Tag Archives: Chicago Blackhawks

Interesting Rumor day for the Blackhawks

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When I went to bed last night (Sunday), I was under the impression that it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Zach Parise would be signing with the Penguins today. I also thought that the Hawks were no longer in contention to sign Ryan Suter, and that they had a much better chance of inking Martin Brodeur. Well today flipped my world, and I am sure many others’, upside down.

I woke up this morning only to find out that Brodeur had re-signed with the Devils for 2 years. At this point, I had lost all hope that the Hawks would be making any big moves this summer.

Later in the morning, Hockeybuzz.com began reporting that the Blackhawks had emerged as major contenders to sign Zach Parise. This seemingly came out of NOWHERE to me. A little while after that, the same website reported that the Blackhawks were again definitely “in” on Ryan Suter. So now, in just a few short hours, all of my thoughts and opinions on this whole free agent situation had completely changed.

As of this moment, according to many sources on Twitter and Hockeybuzz.com, the Blackhawks are still in the running for both Suter and Parise. Parise came out earlier this evening and said he wants to talk with his family before making a decision as to where he will sign. It sounds like we won’t know that decision until sometime tomorrow, but who knows…

Ryan Suter’s decision could come at any moment it would appear. I wouldn’t be surprised if he waited until tomorrow, at the earliest, to make his decision based on the way things have been going the past 36 hours.

Odds are that the Hawks won’t sign both players. That would require way more money than they have to offer. If they are able to sign one of the two, it would greatly improve their team. Parise would add yet another lethal, offensive threat to their lineup, while Suter would provide some much needed defense and offense to their blue line.

I would recommend checking out Hockeybuzz.com to get the latest information regarding Parise, Suter, and other free agents in the NHL.

I’ll be crossing my fingers that Parise and/or Suter will be a Blackhawk by the time this is all said and done with.

Blackhawks Update

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With NHL draft now behind us, we can really start to speculate as to what types of moves the Blackhawks will be making this summer. Whether they make trades, sign free agents, or do both (most likely), one thing is for sure. The Hawks will begin next season with some new names on their roster.

About a month or so ago, there were rumors going around that the Hawks would be looking to trade away Dave Bolland and Niklas Hjalmarsson. The reasoning for these proposed moves was that the Blackhawks felt Kruger could take Bolland’s spot as a shut-down center, and trading away both of those salaries would free up a lot of cap space to sign top free agents. As of right now, I am not hearing any rumors involving a Dave Bolland trade. Whether or not it stays that way, only time will tell. As for the possibility of Niklas Hjalmarsson departing via a trade, that remains very true.

Just about everywhere I have looked regarding a trade involving Hjalmarsson has indicated that the Blackhawks are aggressively looking to trade him for most likely a center who can win face-offs. As we all know, the Blackhawks were not very good at winning their draws last year, with the exception of Jonathan Toews. One rumor I saw stated that the Hawks were talking with the Ottawa Senators about a trade that would send Hjalmarsson to Ottawa in exchange for Zack Smith. Smith is a 24 year old center who has won over 50% of his face-offs throughout his career. This trade makes sense for both teams in that Ottawa needs a defensive-defenseman like Hjalmarsson, and the Hawks need a center who can consistently win face-offs. I heard about this trade about a week or so ago, but I have not heard anything more about it. The only thing that do know for sure is that Hjalmarsson is very much so still on the trade block.

After the Hawks resigned Johnny Oduya for $3.5 million, it sure looked like they wouldn’t be in on trying to sign Ryan Suter this summer. However, that was before all of the Niklas Hjalmarsson rumors began to appear. If the Hawks do end up trading Hjalmarsson before July 1 (the day free agency opens), they will for sure be in on the “Suter Sweepstakes.” If they do not trade him before July 1, then don’t expect them to trade him at all. The only reason they would trade “Hammer” would be to free up a roster spot and cap space for Ryan Suter. Otherwise, it would make no sense to trade away their best shot-blocker. If the Blackhawks do find the right deal that would send Hjalmarsson elsewhere to allow themselves to bid on Suter, I would be all for it. Ryan Suter is exactly what the Blackhawks need. He is a superior defensive-defenseman, as well as a superior offensive-defenseman. It’s no secret that the Hawks want a lot more production out of their powerplay next season, and Ryan Suter would greatly help in that area. But again, unless Hjalmarsson gets traded between now and Sunday, don’t expect him to get traded at all, or for the Hawks to go after Suter.

As for Patrick Kane…..I don’t think he’ll be traded. The only elite winger that is being shopped by their current team is Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets. While I do see some upsides to trading Kane for Nash, I don’t think it will happen. The biggest reason is the fact that the Blue Jackets’ asking price for Nash seems to be too high for just about every team in the NHL. They want more than just a Patrick Kane-type player in return, and that “more” is something that the Hawks and most other teams are unwilling to give up. So if you want my opinion, don’t read too much into those rumors.

Neither Zach Parise nor Roberto Luongo will be playing for the Hawks next year, so forget about that.

Other than that, I don’t have much else to say. The one guy that I really felt would fit the Hawks perfectly was Jarret Stoll. He is a center for the Kings who wins the majority of his draws and is not afraid to throw his body around, not to mention his offensive skills. He played a huge roll for the Kings these playoffs. He could have chosen to enter free agency this summer, but instead he re-signed with L.A. for less money than he could have gotten somewhere else.

Keep your eyes and ears open here in the next week. If they Hawks are going to do anything significant, it will happen between now and Sunday.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan Suter to the Blackhawks?

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I’ve been wondering about the possibility of this happening ever since the beginning of this season. Could Ryan Suter really sign with the Blackhawks this summer?

Believe it or not, there is a chance that the unrestricted free agent could be a Hawk next season. After reading up on this topic online multiple times, and watching NHL analysts on TV talk about where Suter might land, here is what I have learned about the Hawks’ possibility of signing him:

  • One of the big factors that will play into Suter’s decision as to where he will sign this summer is his family. He wants to play for an NHL team that is close to his hometown of Madison, WI, so that he can be near his family. Well, guess what? The closest NHL arena to Madison is located on West Madison Street in Chicago (irony?).
  • His uncle, Gary Suter, spent a number of seasons with the Blackhawks and still has a good relationship with the team. Ryan Suter grew up a Hawks fan because of this as well.
  • The Blackhawks have a solid, core group of young players (that have already won a Cup), which is appealing to any free agent. With the addition of Suter, they would have 3 defenseman who could be considered a number 1 defenseman on most teams. While this might seem like a turnoff to a star player like Suter who most likely wants to be “the guy” wherever he goes, it could also increase his desire to come to Chicago. His minutes would be slightly decreased, but that would help to prolong his career. The amount of pressure on Suter to perform at a Norris Trophy-type level would be reduced as well. Also, with 3 top defenseman of Keith, Seabrook, and Suter, the Hawks would instantly become a better team.
  • Suter will be demanding a large amount of money with his new contract. Most likely, he’ll end up getting anywhere from 6-8 million wherever he signs. A lot of teams have the money to sign him, but only a couple of them are on his “list.” If Nicklas Lidstrom decides to hang up the skates this summer, Detroit will be looking to fill his place with a top end defenseman. Were this to happen, the Wings would have that much more money to go out and spend since they would no longer have Lidstrom’s contract. They could spend it on Suter, or they can use it to resign key players such as Datsyuk, Franzen, and Zetterberg in the future. That’s a tough decision for them to have to make. As for the Hawks, if they do not resign Oduya and decide to trade away someone like Bolland or Hjalmarsson, they would have more than enough money to sign Suter.

It definitely seems possible that Ryan Suter could be calling Chicago his new home come training camp. While I still wouldn’t give it the best odds, this is something that Blackhawks fans should pay attention to. The Hawks have a lot of decisions to make this off-season. Will they trade some key players to free up cap space, which they would then use on free agents? Will they stay put and try to get better by developing their prospects? These are questions that only time will answer. Hopefully, time will provide us with an answer that pleases us all. But that’s a lot to ask for, right?

Coyotes Eliminate Blackhawks in Game 6

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Last night’s Game 6 between the Coyotes and Blackhawks marked the end of the season for the Hawks, while the Coyotes earned their first playoff series victory since moving to Phoenix. This was a tough series for each team that featured some heated moments and many overtimes, but only one side could advance.

The Blackhawks played probably the best first period they could have asked for. Right from the opening puck drop, all the way to the final whistle of the period, the Hawks absolutely dominated the play. It seemed as though the puck never even left Phoenix’s defensive zone. The Blackhawks were getting shots off left and right, peppering Mike Smith from every angle. In total, they out-shot the Coyotes 16-2 in the first period. Those are ridiculous numbers. Yet, even with all of the good chances that the Hawks had, Mike Smith wouldn’t budge. He played the best he had played the entire series. After the first period, the game remained scoreless.

The beginning of the second period started a little bit slower for the Blackhawks, but they ended up picking up right where they left off in the first period. For about the first 10-12 minutes of the second, they once again were bombarding Mike Smith with shots, and good ones too. Then, with just over 12 minutes gone in the second, Jonathan Toews was called for interference, leading to the Coyotes second powerplay of the game.

With a little over a minute remaining on the powerplay, Phoenix’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson beat Corey Crawford with a slap shot from a few feet inside the blue line to give the Coyotes a 1-0 lead.

The rest of the second period featured a few more scoring chances for the Hawks, but they still couldn’t score. The shot totals in the second period were 12-6 in favor of the Hawks.

In the third period, the Blackhawks came out giving everything that they had left in their tank, knowing that they needed to win the game to stay alive. Unfortunately for them, only 2:24 into the period, Gilbert Brule scored his second goal of the series to increase the Coyotes’ lead to 2.

With just under 9 minutes played in the period, Jimmy Hayes of the Blackhawks was given a 5 minute major, and game misconduct for boarding. This sent Phoenix to a 5 minute powerplay, where they would score with just over 7 minutes left in regulation to make it 3-0.

By this point, most, if not all hope was lost for the Blackhawks. To make matters worse, Kyly Chipchura added Phoenix’s 4th goal of the game with about 6 minutes left in regulation. The final score would be just that, 4-0.

Mike Smith was unbelievable in this game, stopping all 39 shots that he faced.

For the second consecutive year now, the Blackhawks have been eliminated from the playoffs in the first round. Last year, they had the excuse that they had to completely dismantle their Stanley Cup-winning team due to the salary cap. We all understood that and somewhat gave them a break for backing into the playoffs as the number 8 seed and losing in the first round. This year, however, is a bit of a different story.

Heading into this season, Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said a number of times that he believed this team was capable of winning the Stanley Cup. To his credit, the Hawks did look like they were good enough to win it all for about the first 2-3 months of the season, but then the 9-game losing skid came up. After that streak ended, it was clear that this team had too many holes that it needed to fill if they wanted to win the Cup. Most people thought that they might try to fill those holes at the trade deadline, but we were wrong.

It was no secret whatsoever that the Blackhawks badly needed a second line center heading into the trade deadline. Paul Gaustad, Jeff Carter, and Antoine Vermette were all names that most hockey experts expected the Blackhawks to go after. Instead, they traded for defenseman, Johnny Oduya. Yes, this was a hole that they needed to fill, but acquiring a good, second line center would have had a bigger impact on this team than Johnny Oduya had. This was especially made evident in this series with the Coyotes, who dominated at the faceoff circle from the get-go. I’m not saying that Johnny Oduya was a bad acquisition (he did a lot of good things for the Hawks, although not so much in the playoffs), but the Blackhawks could have, and should have made a better trade than the one they made.

After the game ended last night, I was thinking to myself, “The Blackhawks really could have used Brian Campbell in this series.” Campbell was a key component to the Blackhawks powerplay while he was still on the team before getting traded to the Panthers. He was/is a great puck-moving defenseman, and he made entering the offensive zone much easier with his speed. If the Hawks had converted on their powerplay more frequently throughout the regular season, and especially this series with Phoenix, they would have been a much more successful team, and that’s a fact. If you really think about it, what did the Hawks really get by trading Brian Campbell? By getting rid of his salary, they were able to sign Steve Montador, Daniel Carcillo, Andrew Brunette, Sean O’Donnell, and Sami Lepisto, as well as re-sign Corey Crawford and Patrick Sharp. Now, not all of those signing were due to getting rid of Campbell, because the Hawks did have some money before making that trade. But how much did Carcillo really help this team? He got hurt and didn’t even play half the season. Montador had some good stretches, but he was nothing to write home about before he also got hurt. Brunette was an underachiever this year, and O’Donnell and Lepisto were in and out of the lineup on a daily basis. Corey Crawford had a disappointing season this year, to say the least, and Patrick Sharp did what everyone expected him to do by scoring 33 goals. By not trading Campbell, they would have had 5 solid defenseman this year, and their powerplay most likely would have been a bit better.

Stan Bowman has A LOT of decisions to make this offseason. Should he look for a new goalie, such as Jonathan Bernier out in L.A.? Or should he trade for/sign a top 4 defenseman? Also, how is he going to address the issue of the nonexistent, number 2 center on this team? There are a lot of questions surrounding the Blackhawks heading into the summer months. I would expect some changes to be made.

Toews Lifts Blackhawks to Game 5 Victory

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Heading into last night’s Game 5 against the Phoenix Coyotes, the Blackhawks knew what they were up against. Either win, or go home. The Hawks were facing elimination for the first time in this series, and they knew that Game 5 was a must-win.

I’ll be honest with you right now. I had a good feeling heading into last night’s game that the Hawks would prevail and send the series to a sixth game. You know why? After yesterday’s morning skate, Jonathan Toews kept all of the players on the ice for a players-only meeting. This was the first time all year that this had happened. As we all know, Toews is one of the best captains in the game, and so when he decides to take matters into his own hands, good things usually happen. Well, guess what? The players responded to Toews’ message, and the Blackhawks turned in maybe their best game of the series last night.

The first period went pretty much the same way that every other first period has gone in this series. The Hawks out-played the Coyotes by a wide margin. They out-shot Phoenix 12-4, but weren’t able to get one past Mike Smith for a goal.

Much like every second period these 2 teams have played, the Coyotes out-played the Hawks. The shot totals were even at 10 apiece in the second, but Phoenix was able to score to take the lead. Gilbert Brule found himself with the puck on a 3 on 1 rush, and decided to take a slap shot rather than pass, which ended up being the right decision as he beat Crawford for the goal. This made it 1-0, and it stayed that way heading into the third period.

Just under 10 minutes into the third, Nick Leddy scored on a slap shot from a few feet inside the blue line to tie the game at 1. This was Leddy’s first goal of the series, and a big turning point in this game.

As the period progressed, both teams found themselves with decent scoring chances, but neither team was able to score the go-ahead goal. This meant that for the fifth straight game in this series, overtime would be necessary.

Both Phoenix and Chicago were just getting themselves situated in overtime when Jonathan Toews grabbed a loose puck near the left boards, skated in on Smith, and fired a nasty wrist shot over Smith’s right shoulder to win the game only 2:44 into overtime. This was Toews’ second goal of the series, and maybe the biggest goal by either team in this series.

With the win, the Blackhawks have forced a Game 6, which will be played in Chicago on Monday night at 8 PM CST.

The Blackhawks had to turn in their best game of the series last night in order to win the game, and they did just that. Their defense as a whole was very good, they got good goaltending from Corey Crawford, and they doubled the Coyotes in shots, 39-18. Even though this was a great game for the Hawks, there are still some issues that they need to work on.

Chicago is just 1/17 on the powerplay in this series, which simply needs to be better. I know that their powerplay in the regular season was ranked 26th in the NHL and they still ended the year with 101 points, but in the playoffs you need to step it up and score powerplay goals. Luckily for the Hawks, Phoenix is a meager 2/15 on their powerplay chances so far in the series. With that said, if the Hawks can start to get some more goals with the man advantage, that will really put the pressure on Phoenix to not only score on the powerplay as well, but to score more 5 on 5 goals.  Each game in this series has been a winnable one for both the Blackhawks and the Coyotes, and so if one team can start clicking on their powerplay in Game 6 or 7 (if necessary), odds are that they will win that game.

I’ve mentioned it a couple of times now throughout this series, but the Blackhawks MUST start to play better in the second period. They cannot continue to let the Coyotes dominate the play. The Hawks have been fortunate so far in these first 5 games that Phoenix hasn’t really capitalized on most of their scoring chances that they have been given during the second period. If I’m the Blackhawks, I can’t rely on only allowing 1 goal while being completely outplayed during the second period. They need to step it up and play a full, tough 60 minutes of hockey.

Lastly, the big stars of the Blackhawks have to get going. Yes, Toews scored the game-winner last night, but him, along with Sharp, Kane, and Stalberg need to become more productive and put more goals on the board. In this series, Toews has 2 goals, Sharp has 1, and Kane and Stalberg both have 0. Kane especially needs to start thinking shoot more than pass. Too many times throughout this series has Kane skated with the puck into the offensive zone and tried to make a “pretty” pass, rather than take the open shots he has been given. When he does try and make the “pretty” pass, he ends up turning the puck over, which has lead to a few scoring chances for the Coyotes.

With the series now shifting back to Chicago, the Hawks need to take advantage of playing on their home ice and win Game 6 to stay alive. Game 5 has put a lot of momentum back on the Hawks’ side, but now they really need to use it. They were unable to ride the momentum that they gained after Game 2 heading home for 2 games, so let’s see if they capitalize on it this time. I think they will.

Raffi Torres Gets 25 Game Suspension

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Brendan Shanahan delivered a stern message to the rest of the NHL today by suspending Raffi Torres 25 games for his illegal hit to the head of Marian Hossa. It is clear that the league is fed up with guys taking cheap, and dangerous shots at other players.

Most were speculating that Torres might get 7-10 games, but I don’t think anyone expected 25. The 25 game suspension means that Torres is not allowed to play in the next 25 playoff games for Phoenix, if they even play that many. If 25 more playoff games are not played by the Coyotes this year, then the suspension will carry over into next year’s regular season. If the suspension does go into next season, which it most likely will, then he is also ineligible to play in the preseason, but those games do not count towards the 25.

Odds are that no one around the NHL will be complaining about this suspension except for those in the Coyotes’ organization. Torres is a well known, repeat offender that has no respect for, or from his peers around the NHL.

A number of different factors played into determining the length of this suspension. Torres violated 3 rules in delivering the hit itself, all of which should have been penalized, but weren’t. Also, he is a major repeat offender, having received supplemental discipline from the NHL 5 times already in his career.

For those interested, here is Brendan Shanahan’s video explanation for the suspension:

Video

Blackhawks Lose in OT, Again…

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For just the second time in NHL history, the first 4 games of a playoff series have gone into overtime. The Blackhawks and Coyotes played their fourth straight overtime game tonight, and for the third time this series, Phoenix prevailed. In fact, for the second straight game, Mikkel Boedker scored the game winner in OT.

The Blackhawks came out on fire to start the game, and pretty much dominated the first period. They out-shot the Coyotes 11-5 and generated a number of decent scoring chances. Mike Smith, however, was on top of his game and did not allow a puck to get past him.

The second period seemed to favor the Coyotes, but not in terms of shots. The Hawks out-shot the Coyotes again in the second period, this time 12-5. Most of the shots by the Blackhawks were weak shots on goal that stood no chance of going in. Heading into the third period, the game remained scoreless.

About 7 minutes into the third, Shane Doan picked Johnny Oduya’s pocket from behind in the Hawks’ defensive zone, and fed Ray Whitney with a perfect pass for the one-timer. Corey Crawford was able to make a huge save on Whitney’s shot, but Doan grabbed the rebound and shot it past Crawford to give Phoenix the 1-0 lead.

Less than a minute later, Antoine Vermette made a fantastic pass to Taylor Pyatt from behind the net for a great one-timer that beat Crawford. This gave the Coyotes a 2-0 lead, and seemingly the game. The Blackhawks, however, would not go quietly.

With 9 and a half minutes left in regulation, Brendan Morrison beat Mike Smith with a slap shot from the left circle to put the Hawks on the board. This was also Morrison’s first goal as a Blackhawk.

Then, with just a 1:26 left in the third, Dave Bolland backhanded a shot on goal that either hit the post, or hit Mike Smith. The puck dropped behind and to the right of Mike Smith, leaving Michael Frolik with a wide-open net to tap the puck in. This tied the game at 2 apiece, and sent it to overtime for the fourth straight game.

Just 2 minutes and 15 seconds into overtime, Mikkel Boedker grabber the puck around center ice and skated in towards Crawford on a partial breakaway. Boedker was only able to release a weak, backhanded “tap” of a shot, but it somehow found its way in past Corey Crawford to win the game giving Phoenix a 3-1 lead in the series.

Tonight’s game just about sealed the deal on this series. Game 5 will be played Saturday night in Phoenix, with Blackhawks facing elimination. I should probably be careful with my words, however, considering the fact that the Blackhawks were able to send their first round series against the Canucks last year to a seventh game after trailing 3-0 in the series.

After watching all 4 games in this series, I just can’t seem to figure out what the Blackhawks are doing. In each game of this series, the Hawks have played a great first period. They scored the first goal of the game in the first 3 games, with each of those goals coming in the first period. Tonight, they came out the same way. They dominated the first period, but for the first time in this series weren’t able to get a goal.

The second period has been a nightmare for the Blackhawks through the first 4 games. After playing so well in each first period of this series, they have done the exact opposite in each second period. It is almost as though they lose all energy and motivation during the  first intermission. They look lethargic and careless once the second period comes around.

The third period for the Hawks in this series has been mostly like their second periods, except for the last minute of regulation. Up until there is about a minute left and they are down by one goal, they flat out look bad and have zero energy. Once they pull the goalie, then they’re a completely different team. They begin playing with 110% effort. The Hawks now have 3 empty-net goals in the 4 games that have been played. Why does it take having to pull the goalie to get these guys energized and to get them to play at a high level!? It makes no sense!

Sure, Corey Crawford has allowed 2 terrible goals in the last 2 overtime periods, but if the Hawks would play with 110% effort from the start of regulation time, all the way through to the end of regulation, then maybe these games wouldn’t be going into overtime to begin with.

I said heading into tonight’s game that this was a MUST WIN for the Blackhawks. Unfortunately for them, and for all of us die-hard Hawks fans, they fell one goal short yet again and now face a 3-1 deficit in the series. If they want any hope at making a comeback, they are going to need to play the way that they have been playing in the last minute of regulation, but for the entire game.

Thanks for reading.

Joel Quenneville Receives $10,000 Fine

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Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was fined $10,000 earlier today for his comments during an interview following Tuesday night’s Game 3 between the Hawks and Coyotes.

When asked about the hit on Marian Hossa, Quenneville responded by saying, “It was right in front of me and all four guys missed it. The refereeing tonight was a disgrace.” It’s hard to blame him for being so upset that no penalty was given to Torres on the play. The closest referee to the play was only about 10 feet away from the hit, and even flinched when Hossa came flying towards him. No penalty was called.

Here’s my question. How is it that Joel Quenneville gets a $10,000 fine for verbally criticizing the referees, but Shea Weber only got a $2,500 fine for slamming Henrik Zetterberg’s head into the glass? Doesn’t what Weber did seem a bit more severe than criticizing some referees?

The fines and suspensions that have been handed out this season by the NHL have rarely made sense. Hopefully next year there will be a bit more consistency coming out of the league’s disciplinary office.

Brandon Saad in for the Blackhawks

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Chicago Blackhawks’ 19-year-old rookie forward, Brandon Saad, was placed on the Blackhawks’ active roster following Tuesday night’s Game 3. He was called up from the OHL to take the place of Marian Hossa in the lineup.

The end of Saad’s OHL season could not have come at a better time. His team’s playoff run came to an end this past week, thus allowing the Blackhawks to bring Saad up to join the NHL team for the remainder of the playoffs. Most were not expecting Saad to get any playing time, but rather to simply be around the NHL guys and get some playoff atmosphere experience. However, most people were also not expecting Raffi Torres’ hit on Marian Hossa.

Due to the injury(s) that Hossa suffered from the hit by Torres, he has been forced out of the Blackhawks’ lineup. This left one spot open for the Hawks to fill. Rather than going with Jimmy Hayes, who has played a handful of games this year in the NHL for the Hawks, they have decided to dress Brandon Saad. Their reasoning? Well, Saad is more of a skilled player and a scorer.

In just 44 regular season games in the OHL this year, Saad recorded 76 points (34G, 42A). In the OHL playoffs, he recorded 8 goals and 9 assists in 12 games. Those are some staggering offensive numbers, especially for a 19-year-old.

The hope is that Saad will bring some much-needed offense to the lineup that was lost when Hossa left Game 3 with what appeared to be a head injury. Blackhawks’ coach Joel Quenneville has not disclosed his lines for tonight’s Game 4, but odds are that Saad will be placed on one of the top 2 lines for the Hawks. His style of play fits the play of those 2 lines better than it does on either the third or fourth line. My guess is that Saad will be on the first line with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. By placing him with the two most talented players in the lineup, Saad is bound to find himself with some scoring opportunities. Also, with the way that Sharp, Kruger, and Stalberg finished up the season together, it would be hard to imagine Quenneville splitting up that line. I am very excited to see what Saad will bring to the table for tonight’s game.

The Blackhawks are going to need their top 2 lines to produce points on a consistent basis from here on out with Hossa being out of the lineup. Even though he hadn’t been scoring many goals of late (0 in his last 10 games), Hossa is still one of the most dangerous players in the NHL, not to mention his skill on defense as well.

Tonight is a must-win game for the Blackhawks. They do not want to go back to Phoenix down 3-1 in the series.

Blackhawks Lose in OT

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I am not going to get into too much detail about last night’s Game 3 between the Blackhawks and Coyotes, because to be quite honest with you, I’ll get too upset if I think about it that much.

Around half way through the first period, Raffi Torres sent Marian Hossa to the hospital with a completely illegal hit to the head. A perfect example of what the NHL is trying to take out of the game. Less than a second after the puck left Hossa’s stick at about center ice, Torres launched himself off his feet into Hossa, sending Hossa down to the ice while possibly unconscious. Hossa stayed down on the ice motionless for about 5 minutes before the medical staff was able to get him onto a stretcher and wheel him off the ice.

With around 30 seconds left in the first, Patrick Kane’s wrist shot hit off the body of Andrew Brunette and made its way past Mike Smith to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

The second period featured a few scoring chances from each team, but no goals were scored. At the end of the period, Jonathan Toews shot the puck at Mike Smith right after the horn had blown, thus leading to a big confrontation between every player on the ice, including the goalies. Only Toews was assessed a 2-minute roughing penalty.

In the third period during a 4 on 4 for 2 minutes, 3 goals were scored! Rostislav Klesla scored the first one that tied the game with a slap shot that beat Crawford. Just over half a minute later, Michael Frolik scored to give the Hawks a one-goal lead. Then, just 32 seconds after that, Ray Whitney added another goal for Phoenix to tie the game at 2. At the end of regulation, the game remained tied and it headed to overtime for the third straight game in this series.

In OT, Mikkel Boedker scored from the goal line to Corey Crawford’s right to win the game and give Phoenix a 2-1 lead in the series. Crawford admitted after the game that this was a terrible goal to give up.

Now, let me say a few words about Raffi Torres.

This guy is a disgrace to the game of hockey. He has zero respect for any of his opponents, and now he has no respect from the fans. He simply goes out onto the ice head-hunting, looking to literally knock guys out. In fact, it was exactly a year ago last night that he put a violent hit to the head on Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook in Game 3 of the Canucks-Blackhawks first round series. Torres has been suspended twice in his career, with the first one coming on April 11, 2011. He committed a violent head-shot on Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers, and was suspended 4 games, including the first 2 games of playoffs against the Blackhawks. Then, this past December 31, he was suspended 2 games for charging Nate Prosser of the Minnesota Wild.

There is no doubt that Torres will receive a suspension for his hit last night on Hossa, but no one quite knows how many games he will receive, and that is why the NHL’s disciplinary system is so messed up. On a hit like the one last night, most people familiar with the game of hockey should at least have some idea as to how many games Torres will be suspended. Unfortunately, Brendan Shanahan and his crew have been all over the place this year with their suspensions, making it virtually impossible to predict their decisions.

I’ll just say this. If Torres gets 3 games or less, then this whole thing is a complete joke. My reasoning? Andrew Shaw was just given a 3 game suspension yesterday for his hit on Coyotes goalies Mike Smith. Smith was not injured on the play, and Shaw had no previous history of suspensions or fines. Torres on the other hand, does have a bad history, and Hossa was injured on the play.

Aside from the announcement of Torres’ suspension, look for Hawks coach Joel Quenneville to possibly get fined today for his comments last night about the referees. He said that they “were a disgrace,” among some other words.

Game 4 is Thursday night at the United Center. This is now a must win for the Blackhawks, and it is going to have to come without one of the best players in the world in Marian Hossa.

Thanks for reading.

Update: Torres’ hearing with the NHL has been moved to Friday. The meeting will take place in New York. Also, because it is an in-person meeting and not over the phone, the NHL can give Torres a suspension of 5 games or more if they choose to.