Blackhawks Raise Banner, Drop Opener
Chicago knows how to put on a show, and once again the Blackhawks organization reminded the rest of the NHL that this team does two things exceptionally well: win, and throw one helluva party.
Unfortunately, once the sixth banner was in the rafters, a game had to be played. And one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference was waiting on the other end of the ice.
The New York Rangers were ready to go from the drop of the puck, and it took them only 1:43 to get on the board. Oscar Lindberg opened the 2015-16 season with his first of the season for the blue shirts, giving the visitors an early lead. New York was able to bring a 3-on-2 rush up against Trevor Daley and Trevor vanRiemsdyk and were able to capitalize.
Almost 13 minutes later, one of the new faces made an impact.
Artemi Panarin looked good all night, skating on the second line with Patrick Kane and Artem Anisimov. Despite only playing in the final preseason game, he looked comfortable and confident the entire night. He skated 16:50 and was credited with two hits and his first career goal in his NHL debut, a performance that should excite fans about things to come.
But, again, unfortunately the Rangers didn’t care about the Blackhawks’ storylines.
The Rangers quickly added two more goals in the final four minutes of the opening period to extend their lead to 3-1 through 20 minutes. Kevin Klein and Derek Stepan took care of business for the Rangers, and Stepan’s goal would hold up as the game-winner.
In the second period, Teuvo Teravainen added his first goal of the new season.
Teravainen’s goal was the final score of the contest, a clean game that only saw one power play; the Blackhawks had an advantage late in the first period. Andrew Shaw and Keith Yandle received off-setting minor penalties late in the game as well, but the Blackhawks weren’t able to take advantage of the 5-on-4 with Corey Crawford on the bench for the final 79 seconds.
Crawford made 24 stops in the loss, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped 32 in the victory.
Shaw and Ryan Garbutt led the Hawks with five hits each, and Shaw also won four of seven faceoffs. Unfortunately for Shaw, he was saddled with Bryan Bickell and rookie Kyle Baun on the night, and had to create offense for himself.
Bickell looked lost and made absolutely no impact on the game; the four million dollar man was credited with three hits and zero shots on goal in 11:54 after receiving the “wake-up call” of being placed on waivers. Baun, meanwhile, skated only 9:23 and was credited with one hit and one shot on net for the night.
Anisimov won 10 of his 16 faceoffs in the game and also picked up three hits, but finished the night minus-two. Jonathan Toews won 10 of 18 at the dot and was credited with one hit, one takeaway and an assist on Teravainen’s goal.
Chicago only blocked three shots in the game, two from Duncan Keith and one from Daley. Kane led the team with five shots on net, and outpaced the rest of the forwards in ice time at 22:22. No other Hawks forward had more than Toews’ 19:04 in the loss.
Bye bye Baun. Mr. Rufus, you have the floor otherwise, I am waiting to be entertained with your outlandish commentary/opinions.
Did anyone have Panarin score the first goal of the season? Then Teuvo and his goal. 8 more games of Bickell, but at his place he won’t last that long. Bickell down, Dano up. Pretty please. Dano,Teuvo,Panarin….European youth movement will be in full force in a few weeks.
BBBB- that is … bye bye Bickell / Baun
better options all over the place… Paille, Tikho, Hino, Dano, Hartman
On a negative note.. Hawks have tons of RW and not many LW’s
TT – looked better on RW versus LW
Dano, Garbutt, Shaw, 81,88 – all RW or better on RW
Those bouncing light balls have no place in an ice rink. That light show techno rave was really dumb and out of place. After Eddy got to the podium the rest of the ceremony was great.
A couple of quick thoughts on the game – to me that looked like a goalie victory for NY. The Hawks had a lot of chances and played pretty well. I think with some tweaking they will look even better.
Bickell man…yikes. Dano? Tikhonov? 81 year old Eric Nesterenko? I am open to anyone as a replacement.
Panarin, TT, and Kaner. We are in for an entertaining season with those three on the roster.
Looking forward to the next game!
First period focus was lost due to the emotion of the banner raising, and this is here we lost the game.. OK thats my take anyway. This nonsense of the referee intending to blow the whistle and thereby disallowing the late goal is nuts..either he blew the whistle or did not and he did not.
Future is super exciting with TT and Panarin in the mix. One this team has played together a bit more it will be unstoppable and very exciting to watch. Its also rather disappointing that we cannot seem to solve the Bickell problem.
Congrats to the Cubs and I am sure there are many CI’s that are also Cubs fans.
Well, 82-0 is now out of the question, but I’m more pumped by the way Panarin looked tonight than bummed because they lost the game. They played pretty well after a defensive disaster in the 1st period.
Eh, first game after the banner raising ceremony. It was a learning experience for players and coaches and the loss will not be a total loss from that perspective.
On to Friday and hopefully a better result.
sloppy/out of rhythm game by the Hawks. I thought Kane was the best player, while there was a contest for the most inconsistent/bad Hawk.
We need to stop seeing guys like Bickell and Rundbland on the ice. Awful hockey constantly from those guys.
PS: There’s nothing like real hockey. Love that stuff. The game was intense even though the quality of play was below average. It’s going to be a fun Hawks season.
The top two lines were great. Especially Kane and Panarin. Its very annoying that K Hayes is playing for the Rangers, but I will get over that. I thought the Hawks were the better team and higher skill level for sure. That waived off goal should have counted because the puck was over the line before the whistle blew. Edzo missed that analysis. Rangers were the beneficiaries of that bad call. I am concerned about Dailey. He seemed to be flopping around out there while New York was scoring. Call me crazy, but does anyone else think Rundblad wasn’t that bad last night. Clearly he had some bad plays, but I think he could evolve into a solid 5/6 with TVR. So I see the hole on D being Dailey on the second pairing. Saad would of course be great to have, but it looks like he has been replaced. I think the Hawks miss Vermette on that third line and Oduya. But I am optimistic that the holes can be filled during the season. Excited for the season. GO HAWKS.
Well, it was ok i guess. They played a decent game… it should have gone to OT. I do love that Tab is very objective in his recaps, but I feel that does need to talked about. The whistle was very quick; especially after letting Yandle and Shaw go at it and “letting them play”. I would have though he would have made sure the puck was not in front of Hank when, just he couldnt see it, but oh well.
Bickell and Baun were liabilities as stated already. At some point Dano, and Tikhonov will get looks. Probably sooner than later at this rate. 72 looks like the real deal and TT looks filled out. even though he’s better on the RW, that top line should be great with TT on the LW. It’s going to be a roller-coaster year, so strap in fellas. Let’s not panic until March though….
Quick whistle or not the puck was over the line before it. I could see/hear it on the replay. Bad call. And the Hawks would have won in OT. Better skill players. Rangers had no answer for Kane, Panarin, Toews, TT. It was way more good than bad last night. Rangers got lucky.
It usually takes the first 5 games or so to get up to speed. We have lots of guys this yr with upside 86, 72, 57
In the post presser Q said theyre likely to “call up a defenseman tomorrow and get him in the lineup” Also said the bottom 3 (more specifically this years whipping boys Rundblad and Daley) were “Just OK”….in Q terms, they’ve got work to do. Now, they sent Pokka down and called up Svedberg Wednesday (I thought). Tracy Myers asked if Svedberg was coming back tomorrow and Q said “likely.” So is that the call up or is another guy being called up?
Daley- did make several mistakes… that showed up in the net
TT- I love the kid… BUT- he was fumbling the puck, and passing behind guys all nite. Opening nite nerves??? Or, He isn’t as comfortable on the LW??? could be an issue.
How long will Q go with Baun/Bickell???
Wall, Instead of Bickell Shaw Baun…How about Hartman Shaw Dano
Guys, Braun is a young role player. He CAN’T be successful on a line with ‘this’ Bickell.
Everybody knew that line was a fallacy. You need to put him on a line with 2 skilled players and let him throw his body around.
None of the D man played good. I thought the best was TVR. Solid effort. The others were below their standards (not surprisingly) except Rundbland who was who he always is…a turnover machine and a target of the opposition forecheck. He invites opposing momentum like few can.
The only players who performed at their level were Kane, Penarin, TVR and Crawford. It’s a good sign considering the big picture… when everybody gets rolling they can easily dominate.
I think the official call up Quenneville referred to post game will be Svedberg.
“I was for blowing the whistle, before I actually blew the whistle” – The Ref…”No, you actually just blow” – Hawks Fans everywhere
Yes- it is ONLY one game… so #6 could improve …
But If it doesn’t improve…. me thinks Hawks would be better w/o 29’s and 6’s contracts and playing Svedberg and ANYONE else for 29…
would another team that needs a D man eat both 29 and 6 for 2016 picks and prospect… Hawks retain $2M of 29’s deal…. SB keeps $5M for TDL aquisition!!!
We have seen the post banner raising performances before. Lot of nerves, guys super amped up, meh.
The second line was fun to watch and Panarin and Kane together is cheating.
Anyway, with all the new faces in the line up, this performance was about right. Inconsistent. The blue line has been completely retooled and that’ll take at least 30 games to sort out.
Overall, I think the good outweighed the bad and there were enough positives to build on to not have any type of panic attack.
Good comments.
I expect Daley will improve a LOT. Bickell again looked like a guy who has reached the end. Maybe Baun should play with Kruger and Desjardins, if Shaw must be the #3 center? (Garbutt moves up to join Bickell’s replacement and Shaw?)
I believe there may be something to “focus was lost due to the emotion of the banner raising” and “takes the first 5 games or so to get up to speed”. Not all bad – GO HAWKS!!
“Instead of Bickell Shaw Baun…How about Hartman Shaw Dano”
How about we raise the cap by $4M too? Then the Hawks can afford to bring up whatever prospects they’d like…
If they’re stuck w/ the players they’ve got, barring 29 getting sent to Rockford (which I doubt happens), then bury him. Skate Shaw w/ Garbutt and one of Baun/Tikhonov so he isn’t dragging the boat anchor that is Bryan Bickell. I liked a lot of what I saw from Shaw last night, but nobody was coming w/ him. I also liked a lot of what I saw from Garbutt last night. Put those 2 together for a while and let them develop some chemistry.
Bickell can no longer play. He can’t be hid on the ice. Time to take the $3.05 m cap
hit and just live with it.
Daley and TVR together was bad. Daley in general was bad. He is the shit sandwich we had to take to dump the Sharp contract and I bave seen nothing to suggest this verteran is salvageable in the defensive zone: Runblad was his typical staff and proved why he should rarely dress. Hawks will quickly do something here.
Baun has no business on this roster at least not right now.
We have a substantial gap at LW. To be expected.
Sending Bickell to Rockford might be the Hawks only alternative, if he goes down maybe he can recapture some level of play where he might have some value to another team if the Hawks eat some salary. On defense is Visnovsky still out there.
Love being an informed hawks fan. Picked up teravainen and panarin in the last 2 rounds of my fantasy draft. Already paying off haha
If he Haden “vertigo” can’t they throw him on LTIR all season?
Tab, with Pokka down and Svedberg up would they not have the cap space to call up both Dano and Hartman if they send down Bickell and Baun?
I know this will fall on deaf ears, but just a reminder why Marko Dano was sent down. The brass wants him getting acclimated to the organization’s on ice system in a lower pressure environment and getting him lots of ice time and playing with confidence. One loss for the Blackhawks and there are already pleas to call him up.
Seriously, is there no patience left in this world, does this team not get a reasonable chance to gel?
They are stuck with Bickell, at least $3M worth regardless, so it makes some sense to see if they can get any production out of that money. They have eight more games to decide – I think they’ll ultimately have to demote him but we’ll see how much patience they have.
Wasn’t saying immediately. But sometime this year I’d like to see that line. Can always send Bickell through the waiver process again. Maybe somebody claims him. I don’t think the Hawks would be upset if someone did.
Hawks will be fine with the defense. Every defender had a rough night except for maybe Seabrook, Keith gave away a terrible puck in our own end! Daley will be fine, I think I’d rather see him lined up with Hammer tho just as Oduya was. Daley is a puck skater as was Oduya so let him do that with a safe defender like Hammer. TVR can go with anybody!
As far as the forwards, top 2 lines I think are better than last season with the addition of Panerin and TT. Even losing Richards for Aminsov was a plus! The problem is the bottom 2 lines have significantly dropped off. I don’t think Bickell had one big hit the entire night, its time to send him to Rockford and bring up someone who wants to play. Kruger Desjardins and Garbutt will get better when they play more together, they will be the grind/cycle line of years past.
To win a cup you have to have 4 solid lines, we have 2….guys have to step up if we are going to compete like last year.
On the flip side we won that game, if King Henrik wasn’t in net, that 3rd period would’ve had 2 or 3 goals for the Hawks…
And they’re off! Considering all of the off season changes, the Hawks still present a formidable challenge to other teams. Lots of new guys to find their places and Q will eventually get it dialed in while we bemoan certain combos and changes as the season progresses. The Hawks have some aces in the hole though down in Rockford that can step in when called on. As rightly pointed out by Hof, Dano will get his day in the sun in this Hawks lineup. It isn’t as though there are gaping holes with the forwards apart from 29(how sad that is to watch) up front. It is such a long season and combined with the likelihood of injury issues, a young guy like Dano will get ice time with the big club. Dano is a guy for the future talent wise similar to what was Teuvo coming into last year. No need to rush this guy. That combined with ever present cap issues Rockford will not cause Dano to regress.
Pity I missed the game at the UC last night, but travel conflicts had me landing at O Hare at 6:30 from a plan made months ago. So I recorded the proceedings and the game. Weird to watch an opener at home though. First one I have missed in years.
Garbutt is a scrapper with some wheels. Somehow I see him lined with Shaw this year and those guys will be a buzz saw pain in the ass to play against. Top 2 lines are just flat out scary full of talent. Panarin with Kane are going to make some sick highlight reel plays. Some adjustment on the D combos will require some patience from us fans. I think Daley will play up to a higher level defensively as will be required by Q and the Hawks system. Takes time. TVR and Rundblad are projects that hopefully don’t cost to many goals. Svedberg has a long reach, but looks slow from what little I have seen of him.
Really tough early whistle disallowing Toews apparent equalizer late. What else is new right??
Lets Go Hawks!
Re: Dano… another thouht (besides learning system and LW in Rock)..
Maybe the Hawks/Hogs should try to have Dano Learn Center position???
That 3rd line is lifeless (excluding Shaw)– so Dano at 3rd C on Hawks!!!
Or BETTER yet- Dano plays RW with Hino at Center for Hogs… develop some chemistry… and Both come up and play for Hawks – moving 65 back with 11/16
Bed n Breakfast- (29/39) back to Rockford ….
Even with the early whistle the puck was over the line BEFORE the whistle. Goal should have counted. Rangers were outclassed last night. They were lucky.
Haha ‘bed n breakfast’ nice
Can’t get it back now, but I thought the purpose of going to the war room in Toronto to review a play is to GET IT RIGHT? The ref’s explanation was a total WTF moment for me. “The replay was inconclusive, but the play was complete…” or whatever it was he said. What?? A real head-scratcher. And then I watched Tortorella’s comments on the NHL Network afterwards and he was railing on the refs, too. Every point counts in this league – especially our division – though I’m sure it will balance out in the end.
Panarin and TT…Wow. Bickell…bow wow.
Though lots to look forward to with this team.
The rule where if he meant to or was in the process of blowing the whistle has been there for a while. It went to Toronto yes, but that specific play is not reviewable. Toronto most likely asked Kozari if that was the case. Once Kozari said he was trying to blow it dead the play is dead. So in Toronto’s eyes, the play in question never happened. Therefore wasn’t technically reviewed. Although I’m sure they talked to him to get clarification that that was the case.
The on ice explanation could have been better.
He could have said the play was ruled dead before the whistle, therefore it is not a reviewable play.
It’s going to take time to get chemistry and improvements going. I expect a bit of a slow start for the simple matter of all the new faces and good old Cup hangover. The biggest issue is on defense which is no surprise. Daley, TVR, Runblad and Svedberg are very far removed from an idea combo to mix and match. Severe defensive zone shortcomings with all four, with maybe the exception that TVR can become a tolerable enough piece for a season or two. Stand and Joe know the situation and address difficulties in season pretty well. So let’s see what happens.
Dano will be up at some point and presumably that shll help the issue at LW and inject a nice skill. Bickell and Baun are simply warm bodies for a few weeks and I see no way either is here by end of month. Time to bite the bitter pill on Bickell. Going to hurt big time to have $3.05 M of dead cap money on the books for two more years but upgrading his roster spot with somebody / almost anybody from Rockford is the imperative. I imagine Ryan Hartman is tagged. With Dana supplanting Baun. Injuries notwithstanding.
Unfortunately, Bickell is a problem. I am sure that Q figures out the right formula with the forward lines and we will have 4 strong lines that will cause match up problems for any team we play. The forward talent we have is awesome. The Bickell issue adversely impacts our ability to address the back line. A year later and we still have questions about Runblad, TVR, and Rosy (eventually). I sure hope Cumiskey isn’t also in the equation. No comment on Daley yet. It is obvious and SB will do something creative to address that apparent weakness.
I believe this team will be better and more exciting than the 3 cup winners we have already seen.
Go Hawks!!!!
Is the play dead when the whistle is blown? If that is the case the puck was over the line before the whistle. You can hear the whistle on the replay and the puck is already across the line. If the play is dead before the whistle then I don’t get the rules at all.
The play is considered dead when its the referee intends to blow the whistle. The whistle is merely the audible part everyone hears to signal its dead.
Thanks, Ernie. You’re right about the rule and I get it, but I guess I’m just in denial. The odd part to me is “intention.” Looked to me in watching the replay that he was just beginning to raise his arms when the puck crossed the line. Awfully close.
At the point when they go to review it, going by the rulebook, its essentially up to Kozari whether or not he was intending to blow it. If he tells Toronto he wanted to blow it dead the play is over and there’s nothing to review. Sucks but it is what it is.