Kings Come Back, Beat Blackhawks
The Blackhawks were 11-7-1 when tied after 40 minutes entering Wednesday night, while the host Kings were only 3-1-4 when tied after two periods this season. But LA was able to emerge with a late rally and defeat the Hawks 4-3 in the first game after the All-Star Break.
The story of the night was Jeff Carter’s continued dominance of the Hawks. He scored the first two goals for the Kings and nearly added a short-handed goal to complete the hat trick; he was also LA’s best player at the dot, winning nine of 15 faceoffs in the game.
Patrick Kane got the Hawks on the board less than two minutes into the game, scoring his 23rd of the season. But Carter would score his first of the night less than seven minutes later.
Kane then fed Patrick Sharp for a lethal power play goal exactly three minutes after Carter’s goal. Chicago would hold that lead until Carter’s second of the game came on a Kings power play 1:45 into the second period.
The score would stay tied until Andrew Shaw gave the Hawks the lead back 2:25 into the third. Teuvo Teravainen, who spent most of the second period on the bench, led the rush and pushed the puck towards Shaw, who beat Jonathan Quick for his third goal in three games.
Tyler Toffoli, who was just brought off IR (mono) earlier on Wednesday, tied the game at 13:49 and the Kings grabbed the momentum. Jake Muzzin unloaded a shot from the blue line and beat Crawford for the game winner; he may have received some help as Carter’s backside brushed Crawford’s mask on the play.
Chicago put 29 shots on net, beating Quick three times. The Blackhawks were successful on only one of four power plays, however. Corey Crawford made 23 saves on 27 shots in the loss, and the Kings were successful on one of only two power plays.
Like Carter, Johnny Oduya was on the ice for each of the Kings’ first three goals. Oduya had a rough night, finishing minus-two with two blocked shots in 18:33 on the ice. Coach Joel Quenneville mixed up the blue line again, skating David Rundblad with Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook with Niklas Hjalmarsson. Oduya was with Rozsival, a pair responsible for a good amount of alcohol consumption in Chicago during Hawks games recently.
Teravainen only skated 8:58 but did pick up the only assist on Shaw’s goal. Jonathan Toews was the Hawks’ best player at the dot, winning 16 of 26 faceoffs, but was also minus-two with three missed shots in the game. He had a great opportunity to tie the game with Crawford on the bench late in regulation but hit the post.
For LA, Toffoli added an assist to his game-tying goal and Anze Kopitar picked up two assists to join Carter with multi-point nights.
Kane and Sharp had two points each in the loss for Chicago. Keith and Rundblad also had assists for the Hawks.
The Blackhawks will be back on the ice Friday night against the league’s best team in Anaheim.
So called? Refereeing/Amateurism? is the biggest, most hypocritical crock of horse-shit in American sports.
It is very difficult to win when your best players are NOT your best players. I really hate to criticize Toews, but…
…besides that, I believe that Seabrook&Hjalmarsson, and Keith&Rundblad are the way to go = third pair (limited?) ice time for Oduya&Rozsival. The third pair may be a problem Stan B. needs to address?
Bottom Line = it’s only ONE game (I hope to not hear the slurping sounds of blowing the Kings because of it!!).
On to Anaheim…
@ Dickie Dunn, correct it was one game, but its 1 game against the team that knocked you out last year and won the cup
That was really nice of the Hawks to play patsy and let the Kings have a nice bit of momentum to start the 2nd half of the season.
If the Hawks meet these guys again, I expect that same results as last time. Sorry boys and girls the Kings have our number and it sucks!
Felt like the first real tuff lose of the season and while we played good enough to win we now face the Ducks this needs to be a most productive road trip. Jeff Carter is a big body and big boy one of the best in the business and his size and skill is practically unstoppable. Kings really play low very well and really press and stack it up well when they’re playign well. Rundblad played well. Toews did seem to dominate the dot which is good even in EA Sports NHL ( odd how that game is perfect reflection of real game play) Kings don’t really have the Hawks Number it just takes a lot of sustained effort in front of Quick to score goals and rebounds and odd deflections. Kings have big D men (slower) and they don’t let too many long shoots thru in Rundblad shot was a fluke to be so open. Hawks needed to be a little more physical and the DUCKS play the same style, Hawks as we know at times have trouble with Physical Play and it was overtly physical last night on our smaller and minor players. Maybe the last time I say it THAT SECOND POWER PLAY UNIT HAS TO BE FIXEDm it is offically over!
91 skated like he doesn’t belong… like the 1st 20 games of the year…
on LA’s 1st goal opted to take the “one handed wave/matador D” instead of skating/position/work approach- thru the neutral zone… which started the play.
Did Bickell play last nite???
Runbad did seem to deserve more time
Oduya- has really fallen
Another example of “time and space” are more important than spending Big $$$ on goalie… Crow was very good… but if you let guys take 2 seconds and pick a spot to shoot at… It’s OVER for the Goalie… All star game proved that…
Oduya and Rosival secret agents to increase alcholol sales during the game? Definitely think you hit on something there Tab.
Sorry Wall, the only thing the All Star game proved was it is a waste of time and electricity.
How does TT play so little in a game like that? Why bring up a guy like Moose with some size and then not use him against a team with size? Oh yea, can’t sit a valuable veteran like Richards to see if a young player might make us a better team this year and next. Gotta get those 2 points, oh yea we didn’t get any points last night.
If SB thinks Rosey and Oduya and using Rundblad as our #4 will get us anywhere in the playoffs, then I suggest he is setting Q up to fail.
I have never been one to say let’s do everything we can to win the presidents cup, but I do believe you need to give the young guys a chance – and a fair chance. Maybe if they get to play they get better.
Lets see what we do vs the Ducks. We have all seen this team come back and dominate games and make us forget about our shortcomings.
Pretty weak effort by Saad on the boards on the third LA goal. Come playoff time the pairing of 27/32 are going to kill us. Neither one of them can skate anymore. Seemed like 10 and 88 were playing without a center. I kept looking and could never find 91. The fourth line played well. No points but kept LA on their heels with good forechecking. I never worry about the effort 28/16 and 42 will bring. Carter’s second goal seemed like one Crawford should have stopped. How about Runblad and TT on 2nd power play unit?
Crawford coincidentally was the best goalie stat wise in the all star game and saw the most shots fwiw.
I fell asleep listening to the game on the radio during the second intermission. Oops. Leaving Jeff Carter open between the circles is a no no.
Murray seemed irritated with the officials.
Not a good game to drop points. Would have liked to see them make LA bite the curb.
re: Mike the Mook’s caps lock frenzy – yes, the second pp unit needs some help. & there are two guys – Rundblad & Teravainen – I’d like to see get some run with the advantage… but not together. Suggestion: Sharp & Rundblad on point for the 2nd unit, Teravainen in Sharp’s spot on the first.
A really aggravating loss. Went to bed pissed off. The Kings always play that borderline physical game. Refs stopped calling penalties on them and began evening up the PP opportunities as the game progressed. I thought the refs sucked, but enough of that. So where was Bickell last night? Kings D men pounded our forwards all night. No retribution, nada. No payback on THEIR D men by our forwards. Yes, the Hawks don’t have that physical makeup, but there were no answers. And speaking about getting on the body, WTF does no one EVER touch Carter? Guy does what he wants like he has Mumps and no one will touch him. Free to roam.
Guess I can’t fault Saad for getting run over by Regehr, who by the way pounded our guys all night without any answers. Never mind the typical BS from their dumbass Cpt Brown. Yes, the guy made a nice screen on Crow for the game winner, but between him and Backes these are two most loathsome Cpts in the league.
Oduya-Rozy combo not working out well at all. Those two are a liability right now. Rozy is simply out of gas career wise. Brain works, but body doesn’t answer the call.
I really wanted at least a point out of that game last night and I view the defeat as the most disappointing loss of the season. The game last night went much like the game 7 horror clolse to last season. Hawks could not hold leads and put the hammer down on those guys. Winning goals come from a puck that had eyes from the point. This trip is a good measuring stick. Ducks game will see lots of Hawks fans in attendance just like there were many in LA last night. Let’s hope they can put together 3 good periods of solid road hockey.
Lets Go Hawks!!
Also wanted to add that Nordstrom and 4th line played well IMO. One of the few guys that answered the bell after taking some shots from Kings players. I really like 42’s compete mentality.
AJ- I thought Crow was excellent… the point was… ya give an NHL Shooter that much time/space from point blank… he is going to hit that open 8 inch circle a lot… All-star game was an example…
Yes- officiating was BAD… 1st 2 calls on Hawks were a JOKE!!!
worse than both of those calls- was the Regher pitch fork on Shaw away from the Play on Hawk PP… The NHL is getting it Wrong- when they ignore all the Shit that goes on in front of Goalie during a PP – cuz they try to avoid the 5 on 3 PP!!! WRONG!!!
Hawks PP – was awful again (except for the One pass from 88 to 10…
Hawks- don’t have a guy – or set that really utilizes the middle of the 1-3-1- in between circles… No Hawk is effective there… Watch Caps PP- they KILL from that spot!!!
And even if the Hawks can’t score from that spot… they should at least practice setting “little back/picks” on weakside defenders… will open up tons of passing lanes!!!
Poor Nordstrom… thought he had his 2nd good game in a row… but the guy hasn’t come close to potting one… 42 is due for some luck…
Was I drunk off of one beer (I hope not) or did the GWG obviously get tipped out front? I don’t think it was Brown, but likely a Hawks defender.
28/16/42 were awesome last night in their checking role.
Kopitar > Toews. Kopitar is going to get paid.
I actually thougth Bickell played decently. Had a crunching hit on Doughty that caused Doughty to jump out of position to hit him back, but the Hawks weren’t able to capitalize when he was way out of position.
Hate to constantly beat the same drum, but Oduya has been god awful this year. He’s constantly chasing people outside of the dots only to fail at playing the puck and giving up prime scoring chances.
And yes, the officiating was garbage. The Kings seem to have taken the Seahawks mentality of fouling someone on every play because the refs won’t call all of them. Does Regher ever hit someone without targeting the head?
Hopefully SB was watching this one to see that the current D-core; Keith, Seabrook, Jhalmarsson and (believe it or not) Runblad are one injury away from being overtaken by Winnipeg. They are also one injury away from potentially fighting for a wild card spot with LA and Calgary!
Hopefully SB has a sense of urgency with the poor play of Oduya and Rosival… And the Hawks potential slide, if one of these players gets hurt! Cap space is an issue and hopefully there is a move that can be made to “sure-up” the D-core.
Really disappointed with the end of the game last night as the Hawks were controlling play in the 3rd until about 13 minutes to go.
TT deserved more time and probably at center.
As stated Oduya has really fallen off, very surprised at his play. On the flip side, I thought Seabrook was excellent.
Toews was dominant at the dot, but when it really was needed…Kopitar got it.
4 definitely deflected the game winning goal…eerily similar to 8 last year. My problem with both plays is not the defense on the shot…it is that both 4 and 8 weren’t actively trying to get the Kings player screening Crawford the FU(! out of there.
Phil, Dustin Brown is a crap stain. He may be the player I dislike most in the NHL.
Wall, Imwitchyou from that perspective. Especially a former 40 goal scorer.
You can blame the D for a lot of stuff and they are bad at times but not being able to start a cycle or sustain pressure really irks me. Especially against a team like LA. And the Toews, Saad, Hossa line was eh. I feel like Friday will be significantly better. Probably a multipoint night for Hossa.
Ooooh-duya. As they said on the broadcast, this should be a telling stretch of games for the Hawks. Kings (L), Ducks, Sharks, Wild, Jets and Blues all on the road capped off by a back to back against the Yotes on the 9th, ‘Nucks on the 11th, Devils on the 13th and Penguins on the 15th. True test of character coming up for the team. If they can get through this stretch a game or two over .500, its a success and sets them up well for the stretch run. If they lay an egg, it could be a grind to the finish. Will be interesting to see what happens.
The Hawks have a substantial and growing problem playing “rugged” teams with skating ability. Lets face it also…the Hawks are playing with only 3 effective d-man in Keith, Seabs and Hammer. Oduya has regressed on the final year of his deal, Rosival is a mere 7th man option and Runblad is not very good and an ill fit to what this team REALLY needs. And that is more BLUELINE presence. Team absolutely positively needs a physical stay at home defenseman and a new best friend in front of Crow in net.
We are also living through the systematic decline of Hossa and to some degree Sharp. That’s very tough to overcome folks.
Crow? He needs to be better, but again its a chicken and the egg thing in terms of the defense played in front of him. Which for the past 5 weeks has been highly inconsistent and downright troubling … to include on behalf of the forwards.
I know the cap is the issue, but Bowman either finds a creative way of trading an existing piece or two for a ruggedized blueliner, or we don’t go very far in the playoffs.
I hate to say this, but we look like the Pittsburgh Penguins………no GRIT!! We are becoming very easy to play against. We need some “push back”……..and very soon!!
Talk about a way to blow a lead ,last night was like theatre . are we to take nhl officiating seriously. or is it world wrestling where you know its bogus .if its not seabrooks penalty getting called while Crows head is twisted off on a skate by on the third goal, no interference called .its like the Hawks need a 4 goal lead before i feel comfortable they will win. From Saad screwing up again . to comparing their big guys ala Carter to our big guy Bickel compare them and which would you rather have , Does anyone in their heart of hearts believe this team as constituted will win another cup this year . i guess im just a pessimist or am i a realist ,Phil said he went to bed pissed off after the game at least he was able to go to bed i couldnt sleep after this one . The physicality of other teams Jets Kings Ducks etc pounding on our miniature players is giving me an ulcer . The Bowmans idea of this team is not in sync with the old saying a good big man is better than a good small man . also King Clancy saying if you cant beat them in the alley , you cant beat them on the ice truer words were never spoken B
re: Otis “We are also living through the systematic decline of Hossa” – watch closer. We aren’t there w/ 81 yet
Also, it makes me laugh that every time the Blackhawks lose a game in January the comments fill with “OMG we don’t have enough grit! We’re doomed!” but those comments are few & far between when the Hawks play well. There’s a commitment to shift-by-shift effort that some teams make and others struggle with. Last night, the Kings simply wanted it more than the Hawks did in the final 10 minutes of regulation… and this isn’t new. The Blackhawks got out-worked by a desperate LA team down the stretch last night.
also, I wouldn’t go as far as to say Kopitar > Toews. Maybe =… there’s an elite level of center in the NHL that includes Toews, Kopitar & Bergeron on a very short list, but I’m not going to say Kopitar is better than Toews. Their one-on-one at the dot last night showed otherwise.
Would anyone here trade Toews for Kopitar? I say no way. I do like Kopitar’s game though and I respect him more than anyone on that team.
Watching last night’s game reminded me how much the refs swallow their whistles come playoff time. How many non-calls where interference was committed last night? And, history “tells us” that the call ratio will only go down once the playoffs start.
“A penalty is a penalty is a penalty regardless of the number of marbles in each pocket, the manpower situation, the game clock, and the score.” Aw, crap, who am I trying to fool with that statement?
The comparison to Pittsburgh is apt. Honesty prevails me to say that the Hawks, as currently constructed, cannot get to the Stanley Cup Finals this spring. And we are right up against the salary cap, so unless Bowman has the nut sack to trade away current assets for other pieces then its doubtful help is coming via a trade. Clearly Quenneville and Bowman understand this team lacks on the blueline and in defense in general. And is lacking in the ruggedized grit department to the point of it becoming an exploitation point by other teams.
not many on here had the Hawks pegged as a conference finals pick at this time last year… lots of time (and trades) to come in Chicago & around the rest of the league before we get into April. Let’s not unload the bandwagon quite yet
very good hockey game between 2 teams with vastly different styles. hawks are skilled puck possession, kings play a heavy thumping style game. it’s a fun dynamic to watch.
If they played a best of 7 right now, it appears it would go 7, much like last year. I realize that’s Captain obvious stuff but sometimes there is not a lot to analyze.
Re:We are also living through the systematic decline of Hossa and to some degree Sharp.
Otis I kinda disagree. Hossa still is a monster on that puck hard to take the puck away from him still. Sharp he has been playing good considering he did miss a month with an injury. Plus most of his goals are powerplay goals this season. The thing Sharp needs to do is score more even strength goals. True they are getting older but they still got it. Not worried as much as I am worried about Oduya and Roszival they just can’t keep up.
I would want the player that has been concussed the fewest times.
Bickell and Carter are in no way comparable players. Bickell and Brown maybe but Brown apparently has “intangibles” and does railroad people.
Don’t buy the referee excuse. At the end of the game the top line gave up the gwg which is unexpected and drew evens in fancy stats which rarely happens and finished in the minuses.
The TDL isn’t for another month so it’ll be interesting to see what happens there.
Not overly concerned with this result but it is chaffing.
Their one-on-one at the dot showed otherwise last night, Tab? Remind me who won the faceoff cleanly that led to the GWG.
Their numbers put them at about equals, but Kopitar has certainly had the better of him lately. Not saying I would swap them one for one as I think Toews means too much to the franchise and Anze is a year older, but damn would I like for Toews to start making points.
No way would I trade Toews for Kopitar. He is the heart and soul of the Hawks. Great leader and locker room presence. In fact I wouldn’t trade him for anybody. I am not buying this 81/10 decline. How many times a game do we see Hossa busting his ass to get back on D and then picking somebody’s pocket. He is still getting quality shots and law of averages say they will start going in. 10 is still the best pure snipper on the team. The big problem on this team is 27, 32 and 19. 27 and 32 are out of gas and 19 only shows up once in a while. If the Hawks are healthy going into the playoffs they have at least as good a chance as anybody else of winning the Cup.
^^ Toews is #19. Did you mean Bickell?
Okay……..Tab talked me off the ledge. But we need more production from #81 and #19 as we move forward toward the playoffs.
Phil is right, that was the most disappointing loss of the season, many of us pissed off. I cannot understand how the team we saw in black last night came into the game out of a playoff position. Sure looked exactly like the LA Kings of last June to me. I so freaking hate to watch us get manhandled, drives me batshit! Bickell just invisible, and Shawsie, for all his heart, spent a lot of time laid out on his ass last night, he’s just not big enough. I’m thinking Kings players got fired up by the demotion of Mike Richards to the AHL, quite a fall for a former top six – top three – forward. Pretty strong message to that dressing room. Well, going to the game in Anaheim Friday night and partner and I will do our best, it is always great to see Hawks faithful on the road out here on west coast, nobody draws like us away from home.
always like to see Rufus’ posts, er, I mean Otis
Thank God we have the players, like 19, 81, 7 and 2 that don’t get too down-too up. Tab stole my line-we lost to a good, desperate team.
It’s uncomfortable being in such a tight race, but I like that the Hawks have been down this road before. If they panicked half as much as some on this site-they would be toast and the golf season would have an early start.
It’s difficult to see how the Hawks can from an endurance standpoint play “their” style of puck possession game and hyper kinetic activity to make it very far in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Hawks lack the defensive depth and “grit” to get very far. Teams like Winnipeg, St. Louis, LA and even Anaheim and lowly Dallas have figured out the formula. Just wear the Hawks down and make them drive your ass up and down the ice to the point of exhaustion when the puck possession, passing, defensive intensity game wears down. And combine that with a goalie who can stand on his head, like Quick DEFINITELY can do in the playoffs? Well, not pretty.
The esteemed Otis B. Driftwood and Reggie Dunlap kinda sorta hit it on the head with the subliminal analogy…the Hawks are morphing into the Pittsburgh Penguins of the Western Conference. And that ain’t a good thing. Suffice to say, Stanley Bowman is going to have a very busy offseason making surgical corrections to this roster. It’s not just the cap dilemma, but rather the fundamental need to get address some growing weaknesses and areas of flat out non-competitiveness. So you dump Sharp, trade Versteeg, let Kruger go (which will HURT), let Richards go, let Oduya and Rosival go, then see about dumping Bickell by adding an enhancer to the deal like a mildly interesting prospect. THEN gety busy finding two blueline presences on defense (maybe Johns or Dahlbeck can be an answer, but you still need a proven veteran stay at home type). Then find a ox at LW who you have no fear in skating on the top 2 lines when called upon. Then hope like hell Hossa can find the fountain of youth in the offseason. And call up McNeal and Danault along with full season of Nordstrom and pray like hell they can collectively be OK as your new core of role players to go with Shaw and Smith at forward.
As aggravating as the loss was last night, it just as easily could have been a win. Toews puts one off the post that would have probably put game to OT. Bad/good bounces part of the game. Kings MUST start winning. They have to because they have kind of sucked first half of the year. You can’t just turn it on when you feel like it, unless you are Buf or Bicks. Sorry bad joke, but you know where I am going with this. LA has their work cut out for them. Apart from the middle of the 3rd period to the finish the Kings were not that impressive, and they can’t skate with the Hawks. LA will not duplicate what they did last year.
Team defense wins in the NHL. LA can play that game but they are reckless, and in playoffs recklessness can make you pay. Sure the refs “let em play” once the 2nd season starts which favors the bruisers. Likely a Cup winner will have to get thru Hawks or Kings to got to Finals. No easy task. The West is tough. Hawks need to tighten up the D. Means the 3rd pairing has to get better somehow. Wingers have to get back and cover the damn slot. Hawks have talent to go deep if they stay healthy. That’s the real card no one knows will turn up. Hawks have talent to win the Cup. Hossa and Sharp are NOT too old. Ridiculous notion IMO. Crow is just fine. I get sick of hearing how great Quick is. He is a good goalie but does not walk on water. Leaves his fair share of loose change around the net. Crow was very good last night apart from the short side goal given to Carter, but Quick’s goal to Shaw wasn’t real pretty either.
Not time to panic. Let’s watch and see how this trip unfolds.
Lets Go Hawks!
Sorry I meant 29.
Kopitar won A faceoff in the third period. Great point, JS. We’ll ignore the rest of the game.
JS, I have to agree with Tab here. At best Kopitar = Toews. Over the past 2+ seasons, their numbers are virtually identical to each other with Toews having the ever-so-slightest edge over Kopitar. I think it is more that Toews doesn’t clearly dominate Kopitar so it just seems like Kopitar is dominant, since we are not accustomed to Toews being beaten anytime, at anything.
BTW, on the night Toews was 16 of 26 at the dot (Kopitar 12 of 23). With Toews on the ice, Kopitar had a CF% of 30%, without Toews on the ice it was 72% (with both Toews and Kopitar on the ice, the Kings had 6 shot attempts while the Blackhawks had 14). If anything, Toews dominated Kopitar all night save that one faceoff.
HockeyJunkie, I am not disagreeing but WIN went on a good streak at got to +12. Sure ANA, NAS, and now STL are at +20, +21, +16 and were at the same +15 or +14 & +39 goal differential weve been at for 11 games now. It has taken that many games for those/any team to get close to us in goal differential.
Once we go on a streak again (and I do not think any team will win 8in a row/13of15 again this 82season) we will go up stadings wize again. I see us having several mini streaks in the 2nd 40games, win 4in a row and 50f7 kind thing a bunch of times with a few 2-2-1 mixed in from now to game82.
Weve been stuck on +39 (gf/ga) and +15 (.500) for 11 games, that’s a JAN that’s just about over, finally.
Lets get another good D man (size and good passer) at deadline.
Craig and Phil… problem is that Kings have the “MoJo” like the hawks did in 10 and 13… when down 2 or 3 goals… they still seem to be in control… Kings came back from 2 goals multiple times last year vs. Hawks… they have the “Swag”… 2014-15 Hawks – have not shown me that Swag!!!
I have been here calling the 19/88 $$$ deals- Pens2.0 for quite some time… that is A Bunch of Money to tie up on 2 guys who will be on the ice less than 30% of the game in a TEAM sport…
another issue- Johns- imo- he looked the 2nd best behind TvR in camp,,, Hawks could really use him and I thought he was playing very well in Rford… but then a pretty nasty concussion and now an ankle injury,,, I think if those injuries don’t happen – he is playing for Hawks (and playing well) now…
He is the only “Seabrook” type D man that is near ready in System…
With little Cap room… and No One showing up to contribute on D side/prospect wise… I don’t like Hawks chances for Making it deep…
Johns injury is a knee and yes I realize I’m the one who said it looked like an ankle.
He should be ok in another 10 days or two weeks. Meanwhile don’t be surprised if Paliotta gets a game or two before the end of the year.
Hof- thx for clarification…
the point was- Johns is best/most ready of the Hogs D- imo… and he has been really plagued
And w/ The way bottom 3 D men have been bad game/good game… Johns might have gotten a real good look- if not for his Injuries
Wall, I have a different opinion on who is most ready down there, on the D. I still think Dahlbeck is far and away the most ready, a steady guy and not easily intimidated. Johns has a future to be sure, but he needs time to adjust to the speed of the NHL game, he is outclassed a few times with the speed of the AHL game. Plus as you said these injuries have jinxed him this year.
In fact I would put it Dahlbeck then Pokka then Clendening then Johns if anyone asked me. Of course no one did, so just my observation and I am not a scout.
I am basing it on my experience of NHL ready and not “what the Blackhawks need”. I think they need a physical presence on defense too but it needs to be somebody who can move and make plays. They have to fit in to a puck possession style game where the defensemen are expected to make plays. Johns needs more time to adjust and even if he didn’t have these injuries he’d still need it.
For something interesting and somewhat related, see Scott Powers’ recent write up about Paliotta’s development which underscores my point and how much the Blackhawks development staff works with these college prospects. I do like that Bowman has been out to see and meet Paliotta in person this season.
For the near term, I think Bowman will need to pull something out of the hat, like trade a current asset or do some money for money deal to shore up the defense. One more solid guy would really help. I would also like Erixon to get back in there but with points at a premium it’s not so easy. He is the new Runblad, sitting out all the time.
Meanwhile Runblad is looking better and better, it is easy to see he has higher end talent but I don’t think he’s ready to be 1/2 of a shut down pair like Seabrook & Keith are. But then again no team is ever 100% happy with their defense, if they say they are they’re probably lying.
Well I guess if you want to get technical, Toews PPG is behind his career average. Slightly. His shooting % is also off. Same can be said for Hossa.
However Saad is top 15 in terms of goals at evens and will probably finish the season with 25-30. Soooo there’s that. Which is not insignificant.
I think aside from the obvious blue line issues and the revolving bottom 6 which has been interesting, most of the other complaints are splitting hairs. Especially regarding Toews and Hoss. I mean if we really wanted to start crapping on ineffective\underachieving Hawks forwards look no further than the 10 mildo Bickell and Sharp are eating up right now. Sharp especially at evens. Woof.
Phil – are you going to be in the city for the game tomorrow?
I’m connecting the Toews \ Hossa drop in perceived effectiveness to Saad’s tangible increase in case that wasn’t clear. While insinuating that Sharp’s usefulness has waned with this club. And Bickell is Bickell but at least not Clarkson?
Toews for kopitar??come on. In a coaches poll Toews was the first pick in the NHL. The hawks do need to get more physical. Teams have figured out (see St. Louis ,Winnipeg ,LA). Just continue to beat the snot out of the Hawks and they give up goals.
Game looked a lot like last year’s losses against LA; Hawks start strong, LA comes on late in the game. Hawks have problems holding the lead against LA when momentum starts to build for LA. Letting LA “Hang Around” is a recipe for a loss. This was an important game and the Hawks should realize, by this time, that LA will come on very strong in 3rd period and they need to score early in the 3rd(assuming a close game)and not just play clutch and grab defense. When the Hawks take LA out of the game, 2+ goals, LA seems to fade. Good game for TT against a big, fast, physical team. Hated to see a repeat of last season.
Hof- I still have hopes for Dbeck… But you have to admit that Dbeck and Cden did not look NHL ready in their few games… and I have never liked Cden’s skating
Haven’t seen Pokka vs. NHL talent… but he looks decent vs. AHL
Let me get this out of the way – complaining about officiating is considered bad form. It’s sour grapes, whining, being a baby … I get that and for the most part agree that most of the time it’s true and officiating isn’t a difference maker in the game. But what about those times when the officiating is in part responsible for the outcome of a game – isn’t it right to point that out even knowing that it will be met with idiotic retorts like “stop complaining – the Hawks got four power plays and the Kings got only two”. And that genius statement is supposed to end the debate that the Hawks got screwed by the refs. So, let’s examine that little bit of geniusness. Hawks 4 PPs and Kings 2 PPs. Based on that genius logic, the Kings should be complaining about the officiating. But it’s really not about the number of penalties called – is it? No, it’s about the number of penalties not called. For example, if the Kings commit 20 penalties but only 4 are called, then they got away with committing 16 uncalled penalties. Those 16 uncalled penalties means the Kings had the advantage 16 times during the game that they shouldn’t have had. Those 16 advatages means 16 disadvantages for the Hawks – things like interference that broke up an offensive rush or prevented a clearing attempt. Even if the Hawks got away with some uncalled penalties, the disparity of uncalled penalties favors the Kings by a huge margin. It’s in the nature of the way the teams play each other. The bigger and slower Kings have to clutch and grab and interfere to neutralize the Hawks speed. If they can’t do that then they are at a disadvantage. So the Kings have to cheat in order to beat the Hawks. If the officiating let’s them get away with it – advantage Kings. If the officiating calls penalties when penalties are committed regardless of the nimber of penalties already called in the game – advantage Hawks.
Unless the above is total BS – how can anyone not agree that the officiating influences the outcome of games between the Hawks and Kings, and to a large degree?
Excellent point Ebony..it is very true…officials can easily affect the outcome of a game with the non calls….seems to be lots of weird things going on in the sporting worlds lately…I hope the Blackhawk management brings some of these points up similiar to what you made because it does create an imbalance.
Who the heck is Gustav Forsling?
Forsling/5th round pick/Sweden Defenseman/world juniors player.
Reloading with some younger D. Since we have many good ones.
ER, I totally agree. Its like its takes this kind of lopsided framing by the refs for everybody (not posters here, just everybody everywhere…) to say the refs sucked.
Regardless of what team someone likes, there are times when the refs suck (a couple of bad calls/no calls) and then there a times like the refs threw the game/one sided calls/no calls like last night.
I know this is not the right sport, but this cracked me up while I was trying to shrug off the horseshit from refs last game.
Wall you make a very good point about the kings “swag”, they definitely have it. One thing I might add is they also have Doughty. He is an absolute beast at both ends of the ice and played close to 30 minutes. A defensive force, puck rusher, wicked right handed shot,physical. He truly controls much of the play when he is on the ice.
re: Clendening trade, see most recent post. Forsling was the best defenseman at this year’s WJC and is a teammate of Hawks draft pick Carl Dahlstrom in Sweden. Now Bowman begins recycling younger d-men and getting younger.
Michael Paliotta has been fantastic in NCAA this year and I hope he gets some time w/ the IceHogs when his college career comes to a close. Big shot, good size. Moving Clendening for an 18-year-old buys the Hawks another year if they want to bring in Paliotta to Rockford.
Just to clarify: I do not think there is a conspiracy at work where the officiating is purposely giving one team the advantage over the other. Rather, they are “old school” where the Refs try to balance the penalties they call so as to not give one team the advantage. The flaw in their reasoning escapes them.
No need to clarify ER. Your argument was sound regarding how games are officiated. It’s been this way for years in most sports where contact is part of the game.
AJ, I am tempted to watch over at Swig. We need a road win tonight. Can you text or email me your phone and I’ll let you know?Late start on a Friday draws a different crowd to the bar.
ER, that’s not what I meant (conspiracy), just thought it was funny and needed a laugh afte we did get screwed by the refs in that one.
Hopefully we wont have to talk about refs in that way this season again.