Dazzling Chicago

The other day my fellow blogger, music critic turned eminent sportswriter Per Bjurman, wrote about the threat coming from Minnesota this year. And yes, coach Jacques Lemaire has successfully turned these Wild into a well oiled machine, just as he did with the New Jersey Devils in the 90's. But, while the Minnesota Wild will cause a lot of problems for all other teams this season, the Chicago Blackhawks will definitely turn some heads as well. The young and dazzling Hawks, with top-rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, look like they finally might make the playoffs. I know it's still early, but I predict that Chicago will not even have to struggle for the last few spots. Friday night, led by Kane and Toews, the Blackhawks beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 to earn their fourth win of the season. Also, netminder Nikolai Khabibulin seems to be back in his previous cup-winning form.

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Speaking of the Avalanche. I wonder if we will ever see Milan Hejduk back in his best form. The Czech hasn't really been able to do himself justice since that 2002-03 season, when he amassed 50 goals and 48 assists. The really sad part is that I don't even think we have seen how good he could have been. Granted he isn't that old yet, but he is already into his ninth season with the Avs.

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Fifty years ago Friday, Maurice (Rocket) Richard got his 500th career goal, a benchmark for goal-scorers that has been matched by 38 other players.

For those of you who haven't see it, I can recommend the film The Rocket (Maurice Richard in French). I am not sure if the film got much attention outside of Canada, but I know it never played here in Sweden. Roy Dupuis does a good job as Richard and real NHL players like Vincent Lecavalier, Mike Ricci, and Sean Avery give the film an authentic feel.