Kings Edge Hawks, Break Scoring Drought
Michael Frolik got a chance to perform with the Hawks’ top line on Monday night, and he took advantage. Unfortunately, the Blackhawks weren’t as fortunate.
Frolik scored his second goal of the season during his second shift of the game, and added another goal in the second period and an assist on Jonathan Toews’ goal in the third. Toews’ goal gave the Hawks a brief lead, but they weren’t able to hold onto it.
That was a theme throughout the final 40 minutes at the United Center. After Frolik’s first period goal held up for almost 20 minutes, the Kings jumped all over the Hawks in the second. Anze Kopitar and Jarret Stoll scored just over three minutes apart to give the Kings a lead and the momentum.
The Kopitar goal broke a desperate goal drought for the Kings, who had been shutout in their last two games. It also opened the flood gates.
Stoll’s goal was short-handed, and was a shot that Corey Crawford needed to stop. Crawford allowed five goals against 36 shots in the game, the last of which came off a tough bounce.
Dustin Brown shot a puck that appeared to hit Johnny Oduya in the upper back on its way well-wide of the net. The rebound bounced right back to Brown, who was all alone looking at a wide open net. He buried the shot, and gave the Kings the lead for good.
For the Hawks, there were a few bright spots in the defeat. Jimmy Hayes did a better job skating confidently and using his body to create space for Patrick Kane; he created enough traffic to give Kane enough room to to put a gorgeous move on Jonathan Quick for his 17th goal in the second period.
Kane wasn’t asked to double-shift (thanks to Frolik’s effective play on the top line), and skated “only” 21:03 in the game.
Meanwhile, Duncan Keith was credited with three assists and was plus-three on the night. Brent Seabrook didn’t have a pretty night, but also ended the night plus-three. Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson were both minus-three on the night.
Brandon Saad continued his strong play in the absence of Marian Hossa. He was credited with an assist, two hits and two takeaways. He now has 11 assists in 11 games in March, and has at least one point in nine of 11 contests in the month.
Toews won 14 of 26 faceoffs and added an assist to his 16th goal of the season.
For Los Angeles, Kopitar added an assist to his one goal and won nine of 21 faceoffs. Stoll won 14 of 23 faceoffs in addition to his short-handed goal, and Brown added six hits with the game-winning goal.
The Hawks will get a chance to get back in the win column in less than 24 hours when the Calgary Flames hit the United Center ice.
I thought tonight was a terrible game by the hawks. Other then Toews and Frolik the rest of the team played a very subpar game. And the next time Bolland wins a face off it will be his first. This is the same game the Ducks played, beat them up and play physical and the hawks don’t have an answer. This does not bode well come playoff time. And we all know Stan won’t do anything to help this team.
VERY disappointing.
The goal at the end of the second period was inexcusable. I know LA is good, and they forecheck/pressure, but to me it looked like 3, 4, or 5 Hawks pulling on their dicks. (Excuse my eloquence or not…)
I don’t blame Crawford – if some or several “played a very subpar game”, I would not include him.
It’s only one game and it’s over. Beat Calgary.
GO HAWKS!!
Accurate comments by BSJ…this is the kind of game the Hawks will face from day 1 in the playoffs, and this is the path to the cup…PHO, LA, VAN, ANA all play this game…BOS, PITT in the East play this game. The cute outside game of the Hawks works against slower, older teams…but these BIG, younger, physical teams give the Hawks problems.
Whose to blame? Crawford? Some goals no chance, but overall he was inconsistent at best, and inconsistent doesn’t win Cups…Ray Emery hasn’t looked good for a month…are we sure about our goaltending??? This performance doesn’t win a single game in the playoffs…sound familiar?
Hammer and Oduya were horrible…mostly later in the game and that’s because they melted from the physical game played against them…I think it is fair to ask, what is wrong with Brent Seabrook? The Hawks PP??? We appear to be right back to the darkest reaches of last year that got an ASST coach fired. Another shorthanded goal given up as well…so the Hawk’s PP was -1 on the night…BRUTAL.
Andrew Shaw has been fighting a flu bug for awhile now, and it affected the 3rd line, that was their least effective game of the season…Jamal Mayers isn’t good enough to play anymore, he’s a liability on the ice, as is Carcillo.
But the biggest goat horns go to the $3.3 million dollar man…Dave Bolland…can’t win a face-off, won’t hit a body, can no longer finish a check, and has lost whatever offensive game he had, playing next to Patrick Kane. Jimmy Hayes is twice the player of Bolland.
Right now, with a healthy Sharp and Hossa, this is a good hockey team capable of beating anyone…but with any injuries to these key personnel, the Hawks are outsiders IMO. The 2nd line has disintegrated since Sharp’s injury, and without Frolik on the 4th line, its not the same…our D has been inconsistent, at best, the last month…and our goaltending has proven nothing to no one.
Bowman can sit on his butt protecting his precious pipeline if he wants, but without making a deal to get bigger, more physical, and better at the dot this team won’t win anything…tonight’s game isn’t the end of the world, just a preview of what’s coming if the Hawks stand pat…it is 4 YEARS NOW AND WE STILL NEED A 2ND LINE CENTRE FOR PATRICK KANE.
If anyone thinks tomorrows game versus Calgary is an automatic 2 points, think again…Calgary plays this same type of game…they are going to give the Hawks fits…goaltending will be the difference…likely Emery.
Sr. Brad, “The cute outside game of the Hawks works against slower, older teams…” – well, actually, it’s been working pretty much against every team…24-4-3 (OTLs to Minn, Vanc, Colum, and Ls to Colo, Edm, Ana, and LA) just not so well in the last two games, or the two games March 8 & 10.
“Ray Emery hasn’t looked good for a month…” – are you sure about this?
“Whose to blame? Crawford? Some goals no chance, but overall he was inconsistent at best” – I disagree. Which goal(s) was due to his inconsistency?
“Hammer and Oduya were horrible…” – agree, absolutely(!) on the goal by King, and two others +/- for the evening.
“it is fair to ask, what is wrong with Brent Seabrook?” – I completely agree. (I also tend to agree with your assessment of Mayers and Carcillo, at least *lately*…) And, Bolland is not having a good year – is he palying hurt (- Tab)?
My point – is panic at this point valid/justifiable? Is it fair to jump to any conclusions that the Hawks have NO chance in the playoffs because they will face PHO, LA, VAN, ANA (and BOS, PITT in the East) who all play a physical, strong checking game? Or, maybe at this point (based on one, or maybe four “recent”, that is, played within the last three weeks, games), is it over-reacting a little?
I agree with a lot of what you’ve said – especially about the second line center and faceoffs, but I also think that maybe it’s good to appreciate Stan Bowman’s patience, at least at this point. If the hawks were fighting for the 7th or 8th playoff slot I could see more desperation to make changes – it seems to me that they are (still) in a position to deal (if the “right” opportunity is available) from a position of strength.
(I read that Iginla doesn’t want to be a “rental” – if that’s true, it probably eliminates the Hawks, right?)
Where did that swarming defense go?
Yes, we’re not a physical, hitting team and won’t be this year, as comprised. We’re a high-flying, skill-based team that can run rings around you when we have the puck in open ice.
The key is our poke-checking. Fore and back. It creates the offensive breakaways and keeps our defense tight up front, so that Crawford (Mr. High Glove Side = Goal) doesn’t have to fail.
We’re not going to get more physical because we’re not that team. We have to play to our strength and stay fast, relentless, and high-pressuring, from front and back. It’s our game. We play it better than anyone in the league, but if we get taken off that game, we’re dead in the playoffs.
Bring up a young high-flyer. Smith, Pirri, whoever. Get club-footed Carcillo off the ice; he’s a liability. Demote Bolland for a while; he’s done nothing for weeks on end.
I too would demote Bolland, especially if the 4th line isn’t going to get regular ice time (stick him there). I think one of the biggest issues is the consistency with the poke checks (fore and back). It seems we aggressively poke checked for maybe a total of 20 minutes last night…we have to do that more and is one way to combat the bigger physical teams. Yes we will get hit and hits take a lot out of you, but they take some out of the hitter too…I thought the 1st line played pretty well last night. The 3rd line left a lot to be desired, but I don’t think Shaw was quite right. I never ever thought Hayes and Kane would have more chemistry than Bolland and Kane…
The Kings Penalty Kill was relentless by going after the puck, I wish we got back to doing the same. When a team doesn’t average a high number of minor penalties a game, I surprised we can’t do this…
And heeeere come the idiots bashing Bowman. 4 losses on the season and he’s getting shit about it. Typical dumbass fans.
People, don’t panic. This was bound to happen. 2 of your top 6 down and the league adjusting to the game the Hawks play. The Hawks are in a slump, 3-4-0 since the streak ended. A whole lotta teams would be happy with that kind of slump.
That said, it could be some games until the Hawks make adjustments and get back on track. They have given up a lot of goals in the last 2 weeks and that is most troublesome. The hope is that this shakedown is well over by playoff time. The Ducks have lost 3 straight too. I doubt there is any panic in their locker room.
It will be interesting to see how physical Iginla is tonite. If he is popping our boys pretty hard, that would indicate he will not be a Hawk. As said in the last post I am not in favor of a trade for Iginla.
I hope tonite the Hawks can finish a period. I found myself hoping for a 3 point game with 5 minutes left. I hate that
Koolaid drinkers, time to get real. As I said at the beginning of the season, the Hawks had an advantage on the rest of the league due to retaining their core and playing a fast game with little prep time for teams to get ready fior the season. Crawford played well, unlike Crawford, and the boys were flying high on momentum, skill nd some great breaks. Well, since the streak is over we’re 3-4. In the last 2 weeks we’ve lost to Colo, the Oil, the Ducks and now the Kings. Most worrisome is the record against banger teams with skill built for the playoffs (like Ana and LA.) Yes, the straek was cool, but we’re kidding ourselves if we think we’re going anywhere in the playoffs with Crawford in net and allowing ourselves to get beat on physically and losing at the dot.
We can all bemoan the act we “let one get away”, fine, tell youself what youever you want. In my opinion, that’s not the case. While we had them on their heals in period-1, the Kings started hitting in the 2nd and seriously outplayed us in every way after that- leading in hits, SOG and faceoffs won. They charged the net with no consequences and hammered our boys all nite. No surprise we lost and a testimony to Toews grit and Saads motor that we were even there to steal it at the end.
Yes, I know we’re without Hoss and Sharp, but we better get an Iginla and/or another top-6 physical presence (preferably someone who can win a faceoff, which JI can do), or it will be another quick exit come playoff time. Finally, I am seriously hoping Emery can step up and get hot, because I fear that NO team is winning the cup with Crawford..
Blaming Crawford for that loss is silly. Not sure how it’s ok for him to let in the first goal but not the second one. Seemed like a similar shot.
The defense in front of him was flat out awful. It was like last year all over again. Find me a goalie in the league that can bail out a defense that played like the Hawks last night. Have you looked at Ryan Miller’s numbers this year? Lundqvist? Quick? Rinne? When your defense doesn’t help, it’s hard to be consistent. Was he awesome last night? No. Was he the reason they lost? No. When a team scores with 2 seconds left after a defenseman skates through all 5 Hawks, I’m not going to blame the goalie.
The Hawks just didn’t adjust and the Kings did. Once they started to chip and chase the Hawks defenders were struggling to move the puck out of their own zone. What was extra annoying was the fact that LA would just send two forecheckers directly at the puck and they still struggled to get the puck out.
Also, I get sad every time Bolland touches the puck. Still don’t know who they can land to replace him.
At least Anaheim is struggling and they are starting to show their frustration at the end of games.
Another game where a bigger team out muscled the Hawks’ active stick team. Hawks have to work harder to get around the big bodies. Their magnificent skating/cycling/flow game cannot happen from the middle of their skates. Until Hossa and Sharp return it’s gonna look like this, at least against big teams. Their veteran leadership, and especially Hossa’s ability to controll the puck and allow time for the hawks to set up, are desparately needed.
As it is now, Hawk weaknesses are defining their play. Oduya is wilting under the physical pressure and visions of last year’s playoffs scream the need for Seabrook to get off his fat ass and DRIVE someone. Show some physical leadership! This is hand to hand combat, man. Show Up. Bolland is a 4th line, shut down agitator. The 2nd line experiment was a great idea but hasn’t worked, the most disappointing zero of the season.
It’s hard to value how essential Iginla, or anyone else, is once Hossa and Sharp return. Hell, hawks have been sensational this year. What is emerging is that the Hawks are a different team without them. I think they need another top six player in order to win a Cup.
without them.
While the loss was a frustrating one, LA more than got its share of good bounces. The shorthanded goal was a result of the refs not wanting to put LA at a 2 man advantage, so the blatant trip on Shaw, 150 feet from the Hawks goal, wasn’t called and Stoll comes down and scores. As ridiculously poor as the entire 5 man Hawk unit was on the 2nd period-ending goal, it still went in off on LA skate. And the winning goal was a puck that should never have been on Brown’s blade, after it bounced off Oduya’s noodle.
The biggest and arguably only hole in the Hawks lineup is the 2nd line center. Dave Bolland is an offence-killer. It’s a huge tribute to Patrick Kane that he has gotten as many points as he has when he’s played predominantly with Bolland. I’m more than just a little tired with the lack of effort on Bolland’s part. Bolland seems disinterested and unengaging shift after shift. He may think he can loaf through the regular season and try to “play his game” in the playoffs, but this is the 3rd year in a row he’s doing this and it’s time to give up on him. Unfortunately I don’t think the Hawks could get much of anything for him in a deal, and since we’re so thin at centre, the last thing we can afford to part with is a centre…even if he’s completely useless and brings down his linemates like Bolland.
The last time I looked, the Hawks beat L.A. 2 out of 3 games, this year. So we played a bad game against a very good team and lost………the Hawks are still a good team with a couple of key injuries.
Last night we just weren’t engaged in the game, at all. WAYYYY too many turnovers that came back to haunt us……plain and simple. Being out hit and losing face offs isn’t the only reasons we lost. We lost because we TURNED THE PUCK OVER TOO MUCH. In the game of hockey you cannot turn the puck over and win the game, especially against a good team like L.A.
So as a group we just need to play better. Period. The players know it and the fans know it.
Bad game for the Hawks. The Kings played solid from start to finish they also benefited from some very fortunate bounces. It was a tough game all around. I am not overly concerned because this team is missing 2 very good 2nd line players. It just goes to show Hawks fans how much Hossa and Sharp means to the team. With out those 2 in the line up the Hawks aren’t much better then the rest of the West. With them the Hawks are elite. If the Hawks can add another top 6 forward(Iggy or Ott) and Hossa and Sharp come back healthy this team will be just fine. If not they are just another team in the west mix.
Negzz- completely agree!!!
Dickie Dunn- to Brad’s point- we won’t win anything without some Power Forward/net presence- and Goalie’s playing like that!
I love Hossa (my favorite)- BUT…. he has been tentative in most of the “Hitting” games this year… ( I can’t blame him- he is smart enough/old enough to know one cheap shot might change his life)
when playoffs start– the REAL HITTING begins… and if History repeats itself… the Refs will let alot Go!– Guys like Hoss and Oduya will be looking over their shoulders.
This team can still win a cup- but will need to be perfectly healthy… and not face Ducks or Kings on run!!!!!! Or- they need to get a 1 yr. rental Power Forward.
IMO
Best thing that can happen- Emery or Crow get hurt for 2 weeks- and we see what Karlson can do! Crow was weak last nite!!!
TomJ: Agree with your bottom line assessment, turning puck over = bad. The issue is why? My view is the Hawks have turned over the puck and played poorly the past 2 years when they’ve been hit. Bigger, physical teams like StL, Ana, and LA bring the wood and we start turning it over. Earlier post here was also right, if we can make teams pay for penalties by scoring on the PP than we have somewhat of a deterrent. No happening and need bost in that respect. Need a physical presence up front (and more physicality from D & Seabrook), or this will continue to be the book against the Hawks. Beat em up a bit and they’ll go soft and turn it over.
I blame the Sports Illustrated cover.
Is this a different Kings team than the Hawks have beat twice this season? Or did the Hawks just play poorly last night? Or is it pretty obvious they are undermanned without two of the best players in the league and a 3C that was obviously still not feeling well?
Once again, goalies look good when the defense looks good. When the defense shits the bed, the goalie is going to look bad. There were 3 snipe shots, one of which he never saw, one random bounce off of a defender that got him out of position, and a goal off of a skate. He definitely gave up 5 goals, but I can guarantee the defense holds themselves responsible for almost all of them.
JS, about Crawford and team defense – VERY WELL PUT.
Also, I believe we all know the value of Hossa and Sharp…and, Shaw played at about 60% of his usual game.
Why not go after Iginla , and since he is an excellent passer, put him on the second line as center i know it sounds goofy ,but can you imagine Toews and Iginla what a combo at center . of course Iginla would have to agree and since i dont know if hes got a giant ego this is just and idea . it would almost guarantee cup n0. 2 im excited just thinking about it , what do you think Tab, good idea or nonsense
Dave
All good points again today. I think we all know that as the team is constructed they will have a difficult team with physical teams.
For those that have stated they’ve won 24 games, well that is great accomplishment but it means nothing when the playoffs start. Plus most teams had issues at the beginning of the season were the Hawks didn’t and took advantage, great team accomplishment by them.
If they can’t get the 2C figured out and start winning some face offs and get some physical presence on both sides of the ice they will be in serious trouble come the playoffs.
Also for those stating once Hossa and Sharp come back this will be back to normal. Well I doubt Sharp will be 100% the rest of this year and he is one hit from being out again. And unfortunately I don’t think Hossa will ever be the same after that Torres hit last year. It’s not a knock on him, its just the way it is. So when these two go out in the playoffs them what happens? That’s my question.
And yes I will be on Bowman’s butt if he does nothing this year to get the pieces this team needs to win a cup. Prospects are great and you need them to be an elite team but they are just that prospects and 85% of them will never be NHL players.
Am I saying he should sell the farm, no of course not. But they need to find the best player(s) out there at the best price. After all that is part of his job.
We pretty much got our butts handed to us last night. The bigger body, hard working teams that bring it every night are tough to play. Our own end coverage was not good and we were not able to get back fast enough to deliver crisp breakouts. Refs did us no favors for the most part except for the 4 min high stick penalty that gave us a 4 minute power play. We had too many passengers last night is the bottom line. Yes, we greatly miss Hossa in games like this. We very much need a healthy Hossa going into playoffs as well as Sharp. Rather get them both back in good shape than rush the situation. Winning a few more faceoffs on power plays would really help. As much as I have been a Bolland fan over the years his play has been wildly inconsistent this year. A good second line center is a need that should be filled. Not sure if a deal needs to get done now, but I have no trouble dealing some prospects for a guy that could help us a get a Cup this year. Our Hawks are great when we have puck possession, but when we are chasing the biscuit we don’t look very good. I expect a mush better showing from the guys tonight, and then a big test again Friday when the Ducks show up at the UC.
Everyone on here makes great points. What would this blog have been like if we had it in the late 1990’s when this team stunk up the city???
Let’s face it, this team is built for speed, skill and puck posession. When we can’t control the puck, use our speed and skill and create turnovers, we have a tough time winning. But so far, in 24 out of 31 games, we have executed like we are supposed to. We’ve only lost 5 games!!
I trust this coaching staff and more than that I trust our players. Adjustments will be made, players will have better games and we will win more games and get into the playoffs. Hammer and Oduya will have better games. We’ll be fine.
Sometimes you win…….sometimes you lose……..let’s see what happens over the next 2 weeks.
Tom, no one is disputing the Hawks great record and season to date, but a number of us are seeing a trend develop with the Hawks against the teams that are built for deep playoff runs…they are big, physical and tenacious. Our smaller DMen (Oduya and Keith in particular) don’t respond well to being run at…and there are your defensive zone turnovers…and this is why my point about the 2nd Line Centre was made so strongly…without controlling face-offs, we can’t be a puck possession team and thus dictate the style of play.
Last night Andrew Shaw was at 50% and that hurt us…when Shaw loses a lot of his face-offs the 3rd line isn’t so dominating and they are playing chase all night…but Shaw is a great kid and will get healthy by the weekend, and that 3rd line will start rolling again. Kruger lost Frolik and had to skate with Mayers and Bollig and that hurt us. Toews was Toews and made Frolik look like Rocket Richard.
Its the 2nd line that is the problem. Now does this get fixed when Sharp is back? To some degree, but Bolland hasn’t registered a point in over a dozen games and his face-off % is dropping near the 40% mark, when it must be at least 50% on a line that features Patrick Kane…Kane is not only a fantastic offensive player, but he is also essentially non-existent when we play the chase game. Out of 100 face-offs (for Bolland about 8 games) he is losing 20 more than he wins…out of those 20 lost draws, that line is chasing and giving up scoring opportunities in our own zone, and obviously, not scoring. This is tolerable if we were winning 60% of our draws, it is a problem when we are well below 50%.
So, to play our game, and dictate the flow (taking pressure off of our DMen and thus goaltender), we have to maintain puck possession. Shaw and Kruger are getting better at the draw weekly…Toews is the best in the league. Bolland is killing us…and now he has stopped hustling, stopped hitting, stopped checking…he is a beached whale on the ice…it is impossible for Q and Bowman not to see this. We MUST address this position by the trade deadline, or healthy or not, we will see a repeat of our last 2 playoff un-runs. That’s not being negative, that’s watching the games and understanding hockey.
Remember, EVERYONE on this site wants the Hawks to play well and win… ultimately no one really cares how, as long as they do. So all of “us” are, or should be, on the the same team too. I don’t want to be right about anything in life, I just want to be happy!
What should really be talked about (from last night’s game) is the Hawks anemic PP…I have watched it decline over the last 6 weeks to a point where we are as bad as last year’s group. Didn’t an Assistant Coach get fired over this? Once again, we had a game where the PP did NOT create scoring chances and thus momentum, rather look pathetic and build momentum for the opposition…AND it gave up yet another short handed goal…this is becoming a far too common experience…no PP goals, but giving up shorthanded goals. Something has to change, and it starts with winning face-offs.
Brad, good point about the PP, that 4 minute PP early in the game was a JOKE. If you can get about by 2 goals early you can take control of the game and really force the play. I’m not waiving the white flag but there have clearly been trends with this team that are troublesome(Bolland and his lack of faceoffs, play against big physical teams, PP and even the PK which started the season lights out). Again Hossa and Sharp are 2 guys that see significant PP time to their absence can not be discounted. All Hawks fans should realize at this point that depth wins championships. So adding to this team isn’t a bad idea because they are very good. ***Tom please NEVER bring up the Mike Smith/Alpo Suhonen years again, that was a black eye for this organization***
The general tone of today’s comments is shared by myself. Once the LA forecheck ramped up, we lost our edge. All-in-all, I’m not panicing though. There is time to make adjustments, there is time to make trades, etc…
Until we run out of that time, we need to stay the course as far as on ice goes. We are still in first, we are going to get the 1 or 2 seed. We can win 2 of the next 3 before the deadline. The last thing the coaches need to do is make a panic move, and throw things off. We will get Sharp and Hossa back, and we can try to go back to rolling our lines the way we want to. Sure there is concern about the more physical teams, but we CAN beat them.
On the topic of Igilna, I am all for him. The price is the only concern. I would imagine either Frolik or Bolland would be in the deal. As far as D-prospects go, I know on the other thread someone mentioned Olsen, and then someone said that wouldn’t be enough… I think Bolland, Olsen, and a 1st should be enough. If they want a guy like McNeil… sure it would be a bullet to bite, but do it… we have Pirri and Danualt. If they want a more “ready” D-man… give them Stanton. We are set at 5 D spots for next year… and Clendening should be getting there. also, you can always find an older “Rosy-type” FA who will take a 1-yr deal. We can afford to lose Stanton if it means the difference in a Cup. The only question is who would play Center. Would it be Iggy, would it be Sharp… who knows… but it would be an ok problem to have. OR Maybe 2 trades are in order. The second trade would be for a veteran High FO% guy to play the bottom 6 (think like a matt hendricks type player in WSH).
Think about this…
10/19/81
Iggy/16/88
29/65/25
20/FO% guy/67
13/22 as fill-ins.
Hayes would end up back in RFD.
I wouldn’t mind that…
As Brad & SSHM stated we all want the Hawks to win and I get frustrated when I know we have a chance with a little tweaking to make that happen. You only get so many chances to win a championship and to not take advantage of that opportunity is short changing the organization.
If this board would have been in around in the 90’s, it would have been empty, the sport of hockey was dead in this town. Thank Rocky for bringing the Hawks back from the dead.
Now lets go win one tonight.
And maybe the guys can whisper in Iggy’s ear at every face offs to push a trade to the hawks.
JS- Kings are Playing much better than 1st 5 weeks!!!! It is a “different team”!
Secondly- And more importantly- The Kings (Like many teams last year) exposed the Hawks weaknesses on PP- They attacked the perimeter “passers/playmakers” on the PP- they know the Hawks have no Low Post/net Presence on PP!!! so they didn’t let Kane and others “play” w/ puck!!! The Hawks answer on PP would be to throw it to middle or low post and let them make a play- But we don’t have that!!
Here are some VERY viable trade options for Bowman before the deadline for our 2nd line centre…
Tyler Bozak is an unrestricted FA with Toronto…he is 27, in his 4th season, and is getting better…he can score, he can set players up, and is getting better in the defensive zone, plus he’s physical. but the big thing???? HE WINS FACEOFFS…4oo+ this season (53.2%) which is more than even Tazer. Is he available??? On Toronto? Everyone’s available for a price…and Bozak would cost less than Iginla. Maybe that’s why Leaf scouts having been following the Hawks the last 2 weeks???
Mike Fisher is someone Nashville will consider moving…he is 32, Nashville might not make the playoffs, and he makes a lot of money…but Fisher is still consistent as a good 2nd line Centre, and has always been a good face-off man.
Ott from Buffalo is available…he is 30…very physical, can score, and is a PHENOMENAL face-off guy, one of the best in the league. Really, he is a guy (if he stays out of the box) that is perfect between Kane and Sharp.
Would Calgary be willing to move Cammalleri??? He is a natural 2nd line centre, competes hard, and is a great face-off guy…but because he is small and tenacious, he is oft hurt…
Would Colorado, in last place, be willing to deal John Mitchell…he would be a perfect fit in Chicago…he’s a career 52% face-off guy, he’s lightening fast, he hits, and is great in the shootout. He’s only 28, in his 5th season, he’s 6’1″, 210. Plus he’s behind a wall of great centres in Colorado…I would make him one of our first options…he would be perfect skating with Kane and Sharp.
Marcel Goc from the Panthers is available…he could fill in as the 2nd line centre for now, and he’s a great face-off man…he’s 29, 6’1″ 210 and a former 1st round pick…he just gets injured a lot.
Nate Thompson for Florida might fit for the short term…
They were shut out two games in a row. They have played pretty well at home this month, but pretty poorly on the road. You can call it a different team, I say teams have hot and cold streaks. Fully healthy in a 7 game series, I’ll take the Hawks.
The issue with the Hawks PP isn’t the fact that they don’t have someone to sit in front of the net. The problem is they DON’T MOVE. One person will get the puck and everyone just sits and waits for him to do something. You watch the top powerplays in the league and they are constantly moving without the puck. When no one is moving it’s easy to get in passing lanes, especially if you are attacking the person with the puck. This is the reason I get so frustrated watching the Hawks PP. They do amazing things in 5 on 5 with cycling and opening shooting lanes. Then when it comes to the PP they give the puck to Kane and wait for him to try to do something amazing.
When the Hawks have success on the power play it’s usually because one of the point guys switches sides and opens himself up for a good shot.
Another super annoying thing about the Hawks powerplay is they usually have their point men on the wrong sides. When a right handed shot is playing the right point, he can’t one time a pass coming from the opposite point. They need to walk the line and switch more often.
An interesting stat for everyone…Nick Leddy and Rozy are both +13 on the season…Brookbank is -2…what might Nick Leddy’s +/- be if he played with Rozy game in and game out? Plus, has anyone else here noticed how good Leddy has become at basically every aspect of his game, including using his natural size and strength to maximum potential by leveraging his body against opposing forwards? This kid IS the real deal now…and when he gains more confidence in his offensive game, he will be lights out!
To Brad’s list of trade targets:
Fisher has 2 more years at $4.2M. And he’s inside the Hawks division. So no.
Bozak isnt going anywhere for cheap, and probably isn’t moving until the summer.
Don’t want Goc, Mitchell or Cammalleri.
Ott puts up the numbers, but I have questions about his mental approach; if Chicago fans hate Carcillo and Bollig for taking stupid penalties, Ott will give some folks a stroke.
As I have said before, my preference is a guy like Matt Hendricks in Washington and/or Vern Fiddler in Dallas.
Mr. Underwood…….I mean Fischer is not going anywhere
I just hope Stan pushes his chips “all in” whatever he does, this team is SOOO close this season just a few moves. It really stinks that one of the centers in the minors isn’t ready yet because they have so many of them. I think 3 of their top 5 prospects are centers. I hope the Hawks come out strong tonight because last nights game wasn’t pretty!
I agree, not a good one last night. How can our goaltending look decent when the defense is dragging their feet. Hopefully, when they watch the films they will wake up & see the ice melting. This is NOT the way to get to the playoffs.