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