Tag Archives: Chicago Blackhawks

So now what for the Blackhawks?

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940-toews-jonathan-8colNow that the Blackhawks have come up just short of defending their Stanley Cup championship in this year’s playoffs, we can look ahead at what might take place on West Madison Street as the summer progresses. Last year, we were all talking about a Stanley Cup victory and how the team would remain mostly intact heading into the 2013-14 season. Unfortunately, this summer has a much different tune to it, even though you can’t really view this season as a failure.

The Hawks finished up this season with 107 points, which in the past had usually guaranteed you one of the top three spots in the conference heading into the playoffs. However, with many teams improving around the league and the parity growing, 107 points was good for third place in the Central Division this year. Third place in your own division doesn’t sound so good, but 107 points is nothing to cry about.

In the playoffs, the Hawks knocked off a Stanley Cup-favorite in the St. Louis Blues in the first round, and they eliminated the Wild for the second year in a row in the second round. Defeating the Blues was big, and beating the Wild to advance to the Conference Final for the fourth time in six years was even bigger. Then came the Kings, who beat the Hawks in overtime of Game 7 to put an end to hockey in Chicago, for now. Think about it, the Blackhawks were one lucky bounce, one shot away from winning the Western Conference again. That isn’t anything to get too upset over.

While the feeling around Chicago regarding the Blackhawks has turned into “Stanley Cup or bust” each year, that doesn’t mean the Hawks need to rebuild every time they don’t win the Cup. With that said, let’s look at what may happen this summer.

It is unlikely that you will see the following players wearing Blackhawks jerseys again next year: Michal Handzus, Sheldon Brookbank, Nikolai Khabibulin, and Peter Regin. They are all unrestricted free agents that the Blackhawks will most likely opt to not re-sign. Jeremy Morin, Antti Raanta, and Ben Smith are all restricted free agents that I believe the Blackhawks will try to lock up before they become available to other teams. If one of those three were to be let go, I’d put my money on it being Raanta, although that is very unlikely to happen.

Some other guys you might not see with the Blackhawks include Joakim Nordstrom, Johnny Oduya, Michal Rozsival, Nick Leddy, and Kris Versteeg. Nordstrom may be sent back down to Rockford next season, and the other four guys will likely be brought up in trade talks this summer. It is highly unlikely that the Hawks would trade away two of their defensemen, let alone three, so if one of them goes, I’m putting my money on Oduya as he is entering the last year of his contract and is due over $3 million next year. After him, Rozsival would be the most likely to go for similar reasons. Nick Leddy would bring back the most to the Hawks if he were dealt, but I don’t see them giving up on him. He is too talented to trade away at just 23 years old. As for Kris Versteeg, I wouldn’t trade him yet. I’d see how he performs during the first couple months of next season before trying to make a deal.

The Blackhawks will also be looking to add players to the roster. Most notably a second line center. My best guess here is that the second line center position is Teuvo Teravainen’s to lose. The Blackhawks may look to sign a center this off season who could play on the second line if need be, but I believe they want Teravainen to be that guy come opening night. I don’t see him not making the NHL roster, unless he has an absolutely terrible training camp and preseason.

I would imagine the Hawks will be looking to sign a depth defenseman or two. They probably won’t bring back Brookbank, and there is a 50/50 chance they trade Oduya or Rozsival in the next month or so. They acquired David Rundblad this past spring, who is a puck moving defenseman, and he might fill any void left on the d-pairings heading into next year. That leaves room for the Hawks to sign one or two depth defensemen who can rotate in and out of the lineup.

If they don’t sign any defensemen this summer, look for guys like Adam Clendening and Klas Dahlbeck to make the jump from Rockford to the NHL to begin the season.

Something else to keep an eye on is the contract situations with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane (both have one year left on their contract). Stan Bowman is now allowed to begin negotiating extensions with each player, and he has made it very clear that re-signing both Toews and Kane is priority number one this offseason. I would imagine that if they do both sign extensions, they will receive identical, or close to identical contracts again. It would be nice if they took discounts to allow Bowman to re-sign and sign other players, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Toews and Kane each ask for Evgeni Malkin-type money ($9.5 million per year).

A lot could potentially happen with the Blackhawks this summer. There is also the chance that not a lot happens either. They are still one of the best teams in hockey and will no doubt be a Stanley Cup contender again next season. Whether or not they make a serious push for the Cup, however, could depend on what Stan Bowman decides to do in the next couple months.

 

Ducks or Kings: Who do the Hawks want next?

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130107_gq_trout_aNow that the Blackhawks have finally sent the Minnesota Wild packing and on their way to the nearest golf course, we can shift our focus ahead to the Western Conference Final. The Hawks will play the winner of the Ducks-Kings series, which is headed to a seventh game tomorrow night. Both teams are strong in multiple areas of their game, so which one do the Blackhawks really want to play next?

Let’s start by taking a look at a potential Blackhawks-Kings series.

During the regular season, the Hawks went 3-0-0 against LA, outscoring them 9-4 in those 940-couture-loganthree games. However, that was the regular season, and the Kings are playing what may be their best hockey of the year right now. They are an elite defensive team as we have all seen in the past, and they have one of the best goaltenders in the world. If we thought the Wild did a good job at slowing down the pace of the Hawks and keeping them from using their speed to their advantage, just wait until we (potentially) see LA. They can shut their opposition down as well as anyone in the league and can force them to play a slow, chip-and-chase type game. That does not bode necessarily well for the Hawks. On top of that, Jonathan Quick has the ability to single handedly win a series.

david_rundblad_phx_030512As for the Ducks, they finished the regular season as the top team in the Western Conference. Despite that fact, the Blackhawks still went 2-0-1 against them in the regular season, with that one loss being a shootout/coin flip loss. The Ducks were one of the league’s top goal-scoring teams this season, but in the playoffs and against much tougher defenses, they rank eighth (fourth among the remaining teams). Their top line, which features Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, is always one of the most dangerous lines in hockey, but after that the Ducks offense takes a step back. On defense, Cam Fowler leads the way for Anaheim with a couple of other solid, but inexperienced d-men. They have the ability to shut down their opponent’s offense at times, but their lack of experience in the postseason is a problem. In net, it has been a circus for the Ducks this postseason. They started the playoffs with Frederik Andersen in goal, then turned to Jonas Hiller, and are now riding rookie John Gibson, who played in all of three games during the regular season. Who knows if/when they’ll switch it up again. The bottom line is that there is a lot of uncertainty regarding who their number one goalie is right now.

So, which one do the Hawks want to play? While the answer may seem obvious based on what was just said, there’s more to it than just that.

In a series against the Kings, the Blackhawks would get home-ice advantage. There is also somewhat of a “familiarity” with the Kings since the Hawks just played them in the Conference Final last year. Yes, the Kings are probably the better team compared to Anaheim, but there are advantages to playing against them in the Conference Final.

If the Blackhawks end up playing Anaheim, that matchup better favors the Hawks than one with LA. The lack of depth on the Ducks, their inexperience in late playoff rounds, and their goalie problems are not a good recipe when playing the Blackhawks. Yet, the Ducks would have the home-ice advantage over the Hawks based on regular season point totals.

While the Blackhawks would never admit it publicly, they would rather face the Ducks in the Conference Final. There are too many areas of Anaheim’s game that are inferior to those of the Hawks, and the Blackhawks are one of the best teams in the league (if not the best) at winning important games on the road. Having the home-ice advantage is always nice, but in this case I think the Hawks would trade it in for a less complicated matchup with the Ducks.

Regardless of who the Blackhawks end up playing next, they need to elevate their game from where it was at against Minnesota. They can’t come out against the Ducks or Kings with they effort they displayed against the Wild and expect to win again. That just won’t work. They have to get back to being the better puck possession team and having more offensive zone time and shots on goal than they did this last round.

My gut feeling is that the Kings are going to end up winning Game 7 in Anaheim, meaning another showdown with the Hawks. If I’m right, people will be quite surprised when they watch the Kings this time around compared to last year. They are much healthier and want revenge. The Blackhawks will need their A-game to advance.

 

Quick thoughts after Blackhawks’ Game 4 loss

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130107_gq_trout_aThis has to be the lowest point of the entire season for the Blackhawks. After going up 2-0 on Minnesota in this second round series, the Hawks dropped both games 3 and 4 in St. Paul and looked absolutely horrible in doing so. If you really sit back and think about it, the Blackhawks didn’t even look good in either of the first two games of the series in Chicago. The Wild outplayed the Hawks in both games, but couldn’t find the back of the net often enough to win. Most people thought the Hawks would win this series (I thought in 5 games), but now it looks like this could be a potential upset.

Here’s what’s on my mind following these last two losses:

  • Where is the energy from the Hawks? This entire series, the Blackhawks have looked less than interested in playing hockey, while the Wild are out there busting their butts doing whatever they can to win each night. If you think back to last year’s first round series with the Wild, the Hawks looked very lethargic there as well. The only difference this time around is that the Wild are a much better team than they were a year ago, and the Blackhawks can’t get away with putting in half their effort each game.
  • What in the world is going on with Quenneville and his line combinations? After losing Game 3, he decided to drastically switch up the lines for Game 4 (Bickell-Toews-Smith, Saad-Kruger-Kane, Sharp-Handzus-Hossa, Morin-Nordstrom-Bollig). Those lines lasted almost 7 minutes in Game 4 before Quenneville decided it was time to switch up the line combos every 5 minutes. He literally did not give any line except the second line a chance to develop chemistry or to be successful. How are these players supposed to feel comfortable out on the ice in hostile territory when they are hopping over the boards with two new linemates every shift? It makes no sense to me. It would appear that Quenneville hit the panic button early in Game 4 and never took his finger back off of it.
  • Speaking of line combinations, I would give anything in the world to find out why Brandon Bollig is STILL in the lineup, let alone professional hockey. What good has TampaBayLightning_LOGOthis guy done at any point this season? He is god awful offensively, he is a reliability on defense, and he has seen less than five minutes of ice time per game this postseason. Why the hell even play a guy who won’t be on the ice for more than four and a half minutes per game? Then when he IS on the ice, he goes and takes absolutely HORRIBLE penalties like he did in Game 4 when he illegally checked Keith Ballard into the glass from behind, thus putting the Hawks on the penalty kill (Bollig had a hearing with the NHL today regarding that hit. I would gladly accept a 15-game suspension for him just to force Quenneville to take him out of the lineup). When you have guys like Peter Regin, Jeremy Morin, and/or Kris Versteeg being scratched each night while Brandon Bollig plays less than five worthless minutes of hockey, one can only wonder what is going through the mind of Joel Quenneville. Think about it. With a healthy lineup, doesn’t a fourth line of Morin-Regin/Handzus-Versteeg sound A LOT better than Versteeg/Morin-Handzus-Bollig? And the Corsi numbers (via extraskater.com) back this up.
  • The Blackhawks top players (Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp) need to step up and start carrying this team again. Sharp scored in Game 4, and Hossa really hasn’t been bad this whole postseason, but Kane and Toews especially need to get going again. Game 4 was arguably Toews’ worst playoff performance of his career (granted he had new linemates every other shift), and he needs to pick it up starting with Game 5.
  • Corey Crawford had been outstanding this postseason until Game 4 the other night when he allowed at least two horrible goals in the second period. He can’t let his Game 4 performance affect his confidence moving forward.
  • Michal Rozsival was putrid in Game 4 against the Wild, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sheldon Brookbank return to the lineup in Rozsival’s spot for Game 5. Brookbank has played four games this postseason, and he really hasn’t been bad in any of them.

I could continue to go on and on, but those are the major things I wanted to mention. The bottom line is that the Blackhawks need to find their energy again and their desire to win, or else the Wild will no doubt pull off the upset here. This is now a best of three series with the Hawks holding home ice advantage, and while they haven’t played well this entire series, I still think they’ll advance to the next round.

Blackhawks advance, wait for next opponent

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130107_gq_trout_aWell, prior to the Blackhawks-Blues series I had predicted that the Hawks would come away victorious in six games. Turns out I was dead on, but that’s not quite how I expected the series to go. I was thinking more along the lines of each team winning one road game over the first four games, then the Hawks winning games 5 and 6. The latter came true, but I really didn’t think the Hawks would win four straight after going down 0-2 after the first two games. It doesn’t really matter though, a win is a win and I’ll take it.

The first two games of the series were won by the Blues, not lost by the Hawks. The Blues outplayed the Blackhawks in each of the first two games in St. Louis and wound up winning both in overtime (Game 1 in triple OT). With Brent Seabrook beginning his three game suspension, the series shifted to Chicago for games three and four, both won by the Blackhawks. Game 3 saw the Hawks dominate the first ten minutes, and then proceed to get badly outplayed for the remaining fifty. If not for Corey Crawford playing out of his mind, the Blues would have won that game 5-1. Instead, the Hawks won 2-0. Game 4 was more evenly matched, as the Hawks tied the game 3-3 late in regulation and went on to win in overtime, thanks to another memorable Patrick Kane goal. Game 5 was the big one.

139990-330-0Up to this point in the season, Game 5 against St. Louis was the biggest win of the year for the Blackhawks. The really did not want to go down 3-2 in the series and have to win a Game 7 in St. Louis. The Hawks struck first on a Hossa’s first goal of the playoffs, and got their second goal from Ben Smith, also his first of the playoffs. St. Louis tied it early in the third and the game ended up going to overtime for the fourth time in the series. After a good save by Crawford on David Backes, Duncan Keith’s frantic clearing attempt wound up on the tape of Jonathan Toews’ stick, and all that he had in front of him was open ice. Toews’, the one guy the Blues didn’t want on a breakaway in OT, scored to win the game and send the Hawks home up 3-2 in the series.

Game 6 was tied 1-1 going into the third before the Hawks blew it open and won 5-1. There may not be a better team in the NHL at putting teams away when they smell blood in the water. Duncan Keith played what Joel Quenneville called the best game he’s seen him play and recorded four points. Today, Keith was nominated for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league’s best defenseman.

So now we wait. The Hawks will get the winner of the Avalanche-Wild series in the second round. That series is currently being led by the Avs, 3-2. Tonight is Game 6, and I think all Hawks fans are hoping for a Minnesota victory for two reasons. One, the Wild are a much more desirable second round opponent than Colorado. Two, if the Wild win then there will be a Game 7, meaning each team will have to play that much more hockey before facing the Hawks.

Here’s the problem with facing the Avalanche. They’re fast (maybe the fastest in the league), and they force the Hawks to play a chip-and-chase game whenever the two teams meet. This season especially, Colorado’s speed and quickness up and down the ice has really given the Blackhawks fits, not to mention their incredible skill. While the Hawks have proven at times that they can be a successful team playing the chip-and-chase game, they prefer not to. Add this to the fact that the Avs would have the home-ice advantage, meaning the Hawks would have to play in the high altitude potentially four times, and I see some possible problems. However, the Wild may still win the series. While I would prefer that, the second you wish to play a certain opponent, they beat you.

Quick Hits

  • Duncan Keith, Zdeno Chara, and Shea Weber were named this year’s Norris Trophy finalists today. I think Alex Pietrangelo got ripped off here, as he put together one hell of a season for St. Louis (8G, 43A, 20 +/-). He’s bound to win the Norris in the future.
  • Anaheim, Boston, Chicago, and Montreal have all punched their ticket to the second round. Anaheim’s comeback in Game 6 over Dallas was one for the ages. The Boston-Montreal second round matchup is one to keep a close eye on. I think the Habs have the best shot of anyone in the East at knocking out the Bruins, and that includes the Penguins.
  • St. Louis has now been booted from the postseason in the first round two years in a row by the defending Cup champs in 6 games. Both years they had home-ice advantage, both years they won the first two games, and both years they lost the last four. Talk about back-to-back demoralizing defeats…
  • 18 year-old rookie Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche leads the postseason in points with 10. He is already being compared to Sidney Crosby. Colorado’s top line of MacKinnon, Stastny, and Landeskog has been lethal at times during this first round. Matt Duchene could be back in the lineup any day now.
  • The Sharks, after taking a commanding 3-0 lead over the Kings, have dropped two straight games. Game 6 is tonight in LA. The Sharks are looking to avoid what would be a miraculous comeback by the Kings in that series.

The second round of the playoffs is right around the corner, and I can’t wait.

 

Blackhawks’ injuries could be blessing in disguise

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130107_gq_trout_aA few weeks back, Patrick Kane was injured during the Blackhawks’ tilt with the St. Louis Blues at the United Center. Shortly after, he was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with a “lower body injury.” A week and a half later, Jonathan Toews was injured during the second period of the Hawks-Penguins game after a bone-crushing hit from Brooks Orpik. Like Kane, Toews was ruled out for the rest of the regular season. Many, myself included, thought the Blackhawks would go into a tailspin and struggle to win games for the remainder of their schedule. That, however, has not been the case.

The Blackhawks are currently riding a three-game winning streak after wins over Minnesota, Columbus, and St. Louis (all playoff teams). They trail the Avalanche in the standings by two points, while Colorado has a game-in-hand. During this three-game winning streak, multiple Blackhawks players have had a chance to step up and make their mark on the team in Kane and Toews’ absence. Guys like Andrew Shaw, Jeremy Morin, Ben Smith, and Peter Regin have stepped up their game lately and are a huge reason for the team’s recent success.

940-couture-loganWhile one would assume having Kane and Toews injured at the same time is never a good thing, it has actually opened the door for Jeremy Morin to prove he belongs on the Blackhawks NHL roster and in the starting lineup heading into the playoffs. All season long, Hawks fans have wondered why Morin has been stuck down in Rockford while players such as Bollig and Handzus have continued to play every night in Chicago. In the coaching staff’s defense, Morin wasn’t showing any signs of improved defensive awareness in his stints with the Blackhawks earlier this season, thus the reason for him spending ample time in Rockford. Now, however, Morin is back in the Blackhawks’ lineup and he looks like a much-improved player in all facets of the game (see, spending time in the AHL can be a positive).

Morin has scored two goals in the last two games and also added an assist against St. Louis in the Hawks’ most recent game this past Sunday. He’s always been a physical player, but now he is playing a smart physical game rather than running around like a chicken with its head cut off. One aspect of Morin’s game that has really stood out to me is his willingness to crash the net in the offensive zone after a shot. This is how he scored against the Blues the other day. Come playoff time, the Blackhawks (and all other playoff teams) will need some ugly goals to help get them victories, and Morin is the type of guy who will get you those.

Here’s the issue. When Kane and Toews do re-enter the lineup for Game One of the playoffs, two players will have to exit. If I could have it my way, I’d like to see Handzus and Bollig be the ones to get scratched for the postseason. My ideal lines would look something like this:

Saad-Toews-Hossa

Sharp-Shaw-Kane

Versteeg-Smith-Bickell

Morin-Kruger-Regin

I think you could flip/flop Shaw and Smith if need be, but for the most part I think those are 139990-330-0the best lines Quenneville could put together. Handzus, while good on the penalty kill, is too slow and not skilled enough to be effective in this lineup. Too often he holds up the rush, makes terrible passes, or gets trapped along the boards due to his lack of quickness and turns the puck over. Bollig, on the other hand, can be a physical presence on the ice, but he has next to zero offensive skill and cannot be trusted in his own end come playoff time. Insert Morin and Regin in place of Handzus and Bollig and you have a lot more skill, a lot more speed, and a much deeper and smarter team.

It is becoming clearer and clearer that Teuvo Teravainen is not in the team’s plans for this postseason as Joel Quenneville continues to not play him. I can’t say I blame the team for not wanting to use up the first year of Teuvo’s contract right now, but I do think he could be a dangerous center on a line with Patrick Kane in the playoffs.

While none of us enjoy having our captain and best playmaker injured at the same time, their injuries have opened the door for guys like Morin, Smith, Regin and Shaw to step up their game leading into the playoffs. I don’t know how much more Jeremy Morin has to do to prove he belongs in the lineup for the postseason, and hopefully Quenneville sees that as well. The Hawks should be healthy come Game One against Colorado, whether it be at home or in Denver, and I think a healthy Blackhawks team can take down the Avs in a seven-game series.

Not looking good

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7327531For the second game in a row, the Blackhawks were badly out-played and have left us fans questioning their desire and work ethic. In Boston on Thursday night, the Hawks were shutout 3-0 and never once looked like they wanted to be playing in that game. In tonight’s 5-2 loss, the Blackhawks looked even worse than Thursday for about 35 of the 60 minutes played against Ottawa, a team that won’t be making the playoffs, and a team that the Blackhawks need to be beating at this time of year.

I’m not quite sure where to even begin trying to explain how bad the Hawks were tonight, but here we go:

  • They came out looking OK through the first 5 minutes tonight, but then proceeded to lose all energy, all effort, and all competitiveness for the remainder of the first.
  • This may have been the worst game of the season for the Hawks’ defensemen. Ottawa torched them multiple times for odd-man rushes and breakaways. If it wasn’t for Raanta, this could have been a 7-2 final, at least…
  • How much longer are we going to watch guys like Versteeg, Sharp, Keith, etc., continue to pass up open looks at the net to try and force a pass through traffic? When you’re down 3-0, you need to shoot the puck as much as possible. This did not happen against the Senators.
  • I am beginning to wonder if Quenneville is losing his mind a little bit. At what point will he see that Bollig and Handzus are bigger liabilities to this team than they are assets? Yeah, Bollig will “fight” now and then (big help that was tonight….not), but he is terrible offensively and just average on defense. Handzus’ only upside is his work on the PK. The rest is flat out bad. Nothing a guy like Morin couldn’t do better.

Maybe it’s that time of year where the playoffs are so close, yet so far away and the Blackhawks are losing focus on the remainder of the regular season. I hope that’s the case, because this effort cannot continue. Multiple times over these last two games have I caught myself saying “they aren’t even trying,” or “this team has no desire to win.” It shouldn’t be that way, not with a team this talented, not with a team this experienced, and not with a team that represents a very proud organization. It’s on Quenneville now to get their heads back into place.

Joel QuennevilleSpeaking of Quenneville, like I mentioned above, his decision making is becoming extremely infuriating. Peter Regin has done nothing but play his butt off since he joined the team by crashing the net, winning board battles, and effectively backchecking the opponents. Yet, Q benches him seemingly every other game in favor of Handzus. Near the end of tonight’s game, it was Regin going hard to the net prior to Seabrook’s goal that may have thrown Anderson off, thus causing the goal. This is what the Hawks need more of, but Regin will probably sit in a sky-box Sunday in Pittsburgh instead. In the case of Brandon Bollig, why Bowman ever gave him a 3-year extension I will never understand. He is not very skilled, he’s a defensive liability, and he makes some bad decisions. In a playoff series, I’d MUCH rather take my chances with someone like Jeremy Morin who can create offense and hustles.

Teuvo Teravainen was not in the lineup tonight after playing in each of the team’s last two games. The Blackhawks still have not hinted one way or another as to what their plan is with Teravainen right now. My gut unfortunately tells me they’ll keep him under 10 games played to avoid using up the first year of his contract. I don’t agree with that move, but I can see that happening.

As a few side notes, Antti Raanta appeared to hurt himself during the first period tonight after falling awkwardly on his right leg. He played the rest of the game, but this is something to keep an eye on. Also, Niklas Hjalmarsson was blatantly kneed by Chris Neil near the end of the second period and looked to be in a lot of pain. He too continued playing, but then appeared to have been held off the ice for most of the third. Hopefully he doesn’t miss any time. Andrew Shaw was called for spearing late in the game and received a game misconduct. By rule, the NHL has to review the incident to determine 130107_gq_trout_awhether or not further penalty(s) are warranted. Lastly, Matt Carey made his NHL debut tonight. Unfortunately for him, it was not a memorable debut. Cody Ceci’s shot from the point in the first period deflected off of Carey’s stick before going into the net past Raanta for the Sens second goal. Then Carey took a bad delay of game/faceoff violation penalty early in the third that led to Ottawa’s fourth goal (a dagger).

With the way the Blackhawks are playing at the moment, I don’t see any reason why the Avalanche couldn’t put them away in just 5 games in the first round of the playoffs. Granted, the Hawks are without Patrick Kane right now, but still.

They better show up in Pittsburgh Sunday night.

Beginning of an era

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130107_gq_trout_aTeuvo Teravainen, the Blackhawks’ number one prospect, made his NHL debut Tuesday night in a 4-2 victory over the Dallas Stars at the United Center. The hype surrounding his debut is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before with the Blackhawks, which had me worried about how well Teravainen would handle the pressure. In his first shift just a few minutes into the game, he put all of those concerns to rest by winning a neutral zone faceoff and creating some offense with linemates Brandon Saad and Ben Smith. Right before this, he received a huge ovation from the UC faithful as he stepped over the boards and onto the ice.

Teuvo ended up winning all seven faceoffs that he took Tuesday night, while the Blackhawks as a team dominated at the faceoff dot by winning 49 of the 71 draws. It didn’t take long to realize just how much talent and potential Teravainen has in this league. Early in the game, he intercepted a centering pass by the Stars and instantly made a beautiful lead pass to Brandon Saad who was already streaking up the ice. This led to a quality opportunity at the other end for Ben Smith. Later in the game, Teuvo caught Saad completely off-guard with an incredible pass that only the elite passers can make. On the powerplay (yes, Quenneville already had him on the top PP unit), Teravainen basically took on the role that Patrick Kane fills. He did not look nervous at all and ended making some good passes that eventually led to Andrew Shaw’s unbelievable goal from his knees.

7327531After the game, Hawks players were very impressed with how Teravainen played and seemed to be quite excited about playing with him from here on out. Joel Quenneville, who rarely trusts any rookies in crucial points of the game, had Teravainen on the the ice with under five minutes left in regulation in a one-goal game. Afterwards, Quenneville stated, “I thought his awareness around the rink, both sides of the puck, and in the faceoff circle was very strong, very good. He did a nice job. Good start.” I don’t think we ever heard him say anything close to that about Brandon Pirri. If Teravainen is already gaining trust from Quenneville, especially on the defensive side of his game, I would think we’ll see a lot more Teuvo this spring. However, that raises a big question.

If Teravainen plays ten games or more this year, regular season and/or playoffs, it will count as a full season played under his contract. He is currently signed to a three-year deal, and many people are speculating as to whether or not the Blackhawks want to use up one of those three years right now. Chris Block, writer for The Third Man In, had this to say about Teravainen’s situation. Chris is a trusted writer and has a lot of inside information regarding the Blackhawks and Icehogs. In contrast to what Chris believes may happen with Teuvo, Stan Bowman came out last week and said “whether he plays two games, 10 games, 20 games, that’s not a factor,” meaning he’s not worried about burning up a year of Teravainen’s contract.

My belief is this: It is the job of a general manager to put the best possible team together in order to win a championship, which in this case is the Stanley Cup. If Teravainen shows that he can make this Blackhawks team better before reaching ten games played, then the Hawks should keep him in the lineup for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. Use up the first year of his contract if he shows he can make this team better and help them try and win the Cup. I understand that Bowman may be concerned about losing a year of Teuvo’s contract in a situation like this, but if he makes this team better, let him keep playing. After watching him play Tuesday night, it’s hard to imagine him not making the Hawks a better team moving forward.

139990-330-0The Blackhawks will have Patrick Kane back for the playoffs, and I can only dream about what it would be like to have him and Teravainen on the same line together. That is, assuming the Hawks decide to keep Teuvo in the lineup. If you think about it, when was the last time the Blackhawks had a real number two center? When was the last time Kane had a real center not named Toews on his line? This will be a very interesting situation to watch play out, and I can only hope the Blackhawks brass makes the right decision with Teravainen.

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463371287_slideFriday night’s showdown between the Ducks and Blackhawks at the United Center was just that: a showdown of arguably the top two teams in the NHL. Anaheim came into the game with a record of 18-1-0 over their previous 19 games, while the Hawks entered Friday night’s contest struggling a bit lately with a record of 4-1-5 in their last 10. Prior to Friday’s game against Anaheim, the Blackhawks really looked like a team going through the dog days of the regular season. They had little energy in their game and they weren’t playing nearly as well as they are capable. Maybe it was the fact that they were playing the team with the league’s best record, or maybe they simply got back to their normal style of domination, but whatever it was, the Blackhawks were themselves again Friday night at the UC.

Marian Hossa started the scoring about halfway through the first period when he registered his 28th career shorthanded goal to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead. Incredibly, this was the first lead that the Blackhawks had in any game since January 3rd in New Jersey. Then near the end of the first, some great forechecking and hustle from Kris Versteeg led to the puck ending up in the back of Anaheim’s net. Versteeg was credited with his first goal in 10 games.

The second period saw no scoring, but a lot of domination by the team wearing red. The Hawks seemingly had possession of the puck for about 15 minutes of the 20 that were played in the second period, but just couldn’t find the back of the net.

In the third period, Bryan Bickell scored what appeared to be the put-away goal about ten minutes in. That wasn’t the case, however. Anaheim immediately stepped up their game and struck for two goals in a span of less than a minute to bring themselves within one with about 6 minutes left in regulation. They would continue pressuring the Hawks until they finally had to pull Jonas Hiller for the extra attacker. With 8 seconds left in the game, Marian Hossa scored on the empty net for the Hawks fourth and final goal.

So, here were my observations in this one:

  • This may have been the best all around game that the Hawks’ defensemen have played all season. I don’t think you can say that one of their d-men had a bad game. Keith was all over the ice as usual, Seabrook actually stayed on his feet the whole 463372659_slidegame, Oduya was good on the PK, Rozsival was really active in the offensive zone and saw some time on the powerplay, and Nick Leddy played one of his best games as a pro in my opinion, offensively and defensively. Hjalmarsson was his usual self until he committed a terrible turnover inside the Ducks’ blue line that resulted in Anaheim’s first goal. Aside from that mishap, however, the Blackhawks’ defense was outstanding and really dictated how this game would be played. 
  • Marian Hossa stayed red hot with two more goals against the Ducks. He now has 18 on the year and 4 in his last 4 games. Hossa continues to prove he is possibly the game’s best two-way player.
  • Corey Crawford was solid Friday night with the exception of Anaheim’s second goal. He made another highlight reel save in this game with Corey Perry being the victim this time. This was Corey’s first win since returning from injury, but not because of his play. He has been very, very good since coming back to the lineup, but the Hawks’ defense has not until Friday night.
  • Brandon Bollig. I continue to lay awake at night wondering why this guy is still in the NHL, let alone on a team with so much talent in its system. He is not good defensively, and he is basically a liability on offense. If you watch the Hawks on a regular basis, you’ll notice that his linemates try their best not to pass him the puck unless they have to. He has close to zero skill except for a hard wrist shot, and cannot be trusted in crucial points of the game. I honestly believe that if the Hawks were to put Jeremy Morin or Brandon Pirri on that fourth line in place of Bollig that it would become one of the top fourth lines in the league. Bollig drags the line down that much.
  • Somewhat similar to Bollig is Michael Handzus. What has this guy done for the team lately? Did you even notice him Friday night against Anaheim? I know he ended up being a big factor in the playoffs last season, but that was still last season. This is now, and he is an anchor in that lineup. He is too slow to be effective in the Hawks’ style of play, he isn’t even close being physical enough given his size, and when he’s not winning faceoffs he’s pretty much useless. Yes, he has had his good moments on the penalty kill this year, but you can’t tell me that there’s no one else in the organization with more skill who could do Zus’s job on the PK. Like Bollig, he’s more of a liability than an asset in my eyes.
  • 463381741_slideBryan Bickell finally scored against the Ducks. That was just his second tally since returning from injury. He also had one of his best hits of the season Friday night, only his teammate Kris Versteeg was the victim. Versteeg missed the entire third period as a result but was back on the ice today for practice.

Looking ahead, the Hawks play host to the Bruins tomorrow morning for what will be the first game between these two teams since Game 6 of last year’s SCF. Boston is one of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference again this year, so the Blackhawks will have to bring their A-game again in this one. You better believe the Bruins will be looking for revenge in this game.

Kane, Keith continue to pace Blackhawks

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dt.common.streams.StreamServerPatrick Kane and Duncan Keith are each having arguably their best seasons to date as NHL players, and that’s saying something. Patrick Kane won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie back in the 2007-2008 season, and Duncan Keith won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman in 2010. Yet both players are currently performing at higher levels than we’ve ever seen. Kane is in the thick of the Hart Trophy race (league MVP), and Keith is considered by all hockey analysts as the leading candidate to win the Norris Trophy, again.

Patrick Kane, who’s best career numbers came in the ’09-’10 season (30G, 58A), already has 20 goals and 26 assists this season, putting him second in the NHL in points only Anaheim Ducks v Chicago Blackhawksbehind Sidney Crosby. Kane previously had a career best 12-game point streak earlier this year, and he is currently riding another 10-game point streak. How many guys in the NHL can say they’ve even had ONE 10-game point streak in their career? Kane continues to come up with goal after goal, assist after assist, and he’s been a major reason as to why the Blackhawks’ powerplay is so good this year.

Duncan Keith also had his best season during the ’09-’10 campaign when he put up 14 goals and 55 assists, and won the Norris Trophy. This season, he has 3 goals to go along Anaheim Ducks v Chicago Blackhawkswith 29 assists. His 29 assists put him just 3 away from the league lead, and he’s a defenseman. Aside from his offensive number, Keith is without a doubt playing his best defensive hockey of his career. You would be hard pressed to find a night this season when Keith hasn’t been the best d-man on the ice during a Blackhawks game. His ability to read the opposition’s offense and get in the way of the passing lanes is almost surreal. He has one of the best, most active sticks I’ve seen and always finds a way to come up with a nice poke check or deflection to break of the opponent’s offensive rush. Keith is also a part of the Hawks’ number one powerplay unit where he has been a huge contributor this year. His awareness when it comes to knowing when to shoot and when to pass with the man advantage is as good as it gets.

Both Kane and Keith are due to go through a rough patch at some point this season, but I wouldn’t expect them to be long ones. These guys are two of the best players at their respective positions in the world. Right now, they are playing at the highest level they have ever played, and they have been a HUGE reason for the Blackhawks’ success up to this point. If both players continue to play at this elite level, I’d expect at least one of them to walk away with an award at the end of the season. Right now, I’d give the edge to Duncan Keith over Patrick Kane in that regard, but I wouldn’t put it past Kane to win the league’s MVP.

All eyes on Raanta

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184164326_slidePrior to the Blackhawks’ game in Dallas on Tuesday night, Joel Quenneville revealed that Corey Crawford would miss the next 2-3 weeks with a lower body injury. That “lower body” injury is presumed to be a groin injury based on how Crawford injured himself during Sunday night’s game against Florida. What this all means is that all the weight is now on Antti Raanta’s shoulders; a guy who was playing in Rockford just a month ago only dreaming about making it to the NHL someday.

Raanta, who improved to 4-0-1 after last night’s win in Dallas, has played exactly how the Blackhawks want their backup goalie to play since bringing him up following the injury to Nikolai Khabibulin. Only now, he’s their starter for the next few weeks. In the 6 games that Raanta has appeared in (5 starts), he has posted a 2.14 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Those are very respectable numbers for a rookie. Raanta and the Hawks will need those numbers to continue as the Blackhawks are about to begin arguably their toughest stretch of the schedule this season.

Also as a result of Crawford’s injury was the promotion of Rockford goalie Kent Simpson to the NHL. He is now the Blackhawks backup goalie to Antti Raanta. Simpson, the Blackhawks second round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, has a 6-7 record in the AHL this season along with a 3.38 GAA and .900 save percentage. Those are not very good numbers by any means, even in the AHL. Obviously the Hawks were not planning on calling Simpson up to the NHL this year, and I am sure that they would prefer to use him as little as possible while he is up in Chicago.

What all of this means is that Antti Raanta is going to see a ton of playing time until Corey Crawford returns to the lineup. Raanta has proven he can get the job done in the 6 games that he has played in, and now is the time for him to really show that he belongs in the NHL. Including tonight’s game against the Flyers, the Blackhawks have 3 sets of back-to-back games over the next three weeks. Normally, Joel Quenneville doesn’t like to have the same goalie play both games of a back-to-back set, but with Kent Simpson being his second option now, Antti Raanta might not get a day off. He is about to be tested skill-wise and physically during this upcoming stretch of games.

Moving forward, the Blackhawks are really going to have to play solid defense in front of Raanta and Simpson, if he ever gets playing time. While Raanta has built some confidence recently, the best thing for him is going to be building even more confidence. The best way for the Hawks to help him achieve that is by playing strong defense in front of him and limiting their opponents scoring opportunities. Raanta even said after the Banner-Raising-2013-1600Hawks’ 6-2 win in Dallas on Tuesday that “It’s pretty nice to be a goalie on this team,” meaning that they have limited the opposition’s scoring chances and have been scoring a ton of goals themselves lately. That is usually a recipe for success, and they absolutely have to continue doing so from here on out, or at least until Crawford gets back.

The bottom line is that the Blackhawks have a very fragile goalie situation at the moment. The last thing they want is for Raanta to begin struggling and have to turn to Kent Simpson. If Antti Raanta plays well as the starter while Crawford is out, I can almost guarantee you that Nikolai Khabibulin will not play another game as a Blackhawk once he gets healthy. Based on his early season struggles before getting hurt, the Blackhawks 1306350614have zero confidence in him. Plus, Raanta was signed to someday be a goalie (backup and/or starter) on the Blackhawks. They didn’t sign him to sit in Rockford forever. If he can prove that he’s ready for the NHL in the same year that they signed him, then that’s just a bonus.

These next few weeks will say a lot about Raanta and the Blackhawks.