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Which current Hawks could see their number get retired?

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SAYING THANKS TO NO. 18 FANS WILL CHEER SAVARD ONCE MOREIt’s a question that I’ve often thought about over the last few years, especially since the Blackhawks won their second Cup in four years back in 2013: Which players currently on the Hawks’ roster could potentially have their number retired one day by the organization? There are a couple obvious guesses here, but then there are also a few names that seem to be on the bubble. So with that, let’s look at who may one day join numbers 1, 3, 9,18, 21, and 35.

Class A (most likely candidates)

Patrick KaneJonathan Toews (19): You name it, he’s pretty much won it. Two Stanley Cup titles, one Conn Smythe, one Selke Trophy, two Olympic gold medals, team captain, etc. And odds are that he’s not done adding to his trophy collection. It’s almost mind blowing to think about what Toews has accomplished in his seven and a half seasons with the Hawks. At twenty six years old, he’s regarded as one of the games top three players and has earned as much respect league-wide as anyone. Statistically, he has 208 goals and 270 assists in his career in 527 games played. After signing the big contract extension with the Hawks this past summer, it’s quite likely that he’ll finish his career in Chicago and go down as maybe the franchise’s best player of all time.

2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game FivePatrick Kane (88): Kane won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie player in the 2007-08 season to begin what has already been a remarkable career in Chicago. Since then, he’s earned two Stanley Cup rings and a Conn Smythe Trophy to go along with an Olympic silver medal. In his seven and half seasons in the league, he has amassed 192 goals and 342 assists in 558 games. Many around the NHL consider Kane to be the best American born player currently in the league, which would be tough to argue. Like Toews, Kane signed an eight-year contract extension with the Blackhawks this past summer ensuring that he’ll also probably play his whole career as a Blackhawk. And, like Toews, Kane could very well end up as one of the franchise’s top two players of all time.

139990-330-0Duncan Keith (2): This one may surprise some people, but I don’t see how you let anyone wear number 2 after Keith retires. In his nine and a half year career with the Hawks and in the NHL, Keith has two Stanley Cups, two Norris Trophies as the league’s best defenseman, and two Olympic gold medals. He’s also been one of the team’s two assistant captains since 2008. Over his career, he has piled up 71 goals and 325 assists (396 points). To compare, Pierre Pilote, whose number 3 hangs from the United Center rafters, finished his career with 77 goals, 400 assists, and one Stanley Cup ring while winning three Norris Trophies. At 31 years old, Keith definitely still has some gas left in the tank and will quite likely pass Pilote in points. He already has more Cup rings, and he could win another Norris before it’s all said and done. Like I already said, I don’t know how you let another Blackhawk wear the number 2.

Class B (a slim chance)

20131211_151215Marian Hossa (81): Hossa is a future Hall of Famer, but spent the majority of his prime years with other teams. He has been a Blackhawk since the 2009-10 season and has earned 134 goals and 173 assists during that time. For his career, he has 473 goals and 553 assists putting him over the 1,000 point plateau. Since coming to the Hawks via free agency, Hossa has become a “core” member of the team and has won two Stanley Cups. He is one of the fan favorites for his style of play, talent, and respectability. You’ll have a tough time finding a player who works harder every shift he’s on the ice. He may be the game’s best two-way player, but he doesn’t get recognized for for it due to the fact that he’s not a center. Because of his incredible career, the fact that he’s won his only two Cups in Chicago, and the way he plays the game, Hossa could ultimately end up having his number retired by the Hawks.

10-171460575-smallPatrick Sharp (10): Sharp started his career with the Flyers before getting traded to the Hawks in the 2005-06 season. He has since won two Stanley Cups with the Hawks and one Olympic gold medal. While his stats aren’t jumping off the page (242G, 262A), he has been a huge piece the the Blackhawks success in recent years. Along with Keith, Sharp was named one of the team’s two assistant captains in 2008 and has become one of the faces of the organization. His playoff production in 2010 and 2013 was a huge reason for the team’s overall success, as he led the team in goals both postseasons. This is a case of a guy possibly warranting consideration for having his number retired more so based off of his importance to the team rather than his individual statistics.

Class C (long shot)

15-_DSC2491-toresizeBrent Seabrook (7): Seabrook has spent his entire career in Chicago. He entered the NHL along with Duncan Keith in the 2005-06 season and has been a fixture on the team since. Like the guys that have been mentioned before him, Seabrook was a member of both the 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup-winning teams. He also won an Olympic gold medal in 2010. Seabrook and Keith have been the team’s top d-pairing for the past seven years or so, and have been widely regarded as the best defensive pairing in the league. For his career, Seabrook has 70 goals and 239 assists. Those numbers are respectable, but they haven’t led to any individual accolades. While Seabrook is a long shot to have his number retired, the fact that Chris Chelios also wore number 7 as a member of the Hawks does not increase his chances. Chelios put up much better numbers, won two Norris Trophies, and was selected to seven all star games all while a member of the Hawks. Because of what each player has done in their careers with the Blackhawks, one would figure they’d have to retire number 7 for both Chelios and Seabrook, or don’t retire it at all.

While this discussion is certainly up for debate, I feel pretty confident in my “Class A” selections. The fact that this topic is something that we can now talk about regarding the Blackhawks is truly amazing, given where the team and organization were not too long ago. We should all feel very fortunate to be witnessing the Golden Era of Blackhawks hockey.

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.

Things starting to click for the Blackhawks

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130107_gq_trout_aEarlier in the season, not that it’s late now, the Blackhawks were struggling to win hockey games. They would win one, lose one, win one, lose two, and so on. The biggest reason for that was their inability to score goals. As I said in a previous blog, that trend was destined to hit a brick wall. This team is too talented and gets way too many shots on goal to not be among the league leaders in goals by season’s end. Well, here we are at the beginning of December, the Blackhawks fresh off their annual Circus Trip that took them out west for six games where they won five of those six and have won eight of their last ten overall. Needless to say, that whole goal scoring problem kind of disappeared.

The Hawks’ Circus Trip was bound to be a telling one with regards to this year’s team. Either they would come limping home after getting beat up pretty badly against some of the league’s best teams, or they would come back to Chicago looking like one of the NHL’s best. Fortunately, the latter scenario is the one we are currently looking at as the Hawks get ready to play their first home game tomorrow night in quite some time.

On the six-game road trip out west, there were a handful of things that we learned or continued to see from this team:

  • First of all, Corey Crawford is on pace to be an All-Star this year. He’s currently third in the NHL in goals-against average, fourth in save percentage, and sixth in wins (all among goalies with at least ten games played). He started every game on the Circus Trip (14 straight since returning form injury) and was really good in pretty much every one of those games. I’m seeing no signs of him slowing down.
  • The Hawks’ penalty kill continues to dominate opponents. They rank first in the league with a 91.3 kill percentage.
  • The Blackhawks rank second in the NHL in goals-against per game at 2.00. In fact, the top four teams in that category, and five of the top six, are all in the Central Division.
  • Patrick Kane is starting to be himself again. He dominated the latter half of the road trip. None of this is a good sign for the rest of the league.
  • Going along those same lines, the Hawks’ second line of Versteeg, Richards, and Kane was absolutely dominant over the last three games of the road trip. All three players are playing great at the moment, and we are finally seeing the Versteeg and Richards we were all hoping for.
  • Defensively, the Blackhawks look fantastic. The top two pairs of Keith-Seabrook and Hjalmarsson-Oduya were great out west. The third pairing of Rozsival-Rundblad/Clendening is a work in progress because of the inexperience of Rundblad and Clendening, but they haven’t looked bad. Losing TVR was big, but not insurmountable.
  • The Hawks dominated some of the league’s best teams out west, all without Patrick Sharp in the lineup. He’s due to return sometime very soon.
  • Oh, and remember that whole “we can’t score” thing? The Blackhawks now rank eighth in goals per game and are tied for first in goal differential.

Two stats that I just mentioned, the Hawks’ PK and goals-against per game, often mean a lot more than goals scored per game. NHL teams, especially the Hawks, will get their goals, but if you can’t keep the puck out of your own net, you’re screwed. Last year’s Stanley Cup champion, the LA Kings, finished the season first in goals-against per game. The year before that, the Blackhawks finished first in goals-against per game, and we all know how that season ended. Going back all the way to the 2010-11 season, all teams to win the Cup finished top five in goals-against per game. A huge part of that stat is how good a team is on the penalty kill. If you’re getting scored on while down a man, your goals-against average will rise. Right now, the Hawks’ PK and goals-against per game numbers are incredibly good, and there’s no reason why any of that should change. Come playoff time, those numbers mean a lot more than goals scored.

So the bottom line here is that the annual Circus Trip for the Blackhawks taught us that this team is a force to be reckoned with. It took them a while to finally start firing on all cylinders, but now they are and they look to be one of the leagues top three teams. That’s not to say that they won’t hit some bumps in the road between now and April, but this team appears to be well poised for yet another Stanley Cup run.

Now we just have to wait for April to come around…

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.

More Blackhawks rumors

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130107_gq_trout_aAccording to a report from the Ottawa Sun, Ryan Kesler has made it clear to the Canucks’ management that he wants to be traded to either the Blackhawks or Penguins. I’ve talked on here before about the likelihood, or lack thereof, of Kesler actually becoming a Blackhawk, and now I guess I have to do it again since these rumors and reports keep surfacing.

Vancouver is entering a rebuild mode right now. They traded away Roberto Luongo this past spring, they fired their head coach John Tortorella after just one season, and they are really focusing a lot of their attention on their younger players and prospects with the hopes to build a new, younger and better team in the near future. Ryan Kesler is a 29 year old veteran on that team who wants out. If the Canucks are to trade him, which it looks like they certainly will, Vancouver is going to want good, young talent in return. If not that, then they’ll want a star player who will be a good role model to the younger guys on that team. Enter the names Patrick Sharp, Teuvo Teravainen, and Brandon Saad.

The Canucks will almost positively be seeking one of those three players from the Hawks in return for Ryan Kesler. The question is, is Kesler worth that price?

Odds are it would have to be Patrick Sharp leaving town to get Kesler simply for the money reasons. Sharp is due $5.9 million annually for three more seasons, so trading his contract would open up the cap space for Ryan Kesler and his five million dollar contract. With Ryan Kesler, the Hawks would be getting a 20-30 goals per season center, as well as a former Selke Trophy winner as the league’s best defensive forward. Kesler is also one of the more physical forwards in the league, which makes him that much tougher to play against. He would no doubt be as good of a fit for the Blackhawks’ number two center position as anyone. As for Sharp, the Hawks would be losing probably a more talented player than Kesler (especially offensively), a proven leader, and a two-time Stanley Cup champion and one-time Olympic gold medalist. Not to mention his presence would no longer be in that Blackhawks locker room, and I don’t think it’s any secret how well liked he is among the other Hawks players.

Clearly, it’s a tough call to make if you’re Stan Bowman as to whether or not it’s worth trading Sharp for Kesler. I think one thing the Hawks like about Kesler over Sharp is the fact that Kesler is just 29 years old, while Sharp is 32. This is one of those potential trades that has it’s definite positives and it’s definite negatives.

So what about Teravinen and Saad?

Originally it was believed that the Canucks wanted Brandon Saad as part of any deal that involved Ryan Kesler coming to the Hawks. Obviously, the word on the street is that the Blackhawks said “no way” and those talks ended. The only reason the Kesler rumors have picked up again is because it would appear Brandon Saad no longer has to be part of the deal. Some people have said that in place of Saad, the Canucks now want Teuvo Teravainen, the Hawks’ top prospect. While I’m sure they do want him, there’s no way they’re getting him. Even if the Hawks were willing to part ways with Teuvo or Saad, neither of those players has a large enough contract to open the cap space for Kesler (the cap space would be there right now, but not in two years after the Hawks re-sign Kane and Toews). And there’s no way the Hawks trade Saad/Teravainen and Sharp.

So that leaves Patrick Sharp as being the only real possible candidate to get traded for Kesler. I’m sure the Hawks would gladly trade Seabrook and his contract for Kesler, but I’m not sure the Canucks would go for that. The Blackhawks are looking for ways to get their young defensemen (Clendening, Dahlbeck, and Johns) into the NHL, and trading Seabrook or Oduya would open up that door.

Another name that has really come onto the scene recently is that of Jason Spezza. He wants out of Ottawa, and the Senators appear to be trying to grant his wish. Spezza is another center that would fit perfectly on the Hawks’ second line, and he might even come at a cheaper price. Still, a big contract would have to be moved from the Hawks to get him. I’d say the Kesler thing is a bit more likely than this one.

WINTER CLASSIC

7327531TSN’s Bob McKenzie confirmed yesterday that the Blackhawks will be Washington’s opponent in next year’s Winter Classic. This will be the second time that each of these teams has taken part in a Winter Classic, with Chicago having done so in 2009 at Wrigley Field, and Washington in 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

Personally, this matchup makes very little sense to me from a hockey standpoint. These two teams have zero rivalry between them, and the Capitals aren’t even a playoff team. The only reason Washington is in this game is because they have Alex Ovechkin and they’re an east coast team. The NHL always seems to need an east coast team in these big games just to be “safe” with their TV ratings.

If I’m a west coast team like Minnesota, Colorado, or St. Louis, I’m pretty hacked off at this point. All three of them just made the playoffs, and all three could fill up an outdoor stadium for a Winter Classic. Yet other teams are already playing in their second Winter Classic, some of them not even playoff teams. If you put them (Minnesota, Colorado, or St. Louis) up against a team like the Blackhawks, it would make for a much better game than a Hawks-Capitals one. The Hawks share a “rivalry” with all three of those teams, and the Blackhawks generate large TV ratings, which would make it a “safe” game for the NHL. But what do I know?

Thanks for reading.

Blackhawks’ trade rumors

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130107_gq_trout_aOver the last week or so, a bunch of different names have been mentioned throughout the NHL as possible candidates for being traded. A good handful of those names are big name, superstar players, which makes the trade rumors this summer all that more intriguing. A couple of those names are current Blackhawks. It is not often that Stan Bowman looks to trade away any of his top players, and while this offseason may be no different, one cannot help but speculate as to what could potentially happen in Chicago this summer.

The past few days have been very interesting. For the first time since I can remember, I have heard the names Patrick Sharp and Brent Seabrook mentioned as possible players the Blackhawks may look to deal this offseason. Keep in mind that these are just rumors, meaning that there really isn’t any way to know whether or not the Hawks are actually looking to trade either of those guys. If those rumors are in fact accurate, then some conclusions can be drawn from them.

Patrick Sharp is due to make $5.9 million a year through the 2016-17 season. Brent Seabrook’s contract is for $5.8 million through the 2015-16 season. Trading away one of those players opens up a TON of cap space for the Blackhawks, allowing them to acquire a big name player to fill some gap on the team. The only way either Sharp or Seabrook is traded is if the Blackhawks know they will be getting a star player in return or via a separate trade.

So, who might the Blackhawks look to acquire this summer?

The names Joe Thornton and Ryan Kesler are popping up left and right in regards to the Blackhawks. Both players are supposedly being shopped by their current team, and both the Sharks and Canucks are going to want something of significance in return.

Thornton is due to make $6.75 million per year through the 2016-17 season, and Kesler is set to make $5 million for two more years. If the Hawks were to in fact go after one of these two, we would likely see Patrick Sharp going the other way, or to some other team to free up the cap space.

Will a massive trade like this actually go down for the Blackhawks? Probably not. I don’t see the Hawks parting ways with Sharp, and the only way Seabrook goes is if a big time defensemen is coming to the Hawks. As of right now, I’m unaware of any rumors involving big time d-men other than Seabrook…

A story surfaced shortly after the Olympics that Patrick Kane went to the Hawks’ management and basically said “If you can get Kesler, get him.” Again, who know’s if that actually happened. However, it is no secret that Kane and Kesler have developed some chemistry together via international play, and I would guess that Kane would welcome him with open arms to the second line on the Blackhawks, seeing as how they currently don’t have a true number two center. The bottom line is that I do believe there is some validity to the “Kesler to Chicago” rumors, but I’m not sure that the Blackhawks would be willing to part ways with what it would take to get him. AKA Patrick Sharp.

As for Joe Thornton, I don’t see the Hawks making a move at him. Obviously, he would be a huge boost to the team and would probably elevate Kane’s statistics to ridiculous numbers, but his salary and the amount it would take to get him seem to both be too high for the Hawks. That’s not to say the Blackhawks won’t inquire about him, but I don’t see them making a serious push.

Someone I haven’t mentioned yet, Johnny Oduya, could very well be dealt in the next month, however. He is entering the final season of his contract and is set to make $3.375 million this year. Trading him opens up the cap space to sign a defensemen or two, or to acquire some depth forwards via trades or free agency. I’d say the chances of Oduya being a Hawk next year are 50/50 at this point.

What will most likely happen is this: The Blackhawks will kick the tires on a couple of big names who are being shopped, but will refuse to give up what it will take to acquire such a player. They will fall back on the fact that they have Teuvo Teravainen waiting in the wings down in Rockford, and he will most likely get the best chance of anyone to occupy the Hawks’ second line center position come opening night. Johnny Oduya will be traded for a prospect or two and a draft pick, and the Blackhawks will fill his roster spot with a guy like Adam Clendening, Stephen Johns, or Klas Dahlbeck, all of whom are in Rockford and NHL-ready. The Blackhawks will also sign a depth defensemen or two, as well as a depth forward. The lack of talent on the Hawks’ fourth line was a huge reason as to why they were eliminated by the Kings. Rolling just three lines in the late stages of the NHL playoffs is not a good thing, and I am hopeful the Blackhawks will address that problem this summer.

Really, anything could theoretically happen between now and opening night of next season. Someone like me can only speculate as to what that may be.

Welcome to the Central, Winnipeg

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184164326_slideIn their first ever meeting as new Central Division foes, the Blackhawks took down the Jets today by a score of 5-1. The game was over with just under three minutes left in the second period. This was one of the more dominating performances of the season by the Blackhawks, and the Jets stood no chance.

After falling behind 1-0 early in the first, the Hawks tied the game when Niklas Hjalmarsson notched his first goal of the season with a brutal slap shot right off a faceoff to Pavelec’s right. Kruger won the draw cleanly and the puck went right to Hjalmarsson who wasted no time in firing the shot on goal. The period ended 1-1.

Then the second period started, and that’s when the game pretty much ended for Winnipeg. Just 54 seconds in, Brandon Bollig fired in a wicked wrister past Ondrej Pavelec while on a two-on-one with Marcus Kruger. This was Bollig’s second goal of the season (he would later add an assist). Then about two minutes later, Patrick Sharp gave the Hawks a 3-1 lead on a breakaway goal. Hossa made a beautiful pass to Sharp to spring the breakaway. Later in the second, Nick Leddy nailed his third goal of the year with a slap shot from Pavelec’s right. That goal ended the game for Pavelec, who was replaced by Chicago native Al Montoya.

The third period saw more domination of puck possession by the Blackhawks, and Ben Smith added the fifth and last goal of the game for the Hawks on a nice deflection. With this being the first time that these two teams have met as divisional rivals, as well as the first time that they’ve played each other in Winnipeg since that city got their team back, the Blackhawks sent a stern message to the Jets that playing in the Central Division isn’t going to be easy.

So with that, here are some things that stood out to me today:

  • With five more goals today, the Blackhawks have now scored 24 goals in their last five games. That puts them behind only the Sharks for the most goals scored in the NHL this season (50). It’s safe to say the offense is “clicking” again.
  • Corey Crawford scared us for a minute when he went down after being run into by Blake Wheeler. It made me realize how valuable he is to this team when thinking about his alternative(s). He stayed in the game, however, and put together another fantastic performance.
  • Jeremy Morin messed up early in the game when he blew his coverage, which allowed Winnipeg’s only goal. He was benched the rest of the period. From the second period on, however, he was very good. He’s making a big impression on the coaching staff in my opinion as he is responsible at both ends of the ice.
  • Since Michal Handzus was taken out of the lineup four games ago, the Blackhawks have scored 19 goals. Make what you want of that statistic…
  • Two goals from the fourth line today (Bollig and Smith) is a very encouraging sign. The depth of the Blackhawks is what separated them from the pack last year, and they’ll need it again this year.

All in all, today was a very good game for the Blackhawks. They dominated in puck possession, and did not allow the Jets any easy scoring chances. The defense of the Blackhawks was just about as good as it’s been all season. Even when they did allow scoring chances, Corey Crawford was there to make the big saves.

Banner-Raising-2013-1600It will be interesting to see what route Quenneville goes tomorrow night in terms of the goalie situation. Normally, he’d start the backup goalie tomorrow night with no questions asked seeing as how it’s the second game of back-to-back games. Unfortunately, that decision isn’t so easy anymore with the way Nikolai Khabibulin has played in his last two starts. No one has much confidence in Khabi right now, so his playing time is not guaranteed. If he continues to struggle, look for Antti Raanta to get called up from Rockford. The management would rather not do that and get Raanta a full year in the AHL before calling him up, but they need wins, and Khabibulin hasn’t been producing them.

Thanks for reading.

Another one goal game for the Blackhawks

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Banner-Raising-2013-1600So far, the Blackhawks have played six games this season. After last night’s 3-2 shootout win over the Hurricanes, five of those six games have have been decided by just one goal. Against the Lightning and Blues, the Hawks lost by one goal. When they played the Islanders, Sabres, and now Hurricanes, the Hawks won by one goal. It is a theme that I would like to see come to an end, and I am sure the Blackhawks feel the same way. When games are won by just one goal, that means the other team had a good shot at winning the game as well.

The Blackhawks got off to a great start in the first period against the Hurricanes. Goals by Sharp and Hossa put the Hawks up 2-0 with just under half the period left to play. The period would end 2-0 in favor of the Blackhawks, but the Hawks were able to get 15 shots on goal in the first compared to just 5 for the Canes. It looked as though this would be a runaway victory for the Blackhawks because of how dominant they were during the first 20 minutes of play. Then the second period came.

In the second, you could easily argue that Carolina was the better team. They totaled 13 shots on goal, while the Hawks had 8. Corey Crawford came up with a number of good saves, and the period ended still 2-0.

Then in the third period, there is no question that the Hurricanes were the much better team. They registered 2 goals on 10 shots in the period to tie the game and send it to overtime.

In OT, Bryan Bickell took a hooking penalty to send the Hurricanes on a two-minute powerplay. The Blackhawks penalty kill, which has been looking better and better, came up huge and killed off the penalty. Some key shot-blocks by the Blackhawks and big saves by Crawford kept the Hurricanes from scoring and sent the game to a shootout.

In the shootout, Patrick Sharp was the only player on either team to score, and the Blackhawks walked away with the extra point.

Here’s what I saw in last night’s game:

  • The Blackhawks got off to another really good start in the game, as they have almost every game this season, but were never able to score that big third goal to go up 3-0. This has been the issue in four of the Hawks’ six games now, and they need to find a way to get that important put-away goal before letting the opposition back into the game like they did last night. A two-goal lead is a very dangerous lead to have in a game because teams start to let off the gas peddle a bit, when really they should be doing everything they can to get the three-goal lead. All of a sudden when you’re up by two, the other team scores to get within one and then they’ve got all the momentum and end up tying the game.
  • mount-kilimanjaro-locationofficial-address-and-locations-kilimanjaro-climbing-expeditions-rbhlatxdCorey Crawford was really good again for the Blackhawks. You could call last night’s win a “goalie win.”
  • The pairing of Niklas Hjalmarsson and Johnny Oduya is becoming one of the best number two pairings in the game. Right now, Quenneville is using them as his number one pairing until Keith and Seabrook can figure out how to defend again. Hammer and Oduya look to be locks on the Swedish Olympic team.
  • Bryan Bickell is back to being the Bickell we all knew until last year’s playoffs. I think it’s time to accept the fact that he is a playoff performer, and until then, expect him to be a third liner on this team.
  • Michal Handzus continues to be one of the slowest guys on the ice. That isn’t going to change. Brandon Pirri was scratched last night, and I want to see him in the lineup more and more moving forward until he takes over Handzus’ spot. He can be really valuable on this team if he gets enough playing time.

I am not going to get too worked up over the Blackhawks’ inability to put teams away so far this season. Odds are, they’ll start scoring the big third and fourth goals with the talent and skill that they have in their lineup. It seems inevitable to me.

Tomorrow night is another big showdown with the Blues, this time at the United Center. All I can say is thank God Maxim Lapierre won’t be in St. Louis’ lineup. After the hit he put on Dan Boyle last night, he should be suspended for at least the next 20 games. The problem with the Blues is they have a number of guys who aren’t afraid to risk being suspended in order to make an illegal hit. They’re full of losers like that.

Blackhawks simply amazing

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163279535_slideWhat more can be said about the Blackhawks? Every single game it seems as though they do something else to get a win that just blows your mind. I’m honestly not sure if there are anymore appropriate adjectives that have not been used to describe this team. They are simply amazing.

Tonight’s game against the Avalanche was bound to be a tougher one for the Blackhawks, who played a good team in the Minnesota Wild just a night earlier. However, just before puck drop, tonight’s game got even tougher. Marian Hossa was announced as a last second scratch from the lineup with what the Blackhawks are calling an “upper body injury.” No word on how or what happened to him.

As for the game itself, the Avs gave the Hawks just about all they could possibly handle and threatened to end The Streak at 23 games.

The first period got off to a bit of a slow start, with each team registering 3 shots through about the first 7 minutes or so. Then with 8:43 gone in the period, Cody McLeod was given a two minute minor for roughing, sending the Blackhawks to the powerplay. On that powerplay, Brent Seabrook launched a rocket of a slap shot from just inside the blue line that was redirected past Semyon Varlamov by Andrew Shaw. Hawks were up 1-0.

With just under two minutes left in the first, Colorado tied the game on a nice play that resulted in John Mitchell backhanding a shot over the left pad of Ray Emery. This was a big goal at the time because it gave Colorado all the momentum heading into the first intermission.

In the second period, each team had a few decent scoring chances, but only the Avs were able to put one in the back of the net. At the 13:17 mark in the period, Matt Duchene wristed a shot off the side/back of Ray Emery that ended up crossing the goal line. This was a goal that Emery would no doubt like to have back.

Patrick Sharp had a really good second period as he registered four shots on goal. A couple of them were high quality scoring chances, including a two on one with Viktor Stalberg that Varlamov denied. The period would end with the score 2-1 in favor of the Avalanche.

Early in the third, Michal Rozsival was called for hooking, sending the Blackhawks to the penalty kill. On the ensuing kill, Jonathan Toews scored a beautiful shorthanded goal after taking a pass from Dave Bolland just inside the Colorado zone. Leave it up to the Captain to will his team back into the game.

As the period progressed, each team had their fair share of chances, but both goalies stood tall and made all of the stops. That is until there were just 49 seconds left in the game…

163279294_slideWith just under a minute left to play, Marcus Kruger carried the puck in towards Varlamov and let go of a good wrist shot from the left circle. The puck hit Varlamov and eventually found its way in behind the net. Kruger then won the puck battle and fed a perfect pass in front of the net to a wide open Viktor Stalberg for a one-timer. Varlamov made the save, but gave up a rebound. After multiple hacks at the puck from players of both teams, Daniel Carcillo finally was able to backhand a shot past Varlamov to give the Hawks the lead. A classic on-ice celebration ensued.

The Blackhawks were able to hold off Colorado for the remaining 49 seconds, and The Streak still remains in tact now at 24 games (or 30 going back to last season). This was also the Blackhawks’ 11th straight victory. While we’re on the topic of streaks, with tonight’s win Ray Emery became the first goalie in NHL history to start a season 10-0 (there are too many streaks surrounding this team that it’s getting hard to keep track of them all).

While this was a memorable game for the Hawks and us fans, not all is well concerning this team.

Near the end of the second period, Andrew Shaw took an elbow to the head from Paul Stastny and was clearly shaken up. He struggled to get back to the bench, and never ended up returning to the game.

About a quarter of the way into the third period, Patrick Sharp was checked into the glass by Ryan O’Byrne and was visibly in a lot of pain right away. Holding his left shoulder, he could hardly skate off the ice and immediately went into the Hawks’ dressing room. He would not return to the game either. In the postgame interview with Joel Quenneville, he said that Shaw will be reevaluated tomorrow and that Sharp will likely “miss some time.” Q was asked if Sharp could miss the rest of the season and responded by saying, “I don’t think so.” That’s not exactly the answer us fans wanted to hear.

As for Hossa, he is expected back in the lineup Friday night in Colorado. Brandon Bollig was sent back to Rockford today and Steve Montador (did you forget about him?) was activated and placed on the active NHL roster.

Now, back to the game itself tonight.

The Avalanche did as good of a job as any team the Hawks have played this year at not allowing them any “open ice.” A huge part of the Blackhawks’ strategy is to use their speed up and down the ice and to play an uptempo game. The Avs did a very good job of not allowing the Hawks to do this. They forced the Blackhawks to play a “chip and chase” type game instead. While the Hawks ended up getting the win, a lot of teams are going to look at the tape of this game and try to replicate what the Avs were able to do defensively.

163279531_slide (1)Having said all of that, this team never gives up and once again found another way to win despite being majorly shorthanded in terms of forwards. Of all players on this roster, who would have expected to see Dan Carcillo out on the ice in the last minute of a tie game, and who would have predicted that he’d score the game winning goal with just 49 seconds left? The Blackhawks have 21 wins this year, and after tonight’s game, 13 different players on the team have recorded a game-winning goal. That is incredible. You won’t find another team in the NHL who can say that.

Ray Emery. Just like the team he plays for, what more can you say about this guy? He set the all-time NHL record tonight for most consecutive wins by a goalie to start a season (10). Now to be completely honest with you, I was surprised to learn that no goalie had ever gone 10-0 before. But nonetheless, that is pretty impressive for him to have set that record while being the team’s number two goalie.

The Blackhawks head to Colorado for a rematch with the Avs on Friday night. Could the thin air in the Mile High City be the factor that ends the Hawks’ streak? We shall wait and see. While I would love to see this team go 48 games without a regulation loss (they won’t), a few losses will actually help the Hawks come playoff time. They need to know what it’s like to battle back and win games after losing one or two. I bet if you ask Joel Quenneville, he would agree.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.

Blackhawks now 5-0-0

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Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Kari LehtonenWith tonight’s victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Blackhawks are now 5-0-0 to start their season. This ties their best start to a season in franchise history. The only other time that they have started a season with 5 straight wins was in 1971. Hard to believe, right?

Through their first 5 games, all 4 lines of the Blackhawks have played well. They have played so well that they are drawing comparisons to the 2009-2010 Hawks team that won the Cup. Over the last 2 seasons, the Blackhawks relied way too much on their top players, both offensively and defensively. In the NHL, you can’t do that and expect to win. You need all 4 lines to contribute if you want to have a successful team. I’m not saying that they don’t need to count on their top dogs to produce, but they shouldn’t put 100% of their faith in them. Having said that, the top players on the Blackhawks (Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp) are all off to hot starts to the season. Hossa already has 5 goals through the first 5 games, Kane has 2 goals and 7 assists, Toews has 3 goals, and Sharp has 6 points (2G, 4A).

The special teams of the Blackhawks have been coming up big as well through these first 5 games. Their powerplay is ranked tenth in the NHL, going 6/24, and their penalty kill has only allowed 1 goal in 17 times shorthanded (94.1%). This is a huge turn around from last season, when the Hawks were ranked in the bottom five in the NHL in both categories. Successful teams always have good special teams play, so hopefully the Hawks can continue playing well in those areas from here on out.

Corey Crawford has been another positive so far for the Hawks. He is 4-0 with a .923 save percentage and a 1.99 GAA. You could argue that the only reason the Blackhawks didn’t advance past the Coyotes in last year’s playoffs was because of Crawford’s poor play in net. It was no secret heading into this season that he needs to play much better if they want to be successful. So far, he is playing with a ton of confidence and is making all of the “must make” saves, as well as some highlight-reel ones.

One thing that was very evident in their game against the Stars on Thursday night was the speed of the Blackhawks. You would be hard pressed to find 2 other teams in the NHL with comparable speed to the Hawks right now. They made the Stars look like they were skating in slow motion, which led to numerous great scoring chances (41 shots on goal). If it wasn’t for the incredible play of Kari Lehtonen, the Hawks could have had at least 6 goals that game. Instead, they scored 3 unanswered after going down 2-0 in the second period. The third goal came in overtime after a beautiful, no-look pass from Kane to Hossa for a one-timer goal.

All in all, this team is simply clicking on all cylinders at the moment. Tonight was not a pretty game against the Blue Jackets, but they still found a way to win. The Hawks have that “never quit” attitude to them. It seems as though they are never out of any game. Regardless of the score, they are going to keep coming at you with everything they’ve got. They have a certain feeling about them that I have only felt one other time, and that was with the 2009-10 Hawks. It’s hard to describe that feeling, but you just know when you feel it. While I don’t want to get over-hyped about the Blackhawks, it is hard not to get excited about what this team has the potential to do this season. If they can avoid suffering any big injuries to key players, this could be a memorable spring for the Hawks.