Big Hit on Toews puts Focus on Hawks Response
In case you missed it Wednesday night, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews got absolutely destroyed by Willie Mitchell.
Tough break for Toews as Mitchell came out of the penalty box seconds before slamming the captain with a vicious, clean hit. Kris Versteeg followed up by going after Mitchell, which normally would draw criticism from this hockey fan. I’m getting sick of players starting fights after clean hits, but in this case we’re talking about your team leader getting trucked. It’s not that Mitchell shouldn’t have hit Toews, it’s just that when someone hits your captain like that, you stand up.
You’ll also notice the score when the hit took place, with the Hawks up two to one in the third. Vancouver went on to win the game with the Hawks taking a few penalties after the big hit. A theme last year was bouncing back and seeing how a young team would respond in tough situations. The performances last year should give fans every reason to believe that the Blackhawks will be fine going forward.
Nashville comes into the UC tomorrow night and it looks like Toews and Brent Seabrook, who also sustained an injury in the third period Wednesday, will both be good to go. Goaltending may be a bit of an issue this year, but I think we’ll find out tomorrow night that character, focus, and resolve won’t be.
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Comment from mcbrink26
Time October 24, 2009 at 9:42 am
I can’t stand when a player goes after an opponent that just cleanly laid out his teammate. I don’t care if it’s your captain or not. This is hockey! This isn’t badmitton. Going after a player after a clean hit should call fo an immediate suspension and fine. It’s a horesh1t move. I love the situational fight to build momentum and get the crowd back into the game but this is just trash.