontheedge.Notonlythat,butthiswasasquadtoutedasCup-challengerstatus,andaplayoff-misswouldbeahugeembarrassment. Inthepastweek,PittsburghhasstruggledtoasplitwiththeIsles(whichwethoughonlypossibleifitwasabarbet),beenbitch-slappedbytheCaps,andbeatPhillyinPhilly.Clearly,they’reaschizobunch.Theirbestefforttonightcouldmakethingstricky,butwhoknowsifwe’llseeit,especiallyifCrosbydoesn’tplay(he’squestionable).

-DraftStormyDaniels

We Know You Like What’s On Our Mind

committedindian@gmail.comFebruary 27th, 2009

The Committed Indian

The REal Fan’s Program

THE PENS AREN’T MIGHTIER

$3

secondcityhockey.com

$3

Computer Dorks Perverts Sidney Crosby

People Who Are Still Living In the Basement In Their Mid 20’s

Forklift, along with CT, are owners and operators of HOC-KEENIGHT.COM, which is at least the third or fourth most popular Blackhawks-related site. They boast staff writers Slats Radke and Pierre Duguay, and are home to the inimi-table HOCKEENIGHT PUCKCAST. In an effort to increase the num-ber of power play opportunities they have been receiving, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced today they were hiring Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis as their diving coach. “Wemadeittothefinalslastyear,but something wasn’t quite right,” Co-owner and Chairman Mario Lemieux told the assembled media. “When we won our two Cups in the 90s, Jaromir (Jagr) and I were always on the Power Play. I see a lot of my style of play in Sidney (Crosby), where he can do as much laying on the ice as he can do on his skates.”

Louganis was asked what the Penguins needed to workon.“Theyneedtoincreasetheirdegreeofdifficulty,”he

said.“Justfloppingtotheicewon’tgetthejobdone.You

need to do it when the ref is looking, and you need to really sell it.” Lemieux continued. “I always saved my best dives for the postseason. But this is the time of year you work

on technique. You get the dives right, and you’ll start seeing those games where you can get into double digits on power plays. Then, once the playoffs start, you want to make sure even strangth play is a rarity. I scored a lot at even strength, but on the power play, we were unstoppable.” When asked why the Penguins had to go outside their organization to hire a div-ing coach, Lemiuex explained. “I’d love to show Sid and (Evegni) Malkin all my tricks

for getting the referee’s arm up, but I’m to busy teaching them when to spear and elbow when nobody’s looking. That takes up all my time now.”

PENGUINS HIRE LOUGANIS

Fork Lift

NHL STANDINGS

W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY 1 Boston 42 12 8 92 212 138 21-4-4 21-8-4 2 Washington 39 18 5 83 207 179 25-6-1 14-12-4 3 New Jersey 39 19 3 81 186 151 20-10-1 19-9-2 4 Philadelphia 33 17 9 75 195 171 18-8-3 15-9-6 5 Montreal 32 22 7 71 187 184 19-6-4 13-16-3 6 Florida 31 22 8 70 169 166 17-8-5 14-14-3 7 NY Rangers 31 24 8 70 153 174 18-10-4 13-14-4 8 Buffalo 31 24 7 69 182 173 17-12-2 14-12-5 9 Carolina 32 26 5 69 166 181 17-13-1 15-13-4 10 Pittsburgh 30 26 6 66 186 191 17-12-2 13-14-4 11 Toronto 24 26 12 60 187 224 11-11-8 13-15-4 12 Ottawa 23 28 9 55 149 172 13-11-5 10-17-4 13 Tampa Bay 20 29 12 52 155 196 11-12-8 9-17-4 14 Atlanta 22 34 6 50 183 218 10-17-2 12-17-4 15 NY Islanders 18 36 7 43 148 204 12-13-5 6-23-2

W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY 1 San Jose 42 9 9 93 203 145 26-2-3 16-7-6 2 Puke 40 13 8 88 232 178 23-4-3 17-9-5 3 Calgary 36 18 6 78 191 174 21-7-4 15-11-2 4 HAWKS 34 17 8 76 197 148 15-5-5 19-12-3 5 Vancouver 30 22 8 68 181 173 14-11-4 16-11-4 6 Columbus* 30 25 6 66 166 173 19-10-2 11-15-4 7 Minnesota 30 24 5 65 152 137 18-11-5 12-13-0 8 Edmonton* 30 25 5 65 170 185 14-11-4 16-14-1 9 Dallas 29 24 7 65 175 183 17-10-4 12-14-3 10 Anaheim 30 28 5 65 176 185 15-13-3 15-15-2 11 Nashville 30 28 4 64 151 172 18-11-2 12-17-2 12 St. Louis 27 26 8 62 170 180 16-11-5 11-15-3 13 Los Angeles 26 25 9 61 157 173 13-13-8 13-12-1 14 Phoenix 27 30 5 59 158 190 17-12-2 10-18-3 15 Colorado 28 33 1 57 168 194 17-14-0 11-19-1

PUCK DROP

Eastern Conference Western Conference

TOP 10 LIST

Top 10 Requirements To Be A Pittsburgh Resident10. You must own at least three Steelers jerseys. One home, one away, and one throwback9. You cannot, under any cirumstances, be any good at baseball8. You have to be able to spell “pierogi” on your first attempt7. You have to be able to name all three rivers that form the Conflu-ence (Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio)6. You cannot say Monongahela and laugh uncontrollably5. You can’t for one second believe that Mario was a big, diving pansy4. Neither is Sid3. Malkin didn’t choke in the Finals last year, he was just tired2. You must wear a Steelers construction helmet. At your wedding1. You must think putting your fries directly on your cheeseburger is a good idea (which, truthfully, it is)

Petr Sykora, Right Wing, Pittsburgh: Re-member when the Hawks shipped Ed Belfour off to San Jose, and you heard we got Sykora in return? Then, to your horror, realized it was his totally useless brother, Michal (we don’t know what

Michal Sykora is up to these days, but we bet it involves a squeegee)? Petr’s consistency is something to behold. The last time he failed to crack 20 goals was 1998, and he’s spent a greatmajorityofhiscareerondefense-firstsquads New Jersey and Anaheim. He’s been justasgoodthisyear,andmaytakearunathiscareer high of 35 goals. Without him, it’s hard to imagine where the Pens might be.

*late game not included

Chicago Blackhawks 34-17-8

# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)

88 R Patrick Kane 5'10" 187 20 57 20 34 54 2 36 10 0 3 176 11.4 $3,725,000

24 R The Perfect Beard 6'2" 217 27 59 20 32 52 20 20 5 0 3 177 11.3 $6,000,000

19 C Captain Marvel 6'2" 209 20 59 22 27 49 14 41 6 0 6 147 15 $2,800,000

32 L VerStud 5'10" 180 22 56 16 28 44 16 47 4 4 2 92 17.4 $491,667

51 D 51 Phantom 6'0" 188 29 59 7 34 41 9 16 4 0 1 78 9 $7,142,875

10 L The Sharp-Shooter 6'1" 197 27 54 23 15 38 2 39 8 0 4 163 14.1 $3,900,000

36 C Dave Bolland 6'0" 188 22 59 13 23 36 20 32 0 2 4 80 16.3 $845,833

16 L Nails 6'2" 198 23 59 10 24 34 23 22 0 0 1 139 7.2 $1,550,000

2 D Duncan Keith 6'1" 194 25 55 7 25 32 31 36 2 1 1 113 6.2 $1,475,000

25 D Cam Barker 6'3" 213 22 46 4 23 27 -1 47 4 0 1 57 7 $2,768,587

33 R Dustin Byfuglien 6'3" 247 23 54 10 12 22 0 66 3 0 2 145 6.9 $3,000,000

22 R Troy Brouwer 6'2" 213 23 50 8 14 22 13 46 3 1 0 95 8.4 $675,000

7 D Brent Seabrook 6'3" 220 23 59 5 11 16 19 47 2 1 0 95 5.3 $3,500,000

46 C Colin Fraser 6'1" 188 23 59 5 10 15 7 46 0 0 0 44 11.4 $500,000

55 L Ben Eager 6'2" 220 24 55 10 4 14 9 116 0 0 0 60 16.7 $568,000

43 D James Wisniewski 6'0" 207 24 28 2 10 12 7 12 1 0 0 63 3.2 $900,000

8 D Matt Walker 6'3" 214 28 47 1 9 10 16 60 0 0 0 60 1.7 $600,000

37 R Adam Burish 6'1" 189 26 43 5 3 8 7 69 0 0 2 64 7.8 $712,500

23 D Aaron Johnson 6'1" 211 25 28 3 5 8 18 24 0 0 1 20 15 $600,000

28 R Craig Adams 6'0" 197 31 36 2 4 6 -3 22 1 0 0 38 5.3 $600,000

5 D Brent Sopel 6'1" 211 32 23 1 1 2 -4 8 0 0 1 15 6.7 $2,333,333

Totals/Averages 6'1" 203.75 24.38 195 348 47 861 53 9 1936 10.07% $44,119,795

# Goalie HT WT AGE GPI Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary

39 Nikolai Khabibulin 6'1" 209 36 29 1673 2.37 17 5 5 1 870 66 0.924 0 2 6 $6,750,000

38 Cristobal Huet 6'1" 205 33 33 1884 2.32 17 12 3 3 863 73 0.915 0 0 2 $5,625,000

31 Antii Niemi 6’2” 204 25 29* 1580* 2.59* 13* 12* 2* 2* 722* 65* 0.917* 0 0 0 $488,000

Totals/Averages 6'1" 207 34 3557 2.35 34 17 8 4 1733 139 0.919 0 2 8 $12,375,000

TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $57,283,000

CAP SPACE: $274,000*

*spacealsoaffectedbybuyoutsandinjuredplayers

16 years ago, David Stern sent me to ruin the NHL. I have done every-thing I can think of to drive the core

fan away, strip hockey of all that’s great about it, and eliminate any at-tention by the mainstream media...

I am so close to completing the task Stern charged me with....

*injured

Injury ListBrentSopel-Out(Talent)PatrickSharp-Out(Knee)NikolaiKhabibulin-Questionable(groin?)

Probable LinesLeft Wing Center Right Wing

22Brouwer 19Toews 88Kane16Ladd 36Bolland 24Havlat

33Byfuglien 32Versteeg 28Adams37Burish 46Fraser 55Eager

Probable Pairings2Keith 7Seabrook

51Campbell 8Walker43Wisniewski 25Barker

* in Rockford

Perhaps it is time to call an end to the Versteeg at center experiment. VerStud only has four points in his last eight, his shot totals are dropping, and he just hasn’t been all that noticeable. Problem is, there isn’t anyone else to put there. Whether Versteeg has just hit a wall or this is water seeking its own level, we’ll just have to see.

Though Huet has been more than solid, he’s done nothing to disprove the theory he can’t handle a major workload. His supbar performance in Detroit on 12/1 was his 4th straight start, Tampa was his 3rd, and last time out in Nashville his 7th. More than three starts in a row with Cris, things get dodgy.

We’ve m

entioned Burish’s surprising play before, but it bares repeating. He’s

3rd on the team in Behind the N

et ratings, 4th in Corsi, and the team’s 2nd

best PK’er.

# Pos Player Ht WT AGE GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% Salary (Cap Hit)

71 C Evgeni Malkin 6' 3" 195 22 62 27 61 88 18 62 9 2 2 219 12.3 $3,483,000

87 C Sidney Crosby 5' 11" 200 21 60 23 56 79 3 65 3 0 2 180 12.8 $8,700,000

17 R Petr Sykora 6' 0" 190 32 59 23 20 43 4 26 13 0 8 143 16.1 $2,500,000

? R Chris Kunitz* 6’ 0” 193 29 62 16 19 35 9 55 3 0 2 139 11.5 $921,000

81 R Miroslav Satan 6' 3" 191 34 62 15 18 33 1 32 6 0 2 113 13.3 $3,500,000

11 C Jordan Staal 6' 4" 220 20 62 15 17 32 -11 29 2 1 2 116 12.9 $2,200,000

26 L Ruslan Fedotenko 6' 2" 195 30 45 13 13 26 10 34 1 0 3 77 16.9 $2,250,000

24 L Matt Cooke 5' 11" 205 30 56 8 13 21 -9 69 0 0 1 54 14.8 $1,174,000

48 C Tyler Kennedy 5' 11" 183 22 47 9 11 20 2 17 0 0 2 116 7.8 $536,000

58 D Kris Letang 6' 0" 201 21 54 5 14 19 -6 16 2 0 1 97 5.2 $835,000

9 R Pascal Dupuis 6' 1" 205 29 51 9 10 19 -6 22 0 0 1 106 8.5 $1,400,000

44 D Brooks Orpik 6' 2" 219 28 59 2 13 15 -1 51 1 0 0 29 6.9 $3,750,000

25 C Maxime Talbot 5' 11" 190 25 56 8 7 15 -13 43 0 1 0 70 11.4 $675,000

4 D Rob Scuderi 6' 0" 218 30 61 1 11 12 7 12 0 0 0 42 2.4 $713,000

43 D Philippe Boucher** 6' 3" 218 35 39 2 5 7 2 35 0 0 0 59 3.4 $1,989,000

15 C Michael Zigomanis** 6' 0" 200 28 22 2 4 6 -2 27 0 0 0 23 8.7 $650,000

7 D Mark Eaton 6' 2" 204 31 49 2 4 6 4 26 0 0 0 22 9.1 $2,000,000

2 D Hal Gill 6' 7" 250 33 43 1 5 6 0 35 0 0 0 22 4.5 $2,075,000

55 D Sergei Gonchar 6' 2" 211 34 6 2 3 5 1 2 1 0 1 19 10.5 $5,000,000

37 R Bill Thomas 6' 1" 185 25 16 2 1 3 -4 2 0 1 0 17 11.8 $274,000

14 L Chris Minard 6' 1" 190 27 20 1 2 3 0 4 0 0 1 33 3 $269,000

28 R Eric Godard 6' 4" 214 28 56 1 1 2 -4 147 0 0 0 15 6.7 $750,000

20 L Janne Pesonen 5' 11" 180 26 7 0 0 0 -3 0 0 0 0 3 0 $278,000

Team Totals/Averages 6’ 1” 202.91 27.7 182 321 1 823 43 5 1725 7.71% $45,001,000

...IS THIS THE YEAR?

# Goalie HT WT AGE GPI Min GAA W L OT SO SA GA Sv% G A PIM Salary

29 Marc-Andre Fleury 6' 2" 180 24 44 2542 2.88 22 16 4 3 1327 122 0.908 0 0 6 $5,000,000

32 Mathieu Garon 6' 2" 192 31 17 901 3.2 6 9 0 0 448 48 0.893 0 0 0 $500,000

Team Totals/Averages 6' 2" 186 27 3593 2.82 30 26 4 3 1844 176 0.904 0 0 6 $5,500,000

TOTAL CAP NUMBER: $56,704,000

CAP SPACE: $3,473,000**spacealsoaffectedbybuyoutsandinjuredplayers

Pierogi-Ville Penguins 30-26-6

** injured*stats with Anaheim

Injury ListSidneyCrosby-Questionable(Groin)PhillipeBoucher-Out(Foot)MichaelZigomanis-Out(Shoulder)

Probable LinesLeft Wing Center Right Wing

26Kunitz 87Crosby 81Satan26Fedotenko 71Malkin 17Sykora24Cooke 11Staal 9Dupuis14Minard 48Kennedy 37Thomas

Probable Pairings44Orpik 55Gonchar2Gill 4Scuderi7Eaton 58Letang

The Pens went from 10th to 24th in goals-against.

We’ve been hearing a few Staal-for-Seabrook rumors, and they make us queasy. Staal is on a two-year decline, and this year is worse than last.

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Geno & Ovie....We all heard how Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin ended their feud at the All-

Star Game. But we wondered what they might get up to in the future...

Will they take on the entire Bolivian army? Willtheybecomejustdrinkingbuddies?

Start The World’s Greatest Band? Fight crime in Gotham?

and....

Will Sidney “Humperdinck” Crosby be able to live with the jealousy?

What To Watch For: There’s only one guy to watch, and that’s Eric Godard. He has 17 bouts to his name this season, no one else on the Pens has more than two. Much more likely Crosby will have his period all over the refs’ skates, but if Bolland putshiminhispocketthewayhehasdonewithothertopcentersthisseason,maybeSidwilljumphimoutoffrustrationin

thatoh-so-adorablewayhedidtoFlorida’sDavidBoothearlierthisseason.Don’tcountonmuchfireworkstonight.

Team Opp PPG PP%DET 273 76 27.8SJS 268 64 23.9

WSH 252 60 23.8PHI 226 52 23BOS 237 53 22.4ANA 236 52 22BUF 274 58 21.2STL 258 54 20.9CHI 257 53 20.6MIN 243 50 20.6ATL 247 49 19.8LAK 274 54 19.7NJD 219 43 19.6TOR 250 49 19.6VAN 261 49 18.8

Team OPP PPG PP%OTT 246 46 18.7CGY 265 48 18.1MTL 280 50 17.9NYI 239 42 17.6EDM 276 47 17TBL 264 44 16.7COL 252 42 16.7DAL 253 42 16.6PIT 267 43 16.1CAR 282 45 16FLA 230 35 15.2NYR 257 36 14PHX 258 36 14NSH 247 34 13.8CBJ 259 33 12.7

Power PlayTeam TS PPGA PK%MIN 214 26 87.8NYR 248 32 87.1CGY 262 36 86.3NSH 273 44 83.9SJS 233 38 83.7BOS 223 37 83.4PHI 298 50 83.2BUF 242 41 83.1FLA 242 42 82.6STL 265 46 82.6MTL 274 48 82.5OTT 253 45 82.2NYI 258 46 82.2LAK 264 48 81.8NJD 239 44 81.6

Team TS PPGA PK%CBJ 254 48 81.1CHI 251 48 80.9PIT 251 49 80.5ANA 304 60 80.3TBL 301 60 80.1WSH 300 60 80DAL 228 47 79.4CAR 232 48 79.3COL 236 49 79.2VAN 276 58 79PHX 225 49 78.2DET 256 57 77.7EDM 258 58 77.5ATL 259 65 74.9TOR 231 60 74

Penalty Kill

GAME FIGHT TIME Bloody Nose

Black Eye

Bruised Ego

Just Dancing

Analysis

1-13-06 Barnaby vs.Odelein

2nd.15:08 √ √ A solid bout between two veteran pugi-

lists. Can we take a second to ponder how Odelein sneaked on to the 1996

Canadian World Cup squad?

HAWKS vs. PENGUINSFight Stats provided by Hockeyfights.com

The Fight Card

Spotlight

Sidney Crosby

CueanyPittsburghfanshowingupatourofficeswithtorchesandpitchforks.Butunlessyou’refromWesternPA,chancesareyou’resickofSidney’sconstantbitchingatrefs(arepCaptainMarvelisgainingissomecircles,too)andevenmoreconstantpresenceonyourTVscreen.Bett-manseeminglywon’tstoppushingthisguyonus,andfrankly,he’snotworthit.He’soneveryad,VersustelevisesthePensatleasttwiceamonth,anditevenreachesdowntoPittsburghbeingyourHI-DefgameontheCenterIcepackageatleasttwiceaweek!Youcanmakeanargumentthathe’snoteven the most exciting player on his own team. The coup-de-gras was his complaint about Alex Ovechkin after their match-up last Sunday. The differ-encebetweenthetwocouldnothavebeenclearer,andthereasonsOvieshouldbethefaceoftheNHLcouldnothavebeenmoreobvious.ThenexttimeSidtheKidsaysanythinginterestinginaninterviewwillbethefirst.HehasmasteredtheMichaelJordanartofsayingnothingtothepress.However,Jordanonthecourtwasacutthroatstonebitch,knownasbeingthebiggesttrash-talkerintheleague.CrosbysoilshimselfbecauseOviehastheaudac-itytodothesame.Yeah,well,Americanfanslovethatshit.Wewantbrash,outgoing,emotional.Crosbyisnoneofthesethings.IfBettmanthinksthatfanscan’thandleaRussianasthecenterpieceoftheleague,thenheneedstoopenanewspapersometime.IntheNBA,DirkNowitzkihasanMVPtohisname,andTonyParkerandManuGinobliarehouseholdnames.Allofthemarenotfromtheseshores.IsthereabiggerstarinbaseballthanDavidOr-tiz?MannyRamirez?Ashockeyfans,we’veseenEuropeansinourleaguefor20yearsnow.Wecanhandleit.Ovechkinisthebetterplayer,themoredynamicperformer,thebiggerpersonality.IsSidawonderfulplayer?Youbetyourassheis.Top5intheleague?Almostassuredly.Thebest?Nope.Sostopputtinghimfrontandcenterandcedethespotlighttosomeonewhocanfillit.Wedon’twanttobefedmilktoastwhenwecanhaveafullmeal.

The Committed Indian is printed by Royal Omega Graphics- Elk Grove, IL847-952-8000

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KNOW THY ENEMY

Hawks-PENS: the Last 4

Feb. 14th, 2007: Hawks 4, Pens 5 (SO)Hawks battle back from 3-1 defecit on goals by

Sharp, St. Pierre, and Ruutu to take lead, but Mal-kin ties it with 6 minutes to go. Hawks predictably

bite it in Skills Competition.

Jan. 13th, 2006: Pens 1, Hawks 4Sid’sfirstvisittotheUnitedCenter,andAndy

Hilbert scores twice in the 1st period to pace the Hawks,whichletsyouknowjusthowwoefulboth

these teams were at the time.

Dec. 29th, 2003: Hawks 0, Pens 1Hawks are shutout by Sebastien Caron, who prob-ablyjustsoldyouthatbeeryou’redrinking.StevePassmore only gives up one. God, Steve Passmore.

How far we’ve come, eh?

May 26th, 1992: Hawks 4, Pens 5The period that haunts all Hawks fans. Hawks blow 4-1 lead on some of the dumbest defending you’re

likely to see, never recover, and get swept. Haven’t been back since, and we haven’t been sober since.

If there’s one site, other than the original Blue Line, that we mod-eled our whole outlook on, it was The Pens Blog (www.pensblog.com). A more wretched hive of scum and villainy you will not find, and we love it. Simply a must-read for any hockey fan, and tonight they help us out by informing us about the Pens. Obviously, this season hasn’t gone anywhere near what you hoped. What happened? It is a combo of so much. We heard about the curse of Stanley Cup runner-ups, and we laughed in the face of it. Not so much anymore. We thought for sure the Penguins had all the tools to overcome that, but not so much.Injurieshavebeenafactor,butexcusesareforFlyers fans.

We heard all the rumors that the players quit on Therrien, and it sure looked that way by the Pens play. Is that so? Why? And what has Bylsma done different?Itisnotthattheyquit,hejustlostthem,ifthatmakessense. He was a great coach who was able to develop them,buthejustwasnotthecoachtoleadthemforyears to come.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been a bit dodgy recently? Will he get it together or are Pens fans wondering if this is the guy for the future?We agree Fleury has been shakier than Micheal J. Fox, but he is still in the fold. He proved himself in the playoffs as a big game goalie. You have to respect that.

Other than Hossa, Crosby has rarely found a winger who’s comfortable playing with him. Why do you think that is?It is the age old question that has effected so many great players. People said the same things about Ma-rio back in the day. It takes a special kind of player to play with a superstar, and other than Hossa no one has been able to match it. But it is still early in his career will that player could arrive.

Will Jordan Staal ever approach the 29 goals from his rookie year again?No, he’ll be a 20 goal scorer, 25 assist man who is a constant plus every year. No clue how he had 29 goals.

Right, bottom line: Do you make the playoffs this year?Yep, seven seed, and they’ll beat Washington in seven games. Print it.

NAME QUALCOMP QUALTEAM TOI/60 GFON/60 GAON/60 +-ON/60 GFOFF/60 GAOFF/60 +-OFF/60 RATING

Aaron Johnson -0.03 -0.07 11.78 4 1.27 2.73 2.17 1.78 0.4 2.33

Andrew Ladd 0.09 0.1 12.73 3.58 1.95 1.63 2.5 1.93 0.57 1.06

Adam Burish -0.08 0.12 7.16 2.99 1.2 1.8 2.8 1.97 0.83 0.96

Matt Walker -0.04 -0.07 13.79 3.03 1.51 1.51 2.57 1.88 0.69 0.82

Ben Eager -0.11 0.01 8.05 2.76 1.24 1.52 2.88 1.99 0.89 0.63

Duncan Keith 0.08 -0.03 18.41 3.2 1.87 1.33 2.79 2.09 0.7 0.63

Dave Bolland 0.11 0.2 12.45 3.41 2.16 1.25 2.57 1.85 0.72 0.53

Martin Havlat 0.05 0.09 13.43 3.39 2.16 1.23 2.55 1.84 0.71 0.52

Colin Fraser -0.11 0.04 7.75 2.67 1.47 1.2 2.83 2.03 0.8 0.41

Troy Brouwer 0.01 -0.16 11.5 2.56 1.38 1.17 2.86 1.97 0.89 0.28

James Wisniewski -0.02 0 14.59 2.44 1.37 1.07 2.95 1.94 1.01 0.06

Jonathan Toews 0.03 -0.16 13.16 2.99 2.2 0.79 2.73 1.83 0.9 -0.11

Kris Versteeg 0.05 -0.19 12.4 2.82 2.11 0.7 2.85 1.95 0.89 -0.19

Brian Campbell -0.02 -0.02 17.58 2.88 2.24 0.65 2.75 1.75 1 -0.36

Brent Seabrook 0.09 0.19 16.67 2.48 1.86 0.62 2.99 1.98 1.01 -0.39

Patrick Kane 0.04 -0.12 13.97 2.68 2.3 0.38 2.68 1.83 0.85 -0.46

Patrick Sharp -0.02 -0.02 13.25 2.52 2.26 0.25 2.9 1.83 1.07 -0.82

Dustin Byfuglien -0.01 0.01 12.05 1.97 1.69 0.28 3.22 2.09 1.13 -0.85

Cam Barker -0.03 -0.04 13.41 2.39 2.49 -0.1 2.92 1.56 1.36 -1.46

Craig Adams -0.15 0.12 8.05 1.28 1.7 -0.43 3.15 1.98 1.17 -1.6

Brent Sopel -0.08 0.07 10.89 2.16 3.11 -0.96 3.22 2.25 0.97 -1.93

Hockey SabermetricsCHICAGO

Every game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key: QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calculated by averaging +/-/60 for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calcu-lated by averaging +/-/60 for teammates on ice with player. TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. GFON/60,GAON/60-Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.

Player GFON/60

Cam Barker 10.23

Patrick Sharp 8.61

Dustin Byfuglien 7.83

Patrick Kane 7.49

Brian Campbell 7.2

Jonathan Toews 7.1

Duncan Keith 6.45

Martin Havlat 6.45

Kris Versteeg 6.37

Troy Brouwer 6.24

Brent Seabrook 6.11

Player GA/60Andrew Ladd 4.33

Adam Burish 4.62

Brent Seabrook 5.29

Duncan Keith 5.69

Colin Fraser 6.76

Matt Walker 7.17

James Wisniewski 7.26

Kris Versteeg 7.75

Dave Bolland 7.75

Cam Barker 9.99

Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s

goals-for per 60 minutes of player being on the ice on the power play.

Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team gives up per 60 minutes the

player is on the ice on the PK.

Corsi RatingShots attempted for a team vs. how many are attempted against while a given player is on

the ice, per 60 min.

NAME CORSIJames Wisniewski 23.5

Jonathan Toews 14.6

Martin Havlat 14

Adam Burish 12.6

Troy Brouwer 12.1

Brian Campbell 11.9

Patrick Sharp 11.9

Andrew Ladd 11.3

Kris Versteeg 11.1

Brent Seabrook 10.9

Duncan Keith 10.7

Patrick Kane 10.6

Dustin Byfuglien 10.4

Cam Barker 10.3

Aaron Johnson 8.9

Dave Bolland 8.9

Ben Eager 7.7

Matt Walker 6.5

Colin Fraser 4.5

Penalties Drawn vs. Taken

Pretty self-explanatory. A measure of penalties drawn vs. taken, per 60 min.

NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60

Kris Versteeg 1.6 0.7

Colin Fraser 1.5 0.5

Patrick Kane 1.5 1.1

Adam Burish 1.4 1

Patrick Sharp 1.4 0.9

Dave Bolland 1.3 0.5

Craig Adams 1.3 0.9

Andrew Ladd 1.2 0.7

Ben Eager 1.2 2.6

Martin Havlat 1.2 0.6

Troy Brouwer 1.2 1

Jonathan Toews 0.9 0.7

Dustin Byfuglien 0.9 1.4

James Wisniewski 0.6 0.6

Brian Campbell 0.5 0.4

Brent Sopel 0.5 1

Aaron Johnson 0.4 2

Matt Walker 0.4 0.6

Duncan Keith 0.2 0.8

Face-offsPlayer Face-Offs Taken FO%

Jonathan Toews 917 53.3

Colin Fraser 608 46.9

Patrick Sharp 556 46.0

Dave Bolland 856 43.6

Kris Versteeg 187 42.8

Total Rank: 28th 46.8

Hockey Sabermetrics

Player GAON/60

Rob Scuderi 5.39

Brooks Orpik 5.52

M. Zigomanis 5.71

Max Talbot 6.79

Evgeni Malkin 6.81

Jordan Staal 7.15

Pascal Dupuis 7.29

Hal Gill 7.29

Mark Eaton 8.27

Kris Letang 8.4

Power Play RatingsThis is a measure of a team’s goals for per 60 minutes of player being

on the ice on the power play.

Penalty Kill RatingsThis measures how many goals a team gives up per 60 minutes the player is on the ice on the

Corsi RatingThis measures how many shots are attempted

for a team vs. how many are attempted against while a given player is on the ice, per 60 min.

NAME CORSIChris Kunitz 17

Tyler Kennedy 1.1

Sidney Crosby -0.3

Pascal Dupuis -0.3

Kris Letang -1.8

Ruslan Fedotenko -3.9

Hal Gill -4.4

Miro Satan -5

Evgeni Malkin -6.9

M. Zigomanis -7

Chris Minard -7.4

Phillipe Boucher -7.5

Jordan Staal -7.5

Matt Cooke -8.7

Petr Sykora -8.9

Rob Scuderi -10.7

Mark Eaton -10.7

Max Talbot -13.4

Brooks Orpik -13.8

Eric Godard -23

Penalties Drawn vs. Taken

Pretty self-explanatory. A measure of penalties drawn vs. taken, per 60 min.

NAME PDRAW/60 PTAKE/60

Evgeni Malkin 2.1 1.2

Pascal Dupuis 1.7 1

Ruslan Fedotenko 1.4 1

Tyler Kennedy 1.3 0.3

Eric Godard 1.3 3.4

Chris Kunitz 1.2 0.9

Sidney Crosby 1.1 0.9

Jordan Staal 1.1 0.4

Matt Cooke 1.1 1.5

Brooks Orpik 0.9 1.1

Max Talbot 0.9 1.2

Miro Satan 0.7 0.7

Chris Minard 0.7 0.7

M. Zigomanis 0.7 1.1

Petr Sykora 0.6 0.8

Kris Letang 0.6 0.4

Hal Gill 0.3 1.1

Mark Eaton 0.1 1.1

Phillipe Boucher 0.1 1.3

Face-offsPlayer Face-Offs Taken FO%

M. Zigomanis 251 62.9

Max Talbot 358 51.1

Sidney Crosby 1259 50.0

Jordan Staal 878 48.5

Evgeni Malkin 461 41.1

Total: Rank: 19th 49.7

Player GFON/60Petr Sykora 7.96

Sidney Crosby 6.97

Phillipe Boucher 6.82

Evgeni Malkin 6.51

Miro Satan 5.41

Jordan Staal 5.27

Ruslan Fedotenko 4.97

Tyler Kennedy 3.09

Kris Letang 2.92

NAME QUALCOMP QUALTEAM TOI/60 GFON/60 GAON/60 +-ON/60 GFOFF/60 GAOFF/60 +-OFF/60 RATING

Evgeni Malkin 0.06 0.09 15.11 3.84 2.28 1.56 2.03 2.55 -0.52 2.09

Ruslan Fedotenko 0.03 0.28 11.99 2.96 1.71 1.25 2.29 2.63 -0.33 1.58

Petr Sykora 0.02 0.31 12.37 3.26 2.26 1 2.51 2.6 -0.09 1.1

Sidney Crosby 0.07 0.05 15.41 3.5 2.84 0.66 2.19 2.4 -0.21 0.87

Miro Satan 0.05 -0.05 12.74 2.7 2.08 0.62 2.61 2.61 0 0.62

Chris Kunitz -0.03 0.47 14.03 2.71 2.07 0.64 2.29 2.26 0.03 0.61

Rob Scuderi 0.08 -0.13 14.72 2.58 2.24 0.34 2.63 2.63 0 0.34

Mark Eaton -0.01 0.01 13.83 1.99 1.63 0.36 2.66 2.54 0.12 0.24

Tyler Kennedy 0.03 -0.36 12.35 2.43 1.9 0.53 2.76 2.44 0.32 0.21

Phillipe Boucher -0.07 0.14 15.23 2.12 1.92 0.2 3.09 2.98 0.11 0.1

Chris Minard 0.06 -0.22 8.92 2.02 1.68 0.34 3.23 2.98 0.24 0.09

Kris Letang 0.06 0 15.8 3.01 2.94 0.07 2.37 2.18 0.19 -0.12

Hal Gill 0.05 0.04 14.35 2.24 2.53 -0.29 2.89 2.53 0.36 -0.65

Pascal Dupuis 0.07 0.17 12.09 2.48 2.78 -0.3 2.67 2.23 0.44 -0.74

Brooks Orpik 0.07 0.08 16.46 2.64 3.08 -0.44 2.62 2.23 0.4 -0.84

Jordan Staal 0.05 -0.06 13.38 2.06 2.65 -0.59 2.88 2.38 0.49 -1.08

M. Zigomanis 0.01 -0.27 7.78 2.8 3.16 -0.35 2.77 2.04 0.73 -1.08

Matt Cooke 0.03 -0.12 12.03 2.27 3.17 -0.91 2.74 2.34 0.4 -1.3

Eric Godard -0.13 -0.41 4.22 1.03 2.07 -1.03 2.75 2.4 0.34 -1.38

Max Talbot 0.03 -0.02 11.1 1.96 3.54 -1.57 2.85 2.3 0.54 -2.12

PITTSBURGHEvery game, we provide you with the Behind The Net numbers. These are at even strength, 5-on-5. Key: QUALCOMP- A measure of the quality of competition each player faces on the ice. Calculated by averaging +/-/60 for opponents on the ice against player. QUALTEAM- A measure of the quality of teammates each player plays with. Calcu-lated by averaging +/-/60 for teammates on ice with player. TOI/60- Time on ice, per 60 minutes, that player spends on ice at full-strength. GFON/60,GAON/60-Goals for and against team per 60 min. player is on ice +/-ON/60- Team’s Plus/minus, per 60 minutes, while player is on ice. +/-OFF/60- Plus/minus of team while player is off ice, per 60 minutes. RATING- +/-ON/60 subtracted by +/-OFF/60.

Referee Stats For The HawksReferees 1st NHL

GameHawks Games Hawks PP’s Hawks

PK’s Pens/Game Hawks PP/Game Hawks PK/

GameW L OTL

2 Fraser, Kerry 1980 3 14 17 10.3 4.7 5.7 3 0 0

3 Leggo, Mike 1997 3 10 15 8.3 3.3 5.0 2 0 1

4 McCauley, Wes 2003 5 11 14 5.0 2.2 2.8 2 2 0

5 Rooney, Chris 2000 1 4 1 5.0 4.0 1.0 1 0 0

6 Marouelli, Dan 1984 3 14 11 8.3 4.7 3.7 1 2 0

7 McCreary, Bill 1984 4 17 15 8.0 4.3 3.8 2 3 0

8 Jackson, Dave 1990 4 16 16 8.0 4.0 4.0 3 1 0

10 Devorski, Paul 1989 2 9 13 11.0 4.5 6.5 1 1 0

11 Sutherland, Kelly 2000 1 5 8 13.0 5.0 8.0 0 1 0

12 Koharski, Don 1981 3 12 16 9.3 4.0 5.3 3 0 0

13 O’Halloran, Dan 1995 4 22 17 9.8 5.5 4.3 2 1 1

14 LaRue, Dennis 1991 5 22 22 8.8 4.4 4.4 3 0 1

15 Auger, Stephane 2000 4 17 13 7.5 4.3 3.3 3 0 1

16 Shick, Rob 1986 1 2 2 4.0 2.0 2.0 0 0 1

18 Kimmerly, Greg 1996 5 26 25 10.2 5.2 5.0 3 2 0

20 Peel, Tim 1999 2 13 13 13.0 6.5 6.5 1 1 0

21 VanMassenhoven, Don 1993 3 10 5 5.0 3.3 1.7 2 0 1

23 Watson, Brad 1996 2 7 4 5.5 3.5 2.0 1 0 1

25 Joannette, Marc 1999 2 13 5 9.0 6.5 2.5 1 0 1

26 Martell, Rob 1996 1 3 1 4.0 3.0 1.0 1 0 0

27 Furlatt, Eric 2001 6 27 26 8.8 4.5 4.3 2 3 1

28 Lee, Chris 2001 1 5 4 9.0 5.0 4.0 1 0 0

29 Walsh, Ian 2000 1 1 3 4.0 1.0 3.0 0 1 0

30 Hasenfratz, Mike 2000 3 22 13 11.7 7.3 4.3 0 1 2

32 Kowal, Tom 2000 4 13 10 5.8 3.3 2.5 4 0 0

33 Pollock, Kevin 2000 3 10 12 7.3 3.3 4.0 1 1 1

34 Meier, Brad 1999 4 14 20 8.5 3.5 5.0 3 1 0

35 Warren, Dean 1999 - - - - - - - - -

36 Morton, Dean 2000 2 16 10 13.0 8.0 5.0 0 1 1

38 St Laurent, Francois 2006 2 14 15 14.5 7.0 7.5 1 0 1

39 Dwyer, Gord 2003 3 16 15 10.3 5.3 5.0 2 0 1

40 Kozari, Steve 2006 4 26 20 11.5 6.5 5.0 2 2 0

42 O’Rourke, Dan 1999 2 11 13 12.0 5.5 6.5 1 0 1

43 Pochmara, Brian 2006 1 4 7 11.0 4.0 7.0 1 0 0

45 St. Pierre, Justin 2003 6 29 26 9.2 4.8 4.3 3 1 2

NHL LEADERSPoints

Player Team P

1 Evgeni Malkin PIT 882 A. Ovechkin WAS 803 Sidney Crosby PIT 794 Pavel Datsyuk DET 755 Zach Parise NJ 7333 Patrick Kane CHI 54

Goals

Player Team G

1 A. Ovechkin WAS 442 Zach Parise NJ 363 Jeff Carter PHI 364 P. Marleau SJ 345 M. Hossa DET 3431 Patrick Sharp CHI 23

GAAPlayer Team GAA

1 Tim Thomas BOS 2.012 Steve Mason CBJ 2.193 N. Backstrom MIN 2.204 Pekka Rinne NSH 2.215 M. Fernandez BOS 2.247 CristobalHuet CHI 2.32

SV%

Player Team SV%

1 Tim Thomas BOS .9342 Tomas Vokoun FLA .9273 Craig Anderson FLA .9274 N. Backstrom MIN .9265 N.Khabibulin CHI .924

Sunday’sthirdinaseriesoffiveChicagoBlackhawk“HeritageNights”at the United Center, spotlighting once-NHL enforcer Bob Probert, was a perfect example of how a professional sports organization can attempt to present it’s own ver-sion of history, while alienating the truth for the sake of a good party. By ignoring the facts and presenting Probert to Blackhawks fans of 2009 as something he most certainly wasn’t – a hallmark of Hawks’ teams of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the team -- and more importantly Probert himself -- missed out on an opportunity to tell what in part is the inspiring truth. In an interview with the Blackhawks in-arena game program, Probert chronicled his version of the path traveled in becoming a Blackhawk:

“I talked to a few different teams, but I always loved going to Chicago and playing in the old Stadium when I was with the Detroit…. so when the opportunity arose to play

inChicago,Ijumpedatit.” But that’s not how it happened exactly. Blackhawks Magazine as well ignoredthespecificsofProbert’staleandside-steppedanyacknowledgementthatthissupposed famed Blackhawk hero came to the organization as a scumbag drug user and while he did supposedly stay clean as a Hawk,throughouthistenurewasafinancialandprofessionalbur-den. I guess we can add altering history to John McDonough’s marketing 101. Upon completion of the 1993-94 campaign, the Red Wings dragged their feet about re-signing Probert. Stalled labor negotiations between owners and the NHLPA which eventually led to the ’94-95 season being cut in half didn’t give the Wings anyreasontojumponthecaseanyhow. In those days, the free agency period hadn’t quite reached the level of insanity it resembles today, where any player worthadamnissnatchedupwithinthefirst48hours.Therecer-tainly was interest in the embattled bad-boy from a few different sources, but as of mid-July, Probert was a man without a team. Then on July 15, 1994 Probert got all liquored-up, snorted some cocaine and smashed his motorcycle into a car in suburban Detroit. For the Red Wings, this symbolized the end ofthetwosides’affiliation.ForotherteamssniffingaroundtheProbert camp, it was a stench no longer worth exploring. As it turned out, the Blackhawks were the only team left standing, offering a generous four-year, 1.6 million per year contract to a guy who almost-certainly was about to be banished from the NHL for an undetermined period of time. For comparison, $1.6M in the NHL those days was like $4M is now. 1At that moment the facts were coldly harsh; the concerns for Probert’s immediate mortality were very real. Before signing with the Hawks, Detroit executives very publicly stated they were washing their hands of Probert, who had been in and out of rehab almost since the day his career began in 1985. The reality was, Detroit felt they couldn’t control someone who obviously wasn’t capable of helping himself. This was a guy who already had received a ‘lifetime’ ban; multiple DUI’s and was in and out of jailforsmugglingcocaineovertheCanadian/USborder. But on the 23rd of July, a mere eight days after Probert’s accident in West BloomfieldTownship,theBlackhawkssignedhimtothefour-yearcontractworth$1.6million dollars annually. That was a 400 percent raise from what he had been earning with the Wings and to boot, Blackhawks’ owner Bill Wirtz would personally fund Probert’s six-month, $150,000 stay at a rehabilitation clinic in Van Nuys, California. No other team was interested in agreeing to terms anywhere close to those. It would beafullyearbeforeProbertwasclearedbydoctorsandtheNHLtoofficiallyjointheBlackhawks and resume his career. Bill Wirtz’s intentions though weren’t entirely gratuitous. The internal expectation was if Probert could get clean, his on-ice performance would regain its earlierform.HisstatsplummetedinhisfinalyearwithDetroitandthetheorywashis troubles off the ice were directly related. The idea he could ‘steal’ Probert from the rival Red Wings, rehabilitate him and possess the undisputed brute of the National Hockey League played into Wirtz’s game as well. A reasonable hope, but Probert never resembled the player he was on the junkinMotown,post-rehab.Inhisreturntohockey,the1995-96season,Probert’s

comeback was, however, immensely successful with the big guy dressing for all but four games, scoring 19 goals, 21 assists while accumulating 237 penalty minutes, the most of any Hawk since Bryan Marchment amassed 313 in ’92-93. Aside from his comeback ’95-96 season, there really isn’t much to recall about Probert’s Blackhawk career. If it had ended there, it would’ve been one of professionalsportsmostinspiringstories.InsteadtheHawkshungontohimashisfiredissipated and ability slid dramatically from year to year. Astonishingly, Wirtz and general manager Bob Pulford gave Probert a raise when his contract came up for renewal prior to the 1997-98 season. A year later, new general manager Bob Murray inherited the distinction of being the one to approach Probertandrequestherenegotiatehisdeal,takinganearfiftypercentpaycut.Probertresponded by mocking Murray and challenging the GM to send him to the minors. Murray didn’t because Bill Wirtz wasn’t about to shell out nearly two million dollars for a minor leaguer. But in effect he was anyway, as the Hawks were stuck with a player nobody else wanted, and a bad contract on the books for years after Probert had outskated his usefulness. Probert’sfinaldaysasaHawkscameinthe2001-02seasonthatsawhimscorejustonegoalandfourpointsin61games.Hewouldretirethefollow-

ing November after it was clear neither the Hawks or any other NHL team had a swig of interest in him. Bill Wirtz convinced Probert to stay with the organization as an intermission radio analyst (remember how horrible he was?) but that lasted only a few months as Probert quickly fell off the sobriety wagon post-retirement and re-enlisted in a substance-abuse program. Since then Probert’s name has popped up in the po-lice blotter from time to time, signifying a man whose struggles with dependency are interminable. Only three and a half years ago Probert was arrested for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace after Winsdor, Ontario police were called to his home at 9am in July of 2005. Hewasarrestedafterallegedlyfightingwithapoliceofficerbutthe charges were mysteriously dropped because the surrounding home’ surveillance cameras didn’t pick up the incident. Almost a year prior to that altercation, Probert was arrested and tazered multiple times after resisting arrest and fightingmultiplepoliceofficersinDelRayBeach,Florida,whereProbertworkedbriefly.Probertwassooutofitthatnight,thear-restingofficersneverbotheredtobookhismugshotbecausetheywere afraid he would become too combative once again if they

allowed him out of his cell. A year later he was acquitted of all charges. It sure would’ve been nice had Probert stepped off the self-serving plat-form John McDonough placed him on for a brief moment at some point last weekend and gave thanks to the Blackhawks and the late Bill Wirtz for giving him another opportunityatlife,notjustsomethingasfrivolousasprofessionalhockey. What would’ve become of Bob Probert, the infamous heavyweight cham-pion of hockey, had Bill Wirtz not stepped up in 1994, offering another chance at life andaboyhooddream?Theoddsaremorethanlikely–Probertwouldbedead,justlike his contemporary and fellow bad-boy John Kordic who also couldn’t manage the extra-curriculars involved in his chosen lifestyle. Probert’s wife Dani, who’s stood by him throughout these countless ordeals would be without a husband and his children without a father. He claimed his most memorable Blackhawks’ moment being the goal he scored at Maple Leaf Gardens in February of 1999, the last goal scored in Toronto’s historic arena. How about that contract he signed in July of 1994, the company-spon-sored rehab or the gift he received four years later? Probert should be heaving faint praise in this franchise’s direction. Not the other way around. To hear him humble himself in acknowledging that fact would’ve given Sunday night, and his celebrated distinction, in my mind anyway, vindication. They say those who cannot accept the past are doomed to repeat it. Good luck, Probie.

Chris Block is the founder of Third Man In (thethirdmanin.com), the definitive Hawks blog, and Puck Chatter, an outstanding NHL blog.(www.puckchatter.blogspot.com)

Block Party

Chris Block

If you’d like to ruin your organization’s reputation and advertise with us, email us at committedindian@gmail.com for info.

The Hockey Oscars

The Making of The Chicago Blackhawks

YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Brian Campbell (BUF 6th round 1997

Cristobal Huet (LA 7th round 2001)Matt Walker (STL 3rd round 1998)Aaron Johnson (CLB 3rd round 2001)Antti Niemi (Undrafted FA)

2007-2008 Patrick Kane (1st round) Ben Eager (PHO 1st round 2002) from PHI for Jim Vandermeer (FA PHI 2000)Craig Adams (HAR 9th round 1996) from CAR for future considerations.Andrew Ladd (CAR 1st round 2004) from CAR for Tuomo Ruutu (CHI 1st round 2001)

Brent Sopel (VAN 6th round 1995)

2006-2007 Jonathan Toews (1st round) Martin Havlat (OTT 1st round 1999) from OTT and Bryan Smolinski (BOS 1st round 1990) for Tom Preissing (FA SJ 2003), Josh Hennessy (SJ 2nd round 2003) and Michael Barinka (CHI 2nd round 2003)Kris Versteeg (BOS 5th round 2004) from BOS for Brandon Bochenski (OTT 7th round 2001)

2005-2006 Niklas Hjalmarsson (4th round) Patrick Sharp (PHI 3rd round 2001) from PHI for Matt Ellison (CHI 4th round 2002) and CHI 3rd round pick 2006

Nikolai Khabibulin (WIN 9th round 1992)

2004-2005 Cam Barker (1st round)Dave Bolland (2nd round)Troy Brouwer (7th round)

2003-2004 Brent Seabrook (1st round)Dustin Byfuglien (8th round)

Colin Fraser (PHI 3rd round 2003), Jim Vandermeer (PHI FA 2000) and 2004 2nd round pick from PHI for Alex Zhamnov and 2004 4th round pick (WIN 4th round 1990)

2002-2003 Duncan Keith (2nd round)James Wisniewski (5th round)Adam Burish (9th round)

COACHESHead Coach-Joel QuennevilleAssistant Coach-John TorchettiAssistant Coach-Mike HavilandAssistant Coach- Marc BergevinGoaltending Coach-Stephane Waite

GM HISTORYDale Tallon (2005-Present)Bob Pulford (Too Fucking Long, Too Many Fuck-ing Times)Mike Smith (2001-2004)Bob Murray (1999-2000)

info in part provided by hockeyreference.com

The Making of The Pittsburgh Penguins

YEAR DRAFT TRADE FREE AGENT2008-2009 Chris Kunitz (ANA Undrafted FA

2003) and Eric Tangradi (ANA 2nd round 2007) for Ryan Whitney (PIT 1st round 2003)Michael Zigomanis (CAR 2nd round 2001) from PHX for future consider-ationsPhiilipe Boucher (BUF 1st round 1991) from DAL for Daryl Sydor (LA 1st round 1990)Mathieu Garon (MON 2nd round 1996) from EDM for Dany Sabourin (CAL 4th round 1998), Ryan Stone (PIT 2nd round 2003), and 2011 4th round pick

Matt Cooke (VAN 6th round 1997)Ruslan Fedotenko (PHI Undrafted FA 1997)Eric Godard (FLA Undrafted FA 1999)Miroslav Satan (EDM 5th round 1993)Bill Thomas (PHX Undrafted FA 2006)

2007-2008 Pascal Dupuis (MIN Undrafted FA 2000) and Marian Hossa (OTT 1st round 1997) from ATL for Colby Armstrong (PIT 1st round 2001), Erik Christensen (PIT 3rd round 2002), Angelo Esposito (PIT 1st round 2007), and 2008 1st round pickHal Gill (BOS 8th round 1993) from TOR for 2008 2nd round pick and 2009 5th round pick

Chris Minard (Undrafted FA)Petr Sykora (NJ 1st round 1995)

2006-2007 Jordan Staal (1st round) Mark Eaton (PHI Undrafted FA 1998)

2005-2006 Sidney Crosby (1st round)Kris Letang (3rd round)

Sergei Gonchar (WSH 1st round 1992)

2004-2005 Evgeni Malkin (1st round)Tyler Kennedy (4th round)

2003-2004 Marc-Andre Fleury (1st round)2002-2003 Maxime Talbot (8th round)2000-2001 Brooks Orpik (1st round)1998-1999 Rob Scuderi (5ht round)

COACHESHead Coach-Dan BylsmaAssistant Coach- Mike YeoAssistant Coach- Tom FitzgeraldGoaltending Coach- Gilles Meloche

GM HISTORY2007-Present: Ray Shero1991-2007: Craig Patrick

info in part provided by hockeyreference.com

Playing at home............ 15-5-5Playing on road........... 19-12-3Scoring first.......... 23-5-3Opponent scores first........ 11-12-5Shoot the puck bimbo scores...... 4-1-1Shoot the puck bimbo doesn’t score...... 11-3-4Shoot the puck bimbo blows editors of Commited Indian..... 0-0-0ANYONE blows editors of Committed Indian ................. 0-1-0Playing on a Monday.............. 2-2-1 Playing on a Tuesday................ 5-2-0Playing on a Wednesday........... 7-1-2Playing on a Thursday.............. 2-3-0Playing on a Friday................ 4-3-2Playing on a Saturday............. 7-4-3Playing on a Sunday................ 7-2-0Savard changes lines during game... 1-2-1Coach Q keeps lines as they are..... 33-15-7Are out-muscled by opponent.... 10-13-4Outshoot opponent....... 23-10-3Are outshot by opponent.... 11-7-5Havlat shies from contact......... 16-6-6Patrick Kane scores............... 11-4-2Jonathan Toews scores.......... 11-1-4Martin Havlat scores............. 12-4-1Patrick Sharp scores............ 15-3-2Dustin Byfuglien scores......... 6-1-1Dustin Byfuglien turns down a hit...... 27-13-6Andrew Ladd scores............. 9-0-1Dave Bolland scores......... 10-1-1Adam Burish scores....... 3-2-0, and totally ruins that joke51 Phantom scores....... 3-2-1Duncan Keith scores........ 4-3-0Brent Seabrook scores...... 4-0-1VerStud scores.... 10-4-1Troy Brouwer scores.... 7-0-0Scoring a Power Play goal....... 25-5-7Not scoring a Power Play goal... 9-11-1Allowing a Power Play goal...... 13-14-8Not Allowing a Power Play goal....... 21-3-0Scoring a short-handed goal........... 6-2-0

Allowing a short-handed goal......... 2-2-1Taking 30 or more shots......... 25-12-6Taking less than 30 shots..... 9-5-2Allowing 30 shots or more...... 16-6-5Allowing 30 shots or less......... 18-11-3100 Level doesn’t cheer for anthem. 15-3-51st of a back-to-back...... 4-4-32nd of a back-to-back..... 7-4-0Opponent played night before.... 8-3-1Taking more than 5 penalties..... 16-13-3Taking 5 or less penalties.... 18-4-5Seabrook gets a flat-footed penalty.... 8-4-4Burish takes a penalty....... 7-5-2Keith takes a penalty......... 10-3-2Sharp takes a penalty....... 10-2-2Toews takes a penalty..... 8-4-2Havlat takes a penalty.... 5-3-0Sopel takes a penalty...... 3-2-1Sopel looks 6 steps slow...... 7-5-551 Phantom blows a coverage...... 23-14-7Toews is trying too hard...... 3-7-2At least 1 fight in 300 Level... 3-2-3No fights in 300 Level..... 12-3-2Playing Eastern Conference..... 7-2-2Playing Western Conference..... 27-15-6Playing Central Division...... 4-6-5Playing Northwest Division.... 12-5-0Playing Pacific Division 11-4-1Playing Atlantic Division 1-1-1Playing NASCAR Division 3-1-0Playing Northeast Division 3-0-1Playing in October.... 4-3-3Playing in November.... 6-3-3Playing in December...... 10-1-1Playing in January..... 7-6-1Playing in February..... 7-4-0Playing in March...... 0-0-0Playing in April...... 0-0-0UC plays really stupid goal song..... 15-3-5Huet’s five-hole open like Lindsay Lohan’s..... 3-9-2

Getting obliterated on face-offs....... 13-10-4Are even close on face-offs..... 21-7-4Eddie O tells crew to “stop it right here!”.... 29-15-8Eddie O tells us D have the forwards and forwards have the D during 4-on-4........ 29-15-8Pat Foley screws up a name...... 32-14-8Ice Crew wear skirts....... 6-1-3Ice Crew wear pants....... 3-1-0Ice Crew wear shorts.... 6-3-2Member of Ice Crew hilariously falls on her shapely ass.... 0-1-0Leading after 2 periods...... 28-2-3Losing after 2 periods...... 2-10-2Tied after 2 periods......... 4-5-3In overtime.......... 3-3In shootout....... 2-5Cam Barker plays....... 27-13-5Cam Barker is in Rockford due to GM incompetence..... 5-2-3Lacking a #2 center........ 34-17-8In 1-goal games..... 7-6-8In 2-goal games...... 11-5-0In 3-goal games....... 7-4-0In 4+ goal games...... 8-2-0Scoring 3+ goals..... 32-4-4Scoring less than 3 goals...... 2-12-4PA plays Ministry....... 0-0-0PA plays Modern Cock-Rock..... 15-5-5PA plays Classic Cock-Rock....... 9-4-5PA plays P.J. Harvey........ 0-0-0Fraser fights...... 7-2-1Burish fights....... 5-2-0Seabrook fights..... 0-0-0Barker fights......... 0-0-2Buff fights......... 1-0-2Sharp fights........ 1-0-0Eager fights.......... 9-1-1On Comcast...... 26-9-5On WGN....... 8-5-3On Vs........ 0-2-0On NBC.... 0-1-0Judd Sirott hates Adam Creighton 34-17-8

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