Patrick Kane Scores 400th, Blackhawks Hammer Red Wings
After an ugly performance against the last place Red Wings on Saturday night, the Blackhawks got another crack at their rivals on Sunday evening on national television. And the Hawks were in their reverse retro jerseys for the first time this year.
With Kevin Lankinen back in net, the Hawks looked to bounce back with a stronger performance. They were also looking to get Patrick Kane his 400th career regular season goal.
The Hawks started the game putting decent pressure on Thomas Greiss but Detroit was getting more chances. Chicago needed to get on the board and did.
Chicago was trying too hard at times to get the puck to Kane when he was on the ice. He was on the bench when David Kampf set up Nikita Zadorov, who ripped home the game’s first goal.
Zadorov’s first of the season came at 11:41 into the game.
It took almost six minutes for the next goal to be scored and it came off a Red Wings player – not stick. Ian Mitchell fired a shot that was blocked and found Ryan Carpenter. His shot appeared to hit defenseman Alex Biega in the shoulder and then bounced off the back of Greiss and into the net.
Mitchell and Matthew Highmore picked up the helpers on Carpenter’s goal.
Chicago’s two-goal lead only lasted 38 seconds. Jon Merrill unloaded a shot from that was nicely redirected by Sam Gagner past Lankinen into the net.
The first period ended with Chicago leading 2-1 but that was the only good part of the box score. Detroit out-shot Chicago 21-12 in the period; Lankinen was terrific. Chicago was only credited with three blocked shots in the opening 20 minutes.
Kane skated 7:09 in the first and wasn’t credited with a shot on net. Carl Soderberg led the Hawks with three shots on net at the end of the first period.
Duncan Keith (5:59) had the lowest ice time among the Hawks’ six defensemen in the first period.
The second period came and went without a goal but Chicago started to carry the action in the later stages of the frame. The line of Kane-Pius Suter-Alex DeBrincat had a tremendous shift with Calvin de Haan and Adam Boqvist that spent more than a minute in the offensive zone.
Over the last five or six minutes of the period the Blackhawks were on the attack but weren’t able to generate a third goal. Both teams put ten shots on net in the period and we headed to the third with Chicago still clinging to a 2-1 lead.
The Red Wings were all over the Blackhawks to start the third period but Lankinen made a few big saves in the opening 30 seconds. Chicago got a rush with Detroit going for a change and made it count.
Kane dropped the puck for Suter who ripped a shot in off the post to extend Chicago’s lead to 3-1.
Kane picked up his 22nd assist of the season on the goal; DeBrincat was credited with his 12th as well.
After the goal, which came 92 seconds into the third, Detroit kept the pressure on the Blackhawks. The Hawks were getting out-shot by a wide margin when Bobby Ryan went to the box for tripping at 6:35 into the third.
Chicago moved the puck well on the power play and Carpenter sniped home his second of the night through a great screen from Soderberg. Chicago now led 4-1.
DeBrincat picks up his second assist of the night on Carpenter’s second goal. Boqvist had the second helper on the goal.
Two minutes later, Kane got the puck, allowed a defenseman to slide out of his way and ripped home his 400th career regular season goal.
DeBrincat collected his third assist of the night on Kane’s milestone goal.
Three minutes later with Kampf in the box, Evgeny Svechnikov beat Lankinen to cut the score to 5-2 in favor of the Blackhawks.
The Hawks weren’t going to let the Wings hang around. Two minutes after the Red Wings scored, Brandon Hagel fought for a puck and found Dominik Kubalik to get Chicago’s sixth goal of the night.
Hagel picked up the only helper on Kubalik’s eighth of the season.
With 4:37 left in regulation – 69 seconds after Kubalik’s goal – DeBrincat added a goal to his three assists.
The extra point made it 7-2 in favor of the Blackhawks and Greiss blasted the post with his stick, shattering the tool that had apparently let him down seven times in the game.
Kane and de Haan picked up the assists on DeBrincat’s goal.
Lankinen stopped 43 of 45 in a stellar performance. DeBrincat’s four points will be overshadowed by Kane’s 400th goal but he was marvelous the entire night.
DeBrincat led Chicago with five shots on net. Kane had one goal and two assists.
Suter won 10 of 17 faceoffs in the game and finished plus-three.
The five-goal outburst in the third period was exceptional. The entire roster was rolling in the final ten minutes of a period that started with them getting out-shot badly. Detroit out-shot the Hawks 15-10 in the third but half of the Blackhawks shots went in.
From last thread.
JR ROMAN
February 28, 2021 at 6:30 pm
Just wondering if anyone else having trouble on posting and updates or if it’s just my equipment
MORRISON
February 28, 2021 at 7:58 pm
Yea ipad is like hrs behind on updated posts. The PC is current.
MORRISON
February 28, 2021 at 8:11 pm
Havnt seen many games just a few and not whole games. Going by what people say here. First good look at Suter I like how he shoots.
DLR!
A real shame Kane didn’t have the full house that he deserved on hand to celebrate #400.HELL of a milestone by a hall of fame player.He was honest and humble post game on NBC relating that he played his worst 2 periods of hockey of the year before his goal.DeBrincat was outstanding all night long.He has really changed his game from last season.He skates hard all the time.Hagel just keeps his train rolling.He is a pleasure to watch.Zadorov was much better tonight and actually had a little pop to his hits.Maybe he visited this site last night.As bad as Detroit is,they did play hard and skated their asses off most of the night.Rest up men,the champs are coming to town Thursday night.5 games with the Bolts in 2 weeks.Thats tough.
Bit of a weird game I thought – about as unconvincing a 7-2 win as you’ll get
Lank could have been first star
Nice to see Zadorov score – he has a better shot than I realized – of the D men I thought him and Boquist stood out in a good way
We’re starting to see Boquist’s talents emerging – he’s an elite passer which is a benefit at both ends of the ice – obviously in the O zone but also in the D zone – there were times tonight when no one seemed to be able to complete a pass out the D zone and through the neutral zone and then the puck would come to Boquist and tape to tape he’d go with it – I’m likeing his progress since returning to the line up
What a play by Hagel on Kub’s goal and also by Kane on his 400th – in fact the Hawks had some serious snipes tonight when they finally got out of their own end – DCat, Suter, Zadorov
Happy for Carpenter
My theory is they were a bit uptight with both the idea of getting Kane his 400th and with the knowledge that with their hellish upcoming schedule they really needed the 2 points against a team they should beat – feet seemed a bit heavy for much of the game and passing sub par even Kane
They loosen up vs TB because they’ll be big underdogs – looking forward to it
This is an understatement, but tonight was a much better effort. And ironically, even though the shots on goal and scoring chances didn’t favor the Hawks tonight, I thought they did a much better job tonight vs last night of punishing the Wings along the boards when they carried pucks into our zone..they made them pay along the boards for every offensive zone entry and didn’t let them coast below the goal line to set up high to low..not sure if Zadorov reads this site lol, but he was very noticeable along the boards tonight and with finishing his checks..It was a welcome response to what I deemed a soft effort by him last night.
I also noticed that it seemed like the Hawks made a concentrated effort to make the extra pass as we were in the neutral zone trying to enter the offensive zone..instead of seeing pressure and dumping the puck in, they were making an extra pass or two to try and secure more clean entries..and it was noticeable..multiple times tonight the Hawks were able to gather quickly in the neutral zone and re-enter the offensive zone cleanly by making extra passes..I think these quick, clean transitions tonight is what also led to so many quality shots on goal for the Hawks.
And again, I’ll keep banging the drum for Suter, but I think Stan would be smart to lock him up this offseason to a 3 or 4 year deal. He should definitely be part of this next wave of young Hawks. Don’t give him a one year deal and then let him score 55 points next year. See if he’ll take 3.5 or 3.75 per for four years. With his ability to set up goal scorers but also score goals himself, that’s an important piece for our top nine moving forward. Even if he plays wing next year, he’ll be valuable to this team.
Stick taps to Kaner – crazy skill that made it look easy. I love Hagel’s game, every night he makes plays and empties the tank. Great signing by SB. Go back and look at the 2016 draft rounds 3-7 and see how many names you recognize. You won’t fill up the fingers on both hands and two of them are Hagel and Lucas Carlsson. Agree with Wrap on Boquist, the tape to tape passes are very noticeable. He also had a nasty shot in the first period that Greiss made a great save on. I still don’t see Suter as a center but he has an excellent shot. His snipe was big after a very poor start to the 3rd period. The Soderberg screen on Carpenter’s 2nd goal was a total eclipse. Is it too much to hope Strome can learn how to effectively screen by watching? The next few weeks will be a huge challenge but regardless of results it will be a great development opportunity.
@tim w..I said the same thing lmao..maybe Zadorov looked through some comments last night..was really finishing off his hits tonight..a much better game from him.
@wraparound..agree regarding Boqvist..seems very comfortable playing with DeHaan and I’m not exactly sure how it happened but the two of them seem to have developed some nice chemistry..maybe it’s just the comfort in having a partner who is more stay at home, but it’s definitely helped him. His passes, like you said, are crisp and decisive, and he’s looking for more opportunities to set up for shots on goal as well when he pinches in. Tampa will provide a nice litmus test for this entire team, but so far, I like what I’m seeing from them as a pairing.
Glad I got to watch later part of 2nd and 3rd. I like what I see in Suter Hagel. I know what Kurachev is like because I have seen him before so i expected him to be good/same as Mitch. I didnt see these guys before 24 38 and I like it. Makes me really want to get Barratt in there/when hes ready.
Its easy to say a line of Hagel ? Barratt though maybe having these kind of players on different lines brings same element to two lines.
Man our bottom 6 is going to be loaded just like Defense 2-6. Just need to get those other spots hammered in.
I didn’t think the first period was as bad as the stats looked. A lot of those Detroit shots were from the blue line with nobody screening. In addition, there were some bad angle shots. That said, Lankinen was great tonight. He keeps the net now until he has a bad game.
Hagel was great all night. It climaxed with his assist to Kubi but that was not the only time he did that. He was excellent all night. Kampf was also very, very good, although was more noticeable early in the game. Even before Kampf’s outstanding assist to Zadorov, he had made some noticeable plays. Was glad to see Zadorov get one. That snipe was ferocious. He used good judgment by skating in closer before firing.
Soderberg continues to be excellent. Seeing Carpenter get two felt good. His line has been outstanding for games now, but they don’t generate much scoring so there is no glory.
The referees were quite strange tonight. I never did figure out the penalty on the face-off that mitigated the PP. There was also a blatant hold on de Haan that never got called.
The next couple weeks will be indicative of how much progress the Hawks have really made. Colliton has them playing hard and achieving really good things. Maybe after they play the Florida teams, there will be more howls for Colliton’s scalp as it might not be a rewarding time. For now the, “Colliton and Bowman are the worst ever” crowd has been quiet.
What a difference a change in goalies makes, both sides.
Of course a beaut by Kane, once the defenseman slid clear I knew it was going in, #400! but also taking note of his commitment to back checking—-third man back at some important times
Zadorov seems to stand out for the good or the bad, nice to have good 16 tonight, really nice snipe
And I hate to nitpick someone who had a darn good game, but as soon as Debrincat turns up after entering the zone with the puck, it seems like it’s a guaranteed giveaway, just like it has almost always been since he started … he’s GOTTA fix that, drive through the check, make more patient passes after hooking back, or even a dump is better than turning it over with 5 Hawks headed the wrong way
Think Silent or somebody said the thing about OFF DEF – DEF DEF pairs. Hey.
They do read the posts/threads here not just the coaches/gm/crew.
#400
Kaner will never know how big his goal was for 2 people inside a house 150 miles away. My 2 sons were visiting to discuss their Grandpa’s health issues. I have spent the last 5 days watching my 84 yr old father inch closer to death from a sudden neurological disorder that immediately trumped his cancer for top priority.
We talked for a couple hours and my oldest son gathered some leftovers and returned home. My youngest wanted to stay a bit, so of course we started to watch what was left of game. We used to watch them together often when he was younger, but time marches on
That Kane goal, as sweet as it looked to any random fan, gave us a release of every emotion humanly possible. I dont expect it to make sense to outsiders, I’m only here to document it and this seemed a good place. One of the greatest goals I have ever seen. For reasons most will never fully know. The Great88 was on a different level here, and it was damn good medicine.
Cheers!
Detroit threw a lot of shots towards the net, but as Robs pointed out, the majority of them were fairly easy saves, and not just the first period, either. Lankinen was busy, but rarely tested. Only faced 6 high danger shots all night, stopping 5. 25 of their 46 on net were of the low danger variety, and he stopped all but one of those. Thought the whole team played pretty well. As far as Kane goes, I ain’t got the words. Guy seems to be aging like wine. Unreal.
RD, cheers I have been there/in a different specifics. I got to spend time with my grandparents for afew wks before they had things and glad I got to. We won something/I wont say now in sports that is important to us and its good to have that primal scream like that. People might think I am weird it does help and a good/one of those few important movements.
Enjoy the time its good to be there. Thats what matters.
RD, I hope you can find solace in family moments. It’s the best medicine.
congrats to kane on number 400 in 996 games. this could be the best season of his career.
taking nothing away from #88, but there is a blackhawk by the name of larmer who scored 441 goals in 1006 games. time for his sweater to be in the rafters.
and to be fair…. i roasted zadorov yesterday so only fair to give him props tonight. would like to see that effort and toughness from him every night.
Congrats to Kane, great to see him reach that milestone.
Good to see the youngsters taking tge next steps in all 3 areas, fwds., defense and in goal of this roster now, bodes well for the future. Boqvist and Dehaan showing some chemistry playing with Kane and Debrincat, see how that works against Florida teams in next couple of weeks. Hagel unbelievable battler, looks like a keeper for sure. March gonna be tough schedule, no easy points to be had. Love watching these youngsters.
Ryandale condolances, life not always fair, we recently lost our teenage grandson, not supposed to be.
RyanD – thanks for sharing your story and good luck with your Grandpa
Well done KANER! Beauty of a goal too- fitting that he scored into a nearly impossible hole stick side!
2nd game watched this season- like the kids! Nice to see Carpenter produce. Lankinen really passed the test – 45 shots!
Despite this being Detroit, and not Tampa Bay (soon!) it was a good win- well done!
Was kind of close! Kane scored his 400th ?
Suter scored ?
Detroit scored 2 ?
Kurashev didn’t score (Zadorov scored, name ends with a V)
Kubalik scored 1
Ryan D: Condolences. Savor every moment, with all three generations together. Hope younger son tells his brother the same story so next time there will be four watching together.
RD-thanks for sharing.
It was nice to have the 400th goal, and Lankinen helped out immensely as he often does this year but I’m glad the picture on this one was of Debrincat. He has been the best player for the Hawks from start to now, taking in mind all 200ft. of ice. He hasn’t stopped moving/hitting at 5’7″ just trying all year- the Cat is back!
(I think Hagel’s effort is infectious and Kane is just amazingly gifted )
Perhaps it is just me, but I saw very little difference between teams over the last 2 games, other than one team had #88.
In both games the team with the better goalie won. Oddly, none of the 4 played bad.
Congrats to Kane.
Nice bounce back against a undermanned wings team.
Saw the score and bummed I missed it due to the game being on “national tv”. Maybe it will be on replay on YouTube.
I think the first loss to Detroit showed everyone that Malcolm Subban is not a 1st string GK. However, he is an excellent backup and should be used as such. Nothing wrong with that! Just don’t play him in back-to-back games. Last night’s game was the response that I wanted to see after a hard luck loss. I don’t know of anyone who played poorly last night, it was a total team victory. I do want to single out Carpenter for showing tons of grit and guile, the same goes for Soderberg, because his screens and always being at the right spot is invaluable. Towes who…Strome who…Ronny Woo!!
Kane (10)
DeBrincat (10)
Carpenter (10)
Hagel- Dig-Dive-Dish. Triple D
Looking forward to TDL, and near future.
Hawks have some players again making it fun to watch. Especially Hagel, His energy seems to be contagious and unlike High, he has some solid skills. Zad is decent and Keith seems to care again. Hawks only missing Dach at this point and with drafting 1-2 other studs they can be upper echelon team. Toews is done, and whatever he’s suffering from(MS, Epstein Barr?) explains his last 4 uneven seasons.
Cat is playing at another level making me think he had some injury issues last year.
Colli looks competent and Stan finally had a great offseason. Even Carp is playing very well. Anyway hockey in Chicago is interesting again and looking forward to some fans and closer to normalcy this Spring/Summer. GO HAWKS!
Must be the jerseys.
RD Stick taps to you and yours.
RyanD not to take away from the meaning of Kane’s 400th goal but I believe that Gramps being surrounded by his family and seeing your joy meant more to him than the goal. Hopefully he finds peace soon and suffers no more.
Now about Boqvist and all the praise going on. His tape to tape passes, his jumping in on offense blah blah blah. He’s a defenseman have you seen him playing defense? Forwards blow past him or push him out of the way. He can’t win board battles along the boards or behind the net. He needs a bigger forward to get in and help so he can float away waiting for someone to get him the puck so he can make those tape to tape passes. Then to say that him deHaan Kane and D-cat looked so amazing is just nuts. When DeHaan or Boqvist move up on the play you have Kane or D-cat or Suter taking their position. That may have looked good against a depleated Detroit team but is gonna spell disaster against the Florida teams.
Until Boqvist learns defense and I hope he does soon he’s nothing more than a forward back there who has some defensive ability. I’m not saying he’s bad or wouldn’t be a valuable asset down the road but maybe focus on his defensive side as much as he focuses on his offensive side.
Kane one of a kind, no comparisons. If a GM was starting a NHL team his first choices have to be Gretzky, then or Kane or Lemieux or Orr or Henri Maurice “Rocket” Richard. Rare company to be in, but he’s that good. Kane makes every one better the only comparison has to be the Greatest One Gretzky. Kane did look a little dejected after he scored 400 and he turn his eyes to the crowd only to see an empty stadium shrouded in corporate logos. Lankinen faced 45 shots too many from such a weak wings team, he looked solid, rebound control good. Carpenter’s hard work finally tilts in his favor. Solid team win verse a really bad Wings team. Thursday the real season starts, so far so good. It should be a fun run, unexpectedly so.
I love Jonathan Bernier . . . I could not help but wonder how the Hawks could coax him to our side, if Hawks make the playoffs he could give you 4 or 5 solid ( brick wall) performances, think of Lehner or even Darling vs. Nashville.
Go Hawks
Things ugly in Buffalo. Don’t think they’ll do it but what if we take Okposo and their #1 for our #4 and Shaw.
Another one I would think about is $6mil of Skinner’s deal and their #1 for our #7 and no. 7 (with his permission of course)
Afterwards if need be can we eat $3mil of Skinner’s deal and pass him on to his next team if he’s not helping out here? To think I was high on skinner being on our team but not at $9mil.
Phew!!!! Happy that “400 thing” is over. Much better for the entire team to play without the added pressure of trying to get Kane that milestone. Especially with the Stanley Cup champion juggernaut fixin the steal our lunch … again, and again, and again. Need the lads to focus on the task at hand shift by shift and nothing more.
Thank you to Detroit for just being you and lending your offensive ineptness to give our team a nice springboard of confidence heading into the games against Tampa.
88 + 12 = 100! Just sayin … might be becoming a thing. Which is nice.
I was sitting in front of my TV last night and although the home team wore different looking uniforms I was pretty sure I was watching the Chicago Blackhawks versus the Detroit Redwings … but I must have been mistaken because there was a player with the number 27 and the name Boqvist on his back that I saw make several good defensive plays and this guy on the internet that wasn’t true, so it must have been some other #27 named Boqvist on some other team. Man, I’m glad I got corrected on that one. Thank goodness for the truth we read on the internet.
Nalimov coming to play in North America apparently, sounds like a PTO in Rfd. maybe.
EB i noticed that #27 guy too last night making good dfensive plays.
Nalimov coming to N.A. … seriously? I kinda wrote him off figuring he was going to Shalunov the Hawks where he mentions the NHL only to get leverage for his next KHL contract. Hopefully Scott Powers doesn’t write teasing articles about him because then we know he’s going full Shalunov on us. :-)
@RyanD, Thanks for sharing your story, I hope you and your family find comfort through what is clearly a difficult time.
knuckle head
you won’t get arguments about kane being a special player and a major contributor to the run of three cup wins, but let’s not get over our skis on where he fits among the all time greats. he wasn’t even the best player on the hawks during the cup runs. that was toews being compared to crosby as the best player in the game during those years. if the hawks were forced by the league to trade one of their best players of that era kane would have been gone before toews and keith and not unlikely hossa.
the funny thing is that this could be the best year of his career. no toews, hossa, seabrook, sharp, hjalmarsson, crawford to play with and keith a shadow of the player he once was. yet kane is on an 82 game pace to produce 121 points and +32. that’s 11 and 15 points better than his two best seasons to date and +15 better than his best year. he has only been a double digit plus player in 5 of his 13 years. all of this production with no top six center and arguably the least talented roster he has played with. funny how that corresponds to the season in which he is playing the best defense of his career. he is having a sensational season and carrying this team on it’s back. not only hustling all over the ice, but being the leader this team needs. he should be rewarded with the “c” on his sweater right now. if he had played the 200′ game his whole career he might be in the conversation of the greats of all time. if he isn’t the league mvp this year the award should be abolished. the hawks would be contending for the first pick in the draft without kane.
The 400th for Kane was typically a beautiful goal. 7-2, but the Wings had 45 shots on goal. Way too much. Ryandale, peace to you and your family.
I thought Mitchell quietly had a nice game. Well positioned, good anticipation, used his stick well and nicely broke up a few plays before they turned into anything.
On Boqvist, I agree on his passing. He sees the ice at an elite level which allows him to anticipate where the play should go and put the puck into the most advantageous position. In other words, he uses his passing to direct the flow which isn’t something most guys can do. That said, he had a lot of time last night and he won’t always get that. A couple of other things about him are that he moves the puck quickly (even when he is not under pressure), and he is very good at finding seams and open ice for himself once he has made a pass. Last night was a good glimpse into his potential.
Reminded me of last year when we allowed a ridiculous number of shots against on a regular basis. Glad we won, but have to agree with John Galt’s assessment. We played tight and Lankinen kept us in it. Kane’s 400th almost seemed anti-climactic to me. The next few games will be painful to watch, so I’ll savor this one for a couple of days.
MRFENN……nice win against and undermanned Wings team. I would suggest the Hawks would look different with Toews, Dach, Strome, Shaw and Nylander. However I agree it was a nice win.
March will really tell us about alot young Hawks team. To me, if the Hawks are able to go 5-5-4 in March it is a great sign for the future and would be a great success.
Boquist has had his issues defensively but the numbers back up his improving defensive play as does the eye test
To my eye Boquist is doing at least as well as Mitchell in the D zone and when you consider that 27 is a better passer out of the D zone you could argue he’s been the better of the two since his return to the line up from Covid and that’s not counting his offensive contributions yet I rarely if ever hear any criticism of Mitchell
I like Mitchell as well but I don’t get why people insist on running down Boquist but spare others – is it because he’s the youngest and the easiest to pick on? Is it because Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes are out scoring him? Is it fear that he’ll live up to his high draft selection and that would mean Stan had done a good job drafting him? Is it because people would rather have Evan Bouchard or Noah Dobson?
Boquist has a lot of potential that we’re only starting to see – it’s perfectly fine to criticize but to cherry-pick plays out of a game where he played well just to support a personal narrative is missing the bigger picture IMO
Well put Wrap. Especially the cherry picking comment.
i very much appreciate the comments. After posting, I was afraid I may have been a bit out of line. The replies are very humbling.
I’ve always enjoyed what folks have to say here.
Go Hawks,
this season has been fun to follow!
RyanDale- Thanks for the beautiful perspective of how a game impacts the circle of life. May you and your father find peace in these difficult days.
Ian – Interesting story on Nalimov. Where has he been playing? At 26 years old I would think his window for the NHL is closing fast. I saw that Comesso played in both games for BU this weekend – one in relief and one start. Apparently BU’s policy was that he had to sit for 30 days due to Covid.
JR,I have no idea what happened to Skinner.His career took a nose dive shortly after he arrived in Buffalo.That is a terrible Contrct.I would think Buffalo would have to eat more than half of that Contract before he gets an opportunity to revive his career.Off topic,I would not mind seeing Hagel get some shifts with Kane and Debrincat separately.His puck retrieval skills would mesh nicely and it might enhance his touch around the net.
RD, keep posting here even if once a yr it brings good vibes to the team.
There isint any flatlanders here so posting on things like that/other are cool with me/I do.
Kaikunane Maluhia.
Mo, “Kaikunane Maluhia” – is that the Finn d-man Stan is trying to sign? :-)
I just checked up on Nalimov and he’s playing for Dynamo Riga which is the worst team in the KHL. The team is like a clearing house for the league – they’ve had 8 goalies and 55 skaters suit up for them this season. Nalimov’s save percentage is 0.877 which is 3rd best on the team behind 0.889 and 0.887. They have only 1 player on the team that isn’t a “-” and that player has a +/- of ZERO. Sheesh – no wonder he wants to leave for somewhere else … anywhere else … please.
RD, it wasn’t out of line at all. I lost my girlfriend of over 10 years just a couple days before the Cubs won the NL pennant. As lifelong Cubs fans, witnessing them accomplish that and then winning the WS a couple weeks later gave my family the smallest of escapes from reality, even if for a brief period. At the time, I even felt guilty about enjoying the moments, although not nearly as much as I would have had we need lost her unexpectedly, but later on I realized those two special moments really helped me and my family cope with her death in some weird way.
EB if Nalimov doesn’t play good never see him beyond a couple of games in Rfd., nothing to lose really. Supposedly terminated his Khl contract on his way. Need to isolate and everything so be awhile before you see him if at all or there is anything to it.
Rockford having goalie issues, Morris and Tomkins not working as good as hoped. Goalies a hot ticket on waiver wire this season, so bought a couple of weeks of Delia for them without waivers on conditioning stint and Nalimov be close to playing by then, maybe brought in as help there for this season, not really anything to do with Nhl roster. If he performs then that’s gravy, if he doesn’t nothing lost.
So funny to watch the Boqvist Kool-aid drinkers who watch him with their Boqvist rose colored glasses defend him so much when his flaws are pointed out. Others ask why it’s only Boqvist that gets ripped and not Mitchell or others? Because nobody is singing their praises from the rafters.
Boqvist is a defenseman he was drafted as a defenseman not a forward. His defense is horrendous. I know I get it he’s young. He’s learning blah blah blah. But he improved his play last night? Oh Ok against Detroit.
I have never said for him to be sent down nor that he doesn’t belong in the NHL just that his defense leaves much to be desired but that also leads to this. It’s how Stan and JC are not only changing the make up of the system but how the NHL is going to go forward in the future. Offensive defensemen not to be used for occasional play but for the full 60 minutes. If you’ve paid attention to the games you would see every defenseman jump into the play in the O zone from the drop of the puck. Now go look at how many SOG the HAWKS give up every game. It’s not about defending anymore or soon will be but until that time he needs to step up his defensive play.
@Ian not sure what happened with Alexis Gravel but that kid was good. Seen him at 2 camps and was better than most but since there was such a log jam at goalie and his only option would be Indy I guess he figured he was better off elsewhere.
hawks 29
I hear ya about the ski’s. The one thing that stands out about KANE is his ability to play on all four lines and his power play effectiveness and how he can set up others. The Big thing is every team know this BUT they cant stop him and he’s a small dude, 5′ -7″ opponents should be able to drive in thru the glass into the cheap seats. they can’t. I’m a Black Hawks Lifer, and to me, I could be wrong ( often am) but KANE hasn’t really played on many great lines in his time that elevate his skills to the max. Never on a consistent line for 3 or 4 years it”s been a crap shoot.(salary cap )
I’m not certain Toews and Kane where the optimum line mates? Toews with his skill set and size should average 35 goals a year easy and he did that only once in 2019 and 23 of those goals are on the power play. Toews is a great defensive forward but his size and offensive skill should produce bigger numbers. I still think KANE has been the Hawk MVP since 2009. Kane is just so much fun to watch.
Nameless, see Gravel back with his Junior team Halufax Mooseheads as an overager, before league shutdown he played 11 games and had an uninspiring 3.89 gaa and .883 sv%. Not a rwal strong team but not numbers that win you elcs either. I was high on him when drafted, trended up for a while then seemed to lose his confidence.
Boqvist is never going to be a physical presence but as he is starting to find his offensive game his defense has improved as well. He will still fill out for a year or 2 yet if he can be a serviceable defensively with his offensive ability why would you not want it. If you look recently it hasn’t been him on the ice for very many of goals Blackhawks have given up lately. Seems like if anything can be tied to him right or wrong it will be well noted though. Question you ever hear his teammates do anything but defend him and be impressed with his potential.
Nameless and Ian- the Hawks don’t own the rights to Gravel anymore as they elected not to sign him last year.
Nameless – because I defend Boquist against endless your Boquist Bashing which you admit to doing disproportionately compared to others just because somebody sang his praises and not for any rational reason then I’m a Kool Aid drinker…
Well ok then keep on doing your thang, owning the Boquist lovers
Nameless, you have it completely backwards. There hasn’t been a chorus singing the praises of Boqvist that needs to be tamped down by you and others – there has been a chorus of negativity on Boqvist that me and some others feel compelled to balance with the reality that we’re seeing. I haven’t seen one comment stating Boqvist is a great d-man or doesn’t need to improve, whereas I’ve seen plenty of comments that focus only on the negative.
Here’s my current bottom line on Boqvist. He has made improvements. He needs to make a lot more improvements before he would be considered an adequate NHL caliber d-man. He has time and fortunately the Hawks are in a place where they can afford him that time. They seem to think he’s worth it – regardless what the internet peanut gallery thinks.
The best/to players of all time wernt always the the best/top playoff players. Look at Hoss.
Nameless.
Like all young or very young Dman when they arrive in NHL ,,,the kid needs time …younger need more time because they are younger …I remember Keith when he arrive with the Hawks..and he was older and had 2 full years experience with Rockford.he was 21 or 22 y young when he had his first season in Nhl .
The kid will not be the Dman you wish to have now and not next year but maybe starting the year after ….mean 23 and better in 24@25 …I am far from being an expert but I trust the coaching staff and the organization and I will let those professionals decide what to do with The players they have now. Maybe you are right but I Prefer to trust them with what they do. So far they seem to know the game and their young and very young players.
I prefer Grape . ;)
knuckle
agree on kane’s linemates. imagine if he had played with a mikita and a secord. or an assist machine at center year after year. much to be said for his adaptability to excel in all situations.
the cup run were teams that i felt were greater than the sum of their parts. a different hero every night and players who would not be as effective playing elsewhere.
hawks lifer also. four stanley cups and two olympic gold medals. and so many thrills at chicago stadium. imo the greatest place ever to watch a hockey or bball game.
Okie yes i knew that, but just meaning if Gravel earns a contract he would be signed to an elc by Blackhawks or any team.
ER, its a Hawaiian defenseman.
Do they play much hockey in Hawaii? I dunno … I’m thinking Stan should stick to mining gems from the Euro leagues :-)
Hawks prospect goalie Ivan nalimov and his khl team agree to terminate his contract. He’s heading to the USA to continue his career. Probably Ahl deal with Rockford.
This is completely off topic, but I just saw an article that the Athletic posted this afternoon listing 28 players who could be traded at the deadline this year. What I found interesting was that they had Strome listed as 6th. The article states that they don’t believe the Hawks are actively shopping him, but that according to one source ”they’ll listen regarding him” if a team is interested. I just found it ironic that the injuries/illnesses to Toews and Dach should have given Strome an opportunity to cement his future with this team. But instead, Toews and Dach’s absences showed the Hawks that they could still win games(albeit in the short term) without them and at least recently, without Strome as well. Couple that with the emergence of Suter and Kurashev, who can each play wing or center, and Barratt, also a center, waiting in the wings for a bottom six opportunity, and I think the Hawks are probably wondering the same thing that a lot of commenters on this site have wondered, which is-If Toews, Dach, and Kampf are centers 1,2, and 4, where does Strome fit in? I’ve posited that Strome could be an effective center 3 on a more scoring focused line, but if the Hawks disagree, then where does he land in our lineup? Perhaps the Hawks are going to use the fact that he’s a young center at a reasonable cap hit for this year and next to see if they can pry an asset from another team. It will be interesting to see if that’s the route they go. Personally, because he’s on such a reasonable cap hit, I would hold and see how he looks for the rest of this season unless the Hawks are really taken back by an offer. But maybe the Hawks have seen enough. Or maybe they feel better about their overall center depth than they did two years ago..adding Dach, Suter, Kurashev, and Barratt to the mix may have swung the pendulum away from Strome.
Slayer,I know Strome has his supporters but my opinion is that he has had 5 years to improve himself and it has not happened.He is soft on the puck,is not fond of back checking,and his skating is still terrible.When the trade for him happened the Coyote beat writers were celebrating and practically giddy to be able to move both him and Perlini in the same trade.I really have never understood his inconsistent lackadaisical play.No edge to him at all.Maybe he comes back post concussion a more consistent player.I would like to see say 6 games in a row where he is noticeable and the top center on the ice.If he is healthy,throwing away this chance to be a top center is really a shame.
Slayer, Strome maybe more of a next year tdl deal on expiring contract. Best case i see is with Dach and Toews back healthy is Dach between 12 and 88, Strome as top 6 center depth can be a winger who feeds 35+ potential goal scorer in Kubalik the way he does Debrincat. Long term Reichel’s progression says he may be their winger as early as midseason next year. Hopefully as placekeeper Strome shows enough there and draws some interest from a playoff team at tdl. Suter, Hagel and Kurashev set a good bar for a buzz saw type 3rd line with Nylander and some Rfd. prospects providing options.
Slayer/Ian – agree Strome is on a slippery slope as far as maintaining his spot on the team however you can see there is an opportunity for him when he comes back because Wallmark doesn’t give you much offence
Have to think the Hawks wait until at least TDL 2022 before making a decision on him – if they were to trade him they’d to have his replacement ready whether that’s Suter, Kurashev, Barrett or somebody else and that’s not certain yet
I’d still like him to put it together and it’s possible he will but he’s running out of opportunities to prove he can in CHI whether he realizes it or not
Best 23man roster we can gather by the time young wave core is really ready. We can do/get better then Schmaltz/Strome for 3rd line center these players are not top 6 quality. Not in the terms of a top 5 team top 6 player and that is the goal. Best 23man that is top 5 team quality.
Players like Kurachev Suter other could be top 6/donot know that yet. Sure we want to have a stacked top 9 which means some that would be top 6 will be 3rd line just like Sharpy did when we were deep and Saad did. It was Bicks that allowed this/and just being that deep top 9 deep.
To me though those players need to be able to play top 6 at times like 10 and 20 did depending on matchups and create lines that shutdown other teams lines. It wasnt 10 19 81 that stopped BOS top line that smeared PIT4-0. We had to do 20 19 81 to stop them and they did the rest of the way/basically.
So I mean 92 17 donot have to be as good of players as 10 20 they do/or whoever in in those spots needs to be able to do exactly that. That is if its a player like Sharpy well Debrincat fit that description to a tee. Sharpy was good at D 12 is getting better both are snipers. Same thing. 10 was not as good at D as 20 so that spot needs to be filled maybe the Reichel dude is that player/hows Suter at D is he anything like a Saader.
92 17 I donot see cutting it for those spots. And I realize there is more spots then just what 10 20 did. We do need every spot filled. So keep bringing in the goods from eruo and other good trades like
Hartman for Beau Kurachev
5th for Kubalik
5th? for Kaynuk
Keep coming keep reloading
Mo agree you need 3rd line players and even one or 2 4th line guys that can play top 6 and without missing a step if needed, plus callups as well. That’s exactly what you need to survive long seasons and playoff runs. The thing that Strome has that you need, is he has good chemistry with your star players which is not something that can be replaced all that easily, definitely an asset as injuries, slumps happen.
@ER, Ian and wrap.
Again Boqvist was drafted as a defenseman. Being a defenseman it’s his defense that needs to improve period. I also know that he will never be sent down to develop same with Mitchell. Why? Because they are RHD’s which they don’t have to fill the roster. It’s a big reason why Beaudin was sent down to get ice time and develop. Too many LHD’s on the roster and when he played much like Carlsson it was on the right side.
I’m hoping for the best for Boqvist and the rest of the young defensemen but right now it’s learning and developing on steroids. Boqvist has a lot of learning to do and I’d prefer he take it slowly and when I see the improvement I’ll be the first to say it. Again they don’t have anybody to fill his spot so he’s it. And I would rather he not try to correct the mistakes in the game but rather watch tape and work on it in practice. Over thinking on the ice in a game usually leads to injuries and I don’t want that.
Also this thing about less goals being scored? I’m sorry but when you’re giving up 40+ shots on goal per game give the credit to the goalie not the defensemen who allowed that to happen. They all need to stop with their offensive follies and get back to playing defense.
These kids are going to make a great defensive team in the future and I wish circumstances were different where Beaudin,Boqvist,Mitchell,Carlsson and Kalynuk all played together for a year in Rockford and developed together and got some chemistry. Pipe dream I know but….
And @Ian read a bit about Gravel after posting and it seems this kid’s ego and bad attitude could fill an Olympic Stadium. But he did look good in the camps I seen him play in.
Ian,The way that Debrincat and Kane have upped their all around games by playing better in the defensive zone and skating their rearends off,I would not want Strome anywhere near them.The play drastically slows down when he is on the ice.I just think the time for him to be in the top 6 has passed him by.
stick tap to all of you!
Tim W, Kane and Cat had lots of time not playing with Strome before and both have said they very much enjoy playing with him. Doubt very much one has anything to do with the other, problem with them together game in game out is they don’t check enough boxes collectively for a regular line. Suter or most likely Dach next year provide more of those checks we’ve talked about before.
Depth is big thing as this year has shown, these young forwards and goalies have changed our thinking from how much are they going to drag the team down by having them in there, to how much their play is picking the team up and taking it to higher level, having too much is good problem not a bad one. Have to that think about that with defense too, if injuries decimate blueline next season like top 6 this year and Dehaan is traded, Seattle takes Carlsson all of sudden blueline depth starts becomes thin instead of crowded. Something to be said for using their waiver exempt players like Beaudin and Kalynuk as depth to step in for injuries and the quality doesn’t drop or maybe even increase with depth playing. If your depending on say Bowey, Lindholm or a Krys who hasn’t yet shown to be a Nhler yet, their capable but their limited to how much help they can bring. That buys another year for pipeline to produce more quality depth on blueline.
Ian,they are friends with Strome,of course they are going to say that they love playing with Strome.Fortunately the Hawks coaches can see the reality,along with all of us,and have chosen to separate them.He is not going to change.We need physical and active wingers and centers that are hard on the puck,consistent,and play with an edge and Strome does not check any of those boxes.