On Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawks activated forward Adam Burish off the injured reserve. He is now available to return to game action.
Burish had speculated before the Olympics that Sunday’s game against Detroit might be when he appears in a game for the first time since having surgery on a torn ACL, but it now appears the Blackhawks will wait until they host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for Burish to see real action again.
When Burish returns, the Hawks will expand an already crowded group of forwards. When center Dave Bolland returned before the Olympics, the Blackhawks were forced to sit a regular contributor on a nightly basis because they had too many bodies for the roster. Colin Fraser and Ben Eager have been the most frequent healthy scratches. When Burish returns, there will be two too many bodies for the spots available.
Over the next three weeks, the Blackhawks will learn a lot about how they stack up against the rest of hockey’s elite teams.
Between now and March 25, the Hawks will play nine games against playoff teams, most of whom made significant moves at the trade deadline to improve their club. When the Hawks play a home-and-home against Columbus, they should have a good idea of what they’ll need to do to win the Stanley Cup.
Starting Friday, when the Vancouver Canucks come to the United Center (after hammering the Red Wings 6-3 on Wednesday), the Hawks will face one of the toughest stretches of games on their calendar. Four of the first five games are at home, against Vancouver, Detroit (now at 11:30 AM in Chicago, thanks NBC), Los Angeles, then at Philadelphia before hosting Washington on the 14th. In that stretch, the Hawks will do battle with teams currently in third, fourth and eighth in the Western Conference and first and sixth in the East.
If the last two games against the Islanders and Oilers seemed rough at times, wait until this stretch. The little mistakes in the corners will turn into goals, and the probability that the Hawks can hold one of these teams to three shots in a third period like they did on Wednesday is zero.
March 14: Ovechkin in Chicago
While the Hawks have faced the Canucks, Red Wings and Kings already this year, the game against the Washington Capitals on the 14th will be the only time during the regular season that they will face the team with the best record in the NHL.
Despite their potent offense and 92 points, the Caps were very busy at the deadline. Washington added defensemen Joe Corvo and Milan Jurcina, and forwards Eric Belanger and Scott Walker in four deals that give them more depth all over their roster. This game will be a nationally-televised gauge for how the Blackhawks match up against the Eastern Conference’s best.
After the first five games, the Hawks hit the road for an intriguing three game trip filled with familiar faces in new places.
The trip starts in Anaheim, where the Ducks added defensemen Aaron Ward and Lubomir Visnovsky at the expense of Ryan Whitney. The Ducks are presently sitting in 11th in the West, but are just three points behind Detroit for the final playoff spot. Adding the trade of Jean-Sebastian Giguere to Toronto for Jason Blake and Tesa Voskala (who was subsequently traded to Calgary for Curtis McElhinney), the Ducks made a number of impact moves to make a run for the postseason.
The Hawks play the following night at the Kings, who made a few strong moves of their own. Gone is Teddy Purcell, but the Kings added Jeff Halpern and Fredrik Modin. LA is the hottest team in hockey right now, running off an 8-1-1 record in their last ten games.
After a Friday night off, the Hawks spend the night of Sat. March 20 visiting the busiest team at the trade deadline, the Phoenix Coyotes. Peter Mueller is gone, but the Coyotes added Derek Morris, Wojtek Wolski and Lee Stempniak to a team that’s been playing very well of late. The Coyotes are just one point behind LA for the fourth seed in the West, and the added scoring of Wolski and Stempniak should only improve their 25th-ranked offense.
The Hawks will then come home and play the Coyotes again on Tues. March 23, concluding the nine-game gauntlet.
Following the home-and-home against Columbus, the Hawks will play each of their final eight games of the regular season against teams that are either currently in the playoffs or within four points of the eighth spot. Perhaps the best playoff barometer will come on Friday, April 2 when the Blackhawks play in New Jersey against the Atlantic Division-leading Devils.
In all, the Hawks’ final 19 games will prove to be a hard testing ground against teams battling for playoff position. Any questions the Hawks have in net will either be answered or magnified, and any scoring droughts will cost them games. When the regular season ends, Hawks fans should have a very good idea of how far this team can go in the playoffs.
Will the Hawks play for this?
As the Olympics begin, it gives us two weeks to look back at the first 61 games of the season. The standings in the Central Division are updated through the beginning of the break already.
Below are the full team stats for the Blackhawks to date.
Legend: PIM = Penalty Minutes, ATOI = Avg Time on Ice, PPG/A = Power Play Goals/Assists, SHG/S = Shorthanded Goals/Assists, GWG = Game Winning Goals, FO% = Faceoff Win Pct, BS = Blocked Shots.
Legend: SO = Shutouts, TSA = Total Shots Against
According to a story on ESPNChicago on Thursday evening, Blackhawks forward Adam Burish could return to the lineup immediately after the Olympics.
Burish is quoted by Jesse Rogers, saying, “From talking to the trainers, I think [it’s] some time in that first week of March… Maybe [March 3] or [March 7]. A lot of dates have been thrown around, but some time in that first week.”
This would give coach Joel Quenneville even more possibilities, and headaches, when putting together a lineup. When Dave Bolland returned, it gave the Blackhawks one forward too many. Since that time, Colin Fraser has sat once and Ben Eager twice.
Eager will not play this weekend and missed Tuesday’s game against Dallas because of a lower-body injury. He has missed time already this year because of recurring issues from concussions, and could be a candidate for a trip to the injured reserve if he’s hurting after the Olympic break. The crowded roster for the Blackhawks, coupled with the need to cut payroll for next year and the team’s chance to go deep into the playoffs, makes the Hawks a likely trade candidate before the March 3 deadline.
Patrick Kane led the Hawks with two goals on Tuesday night.
Even with a fantastic game happening on the ice, the action off the ice might end up being the headlines after tonight’s Blackhawks win over the Stars.
Antti Niemi allowed three goals on 27 shots, Patrick Kane scored two first period goals and Kris Versteeg closed the deal in the shootout as the Hawks finally beat Dallas for the first time in three games this year. With the 4-3 victory, Niemi has now won starts in consecutive games for the first time this year.
Brent Sopel earned huge hero points in the overtime when he skated an entire two minutes penalty, blocked a handful of shots and, just after the penalty expired and without his stick, swatting the puck around the board with his hand to clear the action out from behind the net. After a couple questionable passes early in the game, Sopelshowed up huge in the overtime and should get a good deal of the credit for the Hawks’ second point on Tuesday night. For the game, Sopel played an incredible 4:45 shorthanded.
For the Stars, Marty Turco did all he could to earn a win. He faced 40 shots, 38 of which were in regulation, and allowed just the two goals to Kane and one to Troy Brouwer in the third period. He continued his excellence in the shootout, but takes the loss after Versteeg beat him.
Both teams might have some drama on their rosters between the final horn and tomorrow morning, though.
First, for the Stars, a trade was consummated during the first period that brings young goaltender Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta in exchange for defenseman prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy and a fourth round draft pick. Vishnevskiy, 21,was one of Dallas’ top prospects after the Stars selected the in the first round of the 2006 draft. The addition of Lehtonen, who has spent time with the Chicago Wolves, means Dallas has three goalies on their roster.
Turco has been a hot name in rumors for months, and this could only build the speculation that his days in Dallas are numbered or even over. Indeed, rumors began to fly even during Tuesday night’s game that the Stars and Flyers were talking about a deal that would send Turco to Philadelphia in the wake of Ray Emery getting hurt. The Stars play in Calgary on Thursday night, so it will be interesting to see how many plane tickets the Stars have when they arrive at O’Hare this evening.
For the Blackhawks, a small observation from the television crew might lead to some intrigue tonight. John Madden and Colin Fraser both left the bench early (Madden in the second period, Fraser in the third) and were not heard from again. For the game, Madden played just 9:12 and Fraser saw only 6:50 on the ice. Versteeg stepped in as a third center as the Hawks played with abbreviated lines throughout the third period. What made the move even more frustrating was that Madden had won 10 of 12 faceoffs before leaving. Versteeg, however, won four of five faceoffs in his time in the circle and looked good between Marian Hossa and Brouwer.
According to coach Joel Quenneville after the game, Madden sustained a lower body injury and is doubtful for the two games this weekend. Fraser appeared to take a puck to the face and did not return. Whether or not these injuries lead to a roster move is questionable; it’s more likely that it could keep Stan Bowman from pulling the trigger before the Olympics. We’ll see if Jordan Hendry skates as a forward over the weekend or if a player is brought up from Rockford, perhaps Jacob Dowell or Jack Skille.
The Blackhawks failed to score on the power play again on Tuesday, going 0-3 with the advantage. The Hawks now haven’t scored with an advantage in six games and have only scored once in 25 opportunities over their last eight games.
It looks like the only person experimenting with lines more than Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville these days is Charlie Sheen…
Reports are that, for Tuesday night’s game against the Stars, Quenneville will again keep Ben Eager on the bench. Because of how effective it was reuniting Patrick Sharp with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, that will remain the top line. Andrew Ladd will move back up onto the second line, playing with Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa. One of the surprises is the third line, where Kris Versteeg appears set to spend some time at center between Troy Brouwer and Dustin Byfuglien. Tomas Kopecky, who was thrilled after skating with Hossa on Saturday and played well in the change, moves back to the fourth line, where he’ll again skate with Colin Fraser (at wing) and John Madden.
The third line of Byfuglien-Versteeg-Brouwer looks especially intriguing, with two big, hitting forward on either side of Versteeg, a smooth criminal who moves the puck exceptionally well in space. Versteeg has been a central figure in many trade rumors lately, so moving him back to center has a bit of intrigue to it because of that potential as well.
The changes would figure to impact Brouwer’s production the most. He was scoring at a pace he’s never displayed at the NHL level while skating with Toews and Kane, and provided a physical force on the line that created space for Kane and Toews to create. However, the creativity on the line with Sharp, Kane and Toews was good last year for most of the season, and it contributed both of the Hawks’ goals in Saturday’s victory.
Antti Niemi will start in net on Tuesday.
After a rare poor performance at the United Center on Friday night, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was clear that some things needed to change. The apathy needed to die, or the season’s longest losing streak wouldn’t.
On Saturday night, the effort was night-and-day different from Friday’s weak performance. Antti Niemi returned from the flu with a spectacular performance, and the physical play that was glaringly missing on Friday was clearly present in St. Louis.
The start of the changes came from Quenneville, who made some fairly dramatic changes to the lines. He put Patrick Sharp back with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, with whom he skated for most of last year. He also bumped Tomas Kopecky up to the second line with Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa. Troy Brouwer shifted down to the third line with John Madden and Dustin Byfuglien, and Andrew Ladd moved down to the fourth line with Kris Versteeg and Colin Fraser. Lots of changes, but clearly they worked.
Toews placed himself at the forefront of the accountability list, as any good captain should, and he responded with an incredibly strong first period. He pushed a rebound back in front of the net where Sharp was able to score the first goal of the night early in the first period, and then received a gorgeous pass from Kane to score the second goal. In the first, Toews had two points, was (obviously) +2, and won six of his seven faceoffs.
Niemi received a significantly better effort from the defensemen in front of him on Saturday than Huet had in at least the last two, if not four, games. Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook were especially impressive, blocking shots at key times throughout the game and both taking, and giving, big hits all night. Seabrook was credited with three blocks and Hjalmarsson was credited with only two, and neither number feels adequate for the work the two did against the Blues. Seabrook was credited with five hits to lead a physical attack from the Hawks as well.
The story of the game has to center around the Number One Star: Niemi. Having not played since being removed after one period in Vancouver two weeks ago and then missing his last start because of the flu, Niemi returned in magnificent fashion to earn a very important victory for the Hawks. He stopped 34 of 35 shots, and the one goal he did allow was during a six-on-three rush with under two minutes left in the game.
He did get a little help from the zebras, though, as a quick whistle took a goal away from the Blues early in the second period. That doesn’t take away from a stellar performance that will undoubtedly re-open the controversy between the pipes in Chicago. Coming into Saturday night’s game, and including the three-goal, one-period performance in Vancouver, Niemi’s road numbers were ridiculous: 7-2-1 with a .943 save percentage and a 1.53 goals against average.
The Blackhawks PK was tested a lot on Saturday night, and was thankfully up to the task. The Hawks had to kill eight penalties in the game, and were up to the task until the final two minutes when St. Louis pulled Chris Mason out of the net to have a three-skater advantage. Even then, the Hawks did a good job of keeping active sticks in the passing lanes and clearing any rebounds Niemi left on the ice, but couldn’t keep the puck out of the net for any longer.
The power play offense for the Hawks remains a point of frustration, as the unit was unable to score in five chances on Saturday night. The effort was clearly better on the road than the home fans received just a day before, though, and the Hawks held their early lead though the final horn to get back into the win column.
For a lot of Blackhawks fans, Jack Skille is a four-letter word. He’s a guy who’s been the next-best-thing for long enough that many feel his time has past, and yet his time might still be coming. Why do we seem to hate Skille so much, and what should the Hawks do with him? Let’s get to know Skille a little better.
First, the case for why Blackhawks fans don’t like Skille.
The Blackhawks draft Skille with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 draft, a class that was headlined by the top pick, Sidney Crosby. There was a lot of good talent off the board by the time the Hawks got to pick (Crosby, Bobby Ryan, Jack Johnson, Benoit Pouliot, Carey Price and Gilbert Brule were the top six), but the problem the Hawks have is the classic Chicago “What If” game with names that followed Skille’s selection at seven.
And that’s just the names from the first round. Mac-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Abdelkader, Paul Stastny, Guillaume Latendresse and Mason Raymond all went in the second round. Kris Letang, Kris Russell, Evan Brophey, Jonathan Quick, Jared Boll, Keith Yandle, Darren Helm, Matt D’Agostini, Sergei Kostitsyn and Patric Hornqvist were all selected after the second round in that class. Heck, the Blackhawks drafted my favorite young player on the current roster, Niklas Hjalmarsson, in the fourth round that year.
Because so many quality players were picked after Skille in 2005, the fact that we’ve only seen limited action with moderate productivity from Skille, the knee-jerk reaction to his “career” has been that he’s a bust. And there’s still a good chance that Skille is exactly that.
But let’s pause for a moment and consider what the Hawks have in Skille, and why we haven’t seen much from the young winger.
Look at some of the guys that have broken into the NHL roster in the last four years. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg and Dave Bolland have all broken into the lineup as puck-moving, scoring, skating forwards on the top two lines.
These guys have been complimented by additions through trades or free agency by Marian Hossa, Andrew Ladd and John Madden to fill out a lot of the top three lines. When you add home-grown Dustin Byfuglien’s transition from defense to the front lines, where is the room for Skille to fit with the NHL roster?
He isn’t a center, so somehow he would need to crack the top-six wings on the roster to break in. Skille isn’t going to be a glove-dropping wing, either, so taking the spot of Ben Eager, Adam Burish or Colin Fraser hasn’t happened, either.
Skille’s been solid for a few years in the minors. This year, Skille’s having agruably his best season as a professional in Rockford, too. In 42 games, he has 35 points (16 G, 19 A) and was an AHL All Star. Last year, Skille had 45 points (20 G, 25 A) in just 58 games. He’s been a productive forward in Rockford who just happens to have a concrete ceiling over his head because of the talented roster in Chicago.
Oh, and he’s still only 22 (he’ll turn 23 in May).
And yet because he hasn’t produced instant offense when he’s had the chance in Chicago (eight points, -5 in 30 career NHL games), the jury appears to have pushed him into the “Bust” category for good.
As the 2009-10 season progresses, the options for Skille will likely remain in Rockford. Because of where he was drafted, he has a cap number of over $1 million, which is higher than some of the names that have been in Chicago more often this year. But Bryan Bickell and Jake Dowell haven’t put up nearly the same production in Rockford that Skille has, and likely wouldn’t be expected to at the next level. A lot of the reason that those two were called up earlier this year over Skille was because the Hawks needed more size on the fourth line when Eager was out, too. Skille’s listed at 6′1 and 205 pounds, so while he has decent size (a giant next to Kane and Versteeg), he isn’t big enough and doesn’t play a rough enough game to replace Eager in the lineup.
Most talent evaluators have moved on past Skille as well. Hockey’s Future, one of the top prospect rating sites, ranks Skille as the Blackhawks #6 prospect behind Kyle Beach, Akim Aliu, Dylan Olsen, Shawn LaLonde and Billy Sweatt. However, this evaluation is on long-term potential, not on more immediate production capability. Skille is the most NHL-ready player in the Hawks system.
Let’s jump to the here and now. Despite that concrete ceiling, Skille still has value to the Blackhawks. Because of his production in Rockford and age, and his restricted free agent status after this year, Skille will be a popular trade chip between now and the deadline. He could step into the lineup for a lot of NHL teams on their third line and be a productive player right now.
However, between now and the trade deadline, the Blackhawks’ tinkering and likely look toward bolstering the blue line will likely involve moving salary off next year’s payroll, though. Versteeg, Byfuglien and Patrick Sharp are NHL players that have a track record that makes them attractive to other teams while their price tage (all over $3 million) mean their likely to be moved to create the necessary cap flexibility for next year.
This is where Skille fits in.
As the Hawks look to make next year’s team affordable under the cap, Skille could become a player Chicago fans get to watch more. There’s a very good chance that next year, the then-23-year old Skille could be a contributing member of the Hawks’ third line, and could be around for a few years to come. Given his success in Rockford, and the Hawks need to move salary, it certainly isn’t time to write off Skille as an NHL player.
Patrick Kane celebrates his first period goal.
After almost three weeks and eight games on the road, and with Dave Bolland returning to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 5, the Blackhawks figured to get an emotional lift on Wednesday night.
Everything started well. Patrick Kane scored 7:40 in to give the Hawks a 1-0 advantage, which they held through the end of the first period. In the frame, the Hawks held the Blues to only three shots on net, none of which came in the first nine minutes.
Then the second period happened.
On only nine shots, the Blues scored three times against Cristobal Huet, the last two of which came in a back-breaking flurry to end the period. “Bad Huet” showed up on a night when Antti Niemi was supposed to start but was a morning scratch because of the flu. The Hawks didn’t help Huet much in the second, as sloppy passing and lazy puck handling contributed to the demise, but allowing three goals on only 12 shots to a team that only averages 2.53 goals per game (24th in the NHL) is unacceptable. The 19 shots the Blues put on net was their lowest total since the day after Christmas, when they only got 18 shots to the net against Minnesota.
Dave Bolland played well Wednesday.
The second goal for the Hawks was scored short-handed, and was a work of art between Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. Toews brought the puck up the ice, worked his way between two defenders (one of whom ended up on his butt) and completely crossed the zone, drawing Chris Mason from one post to the other. Hossa settled in on the far side of the net all alone and received a gorgeous pass from Toews that he easily deposited into the net. Despite getting worked on this shot, Mason was clearly the better netminder on Wednesday; he saved 32 of 34 shots on the night to earn a crucial win for a struggled St. Louis team.
Unfortunately for fans of the Blackhawks that don’t want trade rumors to be a distraction, night like Wednesday will continue to put pressure on management to bolster the defense in front of whomever is playing between the pipes, and the goaltender position will remain a question mark. The rumors about the Hawks’ involvement in the Kovalchuk Sweepstakes continue to be hot, and losing a home game to the Blues won’t help management feel comfortable with the roster as-is moving forward.
Antti Niemi will start in net for the Hawks.
A lot of noise was flying around the Blackhawks practice today, so here is some clarification.
First, Antti Niemi is starting in goal against St. Louis on Wednesday night.
Next, Dave Bolland appears to be back at 100 percent and will play at the United Center on Wednesday for the first time since Nov. 5.
Now, the heart of the buzz. Andrew Ladd warmed up with the team, and then left the ice for the bulk of practice. When Bolland slid into the center spot between Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa, logic started to kick in that a seemingly-healthy Ladd might be on the road to O’Hare. However, according to coach Joel Quenneville after practice, Ladd left the ice because of a “lower body injury” and is expected to play against the Blues.
Which begs the question: who plays where?
Quenneville indicated that Bolland probably won’t jump into the mix for 20 minutes on Wednesday, and that the team would begin a rotation on the fourth line. Who sits on Wednesday hasn’t been determined yet, but odds are that it won’t be Ben Eager considering the physical history between the Blues and Blackhawks.
This certainly doesn’t close the door on a trade, but the party line response from the Blackhawks is that the team will be together as-is for the first home game in almost three weeks. Stay tuned…
