Edgier Hawks nice, but defending home ice just as crucial

CHICAGO | The massive home opening night crowd of 21,674 on Saturday -- a sea of red sweaters in the hoi polloi's 300-level seats with every suite above that section packed -- witnessed the initial payback of the off-season hoopla in the first period.

First Andrew Brunette, the top scorer Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman snared in the summer, tapped in a power-play goal at 8:06 in the first against the Dallas Stars. That was the very scoring stat of the season by a Hawks veteran newcomer.

Then the first display of that desired "edge" Bowman sought to toughen up a physically-soft team moments later. Center Jamal Mayers, another new arrival, began flailing against ex-Hawk Jake Dowell before wrestling him to the ice, each pugilist earning a five-minute timeout. The crowd loved it.

Only negative was a continued lopsided edge in hits by the Stars, this time 32-17 in favor of the losers, which was not supposed to happen with the supposedly sandpaper-tough new Hawks.

In the end, the talented holdover core made the difference. Dave Bolland, the most under-rated Hawk, tallied two goals after missing the season opener Friday in Dallas. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp nailed their first goals in the 5-2 victory.

Nothing less than night after night of these by-plays will do at the United Center.

Almost all the emphasis was on increasing the Hawks' sandpaper quotient. But it begged to be asked if feistiness and even fighting will be worth it if the Hawks don't thrive at home. In the competitive Western Conference, where 100 points was needed last season to assure a playoff berth, any slipups at home could be fatal.

The 2010-11 Hawks were 24-17 at the UC. Decent, but..."that's not dominating. We got to be better than that at home," Bolland said. Included were embarrassing defeats against the NHL's dregs. There's no reason why a four-line deep -- at least on paper -- Hawks squad can't craft a massive home-ice advantage wire to wire.

"We had that tough start early in the year at home," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said of the mediocre October of last season. "We lost some valuable points that put us in a tough spot all year long."

"We want that playoff spot early on in the season," Bolland said. "We don't want to be battling for it near the end of the season."

Quenneville counted off the UC's advantages: "the crowd, the noise, the great support we get here."

Amazingly, the huge arena may not be as ear-splitting as it could be, certainly compared to the airplane-loud, almost claustrophobic home-ice redoubt of the late, beloved Chicago Stadium. Monitoring Hawks home crowds the past two eventful seasons, I haven't heard the consistent 100-decibel din you'd expect, post-goal celebrations to "Chelsea Dagger" Jim Cornelison's one-of-a-kind National Anthem notwithstanding.

When the arena was first opened, the Bulls noted the increased dimensions made depth perception strange. Was bigger necessarily better?

Still, the UC should be more than enough of a home advantage.

"It's unbelievable," said wunderkind winger Brandon Saad, 18, playing in his first regular-season home game. "It's electrifying out there. I can't describe it."

No matter how loud the crowd, it's on the players, new and old, to generate much of their own emotion.

The only way to win a Stanley Cup is to have everything possible go right -- remember Kane's short-handed playoff goal in the final seconds against Nashville? -- and that always includes guarding home ice at all costs.

This column solely represents the writer's opinion. Reach him at DGemsNet@aol.com.