"The first time Jonathan Toews hit the scoresheet Wednesday night, it was for a holding the stick penalty in the first period. Toews was none too pleased with referee Brad Meier's call, and the crowd booed lustily. His name was announced again near the end of the second period, once again for the wrong reason — a roughing penalty — and the crowd booed some more. The third time was a charm, however, as Toews scored on a wrist shot 1 minute, 36 seconds into the third period, drawing the biggest cheer of the night from his hometown crowd. Toews' tally wasn't quite enough, though, as the Tampa Bay Lightning scored a 4-2 victory over the Hawks in the exhibition opener in front of 14,092 fans at MTS Centre. The Lightning was technically the home team, but it was clear which team was getting the most support. "We all knew that coming in," Toews said. "I had a feeling after what I saw this summer when we brought the Cup back. A lot of people are Blackhawks fans now — if not their primary team at least they have a jersey and they come out to watch us or they watch us on TV. "Coming into the building, I kind of half expected that, but to see that it was pretty awesome and a good feeling for us." Patrick Sharp, who was born in Winnipeg but moved away when he was a young child, had the other goal for the Hawks, who sat several veterans on their quick trip to Canada. Russian newcomer Igor Makarov had a solid debut for the Hawks, recording an assist on the Toews goal and finishing with two shots. Toews was impressed with the 23-year-old in his North American debut. "For sure he has a lot of skill, and he's showing it," the captain said. "Once he gets the puck you notice him right away. That's what makes him special." http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-blackhawks-chicago--20100922,0,6516575.story
