Thursday, March 10, 2011
Medvanko's Magical Pick of the Night (2-1])
Alright we got back on track with Da Bulls beating down the lowly Bobkits. Tonight we are going back to the Big East tourny with a semi upset pick. Medvanks rolling with Cincinnati +2 vs the Fighting Irish of ND. This is a coin flip, and I'm rolling with the dog. Why? I feel Cincy is long and athletic enough to disrupt ND on the perimeter, and that is how ND gets rolling. If Cincy can make them miss some early 3's I don't see how ND can stay in this game. Don't get me wrong it should be close the entire way, but I just don't see ND hanging around with the Bearcats on the inside, and I'm betting ND has an off night from 3. Good Luck, Roll the Dice and Go Bearcats!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Medvanko's Magical Pick of the Night (1-1])
Yesterday was rough, Seton Hall didn't seal the deal and we lost a game that was a winner. It's fine today is a new day and we have the best team in the NBA playing the worst. Today is real easy, we are picking the Bulls -7.5 vs the Charlotte Bobkits. Once again the Bobkits couldn't beat a NBA D League team let alone come within 10 points of a rolling Bulls squad. This will be over at half time, good luck roll the dice and Go Bulls!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Medvanko's Magical Pick of the Night (1-0)
Good morning, Medvanko here with play 2 of the Magical Picks. Today we are rolling with Seton Hall -4 vs Rutgers in the first round of Big East Tourney play. Seton Hall seems to be peaking at the right time, a prideful squad here with a senior leader named Hazell who can shoot the lights out and should be a productive NBA swing-man. Last time these two teams match up it was in Rutgers backyard and Hall prevailed by 5. I just don't see how a much better Seton Hall team doesn't beat this squad by 8-10 points. I see a 83-75 Seton Hall victory, and I will be putting 3.2 units on this play. Roll the dice, Good Luck and Go Seton Hall -4
Monday, March 7, 2011
Medvanko's Magical Pick of the Night
What's up guys, Medvanko here and from tonight forward I will be posting one play every night that I am fully confident on. This is what we call "Line Sniping", if we lose we don't chase we move on to the next day and make it back. Tonight's play is going to come off odd at first because it's a team who has only won 5 times the entire year on the road, but they are the PLAY because of the team they are playing is absolutely horrific. They would have trouble competing against a top NBA D League squad. Tonight's play is the LA Clippers +1 visiting the Bobkits of Charlotte. Risking 3.2 units .. Roll the Dice and Good Luck
Monday, February 21, 2011
Blackhawks Update 2-21 (JC)
Since, the last posting, the Blackhawks have played 4 games. Three at home and one in St. Louis. We have won 3 of the last 4, but the Blackhawks have to keep things interesting in every game.
In my last post, I requested the Blackhawks take 5 of 6 possible points during their home stretch. They took 4, but had to fight tooth and nail for all 4 points and they lost a tough game to Columbus. They went on the road today (2-21) and beat the Blues for a very important 2 points. The thing about this years Blackhawks is that they do not make any game easy.
What has me most concerned at this point is the lack of depth this team has. Yes, they were gutted because of salary cap issues after winning the Cup, but it's guys like Stalberg, Kopecky, and Scott that really baffle me. Stalberg doesn't score nor does he hit so he does not have much going for him. Kopecky is a big body energy type, but he isn't great with the puck nor is he great without it. Watching him closely makes me realize why he was a healthy scratch often last year. The expectations I had for him this year was to do Buff's job from last year and Kopecky has failed miserably at that. John Scott is a horrible skater, he doesn't score goals, he doesn't bring a physical checking presence, but yes, he is a good fighter, but not many are challenging him anymore. Watching him out there makes me miss Burish and Eager so much. As dumb as they were at times, they were able to make things happen in all areas of the game. With these three being glaring issues, it forces the coaching staff to roll two lines in the 3rd period. Brouwer and Ryan Johnson (who should be playing all the time now) have worked their way into special teams and late game minutes do come in relief, but I believe that running two lines in the third is hindering this team late in games. What made the Hawks so great last year was being able to put a 4th line on the ice in a tight game in the third. We were always able to send our best out relatively fresh late in the game. Now, we haven't had that ability to do that and it shows. If the Blackhawks want a chance to defend the Cup, they're going to have to figure out how to get the 3rd and 4th lines trustworthy.
What has been a great thing for the Blackhawks so far is the play of Corey Crawford. I'm even crazy enough to admit he is better than what Antti was for us. Crawford faces many shots every night and keeps us in every game. Don't get me wrong, Antti was the "Finnish Fortress" last year, but he also had a stout D. Unfortunately, our D this season has been suspect, but Crawford has held his ground. I would like to believe the Bowman's will resign him at the end of the season.
With that being said, the Hawks are in the thick of it for the playoffs and still haven't had a hot stretch yet this season. They round out this month with a major tilt in Nashville on 2-24, and two conference battles with Phoenix (2-27 in Chi) and 2-28 in Minnesota. Lets aim for 5 points again with wins against Nashville and Phoenix. Hell, lets just win them all!
Trade deadline is approaching. It would be interesting to know what the Bowman's and the rest of the Hawks brass are thinking. Keep an eye out for transactions. If any were to happen, they will be broken down here.
Standings through 2-21
1. Vancouver 85 (4 pt week)
2. Detroit 80 (6 pt week)
3. Phoenix 73 (6 pt week)
4. San Jose 72 (6 pt week)
5. Nashville 70 (3 pt week)
6. Calgary 70 (6 pt week)
7. Minnesota 68 (3 pt week)
8. Dallas 68 (0 pt week)
9. Los Angeles 68 (3 pt week)
10. Anaheim 68 (0 pt week)
11. BLACKHAWKS 68 (6 pt week)
12. Columbus 64 (3 pt week)
13. St. Louis 63 (6 pt week)
14. Colorado 57 (1 pt week)
15. Edmonton 46 (6 pt week)
Trending up: Phoenix, Detroit, BLACKHAWKS, Calgary, Edmonton, St. Louis and San Jose all had 6 points this past week
Leaking Oil: Dallas and Anaheim had 0 point weeks and Colorado had 1 point. Colorado has only had 1 point in the last two blog postings.
In my last post, I requested the Blackhawks take 5 of 6 possible points during their home stretch. They took 4, but had to fight tooth and nail for all 4 points and they lost a tough game to Columbus. They went on the road today (2-21) and beat the Blues for a very important 2 points. The thing about this years Blackhawks is that they do not make any game easy.
What has me most concerned at this point is the lack of depth this team has. Yes, they were gutted because of salary cap issues after winning the Cup, but it's guys like Stalberg, Kopecky, and Scott that really baffle me. Stalberg doesn't score nor does he hit so he does not have much going for him. Kopecky is a big body energy type, but he isn't great with the puck nor is he great without it. Watching him closely makes me realize why he was a healthy scratch often last year. The expectations I had for him this year was to do Buff's job from last year and Kopecky has failed miserably at that. John Scott is a horrible skater, he doesn't score goals, he doesn't bring a physical checking presence, but yes, he is a good fighter, but not many are challenging him anymore. Watching him out there makes me miss Burish and Eager so much. As dumb as they were at times, they were able to make things happen in all areas of the game. With these three being glaring issues, it forces the coaching staff to roll two lines in the 3rd period. Brouwer and Ryan Johnson (who should be playing all the time now) have worked their way into special teams and late game minutes do come in relief, but I believe that running two lines in the third is hindering this team late in games. What made the Hawks so great last year was being able to put a 4th line on the ice in a tight game in the third. We were always able to send our best out relatively fresh late in the game. Now, we haven't had that ability to do that and it shows. If the Blackhawks want a chance to defend the Cup, they're going to have to figure out how to get the 3rd and 4th lines trustworthy.
What has been a great thing for the Blackhawks so far is the play of Corey Crawford. I'm even crazy enough to admit he is better than what Antti was for us. Crawford faces many shots every night and keeps us in every game. Don't get me wrong, Antti was the "Finnish Fortress" last year, but he also had a stout D. Unfortunately, our D this season has been suspect, but Crawford has held his ground. I would like to believe the Bowman's will resign him at the end of the season.
With that being said, the Hawks are in the thick of it for the playoffs and still haven't had a hot stretch yet this season. They round out this month with a major tilt in Nashville on 2-24, and two conference battles with Phoenix (2-27 in Chi) and 2-28 in Minnesota. Lets aim for 5 points again with wins against Nashville and Phoenix. Hell, lets just win them all!
Trade deadline is approaching. It would be interesting to know what the Bowman's and the rest of the Hawks brass are thinking. Keep an eye out for transactions. If any were to happen, they will be broken down here.
Standings through 2-21
1. Vancouver 85 (4 pt week)
2. Detroit 80 (6 pt week)
3. Phoenix 73 (6 pt week)
4. San Jose 72 (6 pt week)
5. Nashville 70 (3 pt week)
6. Calgary 70 (6 pt week)
7. Minnesota 68 (3 pt week)
8. Dallas 68 (0 pt week)
9. Los Angeles 68 (3 pt week)
10. Anaheim 68 (0 pt week)
11. BLACKHAWKS 68 (6 pt week)
12. Columbus 64 (3 pt week)
13. St. Louis 63 (6 pt week)
14. Colorado 57 (1 pt week)
15. Edmonton 46 (6 pt week)
Trending up: Phoenix, Detroit, BLACKHAWKS, Calgary, Edmonton, St. Louis and San Jose all had 6 points this past week
Leaking Oil: Dallas and Anaheim had 0 point weeks and Colorado had 1 point. Colorado has only had 1 point in the last two blog postings.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Blackhawks Update V-Day (JC)
Well, the six game road trip has come and gone and the Blackhawks got the bear minimum points needed from this trip to stay in the thick of the playoff push (6 points) but they sure went about it in a really awkward way.
Last time I blogged, the Blackhawks were coming off a tough loss to Vancouver, but they showed flashes of what made them great last year. So as most Hawk fans became excited in thinking they might have figured out their game again and we could of possibly been primed for a run. They went to Calgary after Vancouver and just laid an egg. Granted, Calgary has been on fire, but they are not on the same talent level as the Hawks and we have had great success in the "Dome" and against Kippursoff. Calgary played a real solid game and won 3-1. It was a tough loss in that we could only muster one goal against Kippursoff who the Hawks have had so much success against and along with that, they did not play with the fury and energy they had against the Canucks.
Two days after that, the Blackhawks traveled to Edmonton to face the young and lowly Oilers. As expected, the Blackhawks beat them soundly 4-1. Not much to comment on this other than that they split the season series with Edmonton 2-2 losing both games at home earlier in the season. They should of taken at least 7 from them, but would of, could of, should of is for losers. At least they won this game at this point in the season.
They then made the long flight to Dallas for the Friday night tilt against the Pacific Division leading Stars. The Blackhawks opened up the first period with arguably their best period of the year. They scored 3 goals in 9 shots and allowed 5 shots. Patrick Kane had 3 points (1 G & 2 A) Sharp and Seabrook had the other 2 goals with Toews adding 2 helpers. You couldn't of asked for a better first period on the road against a strong team...but hockey is 3 periods, not one. Even though the score was still 3-0 most of the second, the Stars began gaining confidence in their play and when Robidas scored with 4 minutes left in the 2nd, the Stars got a breath of life and the Hawks were treading water hard. A late goaltender interference on Brouwer gave the Stars to pull the game within one and they scored that goal with 4 seconds left in the period. The Hawks have developed a bad habit of allowing late goals in periods and this was perhaps the worst of the season. Now the Stars had 20 minutes to at least tie the game and they had the Hawks on their heels. Just when things couldn't have been going anymore wrong for the Hawks, Brendan Morrow scored 47 seconds into the 3rd period. Now that wonderful first period went completely to waste and we had ourselves a game. Both teams battled the rest of the third to a scoreless tie and 5 minutes in OT couldn't solve the game so a shootout was the only thing left. Jesse Rogers on ESPN Chicago said (probably as a half joke) that Coach Q should of put Crawford in for the shootout (Turco played in his first game back to Dallas). Crawford probably would of given the Hawks a better chance. Toews scored on the first attempt for the Hawks, but Dallas scored on all three and ended the game. It was a very disappointing 1 point earned and what made it worse was Turco's homecoming being ruined. The guys played hard for him, but the same mistakes keep being repeated by the Hawks. On a different tune, the Dallas Stars gave Turco a very positive and warm reception. Turco gave them many solid years and most importantly, Turco is a good person.
So after a very tough loss on Friday, they had to fly to Phoenix to play the Coyotes Saturday night. It looked like the Hawks were gassed and Pisani, Stalberg and Johnson got banged up against the Stars, so Coach Q only had to work with 9 forwards in the 3rd period of the Stars game so they guys were most likely a little bit tired, but in a bit of a surprise, the Hawks started out the game against the Coyotes playing very solid. They were creating scoring chances and pressuring the Coyotes into sloppy passing and they never allowed the Coyotes to develop any rhythm. For the first 13 minutes of the first period, the Hawks were the aggressors and were creating scoring chances. Unfortunately, they couldn't capitalize and with a combination of a great transition/Hawks not being in perfect position, Vrbata, scored a beautiful breakaway goal on Crawford. The Hawks were able to hold on to be down a goal after one, but for the second game in a row, they allowed an early in the second when Pyatt scored. Now down two, the Hawks had their backs against the wall and for the first time in a long time, they clawed their way back. Browuer scored a PP goal with just under 7 minutes left in the second and the Hawks had life. They clamped down defensively from there on out lead by Duncan Keith who is really starting play the way we have become accustomed to seeing. His positioning has been much better which I also think has to do with the fact he isn't on the ice for about half the game. He and Leddy have been sharing the ice together and Leddy has been very solid for only being 19 years old. In the third, the Hawks were solid and Crawford was making some great saves, but they were still down one until we got a PP with just over 5 minutes left. Within a few seconds of getting that PP, Duncan Keith hit a screaming bullet between Bryzgalov's legs and just like that the Hawks made a comeback to tie a game late! Now for once, late in a game, we were the aggressors and the Coyotes were on their heels. We generated a few chances, but Bryzgalov was rock solid and the game went into OT. There were a few shots for both teams, but none better when Kane missed a golden opportunity on an all alone breakaway. I do not question anything that Patrick Kane can do with the puck, but I thought at least we would of had Bryzgalov moving side to side and what many people didn't realize was that Sharp was trailing right behind Kane. Kane could of forced Bryzgalov to commit to one him which then would of setup an easy goal for Sharp, but like I said, I will not question Patrick Kane on the decision he made. It was a coin flip between great player and great goalie and the goalie won in that battle. Unfortunately for the second night in a row, we lost in a shootout, but this time we couldn't score a goal. Crawford only allowed one goal to Vrbata and we had a chance to tie it in the third frame, but Hossa couldn't make it happen. Some have questioned why Sharp wasn't out there, but Hossa is completely capable of scoring goals. He just didn't score there.
So 2's were wild on the 6 game road trip. 2-2-2 was the record. 6 points was the bear minimum required to hold ground, but it really wasn't pretty. This week, the Blackhawks have three games at home against the Wild, Blue Jackets, and Penguins. I'd like to see 5 points out of this week. The Wild and Blue Jackets aren't better than the Hawks and the Penguins are losing players for every reason possible. Now would be a good time to make a move in the standings.
Western Conference Standings as of 2-14-11
1. Vancouver 81 (4 pt week)
2. Detroit 74 (6 pt week)
3. Dallas 68 (3 pt week)
4. Anaheim 68 (6 pt week)
5. Nashville 67 (4 pt week)
6. Phoenix 67 (6 pt week)
7. San Jose 66 (4 pt week)
8. Minnesota 65 (6 pt week)
9. Los Angeles 65 (5 pt week)
10. Calgary 64 (5 pt week)
11. BLACKHAWKS 62 (4 pt week)
12. Columbus 61 (6 pt week)
13. St. Louis 57 (3 pt week)
14. Colorado 56 (0 pt week)
15. Edmonton 40 (2 pt week)
HOT: Phoenix, Columbus, Minnesota, Anaheim, Detroit all with 6 points
NOT: Edmonton (2 points), Colorado (0 points), St. Louis (3 points), Dallas (3 points)
Another big story for the Blackhawks this past week was Jack Skille being traded for Michael Frolik. The Hawks also traded prospects Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan and received Alexander Salak. Skille hasn't seen much time at all lately being a wing on a team of many wings he was also drafted by Dale Tallon. Even though Frolik prefers to play wing, he does have some experience at center and the Hawks have been fighting depth issues on the dot. Both Skille and Frolik have been considered underachievers, but Frolik scored 21 goals in his first 2 seasons and 50 overall (8 this season) so hopefully he can find the back of the net more often now that he is wearing the Indian Head Sweater. He has been seen on the same line with Hossa and Kopecky with Kopecky playing center.
In other business news, Stan Bowman has said he plans on extending Seabrook and he is looking for another defenseman. Should be interesting to see what unfolds over the next few weeks.
In other trade news, former Blackhawks hero Kris Versteeg was dealt to the Flyers today for a 1st and 3rd round pick. Not bad considering Toronto is going nowhere and Philly has established themselves as a strong candidate for the Cup.
Every game matters and every point counts. We are due for some points. We need to get this train moving!
COMMIT TO THE INDIAN!!!
Me at the Blackhawks Coyotes game in Phoenix!
Last time I blogged, the Blackhawks were coming off a tough loss to Vancouver, but they showed flashes of what made them great last year. So as most Hawk fans became excited in thinking they might have figured out their game again and we could of possibly been primed for a run. They went to Calgary after Vancouver and just laid an egg. Granted, Calgary has been on fire, but they are not on the same talent level as the Hawks and we have had great success in the "Dome" and against Kippursoff. Calgary played a real solid game and won 3-1. It was a tough loss in that we could only muster one goal against Kippursoff who the Hawks have had so much success against and along with that, they did not play with the fury and energy they had against the Canucks.
Two days after that, the Blackhawks traveled to Edmonton to face the young and lowly Oilers. As expected, the Blackhawks beat them soundly 4-1. Not much to comment on this other than that they split the season series with Edmonton 2-2 losing both games at home earlier in the season. They should of taken at least 7 from them, but would of, could of, should of is for losers. At least they won this game at this point in the season.
They then made the long flight to Dallas for the Friday night tilt against the Pacific Division leading Stars. The Blackhawks opened up the first period with arguably their best period of the year. They scored 3 goals in 9 shots and allowed 5 shots. Patrick Kane had 3 points (1 G & 2 A) Sharp and Seabrook had the other 2 goals with Toews adding 2 helpers. You couldn't of asked for a better first period on the road against a strong team...but hockey is 3 periods, not one. Even though the score was still 3-0 most of the second, the Stars began gaining confidence in their play and when Robidas scored with 4 minutes left in the 2nd, the Stars got a breath of life and the Hawks were treading water hard. A late goaltender interference on Brouwer gave the Stars to pull the game within one and they scored that goal with 4 seconds left in the period. The Hawks have developed a bad habit of allowing late goals in periods and this was perhaps the worst of the season. Now the Stars had 20 minutes to at least tie the game and they had the Hawks on their heels. Just when things couldn't have been going anymore wrong for the Hawks, Brendan Morrow scored 47 seconds into the 3rd period. Now that wonderful first period went completely to waste and we had ourselves a game. Both teams battled the rest of the third to a scoreless tie and 5 minutes in OT couldn't solve the game so a shootout was the only thing left. Jesse Rogers on ESPN Chicago said (probably as a half joke) that Coach Q should of put Crawford in for the shootout (Turco played in his first game back to Dallas). Crawford probably would of given the Hawks a better chance. Toews scored on the first attempt for the Hawks, but Dallas scored on all three and ended the game. It was a very disappointing 1 point earned and what made it worse was Turco's homecoming being ruined. The guys played hard for him, but the same mistakes keep being repeated by the Hawks. On a different tune, the Dallas Stars gave Turco a very positive and warm reception. Turco gave them many solid years and most importantly, Turco is a good person.
So after a very tough loss on Friday, they had to fly to Phoenix to play the Coyotes Saturday night. It looked like the Hawks were gassed and Pisani, Stalberg and Johnson got banged up against the Stars, so Coach Q only had to work with 9 forwards in the 3rd period of the Stars game so they guys were most likely a little bit tired, but in a bit of a surprise, the Hawks started out the game against the Coyotes playing very solid. They were creating scoring chances and pressuring the Coyotes into sloppy passing and they never allowed the Coyotes to develop any rhythm. For the first 13 minutes of the first period, the Hawks were the aggressors and were creating scoring chances. Unfortunately, they couldn't capitalize and with a combination of a great transition/Hawks not being in perfect position, Vrbata, scored a beautiful breakaway goal on Crawford. The Hawks were able to hold on to be down a goal after one, but for the second game in a row, they allowed an early in the second when Pyatt scored. Now down two, the Hawks had their backs against the wall and for the first time in a long time, they clawed their way back. Browuer scored a PP goal with just under 7 minutes left in the second and the Hawks had life. They clamped down defensively from there on out lead by Duncan Keith who is really starting play the way we have become accustomed to seeing. His positioning has been much better which I also think has to do with the fact he isn't on the ice for about half the game. He and Leddy have been sharing the ice together and Leddy has been very solid for only being 19 years old. In the third, the Hawks were solid and Crawford was making some great saves, but they were still down one until we got a PP with just over 5 minutes left. Within a few seconds of getting that PP, Duncan Keith hit a screaming bullet between Bryzgalov's legs and just like that the Hawks made a comeback to tie a game late! Now for once, late in a game, we were the aggressors and the Coyotes were on their heels. We generated a few chances, but Bryzgalov was rock solid and the game went into OT. There were a few shots for both teams, but none better when Kane missed a golden opportunity on an all alone breakaway. I do not question anything that Patrick Kane can do with the puck, but I thought at least we would of had Bryzgalov moving side to side and what many people didn't realize was that Sharp was trailing right behind Kane. Kane could of forced Bryzgalov to commit to one him which then would of setup an easy goal for Sharp, but like I said, I will not question Patrick Kane on the decision he made. It was a coin flip between great player and great goalie and the goalie won in that battle. Unfortunately for the second night in a row, we lost in a shootout, but this time we couldn't score a goal. Crawford only allowed one goal to Vrbata and we had a chance to tie it in the third frame, but Hossa couldn't make it happen. Some have questioned why Sharp wasn't out there, but Hossa is completely capable of scoring goals. He just didn't score there.
So 2's were wild on the 6 game road trip. 2-2-2 was the record. 6 points was the bear minimum required to hold ground, but it really wasn't pretty. This week, the Blackhawks have three games at home against the Wild, Blue Jackets, and Penguins. I'd like to see 5 points out of this week. The Wild and Blue Jackets aren't better than the Hawks and the Penguins are losing players for every reason possible. Now would be a good time to make a move in the standings.
Western Conference Standings as of 2-14-11
1. Vancouver 81 (4 pt week)
2. Detroit 74 (6 pt week)
3. Dallas 68 (3 pt week)
4. Anaheim 68 (6 pt week)
5. Nashville 67 (4 pt week)
6. Phoenix 67 (6 pt week)
7. San Jose 66 (4 pt week)
8. Minnesota 65 (6 pt week)
9. Los Angeles 65 (5 pt week)
10. Calgary 64 (5 pt week)
11. BLACKHAWKS 62 (4 pt week)
12. Columbus 61 (6 pt week)
13. St. Louis 57 (3 pt week)
14. Colorado 56 (0 pt week)
15. Edmonton 40 (2 pt week)
HOT: Phoenix, Columbus, Minnesota, Anaheim, Detroit all with 6 points
NOT: Edmonton (2 points), Colorado (0 points), St. Louis (3 points), Dallas (3 points)
Another big story for the Blackhawks this past week was Jack Skille being traded for Michael Frolik. The Hawks also traded prospects Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan and received Alexander Salak. Skille hasn't seen much time at all lately being a wing on a team of many wings he was also drafted by Dale Tallon. Even though Frolik prefers to play wing, he does have some experience at center and the Hawks have been fighting depth issues on the dot. Both Skille and Frolik have been considered underachievers, but Frolik scored 21 goals in his first 2 seasons and 50 overall (8 this season) so hopefully he can find the back of the net more often now that he is wearing the Indian Head Sweater. He has been seen on the same line with Hossa and Kopecky with Kopecky playing center.
In other business news, Stan Bowman has said he plans on extending Seabrook and he is looking for another defenseman. Should be interesting to see what unfolds over the next few weeks.
In other trade news, former Blackhawks hero Kris Versteeg was dealt to the Flyers today for a 1st and 3rd round pick. Not bad considering Toronto is going nowhere and Philly has established themselves as a strong candidate for the Cup.
Every game matters and every point counts. We are due for some points. We need to get this train moving!
COMMIT TO THE INDIAN!!!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Blackhawks Update 2-6 (JC)
Yes, this is being written during the Super Bowl and no I'm not watching it. I absolutely have no ability to stomach watching the Packers and the Steelers on the same field. The moment the Bears lost, I became all about the Blackhawks and Bulls. I will be doing Blackhawks blogging and my partner Medvenko will be focusing on the Bulls. We will address the Bears once we know that there will be football next season and we will get into baseball in mid March when we have a better idea of how the Cubs and Sox are shaping up.
One week has passed since the NHL All Star break and the Blackhawks have played two games of their 6 game road trip. Last Tuesday (Feb 1st), they opened up the road trip in Columbus and they won 7-4. In a move that surprised many, Coach Q went with Turco in net. While 4 goals allowed is not a good number, Turco did actually play a pretty solid game and came up with many big saves. What has been a complete 180 from last year is our defense. Up 2-1 after the 1st, the Hawks gave up 2 goals in 42 seconds. When this happens, it's very rarely the goalie's fault. This is a defensive breakdown. Both times Nick Boynton was at fault. The first goal (in the 42 second stretch), Boynton was out of place and in front of Turco, the shot hit him and went into the net. Instead of responding with a better shift after the goal, he then got beaten bad by a rookie and the score was 3-2 in a matter of a blink of an eye. Coach Q called timeout and then the guys responded with 4 unanswered goals. It may of not been a beautiful win, but winning on the road is hard and it is even harder to do it against a division rival. What was really nice about the 7 goals was that 7 different guys helped out in the cause.
The Blackhawks then made the trek to the Western Conference leading Vancouver Canucks. Coach Q shocked even more people when he went with Turco again. It's a move that would of been questioned more if the Hawks didn't play one of their best games of the year. Even though they lost 4-3, they played like the Hawk we all have grown accustomed to. Fast and faster. They were aggressive. They were hitting. They weren't looking for the "sexy" goal. In fact, they were getting Brouwer in front of the net. I'm not going to use this blog to whine about the refs. Yes, there were some "phantom" calls against us and the Brouwer goaltender interference on the Bolland goal was crap, but they were in it the whole game. They really need to strengthen the penalty kill. Yes, the Canucks have absolute fire power on their Power Plays, but every playoff team has the ability to score Power Play goals. We have to fix this if we want to have any chance of contending. After reading ESPN's Jesse Rogers posts after the game, it sounds like the guys weren't really dejected. The light might have come on with these guys. If they play their game for 60 minutes, they will win more than they will lose and even though the West is log jammed horribly at the moment, if the Blackhawks do their job, they will move themselves into the top 8 with ease and I don't think anyone would want to deal with them in the playoffs.
The trade deadline is a few weeks away and of course everyone wants the Hawks to make a move for a defender. I agree they should be looking for a defender, but I think they need to send out two defenders. You obviously can guess one of them (Boynton), but I think they should send out Seabrook. Don't take this as me as a Seabrook hater because I am not, but looking at him unbiasedly, he has been a turnover machine, he often gets out of position and he is in a contract year. Ask yourself this question: "Do I want Patrick Sharp or Brent Seabrook?" We are only going to be able to afford one of them. I want the guy who can score goals and is one of the leaders of the team. We have Leddy coming up and LaLonde in the system. I also believe that Keith has suffered as of late because of Seabrook. What made them unstoppable last year was that Keith would often force the fore checkers to lose the puck, he'd swing it around to Seabs and then Seabs would either fire it to one of the wings or back to a streaking Keith which then would create our forecheck. Remember how our speed changed when Campbell came back from his broken collar bone last year? Hammer would get the puck to Campbell and Campbell is one of the best skaters around and he keeps backcheckers honest. As great of a defender Keith is, he is most dangerous going forward and the Hawk hasn't been able to utilize that strength of Keith's due to turnovers and other mistakes in our zone.
So since last Sunday (Jan 31st) the Blackhawks are 1-1 and slid from 7th to 11th. Tomorrow night, they will visit Calgary in a MUST WIN game. Calgary is one point ahead of us in tenth place. The Hawk will then play Edmonton, Dallas and finish up the trip next Saturday in Phoenix. I will be attending the game in Phoenix with my good buddy Ben Herrera!
Western Conference standings as of 2-6-11
1. Vancouver 77 (6 pt week)
2. Detroit 68 (2 pt week)
3. Dallas 65 (0 pt week)
4. Nashville 63 (3 pt week)
5. San Jose 62 (6 pt week)
6. Anaheim 62 (2 pt week)
7. Phoenix 61 (2 pt week)
8. Los Angeles 60 (5 pt week)
9. Minnesota 59 (4 pt week)
10. Calgary 59 (5 pt week)
11. BLACKHAWKS 58 (2 pt week)
12. Colorado 56 (0 pt week)
13. Columbus 55 (4 pt week)
14. St. Louis 54 (3 pt week)
15. Edmonton 38 (0 pt week)
Trending teams this past week:
Hot: Vancouver 6 points. San Jose 6 points. Calgary 5 points. Los Angeles 5 points
Not: Edmonton 0 points. Colorado 0 points Dallas 0 points
Blackhawks remaining road trip schedule: 2-7 Calgary. 2-9 Edmonton. 2-11 Dallas. 2-12 Phoenix
Commit to the Indian!!!
One week has passed since the NHL All Star break and the Blackhawks have played two games of their 6 game road trip. Last Tuesday (Feb 1st), they opened up the road trip in Columbus and they won 7-4. In a move that surprised many, Coach Q went with Turco in net. While 4 goals allowed is not a good number, Turco did actually play a pretty solid game and came up with many big saves. What has been a complete 180 from last year is our defense. Up 2-1 after the 1st, the Hawks gave up 2 goals in 42 seconds. When this happens, it's very rarely the goalie's fault. This is a defensive breakdown. Both times Nick Boynton was at fault. The first goal (in the 42 second stretch), Boynton was out of place and in front of Turco, the shot hit him and went into the net. Instead of responding with a better shift after the goal, he then got beaten bad by a rookie and the score was 3-2 in a matter of a blink of an eye. Coach Q called timeout and then the guys responded with 4 unanswered goals. It may of not been a beautiful win, but winning on the road is hard and it is even harder to do it against a division rival. What was really nice about the 7 goals was that 7 different guys helped out in the cause.
The Blackhawks then made the trek to the Western Conference leading Vancouver Canucks. Coach Q shocked even more people when he went with Turco again. It's a move that would of been questioned more if the Hawks didn't play one of their best games of the year. Even though they lost 4-3, they played like the Hawk we all have grown accustomed to. Fast and faster. They were aggressive. They were hitting. They weren't looking for the "sexy" goal. In fact, they were getting Brouwer in front of the net. I'm not going to use this blog to whine about the refs. Yes, there were some "phantom" calls against us and the Brouwer goaltender interference on the Bolland goal was crap, but they were in it the whole game. They really need to strengthen the penalty kill. Yes, the Canucks have absolute fire power on their Power Plays, but every playoff team has the ability to score Power Play goals. We have to fix this if we want to have any chance of contending. After reading ESPN's Jesse Rogers posts after the game, it sounds like the guys weren't really dejected. The light might have come on with these guys. If they play their game for 60 minutes, they will win more than they will lose and even though the West is log jammed horribly at the moment, if the Blackhawks do their job, they will move themselves into the top 8 with ease and I don't think anyone would want to deal with them in the playoffs.
The trade deadline is a few weeks away and of course everyone wants the Hawks to make a move for a defender. I agree they should be looking for a defender, but I think they need to send out two defenders. You obviously can guess one of them (Boynton), but I think they should send out Seabrook. Don't take this as me as a Seabrook hater because I am not, but looking at him unbiasedly, he has been a turnover machine, he often gets out of position and he is in a contract year. Ask yourself this question: "Do I want Patrick Sharp or Brent Seabrook?" We are only going to be able to afford one of them. I want the guy who can score goals and is one of the leaders of the team. We have Leddy coming up and LaLonde in the system. I also believe that Keith has suffered as of late because of Seabrook. What made them unstoppable last year was that Keith would often force the fore checkers to lose the puck, he'd swing it around to Seabs and then Seabs would either fire it to one of the wings or back to a streaking Keith which then would create our forecheck. Remember how our speed changed when Campbell came back from his broken collar bone last year? Hammer would get the puck to Campbell and Campbell is one of the best skaters around and he keeps backcheckers honest. As great of a defender Keith is, he is most dangerous going forward and the Hawk hasn't been able to utilize that strength of Keith's due to turnovers and other mistakes in our zone.
So since last Sunday (Jan 31st) the Blackhawks are 1-1 and slid from 7th to 11th. Tomorrow night, they will visit Calgary in a MUST WIN game. Calgary is one point ahead of us in tenth place. The Hawk will then play Edmonton, Dallas and finish up the trip next Saturday in Phoenix. I will be attending the game in Phoenix with my good buddy Ben Herrera!
Western Conference standings as of 2-6-11
1. Vancouver 77 (6 pt week)
2. Detroit 68 (2 pt week)
3. Dallas 65 (0 pt week)
4. Nashville 63 (3 pt week)
5. San Jose 62 (6 pt week)
6. Anaheim 62 (2 pt week)
7. Phoenix 61 (2 pt week)
8. Los Angeles 60 (5 pt week)
9. Minnesota 59 (4 pt week)
10. Calgary 59 (5 pt week)
11. BLACKHAWKS 58 (2 pt week)
12. Colorado 56 (0 pt week)
13. Columbus 55 (4 pt week)
14. St. Louis 54 (3 pt week)
15. Edmonton 38 (0 pt week)
Trending teams this past week:
Hot: Vancouver 6 points. San Jose 6 points. Calgary 5 points. Los Angeles 5 points
Not: Edmonton 0 points. Colorado 0 points Dallas 0 points
Blackhawks remaining road trip schedule: 2-7 Calgary. 2-9 Edmonton. 2-11 Dallas. 2-12 Phoenix
Commit to the Indian!!!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Blackhawks and the rest of the Season (JC)
For the first time in 49 years, The Blackhawks found themselves opening the season defending Lord Stanley's Cup. There are many differences between 1961 and 2010 and two of the main differences are there are now 30 teams in the league compared to 6 and there is a salary cap now when back in 1961, there was no salary cap. The game may be the same the last 49 years, but the league is completely different.
Lets begin with this. 9 guys, many of them major pieces to the puzzle last year, are gone. Yes, the Blackhawks still have major fire power in the first two lines and yes the first two defensive pairs are still stout, but this team was altered completely. We went from having 4 lines with big play capability and 3 trusty defensive pairs to 2 trust pairs who at times have been shaky. Yes, it has affected the overall power of the team, but the play this year has been suspect at times and some of the new guys haven't filled the shoes of the old 3rd and 4th liners. This team has been at times a hard one to grasp. There are nights when they look like they are the best team in the world and then they have nights where you just scratch your head and say "Whaaaattttt???"
Right now, the Blackhawks sit in 7th place in the Western Conference. 7th is a shaky spot to be in. While they are 4 points from 4th, they are also 4 points from being in 12th. The Western conference is an absolute log jam. Of the 15 teams, 14 are separated by 20 points. St. Louis is in 14th place and only 5 points behind the Blackhawks. So right now, of the 14, only the Stars, Red Wings and Canucks are probably breathing somewhat easy, but a poor 10 game stretch with a few teams behind them getting hot would completely change their demeanor. The remaining 2 1/2 months of hockey will essentially be playoffs for 11 teams. Every game matters. Many teams will possibly have to play all 82 to determine their playoff seeding/fate. As a sports fan, this is as good as it gets.
But I'm not a sports fan (well, yes I am). I am a Blackhawks fan and honestly I am concerned. What concerns me most is our home record. 16-13-0. This was the building we went 29-8-4 in last year. "The Madhouse on Madison" was our fort and we defended it. We lost a total of TEN games there last year! (not counting the ot/shootout losses) Yes, we have dealt with key injuries, yes, we were in unfamiliar territory of defending a title for the first time, and yes, we get every teams best shot every night, but there is no excuse for losing 13 of 29 games at home to this point. This might be a good thing for the Blackhawks in that of the remaining 32 games left in the regular season, only 12 are at home. We have been a solid road team the last few years and a major part of that very well could be that there is a strong chemistry amongst the guys. The Blackhawks are a respectable 10-7-4 on the road with their last win coming in Detroit. The Blackhawks go on a 6 games road trip starting Tuesday in Columbus. These 6 games can set the tone for the rest of the season. After Columbus, the schedule goes: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Dallas and Phoenix. If they can somehow take 7 points, I will consider that a success and a building block.
In order for this team to start playing up to its standards and expectations, first things first and that's we have to stay healthy. It didn't help starting the season off with Campbell out for the first month and just when he got healthy, Hossa collided with Boynton at practice and that cooled off his sizzling start and put him down for a few weeks. Just when it couldn't get any worse, Kane went down with an ankle injury that took a while to heal. Right after Christmas, we finally fielded a healthy team and Toews went down with a shoulder injury. Granted he was only out for a week, but during that stretch, the Blackhawks coming off a 4 game win streak, they responded losing 4 of the next five. That's how you wipe out win streaks and any momentum.
As for the players outside of the "core," I have been pleased with the play of Skille and Stalberg. Both are fast, aggressive and not afraid to shoot the puck, but they only have 14 goals between them and they have taken a combined 198 shots. Jake Dowell has show some grit by not being afraid to drop the gloves every so often and is a +/-9. Not bad for a 4th liner. We have also seen some very promising ability from Morin and Leddy. Both are 19 years old and just represented the United States in the U-19 games. It's just tough to get them much NHL time do to the Blackhawks being strapped to the cap, but Leddy has been on the ice for the Blackhawks the 8 games and he has been logging 12+ minutes in 7 of them.
The most consistent part of the Blackhawks game this season has been their Power Play. At the moment, we are #1 in the league scoring 25% of the time. This should be no surprise in that we can roll two units of players that have all have serious scoring capabilities. Patrick Kane as of late has found his assist grove and it seems he to be feeding the puck to Sharp who up to this point is the team MVP. It's not only those two, but Toews and Brouwer as well have been finding the back of the net as well.
As great as the power play has been, the penalty kill has been atrocious. We are currently 26th in the league in the PK department and it is very unlike last year when we were consistently in or around the top 5. It's hard to pin point what the exact problem is, but I believe it goes along with the lack of depth. Last year, "Hammer" and Sopel established themselves as solid shot blockers and grinders. It seems like we are lacking that this year after the first pair of Keith and Seabrool. Ryan Johnson has shown a desire to block shots, but he is one guy. Toews and Hossa are quality penalty killers, but they can't stay out there for two minutes straight. Dave Bolland who was an absolute pest in the playoffs, has been average at best this year. He has been coming along, but it took him a while to start scoring points and he has really struggled on the dot. My question on him is if he is a full season type of player? He has shown to be a stud in the playoffs, but right now, the playoffs begin with the way the standings are. With that being said, I have a few concerns that make me worry about the remainder of this season.
What concerns me has been the play of John Scott, Nick Boynton and the overall team defense. John Scott was brought in this year as an enforcer to protect our stars. He is 6'8 245 lbs and he has not lost a fight up until this point...and that's where the positives end. The guy can't skate for crap as he proved opening night when he biffed it trying to turn around which led to a Detroit goal. So there went the idea of him playing defense. He has been playing forward, but through 32 games he has 1 point. So that proves he can't score goals nor can he set up a goal. I am all for having a "goon" on the team. Other teams can't feel like they can take free runs at our stars, but this isn't our dads NHL. You have to be able to skate and play the game a little bit and John Scott hasn't proven to be able to do anything but throw punches...and yes, he does that exceptionally well, but what good is it if he can't give you a solid few minutes a game as a hockey player? That was the beauty of Eager and Burish. As brash and sometimes stupid as they were, they were able to generate a solid forecheck and every so often and they could get the puck into the net by passing or shooting (Thank you Ben Eager for your GW goal in game 2 of the Finals).
Nick Boynton has been another major issue for the Blackhawks. He's old, slow, takes dumb penalties and always seems to turn the puck over within 20 feet of our net. He hasn't been playing much as of late, but this would be my only beef with Coach Q. Is Nick Boynton that much better than Jordan Hendry? Luckily, the Leddy Hendry pair has been fairly effective and therefore Boynton has been watching the game from the tunnel, but this is a major concern if one of our D men go down. How good does Sopel sound now to all of you that screamed for him to be shipped out of Chicago last year at this time?
Other concerns have been Hjalmarsson and Keith, but to be quite honest with you, I'm not as panicked over them as others. Hjalmarsson started out slow this season, but he seems to have settled down and is playing his role along side Campbell. "Hammer" is best at shot blocking and defensive positioning and that's all we need him to do. Yes, he is making major money now so I wouldn't be surprised if he has felt an inclination to possibly score more and I also wouldn't be shocked if he just feels pressure to live up to what he has established himself as. A GM told me over the summer that he was planning on putting an offer sheet down for "Hammer" but Doug Wilson beat him to it. I asked him what he sees for Hjalmarsson in the future and his response was "I don't ever see him reaching top 2 on a good team, but he could establish himself as a solid number 3 anywhere he plays."
Keith, who is now inked with the Blackhawks for the next 13 years very well could be a victim of last years success. There have been people who have said "Keith has made his money, he's lost his edge." I don't believe that for one second. There's a reason why he wears an "A" on his jersey and he is a meticulous student of the game and a very hard worker on top of that. After winning a Gold medal, Stanley Cup and the Norris Trophy, I believe he has raised his personal expectations bar, but can you really go any higher than what he accomplished last year? Yes, he has had more turnovers than a Norris Trophy winner should have and yes at times, he has been sloppy on his positioning, but he has also played way more minutes than any defender on a good team should play. It didn't help early on when Campbell was out and our 3rd pair was suspect at best. Luckily, Seabrook got off to a solid start and at times covered for Keith. I don't see Keith struggling the remaining 32 games. In fact, I believe he will be the "X Factor" for the remainder of the season.
With that, the major difference from this year to last is the overall team defense. Last year, 9 times out of 10 we would out shoot our opponents and often times by a margin of 2-1, this year, an even shot total would be considered a mini victory. Last year, if we allowed 25 shots, I would panic, this year, I pray for 25 shots. With that being said, I have to give Corey Crawford props for being relatively solid so far this season. He has complied a 16-10-2 record in his first full season on the Blackhawks roster. Oddly enough, he wasn't supposed to be the starter this year. Marty Turco was supposed to be protecting our net, but with a 10-10-2 record along with very streaky play and at times sloppy mechanics, he gave Coach Q no choice but to give Crawford a chance and Corey has done a decent job for a rookie. The last few games, he has allowed some "soft" goals that he wasn't allowing earlier in the year, but he hasn't had a slump yet, and hopefully the All Star break stopped a slump in the making. The last thing the Blackhawks need at this point is a goalie situation. It very well could doom us.
As I stated before, we have 32 games left and 12 of which are at home. As of today, 29 of the 32 games will be against teams that are at the top of their division or fighting for their playoff lives. Those 3 games that should be gimmes for the Blackhawks? At Toronto, at Edmonton, and at Florida. The Blackhawks have to get it going now. They can't fall asleep or afford to not play complete games. The last thing they need is to be fighting for the 8th spot on April 1st when they would have to play the Lightning, Blues, Canadiens, Blue Jackets, and the Red Wings twice to finish off the season.
COMMIT TO THE INDIAN!!! LETS GO BLACKHAWKS!!!
I will be updating the NHL Western Conference Standings once a week starting today. I will also point out the streaking teams. Courtesy of NHL.com
1. Vancouver-71
2. Detroit-66
3. Dallas-65
4. Nashville-60
5. Anahem-60
6. Phoenix-59
7. BLACKHAWKS-56
8. San Jose-56
9. Colorado-56
10. Minnesota-55
11. Los Angeles-55
12. Calgary-54
13. Columbus-51
14. St. Louis-51
15. Edmonton-38
Lets begin with this. 9 guys, many of them major pieces to the puzzle last year, are gone. Yes, the Blackhawks still have major fire power in the first two lines and yes the first two defensive pairs are still stout, but this team was altered completely. We went from having 4 lines with big play capability and 3 trusty defensive pairs to 2 trust pairs who at times have been shaky. Yes, it has affected the overall power of the team, but the play this year has been suspect at times and some of the new guys haven't filled the shoes of the old 3rd and 4th liners. This team has been at times a hard one to grasp. There are nights when they look like they are the best team in the world and then they have nights where you just scratch your head and say "Whaaaattttt???"
Right now, the Blackhawks sit in 7th place in the Western Conference. 7th is a shaky spot to be in. While they are 4 points from 4th, they are also 4 points from being in 12th. The Western conference is an absolute log jam. Of the 15 teams, 14 are separated by 20 points. St. Louis is in 14th place and only 5 points behind the Blackhawks. So right now, of the 14, only the Stars, Red Wings and Canucks are probably breathing somewhat easy, but a poor 10 game stretch with a few teams behind them getting hot would completely change their demeanor. The remaining 2 1/2 months of hockey will essentially be playoffs for 11 teams. Every game matters. Many teams will possibly have to play all 82 to determine their playoff seeding/fate. As a sports fan, this is as good as it gets.
But I'm not a sports fan (well, yes I am). I am a Blackhawks fan and honestly I am concerned. What concerns me most is our home record. 16-13-0. This was the building we went 29-8-4 in last year. "The Madhouse on Madison" was our fort and we defended it. We lost a total of TEN games there last year! (not counting the ot/shootout losses) Yes, we have dealt with key injuries, yes, we were in unfamiliar territory of defending a title for the first time, and yes, we get every teams best shot every night, but there is no excuse for losing 13 of 29 games at home to this point. This might be a good thing for the Blackhawks in that of the remaining 32 games left in the regular season, only 12 are at home. We have been a solid road team the last few years and a major part of that very well could be that there is a strong chemistry amongst the guys. The Blackhawks are a respectable 10-7-4 on the road with their last win coming in Detroit. The Blackhawks go on a 6 games road trip starting Tuesday in Columbus. These 6 games can set the tone for the rest of the season. After Columbus, the schedule goes: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Dallas and Phoenix. If they can somehow take 7 points, I will consider that a success and a building block.
In order for this team to start playing up to its standards and expectations, first things first and that's we have to stay healthy. It didn't help starting the season off with Campbell out for the first month and just when he got healthy, Hossa collided with Boynton at practice and that cooled off his sizzling start and put him down for a few weeks. Just when it couldn't get any worse, Kane went down with an ankle injury that took a while to heal. Right after Christmas, we finally fielded a healthy team and Toews went down with a shoulder injury. Granted he was only out for a week, but during that stretch, the Blackhawks coming off a 4 game win streak, they responded losing 4 of the next five. That's how you wipe out win streaks and any momentum.
As for the players outside of the "core," I have been pleased with the play of Skille and Stalberg. Both are fast, aggressive and not afraid to shoot the puck, but they only have 14 goals between them and they have taken a combined 198 shots. Jake Dowell has show some grit by not being afraid to drop the gloves every so often and is a +/-9. Not bad for a 4th liner. We have also seen some very promising ability from Morin and Leddy. Both are 19 years old and just represented the United States in the U-19 games. It's just tough to get them much NHL time do to the Blackhawks being strapped to the cap, but Leddy has been on the ice for the Blackhawks the 8 games and he has been logging 12+ minutes in 7 of them.
The most consistent part of the Blackhawks game this season has been their Power Play. At the moment, we are #1 in the league scoring 25% of the time. This should be no surprise in that we can roll two units of players that have all have serious scoring capabilities. Patrick Kane as of late has found his assist grove and it seems he to be feeding the puck to Sharp who up to this point is the team MVP. It's not only those two, but Toews and Brouwer as well have been finding the back of the net as well.
As great as the power play has been, the penalty kill has been atrocious. We are currently 26th in the league in the PK department and it is very unlike last year when we were consistently in or around the top 5. It's hard to pin point what the exact problem is, but I believe it goes along with the lack of depth. Last year, "Hammer" and Sopel established themselves as solid shot blockers and grinders. It seems like we are lacking that this year after the first pair of Keith and Seabrool. Ryan Johnson has shown a desire to block shots, but he is one guy. Toews and Hossa are quality penalty killers, but they can't stay out there for two minutes straight. Dave Bolland who was an absolute pest in the playoffs, has been average at best this year. He has been coming along, but it took him a while to start scoring points and he has really struggled on the dot. My question on him is if he is a full season type of player? He has shown to be a stud in the playoffs, but right now, the playoffs begin with the way the standings are. With that being said, I have a few concerns that make me worry about the remainder of this season.
What concerns me has been the play of John Scott, Nick Boynton and the overall team defense. John Scott was brought in this year as an enforcer to protect our stars. He is 6'8 245 lbs and he has not lost a fight up until this point...and that's where the positives end. The guy can't skate for crap as he proved opening night when he biffed it trying to turn around which led to a Detroit goal. So there went the idea of him playing defense. He has been playing forward, but through 32 games he has 1 point. So that proves he can't score goals nor can he set up a goal. I am all for having a "goon" on the team. Other teams can't feel like they can take free runs at our stars, but this isn't our dads NHL. You have to be able to skate and play the game a little bit and John Scott hasn't proven to be able to do anything but throw punches...and yes, he does that exceptionally well, but what good is it if he can't give you a solid few minutes a game as a hockey player? That was the beauty of Eager and Burish. As brash and sometimes stupid as they were, they were able to generate a solid forecheck and every so often and they could get the puck into the net by passing or shooting (Thank you Ben Eager for your GW goal in game 2 of the Finals).
Nick Boynton has been another major issue for the Blackhawks. He's old, slow, takes dumb penalties and always seems to turn the puck over within 20 feet of our net. He hasn't been playing much as of late, but this would be my only beef with Coach Q. Is Nick Boynton that much better than Jordan Hendry? Luckily, the Leddy Hendry pair has been fairly effective and therefore Boynton has been watching the game from the tunnel, but this is a major concern if one of our D men go down. How good does Sopel sound now to all of you that screamed for him to be shipped out of Chicago last year at this time?
Other concerns have been Hjalmarsson and Keith, but to be quite honest with you, I'm not as panicked over them as others. Hjalmarsson started out slow this season, but he seems to have settled down and is playing his role along side Campbell. "Hammer" is best at shot blocking and defensive positioning and that's all we need him to do. Yes, he is making major money now so I wouldn't be surprised if he has felt an inclination to possibly score more and I also wouldn't be shocked if he just feels pressure to live up to what he has established himself as. A GM told me over the summer that he was planning on putting an offer sheet down for "Hammer" but Doug Wilson beat him to it. I asked him what he sees for Hjalmarsson in the future and his response was "I don't ever see him reaching top 2 on a good team, but he could establish himself as a solid number 3 anywhere he plays."
Keith, who is now inked with the Blackhawks for the next 13 years very well could be a victim of last years success. There have been people who have said "Keith has made his money, he's lost his edge." I don't believe that for one second. There's a reason why he wears an "A" on his jersey and he is a meticulous student of the game and a very hard worker on top of that. After winning a Gold medal, Stanley Cup and the Norris Trophy, I believe he has raised his personal expectations bar, but can you really go any higher than what he accomplished last year? Yes, he has had more turnovers than a Norris Trophy winner should have and yes at times, he has been sloppy on his positioning, but he has also played way more minutes than any defender on a good team should play. It didn't help early on when Campbell was out and our 3rd pair was suspect at best. Luckily, Seabrook got off to a solid start and at times covered for Keith. I don't see Keith struggling the remaining 32 games. In fact, I believe he will be the "X Factor" for the remainder of the season.
With that, the major difference from this year to last is the overall team defense. Last year, 9 times out of 10 we would out shoot our opponents and often times by a margin of 2-1, this year, an even shot total would be considered a mini victory. Last year, if we allowed 25 shots, I would panic, this year, I pray for 25 shots. With that being said, I have to give Corey Crawford props for being relatively solid so far this season. He has complied a 16-10-2 record in his first full season on the Blackhawks roster. Oddly enough, he wasn't supposed to be the starter this year. Marty Turco was supposed to be protecting our net, but with a 10-10-2 record along with very streaky play and at times sloppy mechanics, he gave Coach Q no choice but to give Crawford a chance and Corey has done a decent job for a rookie. The last few games, he has allowed some "soft" goals that he wasn't allowing earlier in the year, but he hasn't had a slump yet, and hopefully the All Star break stopped a slump in the making. The last thing the Blackhawks need at this point is a goalie situation. It very well could doom us.
As I stated before, we have 32 games left and 12 of which are at home. As of today, 29 of the 32 games will be against teams that are at the top of their division or fighting for their playoff lives. Those 3 games that should be gimmes for the Blackhawks? At Toronto, at Edmonton, and at Florida. The Blackhawks have to get it going now. They can't fall asleep or afford to not play complete games. The last thing they need is to be fighting for the 8th spot on April 1st when they would have to play the Lightning, Blues, Canadiens, Blue Jackets, and the Red Wings twice to finish off the season.
COMMIT TO THE INDIAN!!! LETS GO BLACKHAWKS!!!
I will be updating the NHL Western Conference Standings once a week starting today. I will also point out the streaking teams. Courtesy of NHL.com
1. Vancouver-71
2. Detroit-66
3. Dallas-65
4. Nashville-60
5. Anahem-60
6. Phoenix-59
7. BLACKHAWKS-56
8. San Jose-56
9. Colorado-56
10. Minnesota-55
11. Los Angeles-55
12. Calgary-54
13. Columbus-51
14. St. Louis-51
15. Edmonton-38
Sunday, January 23, 2011
There is no middle ground with the feelings after this game (JC)
This won't be easy for me to write. I'm still trying to pick up the pieces of my Bears heart.
I am man enough to admit this and as my partner said "The better team won."
The game lived up the the hype. Isn't that all we could ask for as fans? A hard fought battle between two bitter rivals. Two of the proudest organizations in all of sports. Two fan bases who live and breathe for their team while hating the other just as much. The game was played outdoors, on grass, in the cold on a beautiful winter day in Chicago. This is what football is all about...but of course, there's no way a game like this could be drama free.
Jay Cutler injured his knee in the first half, walked off the field at half time, came back out for the opening series of the second half and after the drive ended, he was done for the game. Right then and there something happened I will never forget. My Facebook News Feed absolutely went bananas! Us Chicago fans can be a little too dramatic, but I saw people who never put up anything on Facebook putting up statuses saying "Jay just quit on us!" or "Jay is a baby!" Those are the G rated ones. I can't put up what majority of them were. It was honestly astounding seeing this happen by the second. I was hitting refresh on my Facebook every 10 seconds and I would see more and more new statuses. I would be interested in knowing all the Bears tweets and facebooks happened during the third quarter.
The next sequence of events is going to be questioned by Bears fans until Lovie is either no longer the Bears head coach or if he wins the Super Bowl with the Bears. Todd Collins who is 39 years old and had proven that he no longer can play in the NFL anymore in his showing against the Panthers in week 5, comes into the game to try to lead the Bears back into the game. If there's anyone out there who had strong belief that Todd had the capabilities to pull a mini "Frank Reich" they'd be lying to you. Todd Collins threw 4 passes and went 0/4. Alright then. Lets go with Caleb Hanie!
Here's my question to this, Why wasn't Hanie second string? With Hanie coming in as third string, that instantly eliminates any chance for Cutler to come back (if he all of a sudden felt like he could) or if Hanie ended up getting hurt, Collins wouldn't of been able to come back in due to the NFL rule regarding quarterbacks. Did Lovie and Martz truly believe that Collins can support the offense if Cutler went down? Does Hanie not know the Martz playbook? Hanie came in and gave a boost to the team. The defense pitched a shut out in the second half and the offense was moving the ball, but the deadly interception Hanie threw to Raji that he returned for a touchdown to make the game 21-7, all was just about lost. I give Hanie a ton of credit though. He went right back in there and led a quick touchdown drive with a 35 yard TD pass to Earl Bennett and even marched the Bears into Packers territory, but a 3rd and 3 reverse call (will be questioned forever) that backfired and timeout issues (another issue of Lovie) led to a 4th and 5 fatal interception. No matter how you want to spin it, Hanie threw two costly and game changing interceptions. For once, you can't blame Cutler for that!
As for Cutler, the early word on his knee is an MCL sprain. He will be getting an MRI tomorrow so we will know more details then, but the way things unfolded have left millions (yes millions) of Bears fans with a bad taste in their mouth. We can't deny the fact that he's tough and we can't deny the fact that he is the best QB the Bears have had in a while, but with his lack of personality and his negative looking demeanor, people are going to assume the worst in him. Whether it is fair or not, this is the NFL and in a market like Chicago, everything that you do is under the microscope.
The Packers will be a great representative for the NFC in the Super Bowl. Many had them at this point in preseason picks. Aaron Rodgers is carving his bust on the "Mount Rushmore" of current NFL quarterbacks. I give them all the credit in the world. They had many key or star players on IR, but they never used it as an excuse, they just filled the holes and kept the machine going. Mike McCarthy has proven to be a great coach in this league. He kept this team together and he should be strongly considered as "Coach of the year." Dom Capers, the Defensive Coordinator, should considered for future head coaching jobs and in my opinion, is the Coordinator of the Year in the league. His 3-4 defense caused havoc on the league all year allowing an average total of 309.1 yards a game ranking them 5th in the league (NFL.com).
It was a fun ride. No one expected anything out of the Bears and they defied the odds all year. It was great seeing the defense get that nastiness back with the addition of Peppers and Urlacher being healthy. The offense led by Cutler at times was very exciting to watch. Knox, Bennett, Olson, and Hester at times showed flashes of brilliance. Matt Forte got stronger as the season wore on as the offensive line improved it's play as a collective unit. Devin Hester got his swagger back returning 3 punts for touchdowns and in the process setting the career NFL record with 14 total punt/kick returns for touchdowns (and they don't even count the Super Bowl return or the 108 yard FG return against the Giants in 2006). The Bears also got 4 guys to the Pro Bowl (Hester, Briggs, Peppers and Urlacher).
The Bears have a fair amount of issues to address in the off season, but we will save that for another day.
As time passes on, maybe we will be able to look back at this season with a more positive view, but this will always be remembered as the season that the Packers went to the Super Bowl on our field.
I am man enough to admit this and as my partner said "The better team won."
The game lived up the the hype. Isn't that all we could ask for as fans? A hard fought battle between two bitter rivals. Two of the proudest organizations in all of sports. Two fan bases who live and breathe for their team while hating the other just as much. The game was played outdoors, on grass, in the cold on a beautiful winter day in Chicago. This is what football is all about...but of course, there's no way a game like this could be drama free.
Jay Cutler injured his knee in the first half, walked off the field at half time, came back out for the opening series of the second half and after the drive ended, he was done for the game. Right then and there something happened I will never forget. My Facebook News Feed absolutely went bananas! Us Chicago fans can be a little too dramatic, but I saw people who never put up anything on Facebook putting up statuses saying "Jay just quit on us!" or "Jay is a baby!" Those are the G rated ones. I can't put up what majority of them were. It was honestly astounding seeing this happen by the second. I was hitting refresh on my Facebook every 10 seconds and I would see more and more new statuses. I would be interested in knowing all the Bears tweets and facebooks happened during the third quarter.
The next sequence of events is going to be questioned by Bears fans until Lovie is either no longer the Bears head coach or if he wins the Super Bowl with the Bears. Todd Collins who is 39 years old and had proven that he no longer can play in the NFL anymore in his showing against the Panthers in week 5, comes into the game to try to lead the Bears back into the game. If there's anyone out there who had strong belief that Todd had the capabilities to pull a mini "Frank Reich" they'd be lying to you. Todd Collins threw 4 passes and went 0/4. Alright then. Lets go with Caleb Hanie!
Here's my question to this, Why wasn't Hanie second string? With Hanie coming in as third string, that instantly eliminates any chance for Cutler to come back (if he all of a sudden felt like he could) or if Hanie ended up getting hurt, Collins wouldn't of been able to come back in due to the NFL rule regarding quarterbacks. Did Lovie and Martz truly believe that Collins can support the offense if Cutler went down? Does Hanie not know the Martz playbook? Hanie came in and gave a boost to the team. The defense pitched a shut out in the second half and the offense was moving the ball, but the deadly interception Hanie threw to Raji that he returned for a touchdown to make the game 21-7, all was just about lost. I give Hanie a ton of credit though. He went right back in there and led a quick touchdown drive with a 35 yard TD pass to Earl Bennett and even marched the Bears into Packers territory, but a 3rd and 3 reverse call (will be questioned forever) that backfired and timeout issues (another issue of Lovie) led to a 4th and 5 fatal interception. No matter how you want to spin it, Hanie threw two costly and game changing interceptions. For once, you can't blame Cutler for that!
As for Cutler, the early word on his knee is an MCL sprain. He will be getting an MRI tomorrow so we will know more details then, but the way things unfolded have left millions (yes millions) of Bears fans with a bad taste in their mouth. We can't deny the fact that he's tough and we can't deny the fact that he is the best QB the Bears have had in a while, but with his lack of personality and his negative looking demeanor, people are going to assume the worst in him. Whether it is fair or not, this is the NFL and in a market like Chicago, everything that you do is under the microscope.
The Packers will be a great representative for the NFC in the Super Bowl. Many had them at this point in preseason picks. Aaron Rodgers is carving his bust on the "Mount Rushmore" of current NFL quarterbacks. I give them all the credit in the world. They had many key or star players on IR, but they never used it as an excuse, they just filled the holes and kept the machine going. Mike McCarthy has proven to be a great coach in this league. He kept this team together and he should be strongly considered as "Coach of the year." Dom Capers, the Defensive Coordinator, should considered for future head coaching jobs and in my opinion, is the Coordinator of the Year in the league. His 3-4 defense caused havoc on the league all year allowing an average total of 309.1 yards a game ranking them 5th in the league (NFL.com).
It was a fun ride. No one expected anything out of the Bears and they defied the odds all year. It was great seeing the defense get that nastiness back with the addition of Peppers and Urlacher being healthy. The offense led by Cutler at times was very exciting to watch. Knox, Bennett, Olson, and Hester at times showed flashes of brilliance. Matt Forte got stronger as the season wore on as the offensive line improved it's play as a collective unit. Devin Hester got his swagger back returning 3 punts for touchdowns and in the process setting the career NFL record with 14 total punt/kick returns for touchdowns (and they don't even count the Super Bowl return or the 108 yard FG return against the Giants in 2006). The Bears also got 4 guys to the Pro Bowl (Hester, Briggs, Peppers and Urlacher).
The Bears have a fair amount of issues to address in the off season, but we will save that for another day.
As time passes on, maybe we will be able to look back at this season with a more positive view, but this will always be remembered as the season that the Packers went to the Super Bowl on our field.
Today is the Day
Well the day has arrived, the day where the greatest game ever played is played. The day where the greatest rivalry in the history of pro football meets in the most important game of the NFC season. For the first time in this storied and hallowed rivalry these two teams meet for the NFC crown. Chicago has met Green bay an NFL record 181 times, Bears have won 92 to the Pack 83 along with 6 ties. But none of that history matters today, today both teams are 0-0. Truth of the matter is, this rivalry comes down to this NFC championship. The pride of two organizations are on the line today, this is much more than your typical NFC championship game. This is the Bears Packers, it's a town vs a city, neighbor vs neighbor, it's like dinner at your in-laws minus the good food but every bit of tension. This NFC championship has much more riding on it than a trip to Dallas and Super Bowl XLV. This game has the pride of a town that exists because of a football team, pitted against a world class city that lives for Da Bears. This rivalry has torn families apart, it has turned friends into foes for 90 years and counting. Today is the day where an entire organization will forever lose a piece of their pride, today is the day that will forever change the way 2 fan bases look at each other, talk trash to each other. Today marks the day where the greatest game ever played is played. Today takes 90 years of records and throws them out the window, today history is made.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Hello Sports Fans!!!
Well, after years of talk, we decided to put our words into actions. 2 Tricks Sports Talk is finally in motion. We are Matt & Joe. We are from the greatest city in the world...CHICAGO! We are from the Northwest Side of the city and we both attended St. Patrick High School. We are huge Chicago sports fans! Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks and Bulls. Even though we are not White Sox fans, we will report them unbiasedly, fairly and honestly.
Now for our name. 2 Tricks. Yes, it is a slang term, but it is not meant at all to be used in a derogatory way. It just came about one day when we were ripping on each other and one of us (probably Matt) called whoever a "Trick." We use the word as an adjective to describe both good and bad things/situations. If/When we use it, you will know if it is meant in a good or bad way. We will try to use it minimally.
We are doing this because of our love for Chicago sports. Nothing makes us more happy when our teams win and when our teams lose, we don't go to bed the happiest of campers. Yes, we are nerds and no, we are not ashamed.
Along with Chicago Sports, we will cover the hot topics of the sporting world and we will be opinionated. We want comments, suggestions, opinions or if you just want to give us crap, please tell us what's on your mind! We want it all!
We are frequent visitors of Chicago sporting events. Past events we have been to are: Wrigleyville Classic, Winter Classic, Stanley Cup Playoff games, Game one of the Stanley Cup, and countless Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and Bears games. So if there happens to be a big event, the 2 Tricks often find a way in. If we are not attending, we are watching them on the TV. So basically, we don't miss the action.
We are brand new to this so "bear" with us as we work out the kinks and get comfortable with all this technology!
Follow us on Facebook at 2 Tricks Sports Talk and at Twitter @2TricksSports
Thanks for following! GO BEARS! GO BULLS! GO CUBS! GO BLACKHAWKS!
Now for our name. 2 Tricks. Yes, it is a slang term, but it is not meant at all to be used in a derogatory way. It just came about one day when we were ripping on each other and one of us (probably Matt) called whoever a "Trick." We use the word as an adjective to describe both good and bad things/situations. If/When we use it, you will know if it is meant in a good or bad way. We will try to use it minimally.
We are doing this because of our love for Chicago sports. Nothing makes us more happy when our teams win and when our teams lose, we don't go to bed the happiest of campers. Yes, we are nerds and no, we are not ashamed.
Along with Chicago Sports, we will cover the hot topics of the sporting world and we will be opinionated. We want comments, suggestions, opinions or if you just want to give us crap, please tell us what's on your mind! We want it all!
We are frequent visitors of Chicago sporting events. Past events we have been to are: Wrigleyville Classic, Winter Classic, Stanley Cup Playoff games, Game one of the Stanley Cup, and countless Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and Bears games. So if there happens to be a big event, the 2 Tricks often find a way in. If we are not attending, we are watching them on the TV. So basically, we don't miss the action.
We are brand new to this so "bear" with us as we work out the kinks and get comfortable with all this technology!
Follow us on Facebook at 2 Tricks Sports Talk and at Twitter @2TricksSports
Thanks for following! GO BEARS! GO BULLS! GO CUBS! GO BLACKHAWKS!
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