Tag Archives: Joel Quenneville

Keys to a Blackhawks’ series victory over Nashville

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15-_DSC2491-toresizeTwo months ago this matchup didn’t quite seem possible, as the Predators appeared to be running away with the Central Division crown. Then came their downfall that landed them as the second seed in the Central, leading us to a rematch of the 2010 Western Conference Quarterfinals. The Blackhawks haven’t necessarily been playing well either, and have lost four straight games heading into the playoffs. Putting all of that behind us, there are many factors that come into play when trying to determine a winner in this series.

I said it in my “predictions” post that I think the Hawks will win this series in six games. Obviously it could go four, five, or seven games, but regardless I still think the Blackhawks will advance. The questions is, how will they advance?

-First of all, Patrick Kane is back and will be playing in Game One. That right there is a huge advantage in favor of the Hawks, who badly need to get their offense and powerplay back on the right track. I think we all know just how valuable a player Kane is, so I won’t elaborate anymore on him.

-Secondly, the Hawks’ defense has to be playing at the top of their game. Kimmo Timonen will be back to start the series after missing the last handful of games to close out the regular season, and his presence on the team’s blue line gives them more depth and reliability. That means nothing, however, if his partner (likely Rundblad or Rozsival) continues to be a liability. In the top four, we pretty much know what we’re going to get for the most part. Seabrook always seems to have the ability to stink, as does Oduya, but hopefully those two play the way they have lately and like they did in 2013. If it were up to me, I’d have the d-pairings look like 2-7, 4-27, 44-32. Keith and Seabrook, and Oduya and Hjalmarsson all seem to play better when they are paired that way.

The Blackhawks finished the year as the second best team in hockey in goals against per game, which says a lot about their team defense (and goaltending, which we’ll get to). The problem that the blue liners of the Hawks have had is their giveaways in their own zone and the neutral zone. More often this year than in years past we’ve seen Blackhawks defensemen pass the puck right to the opposition at the Hawks’ own blue line or in the neutral zone, leading to incredible scoring chances for the other team. This cannot continue to happen. Mistakes like these are usually mental ones and can be eliminated or at least cut back on.

While the Predators don’t present the best group of forwards in the league by any means, they’re still good and can take advantage of mistakes. I’m not too worried about the actual defensive play of the Hawks’ top five d-men, but they cannot afford to turn the puck over.

-Corey Crawford is coming off of arguably his best regular season since becoming the team’s number one goalie, earning his second career Jennings Trophy, and he’ll need to keep it up for the next couple months. He and his backups are a HUGE reason why the Blackhawks ended with over 100 points this year, so hopefully he can keep that up as well as get some more goal scoring from his teammates in front of him.

-Line combinations always are, and will continue to be a huge part of the playoffs. Right now, unfortunately, Joel Quenneville has his lines messed up. In the team’s last two practices, including today, the line combos were Saad-Toews-Hossa, Versteeg-Richards-Kane, Bickell-Shaw-Sharp, Nordstrom-Kruger-Teravainen. As you may have noticed, Antoine Vermette is missing from those line combos. Yes, that’s the same guy that the Hawks traded away a first round pick and arguably their top defensive prospect for at the trade deadline. And yes, he’s still one of the league’s best players at winning faceoffs. Yet he appears to be a healthy scratch for Game One.

The first question that pops into my head is why did they trade for him if he’s going to sit for Game One of the playoffs? I’m guessing that’s a common question among fans right now, but it’s not really a good one. A better question is what makes Joakim Nordstrom and Kris Versteeg more valuable than Vermette? Nordstrom is a fourth line player who is smart and reliable on the penalty kill. Guess what? So is Antoine Vermette, who’s also a better all-around player. As for Versteeg, he has been the worst Hawk over the last month and a half and has provided next to zero production for the team over that span. What makes him so irreplaceable? What Quenneville is probably thinking is that with Kane now back, he can reunite that trio of him, Versteeg, and Richards that was so successful back in December. If it works, great. If not, Versteeg should either be in the bottom six or scratched.

Another negative to Vermette apparently being benched is that you now have to play Andrew Shaw at center. Granted, even with Vermette in the lineup this has still recently been the case because Quenneville inexplicably decided to put him at wing. By having Vermette in the lineup and at center, the correct position, Andrew Shaw is moved to the wing where he has been his most effective throughout his career with the Blackhawks. As a wing, Shaw is able to be more involved on the forecheck and doesn’t need to take faceoffs. After acquiring Vermette back in March, the Hawks had Shaw on the wing and he instantly started playing his best hockey of the year. Go figure!

I am extremely hopeful that Quenneville will come to his senses and put the playoff experienced, veteran center Antoine Vermette back in the lineup for Game Two. Better yet, maybe he’ll still play him tomorrow and hope that these last two practices served as a “wake-up call” for Vermette who really does need to step up his game. Best case scenario, the lines for Game One would be Sharp-Toews-Hossa, Saad-Vermette-Kane, Versteeg-Richards-Bickell, Shaw-Kruger-Teravainen.

I’m not saying that the Blackhawks can’t win with the current line combinations, but I also think they’d be a lot better off with Vermette in the lineup on a nightly basis.

This series has the potential to be a really good one. In the end though, I think the Blackhawks are simply too deep and have too much offense (provided they start clicking) for Nashville to handle in a seven game series. I also think that the Blackhawks’ defense and goaltending will triumph over the Nashville forwards.

I hope I’m right…

Switch flipped?

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15-_DSC2491-toresizeAfter four consecutive underwhelming performances against non-playoff teams that led to a grand total of two points, the Blackhawks have reeled off two straight victories against a couple of the toughest teams in the Western Conference. On Sunday night, it was the Jets that watched the Hawks “go through the motions” for the first 40 minutes of the game before turning it on in the third period and pulling off a last second win on the road. Then last night at the United Center, the Kings fell victim to a rather dominant performance by the Blackhawks that ended with a final score of 4-1 in favor of the home team. Just like that, the Hawks went from being in a Wild Card spot to one point behind the Blues for second in the Central, and four behind the Predators for first place with one game in hand.

Their victory over the Kings may very well have been the best all around performance we’ve seen from the Blackhawks this season, and it came without arguably their best player in the lineup. Right from the opening puck drop, you could see that the Hawks were playing with more energy and desperation than they have in quite some time. They were relentless on the forecheck and kept L.A. pinned in their own end for long stretches at a time. All four lines contributed with either goals or strong shifts that seemed to wear down the Kings.

It is performances like the one we saw last night that make you believe this team, the Hawks, still have all the potential in the world to roll right through the playoffs to the Stanley Cup. When they come out playing with energy and desire like we saw against L.A., I’m not sure that there’s a team in the NHL that could win four out of seven games against the Blackhawks.

Scott Darling proved a big point to me last night. After letting in possibly his softest goal of the season right at the end of the first period, he bounced back in the second and third periods by making a number of big saves without letting in another goal. This showed me that he is strong mentally and won’t let one hiccup lead to another and another. He was quoted after the game as saying something along the lines of “The guys told me not to worry about that goal and that they would get it back for me.” Sure enough, the Hawks struck twice in the first couple minutes of the second to get a 3-1 lead in the game. When a goaltender feels that his team has his back and has confidence in him, that almost always propels him to stronger performances on the ice. The same goes for Corey Crawford, who will undoubtedly be the team’s starting goalie for the playoffs.

With the Hawks now coming off of back-to-back huge wins and 80 straight minutes of solid hockey, they cannot let up. They absolutely need to continue to build off of these last two games and use them as building blocks moving forward. With two more games remaining against the Blues, and one against the Wild, the Blackhawks will need to put forth their best effort to beat those teams and secure a good seed in the playoffs. Second place in the Central is certainly not out of reach by any means. Nor is first for that matter. At the same time however, if they falter in the final two weeks of the season, they could be looking at a Wild Card spot to open the playoffs. My point again: don’t let up.

Patrick Kane update

Kane skated during the Hawks’ optional practice yesterday morning and apparently did everything but take contact and slap shots. Quenneville said afterwards that Kane continues to look real quick and solid on the ice, and that “good news” could be coming soon. Does this mean that the 12-week recovery period may be less? We can only hope.

Blackhawks reassign Teravainen; Recall Hartman, Cumiskey

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IMG_1999-0Earlier this evening, the Blackhawks announced that they had sent top prospect Teuvo Teravainen back to the Rockford Icehogs of the AHL. In return, they called up 2013 number one draft pick, Ryan Hartman (right winger), and 28 year old defenseman Kyle Cumiskey. Cumiskey has been seeing playing time in the NHL on and off since the 2007-08 season, while also playing a number of games in the AHL. He played 4 preseason games with the Hawks this year before getting sent to Rockford for the start of the season.

So what does this all mean?

Well, with the return of Kris Versteeg to the Hawks’ lineup, someone had to leave it. Nordstrom was sent down to make room on the roster for Versteeg, and now Teravainen has been sent down to make room for Versteeg in the everyday lineup. While most of us would love to see Carcillo be the one to lose his spot in the lineup, that’s not happening. At least not right now. It is believed that the Hawks ultimately want Teravainen as part of their top nine forwards. With Versteeg now back in the top nine, that leaves no room for Teuvo, unless Quenneville got smart and decided to leave him as the third line center and demote Shaw to a fourth line wing where he belongs. But that’s not going to happen. Shaw is Q’s third line center, and that’s that. Instead of keeping Teravainen in the NHL and having him scratched from the lineup on a regular basis, the Hawks have opted to send him to Rockford where he’ll see loads of playing time.

In Teravainen’s place on the roster we’ll now see West Dundee native Ryan Hartman. Hartman is looked at as being a potentially more valuable version of Andrew Shaw. They are similar players in that they are agitators who also possess offensive talent. Hartman is likely a better offensive player than Shaw, and has notched 8 goals and 10 assists in 47 games this year in Rockford. He also earned 81 penalty minutes there this year.

Also coming up to the Hawks is Kyle Cumiskey, who leaves Rockford with 1 goal and 10 assists on the year. Cumiskey is recognized for his speed and puck-moving abilities, and that’s about it…

These moves raise a few questions regarding the current state of the Blackhawks.

  1. Will they stick with 8 active defensemen on the NHL roster?
  2. What does this mean for Andrew Shaw?
  3. And to combine the two questions, is a trade looming?

It’s no secret that the Blackhawks probably would like to upgrade their d-corps between now and the end of the trade deadline. I’m not sure that anyone in Chicago feels too comfortable having to rely Rozsival, Rundblad, and Oduya in the lineup at the same time on a nightly basis in the playoffs. It would be great if they could get a trustworthy, number 4-5 defensemen to replace either Rozsival or Rundblad, ideally. The odds of that happening are not great though, as almost every contender is looking to do the same thing for a low price. Still, I don’t see them progressing with eight active defensemen. Does this mean that Tim Erixon gets placed on long term injured reserve assuming no trade is made? We shall see. And let’s not forget that Trevor van Riemsdyk is due back from injury sometime before the playoffs. That adds another d-man to the roster. We would all like to believe that TVR is the answer for the Hawks’ defense, but there’s no telling what kind of shape his legs will be in or how long it will take him to get back into game-shape, let alone playoff-shape. Needless to say, more moves are to come concerning the team’s defensemen.

As for Andrew Shaw, the call-up of Ryan Hartman could possibly (not likely) mean that the Hawks are looking to deal him. The Hawks need to shed some salary before next season, and with the way Shaw has performed this year, he looks expendable. Ryan Hartman, if he performs well in the NHL, is a very similar player to Shaw, and could hypothetically take his place in the lineup. If dealing Shaw results in acquiring a defensemen of the caliber that I previously described, then I’m all for it. The Blackhawks have enough offensive firepower to win without Andrew Shaw, and if Hartman can fill his void, it’s a win-win situation. Granted, this is assuming that Hartman gets a chance to prove himself, which is by no means a guarantee as long as Quenneville his behind the bench. It’s just as likely, if not more, that Carcillo continues playing every night while Hartman watches and eventually gets sent back down.

Clearly, a lot could potentially happen with the Blackhawks’ roster in the near future. One thing is for sure though, and that’s that the recent moves by the Hawks have raised a lot of eyebrows and questions. Could a trade be coming? Or do they have a different plan in store? As usual, only time will tell.

Teravainen up; Versteeg out

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20131211_151215Yesterday, the Blackhawks recalled their top prospect Teuvo Teravainen who has spent all year down in the AHL with the Rockford Ice Hogs. Teravainen is the Hawks’ top prospect and one of the more highly regarded prospects in the game. This will be his second stint in the NHL, as he was called up near the end of last season and played in three games. The reason for his call-up is due to the injury that Kris Versteeg suffered in the Winter Classic against the Capitals. Versteeg took a shot to his hand, left the game, and never returned. He is expected to miss about a month.

Versteeg’s absence from the lineup will be felt, as he is having a very solid season thus far with 9 goals and 18 assists in 34 games played. His 27 points rank third on the team. Ever since Joel Quenneville united Versteeg, Richards, and Kane on the Hawks’ second line, that trio has been arguably the team’s best.

With Versteeg now out, someone will need to fill the void left on the second line. As of right now, it appears that someone will be Patrick Sharp (let’s just take a second to think about what a luxury it is to promote PATRICK SHARP to the second line…). This “new” second line has all kinds of potential to remain the team’s best line, as all three players on it are highly skilled, veteran players.

So what about Teuvo? If today’s practice is any indicator, he’ll be centering the fourth line in between Carcillo/Nordstrom and Smith. Not exactly the role that most fans would like to see him in, but it’s probably the smart decision at this point. You don’t want to put the kid into an important role that puts him under pressure to succeed. Placing him on the fourth line will limit his minutes, but it will also allow him to somewhat ease his way back into the NHL game. If he does well there, expect to see him jump up to the third line with Kruger going back down to the fourth.

Right now really might be the best time possible for Teravainen to come back up to the Blackhawks. They currently sit near the top of the league in the standings, meaning they won’t be fighting for a playoff spot or desirable playoff position like they were the last time Teuvo was up. There isn’t much pressure on the Blackhawks to win every game right now, meaning less pressure on each individual player to play great every single night. Also, we’re entering what many consider the “dog days” of the season. This time of year, January-February, can become a drag for some teams, especially the good ones. With Teravainen coming up now, he’ll bring some excitement to the team, which they may or may not need at this point. Instead of looking at the next couple months as a boring, “let’s just get to April” part of the season, Blackhawks players might see this as the beginning of an era with Teuvo, who has all kinds of potential to be a lethal top six forward on this team in the future.

I think a lot of people thought that the next time Teravainen got called up after being sent down last year, he’d stay up for good. Sort of like the Kris Bryant situation with the Cubs. With Teuvo coming up as the result of an injury to a Blackhawk player, his “staying up for good” might not be the case. That is unless he performs well enough to convince the coaching staff and management to keep him in the NHL. If that happens, then the Blackhawks will have added yet another highly skilled, potent player to their already loaded lineup. Of course, that would essentially mean someone would have to go from the NHL roster, but that’s a problem that we should all welcome.

Teravainen will be making his season debut with the Blackhawks Sunday night at home against the Stars. Ironically, his debut last year was also at home against the Stars. I’d expect some butterflies early from him, but he seems to be in control of his emotions based on what we saw last year. Hopefully he plays well and gains confidence in his game. If that happens, this could be a late Christmas present to all of us Hawks fans, not to mention the organization.

Blackhawks-Ducks preview

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130107_gq_trout_aTonight the Blackhawks play host to the red hot Anaheim Ducks, who are currently tied with Montreal for the league’s lead in points with 14. The Blackhawks come into this game having lost two of their last three games, while the Ducks enter the night fresh off a lopsided loss to the Sharks on Sunday snapping their seven game win streak. These two teams have been pegged by many to be the top two teams in the Western Conference this season, and tonight will be our first look at how they match up with one another.

Before I get to talking about the Hawks, a couple of story lines surrounding the Ducks heading into tonight’s game are Ryan Kesler, John Gibson, and the play of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

This will be Kesler’s first game against the Blackhawks as a member of the Ducks, and it is the first time he’ll be facing the Hawks since their supposed pursuit of him this past summer. Kesler’s presence in the Anaheim lineup makes the Ducks one of the deepest teams in all of hockey at the center position, something the Blackhawks tried to improve upon this offseason with the acquisition of Brad Richards. Kesler, as we all know, is one of the game’s best two-way forwards, as well as one of the most physical and toughest guys to play against. Going back to his days in Vancouver, Kesler has a very deep disliking for the Hawks, so it’ll be interesting to see if that carries over into tonight’s action.

As for John Gibson, he’ll be the Ducks’ starting goalie tonight. He has made a total of 5 starts in his NHL career (2 this year). With this being such a big game for both teams early on in the season, I thought we’d be seeing Frederik Andersen between the pipes for the Ducks, but I guess Bruce Boudreau wants to give Gibson a chance to prove himself against one of the league’s best teams.

Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are tearing it up right now. Both players have 12 points through their first 9 games, and Corey Perry leads the NHL with 9 goals. To compare, Patrick Sharp leads the Blackhawks with 3 goals and 8 points. As a result of Getzlaf and Perry’s hot starts, among some other things, the Ducks are averaging 3.22 goals per game this year. Tonight will be a huge test for the Blackhawks in trying to stop those two.

Okay, now to the Hawks.

It has been somewhat of an up and down start to the year for them, and they currently sit at 5-2-1, which is good for fourth in the West. The biggest positive that we’ve seen from the Blackhawks up to this point has been their ability to keep the puck out of their own net. They are third in the league in goals against per game (1.75) and penalty kill percentage (92%). What needs to improve is their powerplay, which has only converted 20% of the time this year (good for 15th in the league). Their lack of production with the man advantage is a huge reason why they are only averaging 2.62 goals per game so far, which leaves them ranked 16th in that category.

It hasn’t just been the powerplay that has disappointed thus far. The Blackhawks, believe it or not, are 24th in the NHL in 5 on 5 goals this year. They’ve only scored 11 times at even strength, which is very troublesome for a team with so much talent. Last game against Ottawa was the first time the Blackhawks scored during the second period this season. If it wasn’t for their great goaltending and defense, their record could look a lot different.

940-couture-loganSpeaking of the goaltending, Scott Darling will be making his second straight start tonight. He got his first ever win in his first ever NHL start against the Senators on Sunday, winning 2-1. He stopped 32 of the 33 shots that he faced and did a real nice job of cutting down the shooting angles and moving side to side from post to post against the Senators. He is 6’6″, 232 pounds and looks even bigger when standing in the crease. Hopefully he can continue using his size to his advantage. If he puts together another solid outing tonight, it’ll be interesting to see which direction the Blackhawks decide to go with their backup goalie once Crawford returns to the lineup. While Raanta has a ton of talent, his lack of size and vulnerability of getting pushed around in the crease puts him at a disadvantage when compared to Crawford and Darling.

The lines will look a little different than they did last game. As of now, Quenneville has them as Bickell-Toews-Hossa, Saad-Shaw-Kane, Sharp-Richards-Versteeg, Smith-Kruger-Morin. I like seeing that second line reunited. Saad does not belong on the third or fourth line, which is where he had played the last two games, and I love him being paired with Patrick Kane.

Tonight should definitely be a good test for both the Ducks and Hawks, as both teams will be using this game as a measuring stick to see where they currently stand. If you’re looking for something else to watch for in tonight’s game, keep your eyes on Marian Hossa. He currently has 998 career points, leaving him 2 shy of a huge milestone.

Thoughts on the Blackhawks after 3 games

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940-couture-loganThree games are already in the books for the Hawks as they find themselves sitting at 2-0-1. Even after just three games, there are already some things sticking out at me about this team, both good and bad. Starting the year with three straight games without a regulation loss is obviously a good thing, but the Hawks play in the NHL’s toughest division and will need to continue earning points on nearly a nightly basis. With that, here’s what I’ve noticed through three games:

  • First of all, don’t get too upset over the loss to the Flames in OT the other night. The Hawks outshot Calgary 50-18 and dominated the game from start to finish. This was one of those fluke occurrences much like we saw two years ago between these same two teams in Calgary. Only that time, it was Ray Emery and the Blackhawks stealing the victory and not Jonas Hiller and the Flames.
  • The third line needs to wake up. The coaching staff moved Brad Richards from the second line to the third line shortly before the season began, and it has not worked out very well thus far to say the least. That line of Bickell, Richards and Smith has done very little in terms of generating momentum and scoring chances.
  • Speaking of Richards, he has been pretty awful through three games. He looks slow, he’s made a few horrible turnovers at the blue line on the powerplay, and he isn’t doing anything to make his line better. The best he’s looked so far has been on the back-check after turning the puck over. Not the kinds of things we were hoping to see from him. Hopefully he just needs a few games to finally get it going.
  • Special teams. The Hawks have been decent on the penalty kill, having killed 10 of the 11 penalties they’ve taken. It’s the powerplay that has not done much to impress. The Blackhawks are 3 for 16 with the man advantage, which may not look so bad on paper, but the fact that they were just 1 for 7 the other night against Calgary is not good. Had they converted just one more time in that game, they would have won. They need to quit trying to make the extra, cute passes and just shoot the damn thing. It’s that simple.
  • Why is Jeremy Morin still not getting playing time? He played a team low 5:48 against the Flames, one of the worst teams in the league. While guys like Carcillo have been playing pretty well here early on, there’s still no excuse to give Morin less than 6 minutes of ice time. Quenneville needs to get this idea out of his head that Morin is more of a liability than anything else. The guy goes 110% every time he’s on the ice, which creates scoring chances and momentum. Plus, if Q would give Morin the chance to prove he deserves more minutes (instead of providing Carcillo with ample opportunities), he’d probably show that he does deserve more ice time.

Okay now the positive stuff.

  • Corey Crawford continues to look great in net. Sure he only saw 18 shots against the Flames and still lost, but you can’t really pin either of those goals on him. The first was a crazy deflection that no one could have stopped, and the second was just a great wrist shot that beat him. He has made big save after big save so far, including multiple saves on breakaways.
  • The Saad-Shaw-Kane line has been unstoppable the past two games. There’s not much more to say about them than that. The chemistry that this line is showing will make it tough for Quenneville and the coaching staff to break them up, meaning Brad Richards might get demoted to the fourth line before he gets promoted to the second line where we all thought he’d be… Shows you how much us fans know.
  • 940-couture-loganTrevor van Riemsdyk looks to have solidified a spot on the team after the Hawks sent Kyle Cumiskey down to Rockford yesterday. When Rozsival comes back from injury, the d-pairings should look something like Keith-Seabrook, Hjalmarsson-Oduya, and Rozsival-van Riemsdyk with David Rundblad as the seventh defenseman (if it were up to me, I’d have sent him down instead of Cumiskey). TVR has shown a lot of poise, confidence, and awareness through his first three games as a pro. If he continues to improve, the Hawks may have hit the lottery with this kid.
  • Another decent surprise so far has been Dan Carcillo. I’ll be the first to admit that I did not agree with the Hawks when they signed him right before the season started. Now, it’s starting to like like somewhat of a decent move. Carcillo looks like a completely different player than the one who left town after the 2013 Stanley Cup parade. He’s added some physicality and skill (something Brandon Bollig didn’t have) to the fourth line this year, which has made that line quite effective up to this point. When Kris Versteeg comes back, the Hawks will most likely rotate Carcillo and Morin in and out of the lineup of the fourth line. Already I’m noticing more depth on this team than last year’s team, and we all know depth is a huge factor in winning the Cup.

Coming up, the Blackhawks host the Predators and Flyers before heading to Nashville and St. Louis. They really need to get two points in each of these last two home games to keep themselves in a good spot in the Central.

State of the Hawks after one game

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940-toews-jonathan-8colAnyone who watched the Blackhawks take on the Stars the other night in what was each team’s first game of the year knows that the Hawks got manhandled for the first 40 minutes of play. Thankfully, Duncan Keith was able to score right near the end of the first period to put the Hawks on the board first, and Corey Crawford turned in one of those outings that just makes you shake your head in amazement. After a horrible second period in which the Blackhawks went down 2-1, they came out flying in the third and were able to get a powerplay goal from Patrick Sharp that eventually sent the game to overtime. No one scored in OT, a shootout commenced, Patrick Kane did his thing, and the Hawks walked away with 2 points. We’ll take it.

While the Blackhawks did somehow manage to get 2 points out their first game, the fact that they looked so awful through the first 40 minutes cannot be overlooked. Aside from Crawford, Sharp, and probably Hjalmarsson, no one else really showed up to play. As a result, the Stars were practically skating circles around the Hawks for much of the night doing whatever they wanted, except scoring. Besides that, here’s what else I took away from opening night:

  • Clearly the coaching staff has very little confidence in the young defensemen. Duncan Keith was forced to play a game high 29 minutes, while Hjalmarsson and Oduya played over 25, and Seabrook 23. Trevor van Riemsdyk turned in 11 minutes, and David Rundblad just 6. This cannot continue to happen for much longer. At some point, Quenneville has got to let the young guys prove themselves and let them learn to play NHL hockey. Using them for 6-10 minutes a game does not do that, and it certainly does not ready them for playoff minutes. Personally, I didn’t think TVR looked all that bad in his first career NHL game the other night. I’d try and get him around 13-15 minutes tonight against the rebuilding Sabres.
  • Going off of that first point, it is somewhat obvious that the Blackhawks can’t really afford to lose one of their top four defensemen to injury for very long this year. Seeing as how reluctant the coaches are to play the young blue liners, I don’t even want to imagine what might happen if a Keith or Hjalmarsson gets injured and needs a replacement. Granted, there’s a chance that Q will become more comfortable with a guy like TVR as the year progresses (and we haven’t seen Cumiskey yet), but who knows.. Michal Rozsival should be returning to the lineup sometime next week on the third d-pairing, which will probably increase the playing time of whoever his partner is.
  • The Blackhawks better not make a habit of coming out slow an unenthused to start games this year. We’ve seen them do it before in the past, and they did it again against Dallas.
  • I thought the powerplay looked rather decent the other night. They were moving the puck around pretty well and put some nice pressure on Lehtonen. They still have the tendency to pass up shot attempts and try to force bad passes instead, but overall I was please. It was Sharp’s PP goal that tied the game up with just over 8 minutes left to play.
  • The penalty kill wasn’t bad either.
  • Corey Crawford was ridiculously good. Let’s see if he has a “bounce back” year.
  • Other than the Sharp-Toews-Hossa line, none of the other three lines were real productive. Quenneville hoped that reuniting Saad, Shaw and Kane would result like it did last May, but it didn’t. I’d try Richards with Saad and Kane tonight and do everything possible to make that trio work.

All in all, not a good start for the Blackhawks, but great teams find ways to win the tough games. I’d expect their play to pick up over the next week or so once they get their legs back under them and once some chemistry begins to redevelop. They’ll need to pick it up because they are playing in the toughest division in the NHL, and the last thing anyone in the Central wants to do is fall too far behind early in the year. There’s no coming back from that.

Tonight it’s the Sabres who will take the ice against the Hawks in their home opener. I’m anticipating another 2 points tonight in what should be a game in which the Hawks start to figure things out.

Blackhawks-Stars preview

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940-toews-jonathan-8colThursday night the Blackhawks will officially open their 2014-15 season in Dallas when they take on the much improved Stars. Already, there are story lines heading this game. Injuries, line juggling, and new faces in the lineup will all have an impact on the Hawks’ season opener.

Let’s start with the injuries. First off, Joel Quenneville said today that it looks like Kris Versteeg will be out around three weeks with a lower body injury. He suffered the injury in practice the other day, but the Blackhawks won’t specify as to how or what happened, per the usual. That stuff is “secretive” in the NHL these days. This is really unfortunate for both Versteeg and the Blackhawks because it appeared during training camp and preseason that Versteeg finally had his legs back under him. Many coaches and players said that he looked like his old self again (the guy from 2010). If that Versteeg is the one that shows up this year, he’ll be a big asset on the team’s third line.

Aside from Kris Versteeg, Michal Rozsival also will be out of the lineup in Dallas it would appear. He suffered an upper body injury during the preseason, but has been skating well in practice and may only miss a couple games. His absence from the lineup is not as crucial as Versteeg’s, but he’s out nonetheless.

In place of Versteeg and Rozsival, expect to see Dan Carcillo and Trevor van Riemsdyk (TVR) in the lineup Thursday. TVR (the younger brother of James of the Toronto Maple Leafs and U.S. Olympic team) unexpectedly made the Blackhawks’ opening night roster and figures to be the Hawks’ sixth/seventh defenseman until Rozsival returns from his injury. He was practicing with Hjalmarsson as his partner this week, while Oduya and Rundbald were the third d-pairing. Once Rozsival comes back, I’d expect van Riemsdyk to be sent back to Rockford. The Hawks likely won’t carry eight healthy defensemen.

If it’s not one of David Rundblad or TVR in the lineup Thursday night, it’ll be Kyle Cumiskey in their place. He is quite similar to Nick Leddy in that he’s a very fast, puck-moving defensemen that likes to be involved in the offense.

As for what lines you should expect to see Thursday, look for them to be Sharp-Toews-Hossa, Saad-Shaw-Kane, Bickell-Richards-Smith, Carcillo-Kruger-Morin. As you can see, it looks like Quenneville has already decided that he doesn’t like the Saad-Richards-Kane trio and will instead start the season off with the second line that owned the Kings in last year’s Western Conference Final. I would anticipate that sometime in the very near future Q will go with Richards centering the second line, but for now we’ll have to wait for that. I don’t understand his reasoning for giving up on Richards with Saad and Kane before the regular season even starts, but it is what it is.

Now, the game itself. Dallas is coming into this season already with a ton of momentum behind them. They ended up shocking a lot of people last season by making the playoffs as a wild card team, and they really did put up a good fight against the Ducks in the first round. This summer, they acquired Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky to really bolster their offense that already consists of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. They’re going to be a tough team to beat on a nightly basis.

940-toews-jonathan-8colI’m expecting the Stars to give the Hawks all they can handle in the season opener, and there’s a good chance that they win the game in front of what should be a very lively, sold-out crowd in Dallas. Remember, these two teams developed some bad blood for one another over the course of last year, thanks to Antoine Roussel and his aggravating style of play. This will be a great test for the Blackhawks right off the bat.

Leddy dealt; Another round of Carcillo

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130107_gq_trout_aI’m a little late to the party on this one, but better late than never. On Saturday, the Blackhawks traded Nick Leddy to the New York Islanders in exchange for three prospects: T.J. Brennan, Ville Pokka, and Anders Nilsson. Both Brennan and Pokka are defensemen, while Nilsson is a goalie. This was a trade that we had all been holding our breath on for seemingly the last four months, but it finally happened. The Hawks needed to move someone off their NHL roster to get themselves under the salary cap, and that someone ended up being Nick Leddy, which wasn’t much of a surprise. The Leddy trade wasn’t the only news on Saturday, however. The Blackhawks also signed Dan Carcillo to a one-year contract, a move that has most Hawks fans scratching our heads.

Back to the Leddy trade. It appeared that one of Oduya or Leddy would end up being the player traded away to get the Hawks back under the NHL’s salary cap, and sure enough it ended up being Leddy. Leddy was first brought up to the NHL to begin the 2010-11 season, and he never left the scene. He never appeared in an AHL game prior to being brought up to the NHL, so his first few seasons with the Hawks were basically an example of learning on the job. While he did progress in certain areas each year while here in Chicago, Leddy never seemed to take that big next step towards becoming a top four, reliable NHL defenseman. Don’t get me wrong, his speed, puck moving, and offensive talents are elite for a d-man, but his ability to be an effective player in his own is what has held him back a bit. Joel Quenneville regularly sat Leddy late in close games because he simply couldn’t trust him to be on the ice during those times. That’s where Leddy has never shown much progression, and that’s a huge reason why he’s the one who got moved.

As for the players the Blackhawks received in return for Leddy, T.J. Brennan, 25, is the most valuable. Last year in the AHL he recorded 25 goals and 47 assists from the back end, and he was named the AHL’s most outstanding defenseman. Brennan has appeared in 40 NHL games in his career with the Sabres and Panthers, and he registered 4 goals and 7 assists in those 40 games. As you can tell from his numbers in the minors, Brennan is an offensive-defenseman who looks to be active in the offensive zone. I wouldn’t expect Brennan to make an appearance in the NHL this season, but you never know. He’s definitely deserving of it, but the Hawks appear to be set with Kyle Cumiskey and David Rundblad as their sixth and seventh defensemen.

940-toews-jonathan-8colNow to Carcillo. In case your memory is very limited and you have already forgotten, Carcillo was with the Hawks from 2011 to 2013 and was a part of the team that defeated Boston to win their second Cup in four years. His role ever since entering the NHL has been that of an agitator. He runs around looking to drill guys through the glass (despite his 6’0″, 200 lb. stature) and is always willing to drop the gloves. His biggest problem is taking dumb penalties and making illegal hits, something he’s been either fined or suspended for 10 times in his career. His job is basically going to be to take over at Brandon Bollig’s spot on the Hawks’ roster this year. He’s a very similar player to Bollig, only he has more skill and can play with better forwards. Still, I don’t like this move.

The Blackhawks have preached over recent years that their mission is to draft, develop, and deliver their prospects to the NHL, much like they did with Brandon Saad. Signing Dan Carcillo completely goes against that plan. When you have guys like Jeremy Morin, Teuvo Teravainen, and even Phillip Danault who look to be NHL-ready (especially Morin), why take away their potential playing time in the NHL by dressing Dan Carcillo in their place who has much less talent and is a far worse hockey player? I understand that Joel Quenneville likes to have that “enforcer” in his lineup, but at some point you just have to use your head and realize that the NHL has changed in recent years, and the role of the enforcer has all but evaporated. One of the keys to being an elite team in the NHL and to winning the Stanley Cup is having great depth on your team. Dan Carcillo is not the worst player you could have on your fourth line, but guys like Morin are better all-around hockey players who can put together more valuable minutes than Carcillo.

Unfortunately, that argument will probably never be a winning argument as long as Quenneville is in charge. He likes his enforcers, and that’s that. After all, the guy does have the third highest win total of any coach in NHL history, and he has led the Hawks to two Stanley Cups in the last five years, so he probably knows better than me. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t disagree with him on this matter.

Thanks for reading.

Now or never

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940-toews-jonathan-8colAfter dropping Game 3 to the Kings on Saturday night in LA, the Blackhawks now trail in the series two games to one. Despite playing a solid first 40 minutes in Game 3 much like they did in Game 2, the Hawks went silent for the final 20 and lost as a result. They know it’s time to step up and put together their best 60 minute effort of the season, or else they’ll be eye-to-eye with the exit door from the playoffs. It’s now or never for the Hawks.

Here is what needs to happen in Game 4 in order for the Blackhawks to even up this Western Conference Final at two games apiece.

  • It’s time that Joel Quenneville reunites Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews on the top line. I was calling for this to happen heading into Game 3, but now it’s really time to make the move. The Blackhawks need Kane to get hot, and what better way to help that happen than by putting him back on a line with Toews? Over the years during rough stretches of the playoffs, this has been Quenneville’s go-to move to get the Hawks back on the right track. He did it going into Game 4 in LA last year, and it worked beautifully. He did it in Game 4 in Boston during last year’s Stanley Cup Final, and it worked there as well. By reuniting Kane and Toews, the Kings won’t be able to blanket either player. If they do, then they’re risking leaving the other uncovered, which is not a good thing. Also, it opens up the chance to place Hossa and Sharp back on the second line together, another move that was made going into Game 4 against LA last year that worked like a charm.
  • Michal Handzus cannot center the second line any longer, or at least while Kane is on that line. If Q does put Kane on the top line and Sharp and Hossa on the second, it is possible that he leave Handzus with Sharp and Hossa. That trio did some good things last postseason. However, the lack of speed and offensive skill that you get with Handzus is so alarming that I wouldn’t mind seeing either Smith or Shaw center Sharp and Hossa, despite the success Handzus had with 10 and 81 last year. If Kane does remain on the second line with Sharp, then there is absolutely no way Handzus can stay on that line. Kane needs to play with fast, skilled players in order for him to be effective. Placing Smith or Shaw on his line as the center allows Kane to play with more speed and skill.
  • I’ve been saying this pretty much everyday, but Brandon Bollig needs to go. I don’t know that he even stepped on the ice during the entire third period of Game 3. What good is he to the team if that’s going to happen? In the meantime, you have Peter Regin and Jeremy Morin watching the game as spectators. It’s gotten to the point with Bollig where I’m starting to wonder if the front office (Stan Bowman) isn’t telling Quenneville to keep him in the lineup so that Bowman doesn’t look so bad for handing Bollig a three year extension earlier this season.
  • The Hawks’ penalty kill has to start killing off penalties. They were dominant on the PK through the first two rounds, but now they’ve allowed three powerplay goals to the Kings over the last two games.
  • The Jeff Carter line of the Kings needs to be slowed down. They have torched the Hawks this series, and it’s time Quenneville looks to shut them down. Heading into this series, the Hawks wanted to shut down the Kopitar line, which they have by matching the Toews line against them. Now it might be time to shift their focus to stopping Carter and his linemates. The only potential problem here is this: If Kane is reunited with Toews, then the Hawks lose their “shut down” line of Toews and Hossa.
  • The top line of the Hawks has been good all series, but it’s time that the other three lines quit watching and start playing as well. This series cannot be won by relying on just one line to score all of your goals.
  • Speaking of scoring, the Hawks’ powerplay cost them Game 3. They went 0-4 with the man advantage. They only have two powerplay goals on the road this postseason, which won’t get the job done. It’s time they start finding the back of the net when given the opportunity with an extra man.

Over the past 5-6 years, the Blackhawks have come up with huge win after huge win when they’ve needed it in the playoffs. Tonight calls for another one of those huge wins. If they don’t get it, then they’ll be down 3-1 and on their way out of the playoffs. They need to play a full 60 minutes in Game 4, and they need to step on the Kings’ throats once they get them in a vulnerable position in the game. Some are saying that the Hawks are simply out of gas after all the hockey they’ve played the last two years. While that may be true, if there’s one team who can find another gear and will themselves to victory, it’s the Blackhawks.

A win tonight is imperative for the Hawks.