Eleven years ago, Nov. 25 also fell on the night before Thanksgiving.
It was customary back then for the Blackhawks to be on the west coast, in the middle of a lengthy road trip while booted from the United Center by a traveling circus tour — hence the moniker “Circus Trip.” That meant a late start, which served as a perfect outlet for the attention of those into their third or fourth or fifth drink of the night while “catching up” with all of those “friends” on the biggest bar night of the year in the US.