Blackhawks Lose Crazy Game In OT
A wild, back-and-forth game in Tampa ended with Martin St. Louis burying a rebound as the Lightning overcame an epic mistake to beat the Blackhawks 6-5 in overtime on Thursday night.
The box score reads like an all-star game. When the dust settled, Steven Stamkos had a four-point night (two goals, two assists) and St. Louis had a two-point night (one of each) for Tampa while Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews had a goal and an assist each in a high-scoring affair that included one of the most ridiculous goals you’ll ever see.
Chicago was searching for scoring, and worked hard enough in the offensive zone to produce four goals (if we’re honest about number five). The Hawks put 43 shots on net and Tampa blocked another 16 in the game. Unfortunately, the other end of the ice and special teams were problems all night.
After Tampa re-captured the lead with a power play goal late in the third period, “Toews scored a game-tying goal.” And by Toews scored, we mean Matt Carle made a simple pass from the middle of the ice back to Radko Gudas… who redirected the puck squarely on net from between the faceoff circles and between Ben Bishop’s legs for a score.
Here’s the video:
Nikolai Khabibulin wasn’t very good in the game. He struggled with rebound control, and a skilled Tampa team abused him in scoring six times on only 25 shots. While Khabibulin wasn’t very good, he didn’t get a lot of help from the skaters in front of him.
Special teams for the Hawks were atrocious. They scored once in six power plays, allowed two power play goals in four short-handed situations and also allowed a short-handed goal in the second period.
Michal Rozsival spent 12:23 on the ice and four minutes in the penalty box and had a less-than-stellar evening. Michal Handzus spent 13:56 on the ice, but was sent to the box for a terrible delay of game penalty with less than three minutes remaining in regulation; the Bolts took the lead during that penalty.
Not every aspect of the game was terrible, though. Bryan Bickell scored for the third straight game. Marian Hossa scored his fourth of the year only 96 seconds after Bickell’s goal to tie the game at two. And Andrew Shaw was credited with the Hawks’ lone power play goal, tipping in a Kane shot.
Toews and Kane were each credited with seven shots on goal, and Toews won 16 of 30 faceoffs while skating 24:17 in the game. Meanwhile, Brent Seabrook made fantasy hockey players happy with two hits, one assist and was somehow plus-four on the night.
By going to overtime, the Hawks have a point in nine of 10 games to start the 2013-14 season. Unfortunately, four of their last five games have gone to overtime (three ended in the shootout) and five of their first 10 contests have been decided in extra hockey.
With all that craziness, it never should have been 4-4… As bad as we were a some things, we deserved at least a tie before the hockey god goal.
Wow, you were very kind in your description tonight Tab…because saying that Khabby wasn’t very good, is giving him the Shirlie Temple routine…perhaps I can state it a little more accurately…HE WAS AWFUL…in 2 games this season, the Bhulin Wall has crumbled…and with the great goaltending the Hawks are getting in Rockford, another performance like this and Nik won’t be around here for very long…that has to be the worst Hawk goaltending I have seen since Khabby and Huet shared time here…I don’t want to see that again, EVER…
The Hawks owned Tampa, their offence came from atrocious rebound control by Khabby and generating some momentum from the continual gifts…other than the brain cramp by Bishop on the game tying goal, the Hawks could have easily had 8 goals tonight if not for Bishop.
On defence, Hammer and Oduya were smooth and clean once again…Leddy played well enough but he was hampered once again from minutes by another terrible outing from Rozy (what gives?)…and Keith and Seabrook were not good once again…Seabrook looks tired and Keith is in full out panic mode…
On Offence, Handzus has now played 3 awful games in a row…his hand on the puck penalty aside, he was terrible as our 2nd line centre again tonight and is seriously hampering Kane who was flying tonight. Handzus can’t play 65 to 80 games at this stage of his career, especially coming off the injuries that he did, so I don’t understand what Q is doing…Handzus can centre the 4th line responsibly and play 8 to 10 minutes a night…anything else and Q is pushing the envelope. And the last problem area was Kruger (and really all the Hawk centres) taking face-offs in his own zone…he did this last year as well, especially on the PK…he can’t win a defensive zone face-off to save his life, and its killing the Hawks PK…we are simply making things WAY too easy for the opposing PPs…I can understand that Q wanted to let his veteran players work out their kinks, but Q can’t come out after the game and complain about giving away points…tonight’s 1 point is squarely on Q…Khabby should have been gone before the 3rd (3 goals on 11 shots), Handzus should have been shuffled to the 4th line and Rozy should have had his minutes cut allowing Leddy to pair with someone else…now Q’s the coach, so if he wants to play it out like this, that’s fine, just don’t complain about throwing out points…CC should have played against Tampa, and if he had we would have won this game going away…
On the positive side, Sharp was very good, Kane was flying, Bickell has found his stride, Shaw is playing very well, Pirri is showing lots of good signs, and Hammer/Oduya have been great…
Bad OT loss for the Hawks, and a terrible effort/outing by Khabibulin…
I’ll post more about my trip to Tampa when I get in front of a computer but I just have to say bulin was HORRIBLE!
Yeah – Khabby was horrible and an NHL quality goalie controls rebounds better and doesn’t give up half of those 6 goals. But to be fair, Khabby hasn’t played in 2 weeks and that makes it tough on a goalie to be at the top of his game. That said, I hope it’s even more than two weeks before we see him again.
Sharp as pointman on the PP – stop the insanity.
With Kostka injured and with the way Brookbank and Roszival have played, that Stanton waiver claim by those jerk nucks is looking worse and worse for the Hawks.
Hopefully Bickell has his confidence back after scoring a goal for the third game in a row, now I hope he can work on registering a hit every 4th or 5th game. By the way – a nice double back gainer blowout tonight by Bicks that led to the Bolt’s 4th goal.
And Handzus is just now shuffling his walker over the blue line in his mad dash to get into the play … when he realizes the play has been end to end twice since he set off on his journey to the blue line. And for all of you who think he screwed up by covering the puck to draw a penalty late in the game – not so, he needed some quiet R&R time and he didn’t trust Q to not throw him back on the ice for another shift or two before the game was over and he could head to the whirlpool.
I noticed Jamie Kampon’s mom was sitting with her back to the game up in the Mom’s suite … we’re with you Mrs Kampon, especially during the clown parade … er … I mean power play.
But hey – 15 points out of a possible 20 for a .750 points percentage. That’s pretty good. How come it doesn’t seem that good?
They should’ve put Huet in.
As many have stated already Khabby was aweful, but you can also add Rosey and Zues to that list. I’m stating to feel bad for Leddy because of the guys paired with him, So far they have done nothing to help him or this team.
I don’t know why Q keeps putting Zues on that 2nd line. He should be playing at tops 55 games on the 4th line this year, that way he’s ready for the playoffs, but he’s playing him like his job depends on him.
I liked the pairing of Sharp with Toews and Hossa and moving Saad to the second line with Kane I think could be electric but not with Zues slowing that line to a crawl.
Give Pirri 10 games at 2C and lets see what he can do. I’m sure it won’t be any worse then watching Zues.
ER- funny stuff!
Bhulin wall, Rosey, and HalfZus SUCKED!!!
If Crow goes down this team is in deep do-do!
Q finally found a line that resembled one of last year’s line… 10/19/81 were awesome late in game… problem was that meant 20/37/88- this line was not good- and exposed why 37 can’t play 2nd C… unless 37 is in O zone majority of play… the 20/37/88 line cannot clear a puck out of D zone!!!!
I hope Bowman is digging hard under couch cushions to find $$$ for late season rental… cuz there are some holes!
I almost forgot… what the heck was Q thinking… as soon as I saw St. lou/Stamkos vs. 65/88 in OT… I knew that was going to be UGLY!!! St. Lou is a Stronger/bigger assed Kane and 91 is 91… Q’s choice there was interesting to say the least- 88 needs 19 for D side in OT (as displayed by 88’s /-3 and poor +/-)… 81/10… 20/65 or 16
And- looking at these minutes played by forwards… Q is not happy/trusting- and going to burn these “Core” guys out in 82 g + Olympic stuff!
Is it time to question the 2 million dollar deal for khabibulin? I mean if this is what its going to be why didn’t they bring up someone from Rockford and pay them the minimum and then take the extra money saved and put it into another forward. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 but that last goal in particular was terrible. In general I disagree with the strategy of adding old worn out players on their last legs to the core of the team. I would rather see the Hawks have young players with upside around the core. I admit I was wrong about Handzus who came through in the playoff’s last year, but in general I say go young.
I will say again I am worried about the Hawks lack of depth. The very thing we all think is going to carry us to another deep playoff run is not working out so far. Last night was yet another game where the opponent out “depth” us. I have noticed a pattern in the box score. Last night for example, the Bolts had 4 player with over 20 minutes TOI, the Hawks 8 players. The Bolts spread their time out efficiently even playing with only 11 forwards for most of the game.
Our fourth line minutes have steadily declined where Bollig and Smith were both under 7 minutes and Bickell under 10 minutes, Pirri got 10:11. Our third line logged about 13 or 14 minutes in a 65 minute game offering no relief for the lines 1 & 2. Those guys played between 21 and 25 minutes. Leddy only played 11 minutes and Rosy 12 minutes. Finally our 2C only logged 14 minutes. How long can this go on?
I am concerned that our forwards are gonna be dead tired at mid season…..and may of them are going to play in the Olympics. For a team with an embarrassment of riches, something has to change. There is no reason for guys like Toews and Kane to be leading the NHL in TOI.
I don’t think I am OK with Khabi being our backup. I feel uneasy about it. His career started to deteriorate while he was on the Hawks before and he wasn’t any better on the Oilers. I have no idea why we got him back.
So, after 10 games – during which the Blackhawks got a point 9 times – we’re now throwing out the Blackhawks’ depth, Khabibulin (after 2 games) and the coaching staff? Let’s all back away from the caffeine and relax… The Hawks are in 2nd place behind a ridiculously hot, will-come-back-to-earth-soon Avalanche team.
Yes, Khabibulin was awful last night. And yes, he needs to be better. Quenneville said as much in his postgame comments. Was his $2M deal a mistake? No, because it doesn’t have a NTC on it. With goaltenders dropping like flies around the NHL, all the Hawks need is a bad week from Carter Hutton in Nashville or Justin Peters in Carolina for Khabibulin to suddenly have a market. Last night, he wasn’t good but the defense in front of him (and, in the case of the GWG, behind him where Oduya could have taken photos of St. Louis’ shot). If you give Stamkos as much time & space as the Hawks did last night, many goaltenders are going to look foolish.
Let’s all take a deep breath and move on to Minnesota Saturday night. 3 points in 2 games ain’t bad.
Tab I’m not saying too dump Khappy just that he was awful last night. I think we can all agree on that. Also having Zues on the second line is not working right now, could be the injuries from last year or just age. But either way he shouldn’t be playing those type of minutes.
I think Q should play Pirri at 2c but that just me, I know others disagree.
I truly feel the Hawks have good depth, and it is finding where the pieces fit that will take some time. We won’t have a legit 2C until TT…so let’s stop there. For the most part, every player last year knew their role. With the bottom of the roster shake-up we have some new players who need to get used to these up-for grab roles. I think we should expect better performance at about the mid way point through the year.
I would like ice time a little (not much) more evenly spread out. I just think the 4th line should get 8-12 minutes a game of even strength time. It just keeps your aces fresh for the end of the game. I feel the Hawks have been more successful when rolling 4 lines, no doubt however that our 4th lines in 2009-10 and 2013 were solid with amazing 3rd lines.
I will continue to question the Khabby signing at 2 million, but the truth is he isn’t supposed to play more than 17-22 games with the Hawks if Crawford stays healthy. Crawford is destined to play between 60-65 games during the regular season. I do like Tab’s point in that someone could take a flyer on Khabby with all these goalie injuries and his contract being a 1 year deal.
Obvious to all that Khabby had a bad nite. Will he get better with more work? Hard to tell. If problems persist, you turn to Rockford and see how the development of Ranta is progressing and how that translates to the show (although I am hearing he needs more time in NA.)
Agree with Wall that 37 is too much a defensive liability to be playing 5-5 with 88. I like his PP minutes but at even strength and in the D end/on boards he’s weak link. Zues is not fast enough for PK if he does not win faceoff, and he’s not a reg season C-2 as he struggles to keep u with our speed. Rosival is also waaaay off last year’s performance- is he hurt?
Interestingly, perhaps Hawks have group of players better suited for playoff grind-it-out, no-space physically compressed ice than reg season whirliwind pace of games. For example, Bickell looks much better on 3rd line than on line-1 in reg season (last yr and thru 10 games this year), but was a beast in playoffs on line with 19/88 in playoffs. Zues did not shine in C-2 role last year until the playoffs, and was slow during the reg season after joining the team. Rosy? Different guy than we saw in the playoffs. Finally, the 4th line is not scaring anyone. I like Bollig but we’re going to need a lot more from this line in order to roll 4 lines and keep the team fresh for 3rd periods and second half of season.
On the upside, Saad looks good, Kane is raising his game even higher, 19 is 19, Sharp looks good and Hoss is starting to regain his form. Where does that leave us? I’d say:
10-19-88: scary good
20-37-81: offensive talent with puck control ability and defensive accountability
29-65-28: solid and productive, 2-way 3rd line
52-16-26: Kruger is soldi 2-ways, Bollig bangs and Zues offers big body that can take some draws..
3 out of 4 points on the road. I’ll take it. Tampa Bay has ALWAYS been a difficult team for the Hawks to beat. Khabby was awful. But he’s plenty adequate enough to play once every two weeks, which he is here to do.
I’ll say this again. Danault will be up for good by the holidays and all this angst about the center position will go away. He’s going to be the remedy at quarterback. He can distribute puck, keep up with the rush and play good two-way hockey. It won’t matter if he can’t put the biscuit in the net.
No, it isn’t bad at all Tab, but there are some very good points made, especially by Mike…for me, Q is a bit of a mystery this season as he is grudgingly allowing the new faces/youngsters to make any impact and yet is pushing his veterans hard so early in the season…
Yes, its only 2 games for Khabby, but if his next start is sour again, then Raanta should be given a start to see what he can do. I was surprised by Q’s decision to put Khabby in versus Tampa…its Florida where he should have played, not against St. Louis and Stamkos…also, I’m surprised that Q doesn’t have a special plan in place for when we play Stamkos…not that we see him a ton, but he has torched us every time.
The 4th line needs to be trusted to play 8-10 minutes a night of regular shifts and the 3rd D pairing 16-18 minutes, and everything else will take care of itself as their are multiple options that can fit on Special Teams…right now with the injury to Kostka, Rozy needs to pick up his game, because I don’t like counting on Brookbank to be Leddy’s partner…
Neggz, how about 17 for 26?
I know I’m repeating myself but it’s because it’s one thing that can be changed (and has in the past) – and that is Sharp playing point on the power play. I think it’s a bad idea for two reasons – (1) it takes Sharp away from his best position on the PP which is using his off-handed shot in the circle/slot for one-timers, and more importantly (2) he doesn’t play a defensive position as well as an actual d-man can play it. He made a bad decision going down low to take a shot last night and with 4 of the 5 Hawks below the dots, TB was off to the races and scored a shortie on a 2 on 1. Even given that anyone can make a mistake and possibly Sharp learned his lesson and never does that again, he still doesn’t have defensive instincts like a real d-man would have and with the way our PP consistently has difficulty hitting the net and having shots blocked – there needs to be two d-men on the points that have first instinct defensive coverage. Plus – it’s not like Sharp has a Chara cannon shot that’s going to scare anyone. I think any of our top-5 d-men would be a better option than Sharp.
You have to let the 4th play that 10-12 mins per night to take some of the load off 1-2 lines, otherwise those lines are going to be done by the playoffs.
I like Negzz’s lines but I’d bring Morin up and put him on the 4th line instead of Bollig. It’s not that Bollig is bad it’s just that he’s not a 82 game player and doesn’t have enough to put some worry on the other team. At least with Morin they would need to be aware of him and his sniper/scoring skills. Having Zues on the 4th line gives them another face off guy and defensive presence. It would also limit his mins but give him enough to keep sharp.
The whole process this year is not to be the best team come the regular season but peak when the playoffs start. If lines 1-2 are done by that time, well you’ve wasted an opportunity to win it this year.
Look at LA last year, they didn’t win the div, they finish in 5th place. I always go back to how Phil Jackson coached the Bulls in the 90’s. When they won the first and fourth years he rude them hard. Year two and five off the gas and years three and six he laid off even more. He understood that winning all those games in the regular season meant nothing if they were gassed come the playoffs.
Just my opinion.
It would be a blessing if Danault could play the 2nd 40games & on at center this year. I just not sure if he will be ready enough this season… Otherwise we want to trade for a center, have to. 26 Needs to be 4th line for playoffs
I really like Danault too.
10-19-81
20-trade-88
29-65-11
16-26-28
Can you imagine how much less traffic this site would have if everyone never worried and agreed all the time??
I agree ice time distribution can become an issue. Since it’s early, it isn’t too worrisome yet. However, if the trend continues, there could be some problems!
At least Brookbank isn’t going to the box as much as Rozy. Maybe one of them will get injured and we can finally see the amazing Clendelingaling in the “Big Show.”
I hate to pile on a blame Khabby but when the Hawks made the move to sign him I was not the least be excited, if anything I was extremely concerned. Last night was not a strong game for him I am hoping that the Hawks might use more of a rotation in the backup role with Khabby and Rannta. Or if Rannta is not avialable due to injury pulling up one of the other minor leaguers. If Khabby isnt able to be servicable this year I really don’t see much value with him being on the team.
And yes Rosey has been awful to start the season so far and that Ryan Stanton waiver claim is looking worse and worse.
Not yelling fire in a crowded theater, but our 3d periods are a huge concern so far. But I am gonna come out and say it. We are damn lucky to have 15 points right now. I am not meaning to imply that the Hawks don’t have great depth, they do. But so far this year Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hoss are playing unsustainable minutes. The fourth line is onl;y playing about 6-7 minutes a game the last 3 or 4 games. Third periods have been so horrible that the third and fourth lines and third D pair are playing very few shifts in the third. This is leading to late game fatigue. As Peter said, the pieces are there, Q just has to find the right combos.
I am a Zues fan but I have to say, he cannot play 2C and may no longer be needed on the club. Toews, Pirri or Kruger, Shaw and Kruger or Pirri can handle those duties better. I am not too concerned about Bulin….he will be OK. The Hawks left him out to dry a couple times.
@Mike- Y’know, I’m cool with slotting Brookbank in at 4th line wing and sitting Zues or Bollig from time to time. I like Zues ability to help with FO duty, but Brookbank can bang and the thought of Bollig, Kruger and 17 is not a bad energy line idea. I’m also good with Morin as a line-4 energy guy. He bangs and has some skill. Need the energy, skill and physical presence to rev up both the crowd and teammates. Smith seems like a better fit as a 3rd liner as he just is missing something to inspire me as a 4th line banger..
Tab, Perspective. Bravo.
Handzus and Roszival look pretty bad – that’s got to get better.
…a long way to go.
Ok- I know this is a game behind, but It was a very entertaining game. Lots a red in the seats! Yes, Khabby was bad.. specifically the five hole. i think 3 of the 6 went between is legs. The last one should have never happened. It was a like a bad play from NHL 14 where the goalie gets way out of position. Saad looks great. Very exciting on multiple occations. I felt Leddy was held back by a rough game from Rosy. But all things considered, I felt like like it was a game we should have won. 42-25 in shots. You cant give up 6 goals on 25 shots… period.
oh, and the first penalty they called on rosy… a total joke…
We are still in good shape though. Colorado will cool off and there is no reason to think we still wont win the central.