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.
Monday, February 21, 2011
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!!!
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