Welcome to the first ever Hawkey Central live blog. Hopefully many more to come. Follow all the action tonight right here as the Hawks and Wings do battle in their first of six match-ups this season. The refresh button will be your best friend if you'd like to follow along, and I encourage you to leave a comment or two while you're at it!

10:32 p.m.: That's it, everyone. Hope you enjoyed this. Thanks for stopping by.

10:29 p.m.: It was a back-and-forth game and didn't disappoint for any of the 22,000+ in attendance at the United Center tonight. All in all, Chicago has to be happy with the point and they now have sole possession of third place in the division with 9 points, jumping ahead of Nashville who has 8. Blues, BTW, did win tonight 4-0.

10:24 p.m.: Havlat right to Conks' chest, no goal. Hossa blasts a slapshot into the net, and that's it. Detroit wins shootout, 2-1. Wins the game 6-5.

10:23 p.m.: Sharp goes glove side and he's stopped. Hudler can't score either, kicked away by Khaby. We go to a fourth round.

10:22 p.m.: Five-hole goal for Toews. 1-1 now. Zetterberg poke checked by Khaby. 1-1 after two rounds.

10:21 p.m.: Everyone on their feet. First shooter for Chicago: Kane loses the puck and it sails wide. First shooter for Detroit: Datsyuk beats Khaby high.

10:17 p.m.: Shootout it is. Will start momentarily. Shots were 4-4 in OT, but most were harmless.

10:16 p.m.: Detroit gets the first big chance of OT. Khabibulin foils Kronwall point-blank with a nice glove save. 30 seconds left in the extra session.

10:12 p.m.: We've played 2:45 of overtime so far. No real chances yet. Both teams seem to be playing conservatively. That could spell shootout.

10:10 p.m.: Shots were 11-11 that period; 40-37 Detroit for the game. And we're ready for OT. Puck has just dropped.

10:09 p.m.: END OF THE THIRD PERIOD. CHICAGO 5, DETROIT 5.

10:08 p.m.: Time for some extra hockey. Overtime on its way.....

10:07 p.m.: Wings win the draw and calmly clear the zone. They just got a chance in front of Khaby, but he came up with a big save. 43 ticks to go, faceoff in Chicago end.

10:05 p.m.: The Wings with a textbook penalty kill right there. Man, do they have those fundamentals down to a tee. 1:17 remaining in regulation...icing called on Detroit...

10:02 p.m.: I give up. Brian Rafalski trips Kane and Chicago's back on the PP. Again.

10:01 p.m.: Detroit kills off the remainder of the Hawks' PP. Less than 5 minutes to go. Tension in the air at the United Center now!

9:59 p.m.: Nice to see Kaner having so much success. My mom's cousin owns some rinks in Buffalo and has known him since he was a kid. Says he's a class act all the way.

9:55 p.m.: Big-time players score big-time goals. Here's a perfect example....Fellow Buffalo native Patrick Kane (represent!) pots his fifth tally of the season on the ensuing 5-on-3 and it's 5-5. Never mind my Quenneville comment!

9:54 p.m.: Guess what now? You'll never figure it out. Another penalty for Detroit. Daniel Cleary to the box and it's a Hawks 5-on-3 for 1:23. Think Quenneville wishes he still had that timeout?

9:51 p.m.: You'd think a veteran team would be smarter than this, but it's back to the box for Detroit. Another senseless tripping penalty by Kronwall. 8:48 left in regulation.

9:48 p.m.: And that'll cost 'em too. Khaby was waaay out of the goal, and Jiri Hudler easily slips the loose puck into the open net. Halfway through the third, it's 5-4 Wings.

9:47 p.m.: Nothing going on that powerplay. Chicago kept crashing the net, but to be honest, the team looked really disorganized on that opportunity.

9:45 p.m.: Here's the chance to right their ship. Hawks are back on the PP with 13:44 to go in the third after Kronwall is sent to the box.

9:39 p.m.: That's two goals in a 1:08 to level the playing field again. You just can't ever count Detroit out. Hawks coach Joel Quenneville smartly called a timeout after that last goal to settle the troops down. The Detroit fans are all you can hear in the arena now...

9:37 p.m.: Wow..... They. Are. Good. What a deke by Datsyuk, after a great individual effort and pass by Hossa, and we're all knotted up at 4-4.

9:35 p.m.: And just like that.......screen shot by Nikolas Kronwall and Khaby never had a chance. 4-3 now only two minutes into the third.

9:33 p.m.: We're underway again. Third period just started.

9:30 p.m.: And those games end just as they were. Nashville 5-4 winners. Columbus 2-1 losers. Nashville improves to 4-4 and into a tie with the Hawks (for now), who also have 8 points. C-Bus remains in the Central Division cellar with the loss with 6 points.

9:27 p.m.: Again, a peek at the Out of Town Scoreboard. An update from those games of interest mentioned earlier: 3-0 Blues up on Florida early in the third in St. Louis. Nashville looks to hold off Los Angeles, up 5-4 with a minute left in regulation. Columbus trails Minnesota 2-1 with under a minute to play. I'll keep you posted on those last two games.

9:22 p.m.: Shots were 13-12 Chicago that period; now 29-26 Detroit for the game. No question, the Hawks controlled the play in the second frame. But this is far from over, and no one should expect the Red Wings to lay down and concede in the third.

9:15 p.m.: Nothing going the rest of that powerplay. The end-of-period horn just sounded. The Hawks will take a two-goal lead into the third.

9:10 p.m.: Kane just misses with a second to go in the 5-on-3. That penalty expires...5-on-4 for another minute and a half.

9:08 p.m.: Hossa says, "I want to get in on this penalty business!" 2 for Interference. Chicago will have a 5-on-3 chance for about 30 seconds.

9:07 p.m.: Ben Eager credited with the goal..apparently hit him on the way in. Also, the Wings just took another penalty. Not sure what's going on with them? But Hawks back on the PP, up two with about 4 minutes to go in the second.

9:05 p.m.: The Chicago fans are all over the Wings' faithful now...this place is loud.

9:03 p.m.: Quick faceoff win, a blast by Brent Sopel from the point, and it's in the net. Looks like it deflected on the way in. 4-2 Chicago.

9:01 p.m.: Patrick Sharp with his second shot of the game, and it nearly found the back of the net. Conks snags it out of midair for a nice glove save.

8:56 p.m.: Don't like to see this...for either team. Franzen goes down with an injury - his knee it seems? It didn't look pretty and he's bound for the lockerroom. Hopefully it's nothing serious. 6:55 to go in the 2nd, btw.

8:54 p.m.: Marty Havlat roofs the puck on a SPECTACULAR backhander, regaining the Hawks' lead just after the penalty expired. I don't use caps often, that's a highlight reel goal. 3-2 Chicago.

8:52 p.m.: Chicago back on the powerplay now, as Detroit was caught with too many men.

8:48 p.m.: I'll tell ya, you give the Defending Stanley Cup Champs powerplay opportunities, they'll make you pay. Tic-tac-toe that puck went, one of the most beautiful sights in the sport. Hossa with the goal and Khaby had no chance. 2-2.

8:45 p.m.: Johnson is nabbed for holding. About 13 minutes left in the second and the Wings will give the 5-on-4 bit another go.

8:43 p.m.: The Blackhawks just announced that tonight's attendance is 22,690 - a regular season record for the United Center. How 'bout that?

8:41 p.m.: Khabibulin stops Datsyuk point-blank...looked for sure like it would be a goal. Marian Hossa made that play with a few really nifty moves. Man, is he good.

8:38 p.m.: Did the United Center really just play the Pink Panther Theme Song??? I haven't heard that in ages! Classic.

8:36 p.m.: Defensive breakdown for the Wings. Aaron Johnson beats Conklin five-hole after Brian Campbell started the play in the Hawks own zone. 2-1 Chicago.

8:32 p.m.: Ready to go here for the second. Pavel Datsyuk wins the faceoff for the visitors, and we're off..

8:27 p.m.: A quick glance at the Out of Town Scoreboard. Games of interest to Chicago...The Blues lead red-hot Florida 2-0 early in the second at Scottrade. Blue Jackets trail host Minnesota 1-0 late in the second. Predators were up 3-1, but Los Angeles literally scored just now, it's 3-2 in Nashville late in the second.

8:20 p.m.: Shots finished 17-13 Detroit that period. The Wings dominated the first half of the period and Chicago picked it up as time went on. Odd, you'd think it'd be the opposite because Detroit also played last night, but whatever. Both goalies look sharp. The Blackhawks' young guns need to step it up.

8:15 p.m.: END OF THE FIRST PERIOD. CHICAGO 1, DETROIT 1.

8:12 p.m.: Kane with his first shot of the game with 1:40 to go in the first. A weak shot with no traffic in front of Conklin, he stared it down easily, but at least Pat's on the stats sheet now.

8:10 p.m.: SOG are now 16-9 in Detroit's favor. Chicago's been pouring it on as of late. How quickly things change in hockey. 1:44 left in the first.

8:07 p.m.: Yep. Versteeg cashes in on a rebound after a quick wrister by Martin Havlat for the PP tally. And the place goes bonkers. We've got a game folks. 1-1.

8:05 p.m.: Samuelsson gets two for tripping, and the Hawks PP will do business with 5:07 to go in the first. Remember, this team has been scoring about 20 percent of the time with the extra man thus far this year. I smell a goal...? Or at least a good chance..?

7:59 p.m.: Shots are 14-3 now, but the Hawks do get the kill. Back to 5-on-5.

7:55 p.m.: Kris Versteeg dinged one off the post on a short-handed breakaway! He had open net too, just missed on that chance. Shots 11-3 Detroit, btw.

7:53 p.m.: Tempers are flaring, as a scrum in front of Khabibulin develops. A group of red and white jerseys amassed near the goalie's blue crease when he tried to freeze the puck. Khaby gets the only penalty apparently? The Detroit PP looks to up to 2-for-2.

7:47 p.m.: Hey! Hey! Hawks record their first shot on goal! Jonathan Toews' quick wrister is fumbled by Ty Conklin, but then he covers up. Shots are 5-1 Wings five minutes in.

7:45 p.m.: Mixed crowd as usual. The "Let's go Wings" chants are getting drowned out by the "Detroit Sucks" ones so far, even though it's one-nil for the visitors.

7:40 p.m.: Yeah.... Johan Franzen makes them pay. Just 1:40 into the game, Franzen nets his 5th of the season and it's 1-0 Wings. Nikolai Khabibulin is in nets tonight, BTW.

7:38 p.m.: Uhhh...not the way you want to start. Brent Seabrook is off for tripping 25 seconds into the game. The efficient Red Wing power play units get an early go.

7:36 p.m.: Crowd's buzzing already, as Jim Cornelison does his rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Think they know this is a big game?

7:31 p.m.: O.K., I've done live blogs before elsewhere and I always preface with a prediction. 3-2 Hawks, I say. The crowd will be into it and they'll be ready to play at the United Center tonight, and don't forget Detroit played last night. Really, it's Chicago's first big test of the season if you think about it. Look for veterans like Brian Campbell to stand out and lead the way.

7:28 p.m.: Less than 10 minutes from the puck dropping. Just had dinner, so I'm well-nourished and ready to go. Had some corned beef tonight...I'm sure fellow Buffalo native and Irish-American Patty Kane would appreciate that. Let's see if Hawks fans can appreciate the effort he puts on the ice tonight. Kaner, Toews, and Co. will need to be ready from the get-go against their Central Division rivals.

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