As the 2009-2010 NHL season was about to get underway, the Blackhawks would find themselves over 4,000 miles away from the Madhouse on Madison. They were scheduled to start off the season with back to back games in Finland against the Florida Panthers. In Game 1 of 82, the Blackhawks would secure their first point of the season with a OT/shootout loss. Cristobal Huet was the starting goalie. Yeah, I can barely even remember that. Of course it was the goalie who would start the 2nd game of the season that we all came to know as the season went on.
It was the hometown boy Antti Niemi that would start between the pipes in Game 2. Born in Vantaa, which was about 9 miles from Helsinki, Niemi would turn in his first big performance of the season. A 4-0 Blackhawks victory via shutout. The best was yet to come.
The Blackhawks have had a handful of players from Finland over the years. Tuomo Ruutu is at the top of the list with 228 games played in the Indian Head sweater, while Christian Ruuttu came in at 2nd on the list of most games played by a Finland born player with 158 games on the ice with the Hawks. A couple other names that may be more familiar, but may bring up bad feelings are Teuvo Teraveinen & Henri Jokiharju… OK let’s not talk about them. How about Kimmo Timonen & Antti Raanta? Not great, but 2015 Cup anyone? But the Blackhawks player with the biggest Finnish effect is arguably Antti Niemi; maybe there is no argument.
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Antti Niemi would be merely one of the great stories of this magical season. As with any championship team, many things have to go right; many players have to make major contributions. This Blackhawks team would be no different. Looking back, that was my favorite of the 3 Stanley Cup teams; winning the first Stanley Cup in my lifetime probably lends to some bias there. But it was more than that… It was that collection of guys that put it all together through 82, then through arguably the toughest postseason in all of sports. For a while there, we took the postseason for granted; now we realize what a mistake that was. That 8-4-1 record would serve as the 2nd lowest winning percentage month of that year. November would be better…
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