Panarin, Rangers Blow Out Blackhawks
500 was on the minds of at least two players entering the United Center on Tuesday night. For Chicago, Marc-André Fleury was looking for his 500th regular-season win in his 900th career game. For the Rangers, Artemi Panarin was looking to pick up his 500th career regular-season point in the building where his NHL career began.
It took 61 seconds for Panarin to get the one point he needed for 500. He set up Jacob Trouba for the game’s first goal barely a minute into the contest and we were off to the races.
The Rangers held that lead for… 43 seconds. Off an offensive zone faceoff, an Erik Gustafsson shot from the blue line somehow made its way through the traffic and past Alexandar Georgiev into the net to tie the game at one.
After the Chicago goal, the Rangers enjoyed an extended period with the puck in the offensive zone but Fleury was on point. When the Blackhawks got the puck back to the other end of the ice they, too, were able to effectively put together some sustained offense.
At 7:09 into the first, Kirby Dach found a loose puck and finally, finally scored a goal.
Fleury made a few really good saves the rest of the way in the first period to hang onto the lead. Both teams put nine shots on net in the first; Chicago scored twice.
The Rangers got the game’s first power play two minutes into the second period and they made the Blackhawks pay. Panarin scored off a neat pass from Mika Zibanejad to tie the game at two.
Six minutes into the second period the entire feeling on the ice and in the arena changed. Trouba absolutely hammered Juhjar Khaira, whose head was down trying to handle the puck. Trouba went for a big hit; Khaira’s head being down made a potentially big hit a scary situation. Khaira was out cold when he landed on the ice and did not move before he was placed on a stretcher and helped from the ice.
Here’s a slow-mo look at the hit on Khaira.
Scary scene at the UC…
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) December 8, 2021
Here's a closer look at the Trouba hit on Khaira pic.twitter.com/Zxs22Juu0s
No penalty was assessed to Trouba. Riley Stillman dropped the gloves with the Rangers’ defenseman a few minutes later but he really shouldn’t be dancing with someone like Trouba.
After the Trouba hit on Khaira the parade to the penalty boxes continued the rest of the period. Panarin, Dryden Hunt and K’Andre Miller all went to the box for the Rangers, giving the Blackhawks two power plays in the period; Miller went off with seven seconds left in the period so the Blackhawks would open the third with the advantage.
When the dust settled from an emotional 20 minutes, the Rangers had out-shot the Hawks 13-8 in the second period and had the only goal. The game was tied heading to the third.
Before the third period, the Blackhawks tweeted that Khaira was taken to the hospital.
MEDICAL UPDATE: Jujhar Khaira suffered an upper body blow in the second period of tonight’s game. After initial evaluation on the ice he was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Hospital for further testing.
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) December 8, 2021
An update will be provided when available.
Five minutes into the third period with Dach in the penalty box, Chris Kreider redirected an Adam Fox shot for his tenth power play goal of the season, giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead. Panarin picked up his second assist and third point of the night on the goal.
Chicago got a power play 50 seconds after the Kreider goal with Trouba in the box but couldn’t convert.
Kevin Rooney extended New York’s lead to two at 12:10. The Blackhawks looked gassed, trying to keep up. The Rangers just looked a step faster than the Blackhawks all over the ice in the third period. Which, we could say was because of the emotions after the Khaira hit… but the same was true at MSG on Saturday night.
The Blackhawks pulled Fleury for an extra attacker with roughly 3:30 left in regulation and, of course, Panarin found the empty net for his second goal and fourth point of the night. Now the Hawks were chasing three with three minutes remaining.
With a little less than three minutes left in regulation, Ryan Carpenter hammered a Ranger from behind. Ryan Strome didn’t like it (rightfully) and jumped Carpenter. Their nights were over.
Barclay Goodrow made it 6-2 rangers inside the final two minutes. Fleury officially stopped 24 of 29 in the loss.
For the 17th time in 25 starts, the Blackhawks were held to two goals or less. That is not good.
With his four-point evening on Tuesday, Panarin put up seven points (three goals, four assists) in two games in four days against his former team.
Ian Mitchell once again looked like a more confident player. On this night he got into the power play instead of the penalty kill. Mitchell finished the night skating 18:17 with two blocked shots. He was on the power play for 1:28, which ranked third among the Hawks’ defensemen behind Seth Jones and Gustafsson.
Regarding Fleury, he entered historic company just by taking the ice on Tuesday night.
Marc-Andre Fleury became the eighth goaltender in NHL history to appear in 900 career games. ? #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/t1o2U5OGnD
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 8, 2021
Tuesday night was Alexis Lafrenière’s first game at the United Center. He had the least ice time among all Rangers forwards and was credited with zero shots on net and only two hits.
We’ll the “interim” GM claims he’s got different ideas than StanBo so how about he checks all of his hockey cards and find somebody that can protect our players?? Rangers bashed them all night long with nary a response (except for Carp and a half-azzed attempt by Stillman), because they don’t have anybody. They didn’t even need Reaves tonight.
A coaching staff of Joel Quenneville, Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour, Glen Sather, and Jon Cooper couldn’t turn this roster into a playoff team. This team is BAD. Special teams are an absolute joke. Someone tell Toews he’s done. Kane is gonna eventually ask for a trade or just walk away when his contract is up after next season. Really excited to see how the Jones contract ages. Btw, Boqvist has one less goal than all of our dmen combined, and he’s sporting somr rockin’ possession metrics. Every night we’re dressing a handful of forwards who belong in the AHL or press box at best. This is just sad. Shame on myself for allowing myself to think this could actually be a playoff team and maybe even steal a round. The next GM is gonna have to be a miracle worker. Scary thing is, if not for the Kyle Beach stuff coming to light, Bowman would still be here and in no jeopardy of losing his job. Rocky is turning into the McCaskey’s.
PP list them the game – they need to take Toews off the first unit and replace him with Strome – nothing is happening with Toews offensively and the ineffective PP not only couldn’t convert when they had the chance at 2-2 or down 3-2 it also kills momentum
They probably should also take Dach off and replace with Hagel so the first unit should be 12 88 4 17 38
Strome is doing pretty well on FOs now and he is far more dangerous than Toews – Hagel can win puck battles and be net front- Dach doesn’t shoot and processes the play too slowly at this stage
That sucks for Khaira – I didn’t see anything wrong with the hit
Hopefully Entwistle can get back in there soon – the less RJ and Hardman the better
Maybe recall Kurashev and not Hardman
The bloom seems to be off Kalynuk – he’s struggling a bit – Mitchell however was good again and better than Stillman who was directly responsible for the first NY goal and threw the puck away on several other occasions
Weird that McCabe didn’t play since he was there this morning – did they give any reason? I missed it if they did
Overall I think they have played with more energy on the road – had a better game in NY – disappointed in the performance and for Fleury – wasn’t his fault he didn’t get to 500
Khaira hit was to the head and unnecessary. I love physical but that was garbage. I have to agree with the 1st 2 posts here. This team got eaten alive tonight and physically humiliated. They don’t belong on the ice with the Rangers. As constituted now the Hawks are an NHL team with no top 3 Center and no power forwards. That is a tough way to try and win games. This team hit the wall tonight and reverted back to Colliton play defensively as they chased and left keys areas wide open. We need NHL talent and fully grown heavy bodies now! 21 Million in salary gets you 0 Goals,0 Assists 0 Hits a Minus 5 and an entire 2 Shots on Goal. Sorry,you have to give a bit more than that. Maybe take a walk across the hallway and ask Panarin how to make yourself relevant in a game. Absolutely Pathetic and shameful tonight. Sorry guys,I’m disgusted.
Great to hear Khaira doing good, hope the tests all come back ok for him.
Wrap Strome was 4 and 11 on fos tonight. He does well against other teams 3rd and 4th best fo C’s but not against their top 1 or 2 guys. If Dach was up against other teams 3rd or 4th best C’s most of the time he would look like he improved too.
As for the Khaira hit, he was unconcious all the way to the ice, you figure it out, as long as he is ok that’s all that matters right now.
As for the game NYR made them pay like last game and also like last game Blackhawks didn’t. After Khaira incident, they didn’t really seem to be much into the game.
Wonderful! Not only did the Blackhawks’ “New Coach High” expire, but their “hockey cop” (who is a You Tube fighting legend) got womanized by a regular hockey player because the Hawks organization emasculates tough players by discouraging them to play their game. This is disgraceful. Derek King (just like Colliton) has to go. Bring in Tortorella to punish these f’ing wimps into justifying fans’ paying $200-$300 bringing their families to watch dubious Hawks games. I am completely disgusted by these girls.
Tonight was…bad.
Offensively…well…Dach found the net. He wasn’t exactly in front of it. But, he still got the dirty goal. I think someone should tell him to plant his behind in front of the net and be that dirty goal s.o.b. Gustafsson got a goal? Yeah. de Haan led EVERYONE with 5 SOG. Gus had 4 SOG. The only forward even close was DeBrincat and Carpenter with 3 SOG. Kane had 1 SOG and Hagel had 2 SOG. Toews? 0 SOG. He was a FO guru with a stellar 74% FO%. But that’s where everything ends. 0 SOG. The line of Hagel-Toews-Kane was -3 -2 -2 respectively. A combined 2 shots on goal. Kane is dying on that line. I know that Reichel is still in concussion protocols, but the minute he’s out and plays 1 game for Rockford, call him up and put him in the middle of 12 and 88. Look, I’m one of Toew’s biggest backers, but he is playing like a 3rd line center. Dach can’t win faceoffs. Borgstrom can’t win faceoffs. Strome is amazingly average. This team is in deep DEEP trouble.
Defensively? Not the best game…AT ALL!!! Ian Mitchell was better BUT, he gets pushed off the puck pretty easily and had 0 Hits. Neither him nor Kalynuk had any SOG. How is de Haan the shooter of all those guys? Do you really want S. Jones and de Haan leading the team in Hits? Stillman, who was making a name for himself with his Hits had 0. FREAKIN’ ZERO!!! Gustafsson had 4 SOG but only 1 Hit. Now, upon Murphy and McCabe’s return, that will change. But, this was just an ugly UGLY game.
Goaltending? Not anywhere near a 500 career win performance. It happens. He didn’t have very much in front of him.
Khaira. That was a brutal hit. It was elbow then shoulder. He’ll be out for awhile. I guess Hardman is going to be coming back sooner that was scheduled. While not a fan of the Khaira signing, I would never EVER want to see a player take that kind of hit. I pray he has a full recovery.
This was a bad game. This team is a bad team. Too many pieces doing absolutely nothing. I’ve been through the bad times. I remember them well. The coaching carousel was ridiculous. I know this is just one game. So…on to Montreal. They’re having a bad season. Let’s see what they can do there..
These Original 6 games are turning out to be bummers. Lots of opponent fans in the stands, and lots of local yahoo “Blackhawks fans” who don’t go to hockey games much and act like idiots the entire time. Hard to be around. Like high schoolers who’re drinking their first beers and want everyone to know it.
Still plenty of empty seats too.
I’ll try and shed at least a little light on what I saw from my seat in the 300 level.
Fleury’s first goal allowed was bad, bad, bad. That has to be stopped. Wasn’t really sniped, just blown by his glove when he had a lot of time to see it the whole way. That got him in a hole early in his attempt for 500 wins. Of course Gustafson’s floater was pretty much a gimme that was allowed in as well.
The first PP goal that the Rangers got was greatly aided by a lousy attempt (or lack thereof) to clear. The Hawks player had the puck on his stick, turned, looked down the ice, did nothing, waited some more, and got it taken away. New York passed it around until they got Panarin open on the one timer.
With all of the miscues you still have to like being 2-2 going into the third. This though is when the Blackhawks just looked shot.
Blackhawks PP is molasses (not) in motion.
Bad night at the UC. Could have been better. Let’s not forget that New York is something like 17-4-3 right now.
Sure hoping Jujar is okay. That was about as ugly as it gets. His being well is paramount over this game.
Interesting experience at the big Blackhawks team store at the UC tonight.
Went to wear the authentic jerseys are all lined up floor to ceiling. Jerseys available in large volume were
Toews
Kane
Jones
de Haan
Kalynuk (?????)
Dach
DeBrincat
Me, to sales guy getting jerseys down for people; Do you have any Hagel jerseys?
Sales guy; No, we don’t have those.
Brad- I wouldn’t pay 50 bucks for glass seats to watch these guys…
Big Indian- good inside scoop there… Hagel and Hoss jerseys- for me -Only
the hit was fine. he had his head down from a hostile pass from $jones.
history repeats its self, we have fallen back to 1998-2006 where head coaches and interim coaches will be a revolving door.
be glad we seen 3 cups, we are in the same boat as Detroit after their run.
Judging by everyone’s comments, there is no reason to watch another Blackhawks game until next year. After all, why would you? It just leaves you angry, frustrated and disappointed.
Yeah, they are not a good team, let alone a playoff team. Yeah, they have a lot of AHL level players on their roster. Yeah, some players need to find a game or be gone.
So what?
If you’re angry, find something else to do. It’s the only thing you can change.
If you’re frustrated and/or disappointed, lower your expectations. It’s your fault they were too high anyway.
Have a nice day.
Goose, hit was fine, it was the initial shoulder or elbow to the head with those insanely hard pads that knocked him out is the issue. Having your head down, while not advised, is not illegal. Contacting someones head first to deliver a big hit is.
Game went as expected with a loss. It is how they lose we watch to see what can be improved or correct a problem.
On the PP I would put Dach in Toews position. The reason is Dach has the reach to do the wrap around move from the side of the net. Saw that move available a couple of times last night.
Passing was off last night more than usual. Again need the shoot first mentality.
On the hit Khaira did have his head down looking for the puck. Don’t think Truaba was head hunting but did look like it was the point of contact. Admirable as it was for Stillman we do not have anyone to respond for that. As someone mentioned they didn’t even need Reeves if something broke out. The only way we can respond to that is to line up an open ice hit just like that back. The problem then becomes what to do when a Reeves type player goes after our guy that delivers that hit.
There’s a guy out there that will help that situation that had a scoring touch and actually has had tangles with Reeves and is not afraid of a Reeves type of player. I do believe our team would become braver or more assertive if we had that type of player on the roster. His team has made it known they would eat salary. I cannot mention his name but a player on our team has the same sir name as he does.
Players like this are needed on every team no matter what and every team gets one except US!
John Galt: Well said sir, well said.
IAN- your statement is lame. he had his head down with a hostile pass from $jones, trouba was not head hunting, not issuing a “head first hit”. how about that bolland hit against Detroit where Seabrook scores the OT. that hit was worst.
day one of hockey, keep your head up!
clean hit all day Ian, yell at $jones for the hostile pass!
I like what you said John G.
The Rangers have a bright future.
I have been on the get heavier, with more grit bandwagon for a while-which I think they have done. (Reeves looked lost out there compared to his new, young skilled team. )
Kharia is a big strong man, and now he’s in the hospital because of another strong guy putting him there. I worry about these head injuries, and the long term impacts. Does the league want these type of hits? And I agree for the most part it was legal, actually a text book hit of old.
I use to love playing in these types of games, liked watching hockey with an edge, but the brain isn’t made for 225 pound men, skating faster than ever, on solid ice, inside a hard wooden oval.
There will be some that think ‘this is hockey-get over it wimp’, and I can live with that.
Just rewatched the hit on Khaira and still don’t see anything wrong with it – the initial point of contact is not the head – his head doesn’t get hit until he hits the ice – at least that’s what the angle I saw showed – maybe there’s a different angle that shows that Trouba made initial head contact (?) or maybe he catches a bit of Khaira’s chin with those titanium shoulder pads – that’s possible I suppose (?)
Trouba catches him shoulder to chest as far as I can tell and straightens him up and his body and head whiplashes back and his head unfortunately hits the ice – I’d be surprised if there’s any suspension coming Trouba’s way
Just because someone gets injured on a play doesn’t mean it’s a dirty hit – could Trouba have pulled up when he saw Khaira in a vulnerable position? Maybe, if the play happens in slow motion but it doesn’t – things happen fast on the ice – when Trouba commits to the hit Khaira’s head is up and then he lowers it just before Trouba hits him
Big Indian: Appreciate the observations of what’s going on at the Stadium.
John Galt: A little unfair to take everybody’s comments and lump them together. Some people here know exactly what we got here and are just infuriated about management’s lack of urgency about finding somebody to rectify the problems we have here. As another commenter has said, this organization looks like the McCaskey’s are running it: Yeah, we’ll still watch them but just turn the TV off sooner and stop buying their crap and have no thoughts of paying $$ to watch them. Last night only reaffirmed the mess that StanBo left, yes they have been watchable and playing better since King got here its just that we don’t have the horses here. Plus, we have a glorified video analyst who learned whatever from StanBo potentially taking over the reins and making decisions on players. Yes, we look the Bears!!!
Hi Ya all , changing a roster and contracts like the one`s we have in Chicago takes time… time… time , no quick fix pill here . It does not matter a lack of said urgency , We are hands tied in so many ways .
We are rebuilding people !!! And past management has made the growing pains worse and longer .
Let`s hope for some good draft pics and T.D.L movement .
Have are great day eh !
Just like the other Ranger game, deHann has the puck in our zone, then the Rangers have it and Panarin scores.
Goose then why isn’t having your head down when you get hit a penalty like turning your back to a checker. Yes it’s a fast game and adrenlin rush of delivering the big hit is part of it, but eliminating head hits and making better choices are what they are preaching today.
If no head contact then why is the first thing you see is his head snap back violently, appearing to be unconcious from that point on
I have to say I’m in the “that was a bad game but things are still trending slightly upwards” camp. Leading after 1; tied after 2, is better that anything we saw early in the season against a very good Rangers team.
Also, Seth Jones makes plays that no one else makes on this team. I was skeptical; he isn’t perfect but he’s really good.
John Galt
Right On plus those guys can always listen to another sport like waterPolo or just change team and do like many guys and start to love the best NHL team of the year and will be sure to be happy or almost happy. Next year you will be able to choose another best team I have a neighbour like that .his team his always one off the top 3 team in the league.
When you love a team and it’s tattoo on your heart then it’s for life ,win or loose it’s still your team.
I think that after that scary hit the game was lost because the Hawks bench what’s in shock and the energy level went flat .that’s the only reason the wind turn the other way .
Would love to see thumbs up or down for post here .
5 thoughts
Jujar get better soon
Wouldn’t it still be nice to have Panarin playing for us
When did Ezo become a homer? He must be filibustering for the Hockey Op job
Stan left an absolute mess
I liked Stromes game…..Ryan Strome that is
@Wrap I re-watched the hit several times and the first thing that I see that changes direction on Khaira is his head, it snaps back, then his neck/chest, then his right shoulder. I can’t see the opposite side to see if there was contact made with Khaira’s left side before his head moves. Do you have another angle other than the TV feed that shows something different? I can’t find a view from the opposite side to see if contact was made on his left side/shoulder/chest before his head changes direction. What am I not seeing?
A lot of the Hawks were looking over their shoulders staring daggers as the Rangers were celebrating the win. Personally I thought it was poor taste for the Rangers to act like that, they could have saved it for the locker room considering they put one of the Hawks on a stretcher. You can definitely put me in the NOT a Rangers fan camp right now.
This is the kind of game that can define a team, do the Hawks have it in them to bounce back from this or will they use this as an excuse to fold? I thought the team really held it together very well until the Rangers broke through for that third goal, then you could feel the air rushing out of the Hawks in a rush. The Hawks simply did not have anything left.
The next several games are going to be a big test for this group, they have a winnable game in Montreal tomorrow, but the next four are going to be really tough. Hawks have their work cut out for them.
The Hawks momentum was killed by Borgstrom’s penalty, and then the subsequent goal on the PP. The Khaira hit took the rest of the fight out of them. Man, that was brutal. I highly doubt that the medical staff allows that guy to come back this year after all of his other concussions. He was out for a few minutes, and that just means that his concussion is a bad one. Where does Stan find all of these concussed guys? :-) Is there an NHL portal for guys with concussion history looking for a job?
I mean – we’ve had Montador, Carcillo, Shaw, Boqvist, Crawford, Strome, Keith, Connelly, recently Murphy, and now Khaira. I just remember how two great hockey players had their careers ended by concussions – Pat LaFontaine and Eric Lindross. Man, this is a rough game!
the one thing I will say about last night’s game is that the King coach needs to force feed Kubalik to get him going. Play him on a line with DeBrincat, play him on the PP, get him minutes! We need him to be the goal-scorer that he is. He is way out of sorts!
Dollar Bill: Enzo actually said last night that a reason Kane hasn’t been putting up points lately is directly related to the play of the center position. He basically said what the issue is without naming him.
Dollar Bill, I don’t know about the total EDZO homer thing. He did subtly sneak a shot in on the Captain stating “I think the lack of any Center play is driving Patrick Kane,s slump”. Also Co-Homer Pat Foley has been very clearly audibly sighing and moaning with lost puck battles and clear missed quality shot opportunities by the top Center. King put Reed Johnson and Hagel together with him from mid 2nd period on.
Tommy, I believe Kubalik is showing us exactly what he is. His hand eye in stress situations is very poor. Lots of fanned shots and mishandling of the puck in traffic. We are so short of any quality forward play that it is expansion team like.
Khaira out of hospital expect full recovery, but injury significant i guess.
Kalynuk, Mitchell and Entwistle to Rfd. and Hardman and Kurashev to Blackhawks.
Tim W: I noticed that also with Foley’s sighs and groans.
John Galt, No Sir,I will not bailout and do something else because things are not going well. I am passionate and fully invested in my life long NHL team. I will continue to endure the tough times and point out the obvious shortcomings. That is what a true fan does. He or she doesn’t just walk away or stop watching because the perfect team is not assembled yet. Those that do what you suggest are called FRONT RUNNERS. Those that offer their opinions after the season is complete based solely on the final record and do not watch the games are no better. I will stay and endure which includes identifying the obvious problems. And I will not apologize about being angry and unhappy when my team is outmanned and gets rag dolled up and down the ice against strong quality teams. So blaze on about my observations. I won’t be deterred.
TimW do you believe a lineup that seems to be only option right now with arguably couple of chairs in different spots possible is better.
38. 77. 88
12. 17. 36
23. 13. 8
52/86 19. 22
I am glad your not deterred Timmy , now go play in the traffic .
Rangers are physically a very hard team. We’re not and it showed.
I’ve enjoyed watching us since King took over. That said, of the eight wins four came in OT/SO and we stole two so I think the record made us look better than we actually are.
Last night was a bad matchup for us (reminded me a bit of playing VGK in playoffs two years ago). For a good team matchups don’t matter, but we’re not one of those. As long as the effort is there and we continue to improve there’s not much more you can ask for. Even with a new GM getting the right guys in we’ll still need two or three years to get back to the upper echelons.
It’s all about expectations. That’s where all the anger, frustration and disappointment comes from.
The unhappy people here seem to be the ones that bought the McDonough/Bowman line of bullshit (to save their jobs, sell tickets and feed their enormous egos) about being a playoff team, or close to it. That Colliton was going to bring in a fresher, new brand of hockey (it was really just Bowman’s way to get rid of the guy he truly hated and could not control). Draft choices and prospects were going to blossom into stars just like Towes, Kane, Hjalmarrsen and others did (can’t mention the ones we gave away). And on and on.
So, now that we are a below average team with no chance for the playoffs and a very questionable future, a lot of people are angry, frustrated and disappointed. I get that. If they didn’t care they wouldn’t care (how about that for a Yogi Berra-ism?).
My advice is to:
1. Re-adjust your expectations. Mine are much, much lower now that Rocky has put virtue-signaling Danny Wirtz in charge.
2. Only put as much of your heart and soul into the team as the owners do. Only care as much about the results as they do. re: Hammer Time – that is why I don’t give a shit about the Bears, but I will when the Old Lady dies and the trust funds babies sell to someone who wants them to win as much as I do.
3. Enjoy what you can (Kane’s magic, DeBrincat’s finishes, Hagel’s bagels, M-A-F’s personality, etc…) and don’t dwell on the negatives.
John Galt: Much better post. My problem with the Bears is that the Old Lady will probably live to be about 130 and outlive me and I’ll never see them win again. But your right about putting as much heart and soul into the team as the owners do. I’ve barely watched the Bears this year. I can see a day where maybe I don’t watch the Hawks as much as I do now and just continue to watch other hockey games.
Hawks 2015, Pretty much how I feel when I endure your acumen on hockey.
Ian, Looks good with a big IF . Can Kurashev and Borgstrom lose their timid nature’s? I see we are back to the veteran D Man lineup with Mitchell and Kalynuk sent back. Imagine at the TDL we will see them back for good.
The gas lighter, John Galt. Take a bow, sir.
TimW, trouble i have with it is maybe you get another goal or 2 a game but likely end losing alot of 6-5, 5-4 tupe games. This team needs to win 2-1, 3-2 games and Strome and Borgstrom as your middle 6 C’s just doesn’t help that happen.
@Hammer Time…@Tim W.
Maybe if Kane had this guy to play with, no not Panarin but this guy.
Trevor Zegras taken 9th in the year Dach was taken 3rd. I hope the tweet shows up, but man this kid has “IT”. Nope no tweets allowed
https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2021/12/08/good-news-for-khaira-ending-goal-droughts-zegras-magic-and-other-blackhawks-bullets/
Zegras has 39 points in 43 NHL games, Dach has 45 in 109, just sayin
The principle and inital point of contact was Khaira’s chin. His head was straight down and his chin took the whole blow straight on, which is why he was immediately unconcious. It causes a snapping action which rams your brain against your skull. Same thing in boxing with a right cross to the jaw.
Trouba wasn’t even looking at him when he hit him. He went in elbow and shoulder first and turned almost sideways to deliver the blow.
Whether you say legal or not I don’t know. I know Trouba didn’t target his head because he wasn’t looking at him. But I know he hit his head (chin) first straight on, so if all that matters is you hit part of the head first, well then he is guilty.
Not that it matters much. As many have pointed out, this team is light years away from competing. Really nothing much in the development hopper either. Unless you count Boquist in Columbus.
The only way to infuse some young talent into the system would be to move the vets at the deadline or this offseason. Sort of like what the Cubs did. At least then people would feel like there is a plan and maybe a light at the end of the tunnel.
TimW – We just need another finisher and Kubalik is the best that we have outside of Kane and DeBrincat and Hagel. I have a feeling that the “intern” will trade him for another Perlini and Kubalik will develop into a high-end scorer in the right system and the right coach. That’s why I want to see if he can get out of this funk. I agree with everything you said, but we have no choice!
Also JGalt, I love playing in traffic too! Good stuff guys!
Zegras is the gem of that first round but don’t forget that 8 teams passed him up not only the Hawks. At 3, the big debate was between Dach, Turcotte, and Byram and Couzins.
And at 20 years old, among those guys, they still might have gotten it right. But Zegras, yeah, that’s gonna look bad and only get worse with time, but same for everyone that picked before number 9 too.
Dollar Bill: Nothing we can do about Zegras, we got Dach. It is what it is. But here’s a telling article that shows how inept our organization is: https://www.nhl.com/news/over-the-boards-dan-rosen-mailbag-december-8/c-328746422
Ian, Yes we are definitely stuck in the mud Centerwise. Love to have a few of those young Ducks with Zegras topping the list. Maybe our next dealt hand will have more upside.
Byram I fear his heading down that Concussion rabbit hole. He has that type of on ice persona that is going to make him a magnet for being run. Him and Makar from the Avalanche are having a tough time staying on the ice for long stretches of games.
John Galt, the gas lighter. Congrats, sir. I’m sure your ESPN 8 subscription is fully active.
I’m wondering how many of our departed StanBo followers are actually back with new “alias’s”???
What is a departed StanBo follower?
I find it amusing when someone tells other people what kind of fan they should be.
People who praised him here and are no longer here.
@Hammer Time
I’m not in favor of Edzo and KD being decision makers for the Hawks, but I’m also not in a position to do anything about it either.
#StanCultClub got me banned from another site which was loaded with Stan apologists from top to bottom.
I wanted Gorton to be the next GM but now that he’s taken the guy I’d give a shot to is Steve Sullivan.
Dollar Bill if bringing in a GM or Vp to be head of hockey ops., Mark Hunter is somebody they should look at. Mentioned him as next GM a few years ago when somebody asked that question and still think he’d be good choice. Think the Leafs might have made a mistake letting him getaway to keep Keefe on as Gm.
Keefe is coach in TOR – Dubas is GM but the point is a good one Ian – Mark Hunter would be a very good GM choice for CHI – seemed like he really knows young talent
I praised Stan for the Seth Jones trade and I’m still here
Dollar Bill: It would be nice to know why he actually got fired by Arizona. BTW I thought Rick Tocchet would have been a nice fit with our club but was laughed at for the suggestion.
“Just rewatched the hit on Khaira and still don’t see anything wrong with it” — Really? WTF!?!? It was shoulder-to-jaw = it *should* have been at least a 3 game suspension.
Either the NHL’s Department of Player Safety is serious about “Player Safety”, or they are just pulling on their dicks
“Just rewatched the hit on Khaira and still don’t see anything wrong with it” — REALLY? It was shoulder-to-jaw. Either the NHL’s Department of Player Safety is serious about “Player Safety” or they’re FULL of SHIT.
Dickie – if you had read the next blog you’d have seen that I admitted that once I got a closer look at the hit that it was pretty clear that Trouba did catch him on the chin first and that Trouba should get a couple of games
The NHL DOPS however took my original position and deemed it a clean hit even though they agreed the initial point of contact was the head – according to NHL rules a hit to the head can still be a clean hit and not a suspension depending on the circumstances – don’t blame me
Wrap unfortunately the DOPS department seems to all too often, make player safety secondary, not surprised at all they walked away from it.
There are many disliked hard core Mike Keenan types out there. I have also advocated for both of the Hunter brothers to take over this team. Babcock,Tortorella,Hitchcock,Mellanby,Tochet,Muller,are all out there to provide solid NHL backgrounds and knowledge. Being realistic though,Rocky Wirtz will never bring in a strong leadership team. The McDonough hire was made solely to sell tickets and bring their marketing into the millenium.
@Ian @Tim W
The Hunter brothers are indeed real good at developing talent and know what it takes to win, but and it’s the big butt, Rocky won’t go for it and I doubt the Hunters, either one will be on board to work for the Hawks.
Rocky got very lucky when he got the team, only 3 pegs were left to fill before they became a dynasty .
Kane, Hossa and Q. The rest is history.
And now Rocky reverts back to being a Wirtz and money becomes the only thing of importance
Rocky has turned everything over to Danny.
Rocky was smart enough to admit he knew nothing about hockey and marketing and went out and got the 2 best people he could find to take that over – Scottie Bowman and John McDonough.
Danny does not seem to have that wisdom or care much about hockey.
Some may say I am “gaslighting”. I am merely pointing out what should be obvious.
Wraparound – honestly, nothing personal…I was just irritated by the hit and no penalty.
JG agree and said before the way this procees of change has been handled so far, definitely bern done with an eye on the bottom line and that may play a part for sure in the final decisions.
Toews has been toast for a few years. Best year of 35 goals in 2019? 23 of those 35 on the power play. Very much like Kane and the Cat all show on the power play, even strength you cant recognize them. five on five is the real measure! This team is too small, too slow and not built for the current NHL formula.
1- Big, fast defense men who can skate out of trouble and pass and who have an offensive IQ, not guessing or over playing or confused. (hawks have a fair share of defensive minded d men) Jones is close to the new model but he’s too SLOW and it takes him four of five strides to get up to speed. No jump as they say – think YOSIIIIII
2 -Net front presence, screens, rebounds ye ole greasy goals. Players on each line that can stay on their skates, stick on ice, screen and maintain positions. Dach gets nudged out of position like hes made of paper, Toewes has no desire . . . Carpenter has the heart!
3 – A winger or two who has north to south speed, stretching the defense, forcing slashes, hooks and holding calls, Plus opening up center ice.
4-Clone Brandon Hagel – when you watch him you notice how weak the effort from his line mates is and how weak the guts and desire to finish a check is across almost the entire team. The Cat deserves a lot of credit every night grinding it out, finished checks looks for the body and doesn’t back down. Should be our Captain.
no draft picks are gonna fix this team
I love KING he said the other night which is code to the elite over rated hawks ” hard to win a game when only half your team is really playing.” I can tell you what half played but will sign out. GO Hawks