Blackhawks Waste Strong Start From Subban, Lose in OT
The sky was falling in Chicago a couple hours before the puck dropped in Nashville.
Malcolm Subban was starting, the Hawks were replacing Alex DeBrincat with Matthew Highmore and Adam Boqvist with Lucas Carlsson, and Nashville isn’t as bad as Detroit.
When the game started, thoughts and prayers were already being submitted for the postgame comments sections…
When the game ended, Subban deserved so much more than he got from the skaters in front of him.
Chicago’s best weapon so far this season has been its power play. So Nashville willingly ignored the scouting report; Mark Borowiecki went to the box 2:12 into the first period.
And, for the seventh straight game to open the season, the Hawks scored with the advantage.
Dylan Strome handled the business end of a pretty pass to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
Andrew Shaw provided the set-up for Strome’s second of the season.
After that the period belonged to Nashville. Well, except for Subban.
When the horn sounded after 20 minutes of hockey, Subban had stopped all 17 shots he faced in the first period. He appeared to get more confident as the period progressed despite facing shots more frequently. Thanks to his strong play, Chicago took a one-goal lead to the room.
Dominik Kubalik had a couple rough shifts but still skated 7:11 in the first period.
And even though Boqvist was missing, coach Jeremy Colliton continued to bury Ian Mitchell. Mitchell skated 4:20 in the first; Carlsson was on the ice for 5:41 in the period.
At some point the Hawks needed to stop letting the Preds test Subban, but it didn’t come early in the second. David Kampf went to the box 2:18 into the second period, taking a key penalty killer out of the mix and putting the Hawks short-handed. Chicago was able to kill the penalty but it wasn’t smooth sailing.
The Hawks held the lead for 29 more seconds once Kampf left the box before Yakov Trenin tied the game. Nikita Zadorov would love that shift back but it felt like it was only a matter of time until Nashville beat Subban.
Nashville kept putting pressure on the Hawks, who struggled to get the puck and attack. But seven minutes after the Trenin goal, the Hawks got a chance to take the lead back. Mattias Janmark made it count.
Unfortunately, Carl Soderberg went to the box less than three minutes after the Janmark goal.
Thankfully, Nashville didn’t want use of a full two minutes of power play time. Luke Kunin killed his own power play after 75 seconds when he hooked Calvin de Haan.
The brief advantage the Hawks had wasn’t a good one. Their passing was a mess and they struggled to get the puck into the zone until their power play was nearly half over. Nashville killed their penalty and the two sides skated on.
Without another penalty called or goal scored, the second period came to a close. Chicago was out-shot 8-7 in the period, making the game total 25-15 in favor of the home Predators. The Hawks’ defensemen were credited with nine blocked shots through 40 minutes, led by three from de Haan.
Mitchell was still not getting off the bench nearly enough. He had the fewest shifts (11) on the blue line and the least ice time (7:10) over the first two periods. Carlsson was on the ice for 9:29 of the first 40 minutes.
But, thanks to Subban doing good work, the Hawks took a one-goal lead to the third.
Mitchell didn’t help his case for more ice time when he took a tough penalty in the corner 8:30 into the third period. He was caught tripping Matt Duchene and went to the box for a couple minutes to think about it. Nashville put good pressure on during the power play but Subban was on point.
Unfortunately, the lead lasted only 36 seconds after the penalty expired – the same script as Nashville’s first goal. Mikael Granlund tied the game after a flurry of shot attempts from the skaters in the mustard sweaters.
How would the Hawks respond? With another stupid penalty, of course. Andrew Shaw cross-checked Nick Cousins 40 seconds after the Granlund goal to put the Hawks short-handed yet again.
This time the Blackhawks killed the penalty and didn’t give up a goal in the minute immediately following the PK. But the ice was tilted in favor of the Preds and it wasn’t close; the Hawks were getting out-shot 11-3 with three minutes left in the third period.
Chicago was able to run out the clock on regulation and guarantee at least one point in the standings for the fourth consecutive game.
Nashville finished regulation with a 37-19 shot advantage. So let’s be absolutely clear for a moment: Subban kept his team in this game and earned at least one point. His performance through 60 minutes of hockey was outstanding.
Patrick Kane was held without a shot on net in regulation, but he set up Janmark for a great opportunity early in overtime.
Sadly, Kane was caught flat-footed later in overtime. Roman Josi exploded into the zone and Granlund left the puck for him. Dylan Strome was telling Kane to fill where Josi was headed but he couldn’t get there; Josi stuffed it home to end the game.
Subban stopped 36 of 39 shots in the game. Again, he was terrific. But he takes the overtime loss in this one.
Connor Murphy played a long, strong night. In a team-high 28:03 on the ice, Murphy led the team with five blocked shots and was also credited with one hit and two takeaways.
Chicago’s defensemen were credited with 13 blocked shots in front of Subban.
Kane finished the night minus-two in 21:14 and without a shot on net. Last year he was held without a shot only twice in 70 games. Philipp Kurashev and Shaw were the only other forwards not credited with a shot on net.
The two teams face each other in Nashville again on Wednesday night.
Undefeated in 4 games lets not try to make 17th pick again from the 9th spot.
Has us tied for 5th place.
NAS is not a top 5 team anymore they are as bad as FLR now. Wow. Pecker is not pixie dust anymore.
With lots of young first yr players/goalies and without 20 50 77 19 we should not be drafting 6-30th.
MORRISON
January 26, 2021 at 9:38 pm
Its a tight horse race early on. If we play this good without 20 50 77 19 OTT and DET might be to hard to catch. Still 3 spot before ping pong balls can get us 2nd or 3rd pick.
OTT 3
DET 2
VAN 2
NYR 2
CHI 1
ARI 1
BUF 1
EDM 1
Having to take 8 wins against DET really sucks because they belong in the east where they tucked tailed and run. Of all yrs Bettman lets DET back in the division its on maybe the only yr we donot want them here.
Well you can see why Mitchell hasn’t played 3 on 3 before now – he made a terrible pass in the O zone that resulted in a turnover that lead to the Predators scoring the winner
Although his mistake was nothing compared to whatever it was Strome and Kane were doing on the OT winner
Hawks had no business winning this game anyway but still gift wrapping golden opportunities is never a good thing
On the plus side Subban was great – kept the Hawks in it and they kept to their defensive structure despite not seeming to have much energy
Zadorov didn’t have a good game and was moved in favour of DeHaan from the Murphy pairing in the third
Carlsson was merely ok – easy to see why they prefer Boquist
Without Boq and Dcat the skill level of the team takes a substantial hit
Getting 1 pt from that game is really good. They where outplayed but Suban and the team found a way to get a point.
Why did they put Strome on the ice with Mitchell???
A slow player and a rookie
OMB …that was a bad trio ..but it’s ok ..they did their best.
With all the speed available in front and the experience on Defense They put those guys on the ice ….Wow.
Strange choice I think but what do I know about hockey.
When Kubi blasts away, good things happen, even if he doesn’t score.
What is with these David Kampf penalties? A cheap one for blatant interference on Sunday and a bad hold tonight. Shaw’s penalty was ridiculous. Eddie says, “You can’t put yourself in that position.” That’s much too mild. Shaw plays like an idiot sometimes. Why was he mouthing with the ref about it? It was a blatant and stupid penalty.
Subban was great. He doesn’t look as smooth or positional as you would hope but he certainly kept the pucks out tonight so he must be saluted for that.
The Hawks got smoked in the first and third. They did not deserve a point. A lot of this game was reminiscent of the playoff series where the Hawks couldn’t compete against the Preds. It’s OK. It still feels like they play hard, but they are a badly depleted team with a bunch of rookies. Maybe they’ll be better tomorrow.
The league should do something about the over the top announcers. This guy in Nashville is irritating and he goes on for 30 seconds at a time drowning out the television announcers. If the Hawks had an announcer doing that at the UC, it would still be irritating. It’s not only because this guy is announcing for the opposition. The concept is flawed.
Morrison
It seems that you don’t want to see the kids win and grow in a winning mentality and you live just to loose and get a good pick in 6-8 months from now
The horse race to loose the maximum of game is not the way to give confidence to those kids. Winning habits and working hard against the best is the way to get to the ultimate goal…Stanley cup .
I want the kids to get a chance to prove to themselves and to the organization That they are proud To play for the Hawks and that they want to win to get to the playoff .
Not to loose for a draft pick that will maybe take their place on the roster.
6 pts in last 4 games …that’s more then I was expecting and wish they will continue on the same path.
Go Hawks Go
I watched Colliton’s post game presser and he was pissed at the lack of effort, especially in the 2nd and 3rd period. I don’t recall ever seeing him that pissed before – he was seething doing all he could do to try to answer the questions in a civil manner. It was actually good to see because he usually seems a little too dispassionate.
He was asked about if the way Kane and Strome played the OT goal was the correct way and he answered you can play it either way but both players have to be on the same page. Good answer.
Robs – I agree it’s a good thing when Kubalik shoots – but not in OT when there’s a d-man in the way and no team mate in front of the net for a rebound. That is essentially a give away and that’s not a good play to make in OT when possession is the most important thing.
The team in front of him did clear a few rebounds for Subban, who was outstanding but not much else in the way of help. Seriously that last shift in Ot looked like kids playing their parents in the back yard. See how they come back tomorrow. Good judgement comes from experience, experience is gained from bad judgement.
Hawks2010…
Spot on dude.
Go Hawks!!!!!
No need to rip on me cause I am not a Keith koolaid drinker… I was 6-10 years ago but that ship sailed.
He slows the whole team down…
Bad example for Boquist to follow in…
IMO
GO HAWKS!!!!
Nashville,s top 4 Defensemen dominate Hawk forwards and make them look like frustrated children.The 2nd period on the Preds d men activated and took over the game.If Colliton is truly trying to develop young players then he should be rolling 4 lines and 6 d men not playing half your team less than 10 minutes a game.I know Strome had a goal tonight but he went 2 games without a shot on goal and was part of the last 2 goals against.At best a 3rd line center never to be played in overtime. Great game for Subban
tonight colliton went out of his way to make the point he is a moron and in way over his head.
late in ot he sends out mitchell to play with two defensively clueless and arguably the two worst defensive forwards on the team. the same mitchell who has played every game for the hawks and yet played four minutes less than carlsson tonight who was playing in his first game of the season. a predictable result.
of course they didn’t deserve to win tonight or the one point they received for forcing ot, but colliton didn’t need to pick up an assist on the game losing goal.
And 20 50 77 19
WRAPAROUND
January 26, 2021 at 9:58 pm
Without Boq and Dcat the skill level of the team takes a substantial hit
Hawks2010, thats right. What did the experience beating EDM and getting whipped by VEG do for the young players experience. Nothing except a 17th pick when we could have had a top 10 player. EVen though I like the player we got we earned a top 10 player pick.
That yr we were only 9th pick so not as bad as that happening on a yr like this where we have a very good chance get another top 3 pick.
A top 10 player and a top3 pick in thee two drafts is more important then experience becaue w have to have the horses/good enough young wave to be a top 5 team again. Picking 17th every yr gets us nowhere/well its get us to being a midtier team for next decade.
We have a real chance here to add another top 3 gem like 77 and maybe another in 22 draft. Have to take advantage of that by getting the generational difference makers. Then we ll get all the experience we would ever want by Winning in the playoffs by being one of the top teams.
I am not agsint the team I do want whats best.
Top 5 roster or top 5 draft.
Did anyone hear Foley’s call on the Janmark breakaway and goal? Who is Kelly Yarkrov?
I ll try not to post too much about where were in the standings for the draft. I am focused on the positive things/development this yr and getting another gem in the draft is my #1 prioirty because thats what get us back/all the way back.
I want to add to the good young players we already add not fill in around tghem with older vets.
This. Want to get yonger players the right kind of experience not play the older players more min then rolling the lines.
TIM W
January 27, 2021 at 12:04 am
If Colliton is truly trying to develop young players then he should be rolling 4 lines and 6 d men not playing half your team less than 10 minutes a game.
Just thinking if someone just did a Ron Burgandy and wrote that name down because he reads everything. Could be turning into Harry Carey calling out Lenny Daulton name mixtures. At least Harry’s players were not on the home or team he announces for.
I don’t blame JC for who was on the ice for the OT winner – we all want players like Mitchell to gain experience and how else were the Hawks going to score without the likes of Strome and Kane on the ice
The fact that they each made terrible plays is on them not the coach
Yes the players should always strive to win, and they will. That’s what players and coaches do. But let’s be honest this team needs a couple of more top 100 NHL players to compete-the best way (with no assurances yes) to do this is thru the draft in the next couple of years. And usually that means top 10 picks.
Many holes to fix and fill-skill isn’t everything but it sure helps.
Who decides when a team is missing too many players to play?
I agree with Billy Reay, Keith is done. For me the hardest part of watching the Hawks play is watching the greatest defensemen in Hawks history play the way he plays now.
Subban made some good saves but he gave up an awful lot of rebounds. A better team than mustard would have buried a few of them. Overall though, good performance by a guy who hasn’t played in two weeks.
Foley called Janmark Calle Jarnkrok at least twice on his breakaway – Jarnkrok plays for NSH but who cares when you can listen to 3 periods of inane inside jokes and vapid storytelling instead of actual play by play which I think is his job although with Foley you can’t be sure
After the Hawks I switched to CGY/TOR and the difference in play by play is stark and not in a good way if you’re Foley
Somebody in management needs to rein him in – there are already times when I turn off the sound
The irony is that he’s fine if he sticks to calling the game but I guess he’s got such a hard on for Eddie O that he just can’t help himself
Kurashev Suter Kane
Kubalik Strome Hagel
Janmark Soderburg Shaw
Carpenter Kampf Highmore
deHaan Mitchell
Keith Murphy
Zadorov Kalynuk
Wrap … and that’s a wrap on Foley. :=)
The Pat and Eddie show lost its “cuteness” looooong ago. Foley called Janmark “Jarnkrok” several times even before Janmark’s breakaway goal. I wonder if Eddie corrected him off-air and Foley still didn’t get it until Eddie did his color analysis of the goal and emphasized Janmark’s name a couple times.
Hey, at least Hawks hockey to watch on TV … so there’s that.
Morrison-
You have to be kidding- good enough to be a top 5 team with the Horses/good enough young wave? Who are you speaking of? What are you smoking?
Dach- good all around player
D Cat- sniper, not much else- but useful w right talent around him
Suter – I like
Kubalik- similar to Cat
Hagel- tries hard, great forecheck
Kurashev- I like for ALL around game
D guys/kids- nobody stepping up – yet
So comparing the above- to other recent SC teams- I am Not buying the “rebuild”
It will take 2 lucky draft/Studs– think 88/19 or Crosby/Malkin for this team to be legit. Sorry- I think the farm is weak!
Only Young guys mentioned above- that could contribute to ALL around good game/ past Hawk Cup teams- Dach/Suter/Kurashev- in some role, perhaps Hagel as 4th line / forechecker
Kane is a slam dunk hall of famer and one of the greatest Hawks ever. That being said his defensive effort is often embarrassing. In OT he had zero interest in defense, not just on the goal but the entire shift. This leads to my question. Toews was the unquestioned team leader and to a slightly lesser extent Seabrook. I see no one on the current team able to fill the role. Neither Kane or Keith have the personality and no one else stands out. So many young guys trying to do the right thing and they watch their best player mail it in in OT. This is bad for team development and I don’t know what the answer is. On great teams the best players usually work the hardest which makes it easier on the coaches. The Hawks are a long way from being a good team but this issue can become a big problem if not addressed.
Don’t get me started on Foley, his schtick is awful. While on the subject I will say I really enjoy watching Kevin Bieksa as an analyst on the HNIC feeds. He was a player I couldn’t stand but he is very informative as an analyst.
Pat does appear to be slipping- Jarnkrok vs Janmark in NSH, “Todd” Bertuzzi for DET game.
There were several good shot blocks to help relieve some pressure from Subban, as Eddie commented on, and as noted above, some actual efforts to clear the crease … baby steps ahead from last year’s team defense
wrap
respect your insight, but you are way off base this time. it is ALL on colliton for the combination on the ice to lose the game.
one way or the other. you want the kids to get experience then put them on the ice. carpenter with more toi than hagel or highmore. mitchell least amount of toi of all d-men. four minutes less than carlsson who hasn’t played all year. carlsson three minutes less than zadorov. the three other d-men 22 to 27 minutes. do you call that giving the young guys experience? minutes wise colliton played every one of the minutes of that game to win. so save the experience rationale for giving him a pass on the loss he dictated by putting those three on the ice together. three on three isn’t learning how to compete in the nhl. it’s pond hockey. he will show he is giving mitchell experience when mitchell consistently plays 18 minutes a night.
Re: HAWKS29
January 27, 2021 at 1:03 am
tonight colliton went out of his way to make the point he is a moron and in way over his head.
late in ot he sends out mitchell to play with two defensively clueless and arguably the two worst defensive forwards on the team. the same mitchell who has played every game for the hawks and yet played four minutes less than carlsson tonight who was playing in his first game of the season. a predictable result.
^^^^YES, THIS!!! I was screaming into my pillow all night long. What JC is doing (not doing?) with Mitchell makes my stomach turn.
Also, Zadarov? Take your man bun and ride the bench a little longer, please. UGH.
What a waste of space he was out there.
Re: MS
Don’t get me started on Foley, his schtick is awful. While on the subject I will say I really enjoy watching Kevin Bieksa as an analyst on the HNIC feeds. He was a player I couldn’t stand but he is very informative as an analyst.
^^^MS, I feel the same way about Foley. I really enjoy Edzo on the national broadcast when he doesn’t have Foley to yukk, yukk with. Huge difference. Last night Foley was particularly awful.
Bieksa–as much as it kills me to speak the words– is a terrific analyst, and Versteeg is (shockingly!) above average whenever I’ve caught him. Also, IMO–we are never getting Patrick Sharp back as a local analyst. He’s evolved into a terrific role and brings so much more to the table than Milbury. (yes, the looks included) :) He’ll be commuting from his home in Connecticut to the national studio for the foreseeable future, which is a loss locally.
future
I will admit when I’m wrong and my post yesterday about Subban was wrong. The kid played way above my expectations last night and deserved a better outcome. Hope that’s a sign of things to come!
Subban played great and deserved better.
Guess people can’t complain about Boqvist now, so that’s a positive.
Need a better effort tonight. Carlsson was just solid.
Let’s point out some of the positives from the game last night:
Subban – I think his play last night gives the Hawks two GK that they can rely on. Great job last night!
Carlsson – Way better defensively in his first game than Boqvist all season. They need to make room for this kid. I think trading Keith is the move.
Mitchell – I can live with his rookie mistakes, because his plus/minus ratio of good plays to negative plays is through the roof on the plus side.
Janmark – The Marx Brothers. I love it and I want the Harpo(Wallmark) on the ice!
Kurashev and Hagel – NEVER take these two out of the lineup. I love their makeup.
Suter and Kubalik – Who needs the AHL, when we have the Swiss League.
Kane and Strome – Strome was fine, but Kane needs to get the “C” and lead this young team by example. That was terrible in OT.
All in all – I just keep looking at the positives with this team this year. Whoever said – lose the man-bun! I agree, those need to be outlawed!!
Win or lose, I am really enjoying watching these Hawks.
Hawks29 – with respect there are lots of valid points about JCs allotment of ice time during the game but I was specifically talking about the OT shift that resulted in the winner
We’ll have to agree to disagree but IMO that goal was on the players on the ice not on JC for putting them on the ice
Strome and Kane couldn’t decide who to cover or in Kane’s case even try – sorry but I lay the blame for that on the players
Agree by putting out Kane, Strome and Mitchell out on O zone start in Ot was an attempt by Colliton to generate much needed offense and maybe steal a win right there. Obviously he ecpected a better effort. Kane is Kane but he was the furtherest away from Josi and the puck, why was he expected to engage him, seems like bad way to defend it even if he did react quicker.
If Colliton is so pissed why not in a back to back situation insert Beaudin, Kalynuk, Entwistle and Wallmark in 2nite and start Subban again to send a message. Maybe all can’t fit to easy but 2 or 3 of them. Send alot better message to me than naming players names to blame in post game presser, some may like it but always think it is kinda unprofessional and not great leadership whenever i see that in a coach. Can be pissed and vent by handling it alot better than that.
Play time for the kids:
To develop the Yoots, some have said ‘roll all 4 lines’. Others have made TOI arguments.
The real discussion should be: ‘what are they being developed for?’ Just putting them on the ice just ‘to see what they can do’ is absurd.
Some players, like Markus Kruger, were developed for specific roles – e.g. to be a defensive specialist even though he thought he could be a Top 6 goal scorer. We knew DeBrincat could score goals after leading the OHL 3 years in a row. But being able to withstand the physical play and be better defensively were the real questions.
I could go on. The point is each player needs to be ‘developed’ differently and therefore needs to be put into different situations to improve.
Also, rolling all 4 lines is what an inexperienced Mike Yeo did in St. Louis to lead his team to last place before getting fired. And we know how that story turned out. I think this is what Colliton was trying to do originally but was persuaded otherwise.
I have no problem with a player ‘in development’ being used sparingly as long as it is focused. You could almost argue that playing time – when not properly focused – is counterproductive to development.
Oh wrap – by now we ALL should know that anything negative that happens with the Blackhawks is JC’s fault. Everything. If the UC burns down – JC did it.
Put the “C’ on Kane? Seriously? Is there a lazier and more irresponsible defensive player on the team? Anyone wearing a “C’ (or for that matter an “A”) should be admired for their work ethic and on (and off) ice leadership, not for their paycheck and statistics. If he is such a leader, why does he get OFF the ice in overtime immediately when we lose the opening faceoff (rhetorical question)? Shaw or de Haan show far more leadership on the ice than Kane ever has. I can allow Keith to wear an “A” just for his efforts, but not a “C”. Seabrook is more the REAL captain, in my opinion, if JT’s not available.
Morrison – Don’t fret over what you post and how others may view it. You are who you are and bring a voice that is worth the same as mine or most any other on the board. We’ve all learned how to skip posters we do not want to hear from on any given day.
I had hoped – and was essentially promised by many on this board – that Eddie wouldn’t be back as a play-by-play for the Hawks this season, mainly because some NHL team would sign him as GM or another high level position. Unfortunately, you let me down!!!
It’s nice to have the regular board back! Which one shows up post game tonight?
Good post Who Is John Galt. I’ll give it a LIKE.
“Re: John Galt–
I have no problem with a player ‘in development’ being used sparingly as long as it is focused. You could almost argue that playing time – when not properly focused – is counterproductive to development”
^^Exactly this! And exactly why IMO Boy Wonder JC is not up to the task. I do not trust him to know when, where and how players can/be used most effectively *in the NHL*.
Rockford and Europe are one thing,
the big show is quite another.
Just my two cents.
Let’s hope the fellas respond better tonight.
p.s. I still think that Preds Yellow is the most disgusting yellow in sports. Barf.
Cheers!
Ian – would like to see Kalynuk in for Carlsson but also like to see Lank get the start tonight – I want to see if he can really be a #1 – he’s earned the opportunity
Just a couple of random thoughts,if Zadorov is not going to land big hits and continue to be a pez dispenser with the puck,lets sit him and look at Kalynuk or Beaudin.Last night Kane had 0,yes 0 shots on goal.That should never happen.Over the weekend the Hawks #1 Center had 0,yes 0 shots on goal over 2 games against a terrible team.If these guys don’t want to play stick them on the COVID list and develop some young forwards.Kubalik better develop another part of his game other than the powerplay one timer.On the flip side,Murphy,Dehaan,Janmark,and Hagel played hard all night.Obviously this team needs much more
Tommy Ivan- agree with your thoughts on Mitchell and Carlsson
Carlsson- appears to be very aware on D side. Not a good passer in this last game- but could be timing/or lack of play w roster
Hawks29- I agree JC tried to “build” the Mitchell confidence in OT – and It back fired in Big way. JC knows Ian is best D skater right now- so JC figured open ice OT would give him a chance to shine- kid wet the bed there- but I still like most of what I see from him. Only way kid does Not succeed is if he isn’t mentally tough enough.
Kurashev- looking more and more like he belongs
let’s not get carried away by subban last night. a fine effort for certain, but not quite ready for the hof. not likely the hawks have solved their keeper problem seven games into the season. especially when two of the efforts were against a depleted detroit team and one an under .500 nashville team.
STEFANIE
moved from northbrook to scottsdale in september and now watching on nhl center ice on directtv. have the option to watch the opponent’s feed or foley. has been fun seeing the game through the eyes of the other guys.
Blackhawks pathetically out shot. Poor possession game. Nashville is always tough on the forecheck but Blackhawks HAVE to be better at generating offense.
Strome had good and bad. Actually saw him continuing to skate more and saw him doing some back checking with aggressiveness. Had some defensive misques though and that is tough. All in all I like that he is proving me wrong in my assessments of him for this year.
Kane ….. shoot the puck. Not often someone would say that, but he has to take the lead and let the young guys get his rebounds. Could have had a couple of shots on goal if he hadn’t been making too many passes. I really like the shooting aggressiveness of some of these young guys.
Foley and his love for Eddie does get old, even though I like Foley. The miscall on the Janmark breakaway was pretty bad. Then again, Doc Emrick was famous for mispronouncing players names, uncorrected, for years. Never could or would say Hjalmarsson’s name correctly (although I may have just misspelled it).
By the way, I love watching a game played in Nashville when there are no or few idiot Nashville fans in the stands. Their PA announcer is still a total circus sideshow. Calls the game like a commercial for hot rod drag racing from the 70’s.
Shaw penalty – dumb. Kampf – stay out of the box.
John Galt not sure if my post was one you were talking about or not. Have always agreed playing youngsters for no reason is not the way to go. The coach said he wasn’t happy with the effort and team looked tired. So why not try to get fresh bodies in, also sends a message to a few those he’s not happy with. When Rfd. starts young guys not playing regularly likely go there to get ice time for those that would benefit from playing, anyways, so getting them an Nhl game before them isn’t a bad thing.
Mo post what you want, i want the team to win and progress all they can with no tank mode. However i’d be lying if keeping an eye on who could be drafted isn’t on the radar as well.
Are we having fun yet? Or still? I am. This season, so far, is fun.
I came into this season hoping to see a few things and through 7 games I’ve seen just about all of them. Now, the upward trajectory must continue for the fun to continue – but so far so good.
Specifically:
1. Would Suter be an NHL caliber player? Answer = yes.
2. Would Mitchell be an NHL caliber player? Answer = optimistic.
3. Would any other prospect shine? Answer = yes, Kurashev, and possibly Hagel.
4. Would DCat find his sniper weapon? Answer = so far he has.
5. Would Strome be improved? Answer = yes.
6. Would Kubalik avoid the sophomore jinx? Answer = so far he has.
7. Would Boqvist show his offensive ability? Answer = no, not yet.
All the things I was hoping to see are young player related and so far 6 out of 7 have been pretty positive.
In addition to all that, there are a couple other positive things that either I wasn’t looking for or have been pleasantly surprised by:
1. Lankinen’s play.
2. Janmark’s play.
3. Shaw’s play.
4. deHaan’s play.
ER – agree with a lot of your positives but if they put out another effort tonight like most did last night that’ll take the bloom of the rose somewhat
However I think we’ll see a better effort tonight
EB like what i’ve saw on most fronts, one thing i am hoping to see and haven’t really saw alot of yet is roster coming together more on overall team defense. Last night showed there is still alot of work to do in that area, to take the next step that has to improve. Yes we all know they are missing key pieces but for these young guys to be part of the solution long term they have to step up in that regard. Like Colliton or not that is simething he has to show he can do with them.
From the President on down, everybody in the organization is up for job evaluation in next couple of years. Really interested to see who stays around after next season and what new faces there may be. A big choice on future path of this team will be made at that point and what these youngsters show or don’t will impact what direction they go from there.
ER – you mention Shaw’s play which I keep forgetting to comment on. His skating the past few games looks better than I remember it. More importantly his puck retrieval skills are light years bettter than any other forward. I think he is a big reason the power play is off to a good start.
Lankinen starts, Beaudin in for Carlsson.
RE: Morrison: Its Ok we still got 6 games vs Tampa Bay and Florida so it’ll even out.
RE; EbRaptor: Don’t know if Kid Coach was pissed(can never tell with him always looks like somebody stole his dog) but at least he was blunt in his talk, maybe he’s learning, to me so far this year he seems to be coaching “better”??? Also agree with you about Foley. Don’t know what’s up with him but at 66, he’s starting to get up there.
RE: Billy Reay: Yes what a horrible example for Boqvist, Keith only played 24 1/2 minutes and guess what +1. Look any longtime fan of the Hawks will agree that Keith isn’t the “Keith” from yesteryear but if you look around the league there’s no doubt to me that”: Yes, he’s lost a step and he’s not THE Duncan Keith, but he would still be a top-4 D Man on most of the teams in the NHL. We get spoiled because he was that damn good and he’s slowing down a bit. But he’s still better than a lot of D-Men in this league and no doubt he’ll be out there again tonight playing over 20 minutes in a back to back game. At almost 38 years old. Think about that for a second.
Looking forward to seeing Beaudin tonight. I wonder if he’ll play his natural LD or he’ll have to play RD? I think he’s played some RD before but it just makes it a bigger challenge for him having to play on his off hand.
As I was yelling at the widescreen last night from my Southern California perch, I realized that the only time I do that is when the Hawks are actually competing. Last year, I watched through a 420 haze most of the time because it was the only way I could tolerate it. This year is different. The highs and lows will continue for a good while, I’m afraid, especially the highs for me, but the young blood on this team really has me feeling optimistic. My only fear is that coach cutie will F this up somehow and cause me to visit my local collective shop more than I should. Mitchell is the real deal – stop babying him and let him go. Suter and Kurashev – love ‘em. Hagel – kid’s got speed and grit and that fourth line is a joy to watch. Carlsonn looked good last night. And Highmore’s got game, too. Lots of nice pieces on this team. I hope they are managed wisely. And when Dach returns my life will be complete. Oh, and Foley? I must admit to a bit of a bias. My older brother went to school with him at Loyola Academy in the northern burbs, so I’ve followed his rise to prominence over the years with great interest. That said, I wish he would cut the crap and stick to the game. Can you imagine him stoned? Actually, might make for a better game call, but I digress. Cheers Hawks fans.
Duncan keith per reports finishes consistently in the top two for fitness testing on the team inclusing even among guys 20years younger…..think about that.
There is a reason he is so accomplished.
Eddie and pat seem to be either in communication with the coach or some staff or are just very attentive as at least a couple times they called out why the coach was doing somehting. Jc is making ddecisions in what appears to be an attempt to win games, which, may or may not align with “developing “players . Hard to know what’s going on and rightfully so, you cant reveal all plans for a variety of reasons. I mostly listened to the game rather than watched, course I listened to the TV so….not going to bury Eddie and pat too much here, I do appreciate some of their insight and honesty. It was good of them a few games back to acknowledge lots of stats from back when were awfully inaccurate.
Repeating myself I wouldn’t bother to assess the goalie situation until at least thirty games have been played, and ten each per goalie. Even then that’s still very early to make any kind of real assessment. Wouldn’t surprise me if there was zero goalie change this year to next. If I were coach I’d roll all three unless one is absolutely awful. Love the reporter question asking if subban would start tomorrow lol how often does a coach start a goalie in back to back regular season games especially after a loss, and when carrying three goalies. Ah well reporters gotta ask something right? Gotta have something to write.
Subban was getting asked some dumb questions and reporters clearly weren’t listening to subban or had their pre written questions and were sticking to them. Pretty irritating to watch from a fans vantage point. Post game show is better with three staffers, jammer adds something to the broadcast for sure
Holy comments got reading to do.
Yea man I hadnt seen games yet and I watched 2nd/3rd and when he scored and heard that I didnt know who 13 was so I looked and saw nameplate and though wtf thats how you pronounce Janmark. Funny.
JR ROMAN
January 27, 2021 at 7:04 am
Did anyone hear Foley’s call on the Janmark breakaway and goal? Who is Kelly Yarkrov?
Honest don’t understand your thinking on Subban playing again tonight. Came to Blackhawks almost a year ago and last night was his 3rd game, tonight is in same rink without teavel, something not done before, so coaches decision on a him playing isn’t anything remotely like the decision usually is.
Re: MS comment on Shaw, there was one point that 65 was skating around the O zone so quickly that I wondered who it was until I saw the jersey number. From the current lineup, I only expected to see Kane cruising like that – nice to see Shaw bringing the energy to multiple facets of the game
@IAN I wouldn’t start a goalie back to back night to night especially after a loss carrying three goalies this season and I think most people wouldn’t.