#17 Gets His 17th of the Year! Chicago takes Milwaukee in SO 5-4

Now this game was something surely to be talked about. I was hoping that after a game such as last night the momentum would carry on, and it certainly did for quite a bit. There were times where we had difficulties in our own zone and getting puck possession, but we took the win, with a few guys inparticular standing out to me.

Now, starting with the title, I was loving Jordan Lavallee's play tonight. He certainly was fun to watch. His wrister finding the back of the net was nice, and his game was very physical. Whenever he was on, he was always in on the forecheck and not afraid to get in somebody's face; especially after Martins' second goal of the game. His big hit on...the Admiral(honestly, the name slipped me a few minutes after he left the ice - whoops) was very nice, but I hope he's alright. And even though he had a ten minute miscoduct at the end of the first period, it was nice to see him not back down.

Steve Martins since getting back from his injury has had some very nice plays as well. A veteran like him is someone who needs to keep the guys going on the ice, and that was certainly done. Whether setting up plays or scoring a couple goals himself, the effort shows.

Scott Lehman was big hits all around. Even though I'm not always thrilled with his puck possession, he is always in on the forecheck as well. During the first when he was down on the ice taking the hits from Wilson, I expected him to get up and retalliate. But staying down ended up being a good thing, as we ended up getting the five on three play.

Pavelec had his good and bad times tonight. His glove hand wasn't always the strongest, as two goals had slipped right against the glove. But he did shake it off and used that glove to make some brilliant saves, including Milwaukee's fifth shot in the shoot-out to win us the game. The second after Pavs had made that save was so silent, you could hear a pin drop.


Coming off the ice and into peoples' hands are numerous St. Patty's Jerseys, as tonight was the last day to auction on them. Unfortunately with a wallet that's a bit dry, I was behind the rail with many others, on the side of "the broke folks who can't afford 'em." As expected, Steve Martins' jersey went for a high $1650 and Sterling's hitting over $1400. Many hit over $1000, and guys like Joey Crabb and Mike Hoffman's jersey had people going back and forth way after time was up for the auction to end. Lavallee's went for $800, quite a bit less than what I heard his camouflage Jersey went for, which was over $1700. Didn't have the chance to check the prices for all of them though, for it seemed like some people wanted to rip my head off if I got too close to the paper...

Standings are as close as ever, with just 7 points now separating second, which we are now tied for, and sixth place Quad City. The downside is we have two or more games played than each team, which can definitely hurt. But if we keep up a hot streak, hopefully we'll keep it going to the playoffs.