Despite Sacha Boisvert dropping the gloves Thursday night in St. Louis, the Chicago Blackhawks still came away with a 1-0 loss.
The tilt was never shown on television. Since it occurred during a commercial break, viewers at home missed the only moment of the evening with genuine heat.
Fans online caught up quickly. Before the majority of Chicago went to bed, the video that Blackhawks Focus uploaded had already amassed 40.3K views.
Consider it a house run throughout a rain delay. TV viewers were treated to a car commercial, and the box score was disregarded. Everyone in the building witnessed it.
The video can be seen here.
And the box score was the actual issue. Chicago was unable to find the back of the net against the Blues, which is not the message any team wants to finish the night with.
Near the crease, gloves lay strewn on the ice in the 25-second film, and No. 90 stands squarely along the boards, locked in with a Blues player wearing No. 6.
Jeff Blashill will see. When a game becomes unpleasant, a coach leading a camp wants to know who resists, and the Chicago prospect responded without being prompted.
Bad blood continues to simmer between the Blues and Blackhawks as they face off again on Saturday.
A follow-up won’t take long for anyone to see. In Chicago, the two teams will play again on Saturday night, and the Blues now have the last word.
The line shapes are almost the same. With the victory, St. Louis raised its record to 1-2-0, while Chicago’s recent games have seen it at 1-1-1.
Once the real standings kick in, neither of the numbers means much. However, a fight like Thursday’s typically continues since players recall who reacted to the alarm and who remained watching.
Jim Montgomery’s team will be prepared for that. Anticipate the Blues will determine whether No. 90 desires a second round or whether the first one was merely a one-night declaration.
Here is the issue, though. What a prospect does with the puck determines whether he can land a job, and hands that are used for a dispute are not hands that are used for the scoreboard.
It’s a bad exchange for Chicago if it becomes a regular occurrence. With Connor Bedard on Kyle Davidson’s payroll at $15,000,000, no one is seeking a police chief.
However, no one can teach willpower. Which would you rather have: a kid who gets up in September, or one who skates away and hopes the camera missed it?
On September 29 in Las Vegas, the regular season kicks off, and on October 6, the Blues travel to Chicago once again. Whatever began Thursday is unlikely to remain in September.
