Q’s Cuties: Blues vs Blackhawks | November 8, 2011
Welcome to tonight’s cutie watch! Unfortunately, with all of the Blues drama lately it won’t be the “hot” players who are watched tonight. Instead, the focus will be on new head coach Ken Hitchcock and how he handles the Blues. Davis Payne was “relieved from duty” yesterday and Hitchcock stepped into the lead spot (what a polite way of saying “you’re fired”!). The Blues are also hosting a “Tribute to 38″ tonight. In this pre-game ceremony, the Blues and Blues Alumni will welcome family and teammates of Demitra and Korolev in a celebration of their memory. You can get all of the information on tonight’s festivities on BNZ. The Blues went down hard on Saturday with yet another loss in front of Jaroslav Halak, this time falling short 2-1 against the Wild. While some will point the finger at Halak alone, obviously the Blues are pointing the finger at the lack of unity and consistency, and at Davis Payne for being unable to keep his team winning. Tonight, the Blues start a 5 game home stand, in which they are hoping to show they can be a winning team under a new coach. Here’s who I’ll have my eye on tonight:
Jaroslav Halak #41: This cutie hasn’t been very hot this season, but he has surely been a hot topic for the Blues. Halak, the “number 1 goalie” has only 1 win in his 7 games started. That win also happened to be his last game in front of a home crowd, on October 10. While Halak’s play has been less than stellar, his teammates have not supported their goaltender during the games he has started the way they have when Brian Elliott has. Halak has been waiting for his moment to “jumpstart” his season, and tonight in front of an emotional home crowd may be just the spark he’s been looking for. Look for this cutie to try and prove his worth to Blues fans, and his new coach, tonight in net.
Blackhawks Cutie to Watch: The Blackhawks have had a solid start to their season with a record of 8-3-3. While not the best, their 14 points puts them in second place in the Western Conference. The Hawks are split 3-2-1 in their road games this season, and they will be looking at getting over .500 on the road against the Blues tonight. It’s hard for me to pick a rival tonight, but here’s who my eye will be on:
Marian Hossa #81, Right Wing: This cutie is the Hawks’ current goal leader with 7 goals in 13 games. Hossa is second to Patrick Kane in points with 13, which averages out to a point a game. Hossa is a strong force that the Blues will need to keep their eye on tonight. In his past two seasons with the Blackhawks, he has had 50+ points, and those seasons have paled in comparison to his former 80+ point seasons (he had just 65 games in 2010-11 and 57 in 2009-2010). Watch for this cutie to be putting the moves are Jaroslav Halak tonight.
