Joel Quenneville didn't like what he was seeing early - the hawks had no legs & were watching as Winnipeg skated circles around them, with Jim Slater scoring twice on deflections of point shots from in front of the net to put the Jets up 2-0 less than 8 minutes into the game.
That is when coach Q called timeout and in no uncertain terms let his team have it. His message seemed to get through - about a minute later, the hawks managed to get a power play opportunity when Patrick Kane picked up the puck in his own zone in the circle to the left of Emery and blew by a couple of Jets before Tobias Entstrom tripped him up to prevent him from going in all alone. On the ensuing man advantage Kane was the catalyst again, taking a pass from Toews on the right half boards & firing a shot on net which Pavelec stopped, but left a rebound which Andrew Brunette quickly pounced on, lifting it over a sprawled goaltender & the Hawks were back in the game.
Late in the first, it was Kane yet again, this time one-timing a pass from Marion Hossa, who had made a strong move picking up a loose puck at center & beating Tobias Enstrom just inside the blue-line, and then getting a fortuitous bounce off the linesman's skate, giving the hawks a two on one in the Jets zone. Hossa then found Kane with a nice cross-ice pass & Kane blew it past Pavelec, who had no chance, and the game was tied.
The Hawks started the game more as spectators than initiators & paid for it. The Jets buzzed around the hawk zone early, carrying the play. Just under five minutes in, Montador took a hit in the corner to move the puck up the right boards to Toews, however the hawk captain failed to clear the zone, with Johnny Oduya intercepting the clear attempt & sidestepping Patrick Sharp to move into the slot, firing a shot that was tipped by Jim Slater in front, who had gained position on Montador. Ray Emery, seeing his first start of the season had no chance, 1-0 Winnipeg.
A couple of minutes later, the Jets aggressiveness paid more dividends, as on a dump-in to the corner, Slater checked Keith off the puck, gaining possession and keeping it in the zone for the Jets. More strong forechecking by Slater & Tanner Glass on Nick Leddy eventually won them the puck behind the hawk net and Glass skated with it to the opposite corner before finding Ron Hainsey at the right point. As the puck was headed to the point, Slater moved to the front of the net unchecked and was able to again deflect the shot from the point past Emery who had no chance, 2-0 Jets. With the Jets outshooting the hawks 5-0 at that point, and up 2-0, cue the timeout by Q, that turned the momentum around and by the end of the first, the hawks had outshot Winnipeg 11-9.
The hawks carried the momentum into the second period, with the Kane, Hossa & Carcillo line again involved. Just 33 seconds in, Nick Leddy pinched in from the right point to keep the puck deep in the zone, with Kane dropping back to cover for Leddy at the right point. Kane then stopped a Jets clear attempt and fed Hossa in the right corner. Hossa then moved back to the right half boards, with Leddy retreating to the point while Kane moved toward the right corner. Hossa fed Leddy, and then set himself up to take the return pass and one-timed it from 40 feet with Carcillo in front and the hawks had their first lead of the game 3-2.
About a minute later, Steve Montador nailed Evander Kane with a big open ice hit at center - the only problem was E. Kane was nowhere near the puck and Montador was sent off for interference. On the ensuing face-off, Bolland won the draw, but was high-sticked on the ensuing scrum, possibly by teammate Duncan Keith. Ray Emery made a great save on Andrew Ladd at the end of the shift, sprawling to get his stick down to stop the puck as he had gone down & was off to the side of net after making the original save on Ladd, who then tried to stuff in the rebound. Later in the Jets powerplay, Kyle Wellwood tried a wraparound that Emery stopped, however, he was unable to control the puck and both Wellwood and Evander Kane took pokes at it. The referee blew the play dead when it appeared that Emery had it, and waved off a would-be goal after E. Kane raised his arms, signaling a goal, as the puck appeared to have crossed the line behind Emery. Video review supported the call on the ice - the whistle had been blown before the puck entered the net - no goal & still 3-2 Chicago.
Shortly after the hawks killed the penalty, they struck again, this time started by a nice rush from Frolik, who started deep in his own zone, blew past Alex Burmistrov in the Jets zone, creating a 2 on 1, then patiently outwaiting Burmistrov to beautifully set up Bickell alone in front, who was stoned by Pavelec. Bogosian's attempted clear hit the back of the net, where Bickell beat Oduya to the puck and fed Bolland who was streaking in on the left side, and one timed a shot that Pavelec got a piece of, but it trickled in behind him & into the net, 4-2 Chicago.
Shortly afterwards, Wellwood took a minor penalty in the hawk zone for tripping Duncan Keith and the hawks were headed back to the powerplay with a chance to really take control, however they failed to seriously threaten. Late in the powerplay, Marion Hossa took a pass from Seabrook at the right half boards, then immediately tried to return the puck back to Seabrook, however Jim Slater had moved in and intercepted it & quickly moved it up to center to Wellwood coming out of the box. Wellwood was in alone, but stumbled as he moved over the hawk blueline, thus allowing Seabrook to recover and check him without giving up a good scoring chance or taking a penalty on the play.
The hawks caught a break a few minutes later when Daniel Carcillo, playing in his first game as a hawk after serving a two game suspension received with Philadelphia in the playoffs, appeared to take a high hit, as his head flung backwards, causing the referees to call MacLean for an elbow. Replays showed that MacLean hit Carcillo in the chest - nowhere near his head. The hawks didn't threaten on the powerplay and Winnipeg seemed to gain some momentum from the kill as only seconds after the penalty expired, Wellwood tapped in a rebound from between his legs that Emery actually helped knock into his own net as he was scrambling to try to get back into position after a scramble around the hawk net off a Hainsey rush.
The hawks Rusty Olesz then took a high-sticking penalty in the offensive zone less than half a minute later and the momentum seemed to be changing. The hawks managed to kill off the penalty without any damage and finished off the period with neither team seriously threatening.
In the third, the hawks had several good chances, but Pavelec was sharp, appearing to gain confidence with each save. The jets created some chances as well, with Emery equal to the task, with his best save on Ladd who was set up with a clear shot in the slot. The Jets pulled their goaltender with about a minute left, but weren't able to capitalize as the hawks held on for their 2nd home win in as many tries.
Overall, Patrick Kane was key tonight - he single-handedly brought the hawks back into the game with a dazzling rush that drew a penalty and then drew the primary assist on the hawks first goal and scored the tying goal on a one-timer nicely set up by Hossa. He won 10 of 14 faceoffs and a +2 rating, coming back hard on the defensive side to support his defensemen.
His linemates also had strong games, with Hossa looking motivated to make an impact, which he did, scoring a goal and setting up Kane for another. Carcillo made a nice play to spring Hossa at center on the 2nd goal, and was also effective in front on Hossa's one timer, and while his "sell-job" on dramatically moving his head back suddenly worked to draw an elbow penalty, you can bet that the officials won't be impressed on review of the play. It leaves the door wide open for Carcillo to not draw a penalty call on a play where he may legitimately be fouled...and thus hurt his team. The hawks don't need to resort to crap like that - the fact they seem to tolerate it will surely come back to haunt them this season.
Dave Bolland again made his presence felt with a goal which turned out to be the winner.
The game also marked the return of Andrew Ladd & Dustin Byfuglien to Chicago - both were noticeable, however, neither picked up a point, tho Byfuglien went +2. (An interesting tidbit is that Andrew Ladd is renting Jonathan Toews' Winnipeg condo while he finds a place).
Next up for the hawks, hosting the defending Stanley Cup Champs Boston, who are off to a bit of a rough start, at 1-3 so far. Corey Crawford will likely return to the net, assuming he is 100%. This should be a good test for the hawks, who are looking to take back the Cup from its current holder.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Hawks rebound at home, beat Stars, 5-2
The Blackhawks showed more drive & determination tonight, especially around the Dallas net and it paid early dividends on the powerplay, with Andrew Brunette at the top of the crease knocking in the rebound from Patrick Sharp's shot from the left circle to put the hawks up 1-0 midway through the first.
Perhaps the extra juice was due to the insertion of Dave Bolland, John Scott & Marcus Kruger into the lineup, (and/or the replacement of Lehtonen with Raycroft in the Dallas net) but whatever the case, the Hawks did what they needed to do to take control of things early.
On the goal, Seabrook did a nice job of keeping the puck in the zone at the blueline just out of the reach of Jamie Benn, moving the puck back to Kane on the right boards, and catching both Benn & Eriksson, who was streaking to center in anticipation of Benn beating Seabrook, out of position. Kane then found Sharp with a cross-ice pass. Sharp's first shot/pass attempt was actually blocked by Robidas, but the puck came right back to Sharp who got the second shot through, with Brunette & Toews outnumbering Fistric, the lone Star defenseman back, ready to pounce on the rebound with Raycroft down.
The Hawks gained confidence from the early pp goal, outplaying the Stars and outshooting them 10-2 in the first, with both teams taking 3 penalties each, including a pair of offsetting fighting majors after former hawk Jake Dowell challenged new hawk Jamal Mayers for hitting Sheldon Souray. Both players landed a couple before Mayers took Dowell down to the ice, without any major damage done.
Shortly afterwards, Sharp misfired on a pass attempt deep in his own zone, turning over the puck to Radek Dvorak who quickly fed Steve Ott all alone in front of Crawford but could not beat him low five hole.
A few minutes later, Bolland's wrap-around attempt deflected high and hit off the cross-bar before Raycroft smothered the puck. Late in the first, Marcus Kruger was caught holding the stick of Wandell, and after Dallas controlled the puck for about 40 seconds on the delayed penalty Kruger went off, however, the Stars powerplay failed to threaten. As the first ended, Larson took a run at Bolland, who turned the tables & knocked him down, prompting Burish to get involved - a scrum ensued but no damage done.
The Hawks continued carrying the play to start the 2nd, Bolland getting an early chance on a 3 on 2, with Robidas without a stick, but Raycroft was equal to the task. Hossa followed up that shift by taking a stretch pass from Keith to move down the right side for a good shot at Raycroft who made the save and left a big rebound however, no hawk could get to it.
A few minutes later, Steve Ott lined up rookie Brandon Saad at the red line, and knocked him down with a solid hit, which prompted Mayers to skate up to Ott as play went on and have a few words with him. The hawks got a powerplay shortly afterwards, but failed to convert, with Hossa's cross-crease pass not connecting with Bolland at the end of the penalty.
A few minutes later, Bolland moved into the Dallas zone after a pass from Kruger, and let a seemingly harmless shot go toward net that beat Raycroft high glove side - Raycroft may have not picked up the puck originally as Robidas's attempted to stick check the puck away from Bolland just as he was shooting. 2-0 Chicago.
A few minutes later, Toews was called for slashing Ott's stick out of his hands in the offensive zone, however the Dallas powerplay again failed to seriously threaten, though Robidas did flatten Jamal Mayers with a big hit at the hawk blueline as Mayers was attempting to clear the zone. As the penalty ended, the hawks gained control deep in their own zone & Seabrook with a heads up play found a wide open Toews coming out of the box and deep behind the Dallas defense. A perfect lead pass and Toews made no mistake beating Raycroft low five hole and the hawks looked home and cooled up 3-0.
However, just over a minute later, the Stars responded with Fiddler & Burish combining on a give & go passing play that sent Fiddler in on the left side and he beat Crawford high on a sharp angle to put the Stars back into the game with only their 6th shot on goal.
The hawks got a late powerplay, and controlled the play in the Dallas zone for the first minute when Steve Ott high-sticked Sharp at the blueline, to put the Stars down two men. Quenneville called a timeout to give his top pp unit a chance to stay out for the 5 on 3, however the hawks failed to seriously threaten, partially fanning on a couple of point shot attempts and allowing Raycroft to see & catch another shot that did manage to connect, not giving a chance at a rebound.
Early in the third, Brendan Morrow seemed to hurt himself throwing a check on Seabrook in the corner of the hawk zone - he stayed down for a moment and was later seen grasping his arm on the bench in some distress, but did return to the game.
The hawks struck again 5 minutes into the 3rd on a 2 on 1, with Sharp firing a high shot from the right side into the top right corner, to give the hawks another 3 goal lead, 4-1. The play was started by Montador blocking a Goligoski point shot in the hawk zone, Montador then tried to feed Sharp breaking at the blueline with Goligoski right there, however Sharp managed to break free of Goligoski's check (which prompted a delay penalty call), and created the 2 on 1 with Brunette. Sharp used Brunette as a decoy and fired home his first of the season, 4-1 Chicago.
A few minutes later, Sharp took a cross-checking penalty, and the Stars finally struck on the powerplay with Ott deflecting a second shot attempt from Souray past Crawford to put the Stars back within 2 with half the 3rd left to play. The hawks looked like they had the penalty effectively killed, but Mayers was unable to clear the puck late in the kill, being checked off it by Benn, who fed Souray at the point. Kruger bravely fell in front of Souray's first shot, but the puck lay there for Souray and his second shot was tipped by Ott past Crawford for a pp goal. Kruger was obviously in some discomfort afterwards but did not appear to miss a shift.
On the next shift, Sharp took another penalty on Vern Fiddler, appearing to catch him with a partially blindside hit, however, it was called tripping, with Sharp also picking up a misconduct on the play. Fiddler stayed down for a moment and was slow to get up, but would remain in the game.
The Stars however could not seriously threaten on the powerplay and shortly after it expired they were caught with too many men. The hawks created a couple of good chances, with Bolland deflecting a Montador point shot forcing Raycroft to make a good save and later Hossa was sent in alone in the slot by a nice Kruger lead but couldn't beat Raycroft.
After the penalty kill, Dallas pressed in the hawk zone to try to pull within one, and created a couple of chances, however, Crawford was solid in making a couple of big saves. Like Quenneville the night before, Dallas pulled their goalie with over 2 minutes left, however the hawks were able to gain possession in their own zone with Bickell sending it up to Frolik who with Bolland skated in on a 2 on 1 from center. Frolik unselfishly fed Bolland for the empty netter as the hawks clinched it.
With under a minute left, Burish took run at Jamal Mayers, but got the worst of it, losing his helmet in the process. He then went after Kruger with a cross-check at the other blueline, prompting Mayers to go after him, however, Souray intervened & grabbed Mayers, which quickly resulted in a scrum in the dying seconds at the benches, however no damage was done. Burish was given a roughing penalty & misconduct for his trouble.
Overall, the hawks responded well to the previous loss, though it would have been interesting to see how they would have done against Lehtonen rather than Raycroft. Toews, Sharp, Bolland & Brunette hitting the scoresheet was a welcome sight, and Montador & O'Donnell also picked up their first points as hawks in solid efforts from both. Montador looked more steady & relaxed, getting 15 minutes of ice time, which helped Quenneville cut back Keith's workload from the previous night.
It seemed clear that Bolland's return provided a spark, while the rest of the team followed suit in a solid team win. The hawks get to enjoy the victory for a few days, until Winnipeg visits on Thursday with Ladd & Byfuglien's first visit to Chicago since they were traded.
Perhaps the extra juice was due to the insertion of Dave Bolland, John Scott & Marcus Kruger into the lineup, (and/or the replacement of Lehtonen with Raycroft in the Dallas net) but whatever the case, the Hawks did what they needed to do to take control of things early.
On the goal, Seabrook did a nice job of keeping the puck in the zone at the blueline just out of the reach of Jamie Benn, moving the puck back to Kane on the right boards, and catching both Benn & Eriksson, who was streaking to center in anticipation of Benn beating Seabrook, out of position. Kane then found Sharp with a cross-ice pass. Sharp's first shot/pass attempt was actually blocked by Robidas, but the puck came right back to Sharp who got the second shot through, with Brunette & Toews outnumbering Fistric, the lone Star defenseman back, ready to pounce on the rebound with Raycroft down.
The Hawks gained confidence from the early pp goal, outplaying the Stars and outshooting them 10-2 in the first, with both teams taking 3 penalties each, including a pair of offsetting fighting majors after former hawk Jake Dowell challenged new hawk Jamal Mayers for hitting Sheldon Souray. Both players landed a couple before Mayers took Dowell down to the ice, without any major damage done.
Shortly afterwards, Sharp misfired on a pass attempt deep in his own zone, turning over the puck to Radek Dvorak who quickly fed Steve Ott all alone in front of Crawford but could not beat him low five hole.
A few minutes later, Bolland's wrap-around attempt deflected high and hit off the cross-bar before Raycroft smothered the puck. Late in the first, Marcus Kruger was caught holding the stick of Wandell, and after Dallas controlled the puck for about 40 seconds on the delayed penalty Kruger went off, however, the Stars powerplay failed to threaten. As the first ended, Larson took a run at Bolland, who turned the tables & knocked him down, prompting Burish to get involved - a scrum ensued but no damage done.
The Hawks continued carrying the play to start the 2nd, Bolland getting an early chance on a 3 on 2, with Robidas without a stick, but Raycroft was equal to the task. Hossa followed up that shift by taking a stretch pass from Keith to move down the right side for a good shot at Raycroft who made the save and left a big rebound however, no hawk could get to it.
A few minutes later, Steve Ott lined up rookie Brandon Saad at the red line, and knocked him down with a solid hit, which prompted Mayers to skate up to Ott as play went on and have a few words with him. The hawks got a powerplay shortly afterwards, but failed to convert, with Hossa's cross-crease pass not connecting with Bolland at the end of the penalty.
A few minutes later, Bolland moved into the Dallas zone after a pass from Kruger, and let a seemingly harmless shot go toward net that beat Raycroft high glove side - Raycroft may have not picked up the puck originally as Robidas's attempted to stick check the puck away from Bolland just as he was shooting. 2-0 Chicago.
A few minutes later, Toews was called for slashing Ott's stick out of his hands in the offensive zone, however the Dallas powerplay again failed to seriously threaten, though Robidas did flatten Jamal Mayers with a big hit at the hawk blueline as Mayers was attempting to clear the zone. As the penalty ended, the hawks gained control deep in their own zone & Seabrook with a heads up play found a wide open Toews coming out of the box and deep behind the Dallas defense. A perfect lead pass and Toews made no mistake beating Raycroft low five hole and the hawks looked home and cooled up 3-0.
However, just over a minute later, the Stars responded with Fiddler & Burish combining on a give & go passing play that sent Fiddler in on the left side and he beat Crawford high on a sharp angle to put the Stars back into the game with only their 6th shot on goal.
The hawks got a late powerplay, and controlled the play in the Dallas zone for the first minute when Steve Ott high-sticked Sharp at the blueline, to put the Stars down two men. Quenneville called a timeout to give his top pp unit a chance to stay out for the 5 on 3, however the hawks failed to seriously threaten, partially fanning on a couple of point shot attempts and allowing Raycroft to see & catch another shot that did manage to connect, not giving a chance at a rebound.
Early in the third, Brendan Morrow seemed to hurt himself throwing a check on Seabrook in the corner of the hawk zone - he stayed down for a moment and was later seen grasping his arm on the bench in some distress, but did return to the game.
The hawks struck again 5 minutes into the 3rd on a 2 on 1, with Sharp firing a high shot from the right side into the top right corner, to give the hawks another 3 goal lead, 4-1. The play was started by Montador blocking a Goligoski point shot in the hawk zone, Montador then tried to feed Sharp breaking at the blueline with Goligoski right there, however Sharp managed to break free of Goligoski's check (which prompted a delay penalty call), and created the 2 on 1 with Brunette. Sharp used Brunette as a decoy and fired home his first of the season, 4-1 Chicago.
A few minutes later, Sharp took a cross-checking penalty, and the Stars finally struck on the powerplay with Ott deflecting a second shot attempt from Souray past Crawford to put the Stars back within 2 with half the 3rd left to play. The hawks looked like they had the penalty effectively killed, but Mayers was unable to clear the puck late in the kill, being checked off it by Benn, who fed Souray at the point. Kruger bravely fell in front of Souray's first shot, but the puck lay there for Souray and his second shot was tipped by Ott past Crawford for a pp goal. Kruger was obviously in some discomfort afterwards but did not appear to miss a shift.
On the next shift, Sharp took another penalty on Vern Fiddler, appearing to catch him with a partially blindside hit, however, it was called tripping, with Sharp also picking up a misconduct on the play. Fiddler stayed down for a moment and was slow to get up, but would remain in the game.
The Stars however could not seriously threaten on the powerplay and shortly after it expired they were caught with too many men. The hawks created a couple of good chances, with Bolland deflecting a Montador point shot forcing Raycroft to make a good save and later Hossa was sent in alone in the slot by a nice Kruger lead but couldn't beat Raycroft.
After the penalty kill, Dallas pressed in the hawk zone to try to pull within one, and created a couple of chances, however, Crawford was solid in making a couple of big saves. Like Quenneville the night before, Dallas pulled their goalie with over 2 minutes left, however the hawks were able to gain possession in their own zone with Bickell sending it up to Frolik who with Bolland skated in on a 2 on 1 from center. Frolik unselfishly fed Bolland for the empty netter as the hawks clinched it.
With under a minute left, Burish took run at Jamal Mayers, but got the worst of it, losing his helmet in the process. He then went after Kruger with a cross-check at the other blueline, prompting Mayers to go after him, however, Souray intervened & grabbed Mayers, which quickly resulted in a scrum in the dying seconds at the benches, however no damage was done. Burish was given a roughing penalty & misconduct for his trouble.
Overall, the hawks responded well to the previous loss, though it would have been interesting to see how they would have done against Lehtonen rather than Raycroft. Toews, Sharp, Bolland & Brunette hitting the scoresheet was a welcome sight, and Montador & O'Donnell also picked up their first points as hawks in solid efforts from both. Montador looked more steady & relaxed, getting 15 minutes of ice time, which helped Quenneville cut back Keith's workload from the previous night.
It seemed clear that Bolland's return provided a spark, while the rest of the team followed suit in a solid team win. The hawks get to enjoy the victory for a few days, until Winnipeg visits on Thursday with Ladd & Byfuglien's first visit to Chicago since they were traded.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Hawks drop season opener in Dallas, 2-1
In the much anticipated season opener, the hawks worked hard, created chances and also looked a bit rusty and disjointed at times in losing 2-1 to the Stars.
Goaltending was the story of the game, as you would expect with over 70 total shots and only a 2-1 scoreline. Corey Crawford played well, certainly well enough to win most nights, but Kari Lehtonen was a bit better, stopping the hawks first 37 shots before losing his shutout with 13 seconds left.
While Lehtonen was solid, he was also helped by hawks forwards' reluctance to drive hard to the net and subject themselves to some physical abuse & punishment from Stars defensemen. Too often, the hawks were content to stay well away from the top of Lehtonen's crease, even on the power play, and take shots from the perimeter, that were often right into the body of Lehtonen, not really testing him.
There was not enough physical initiation & engagement from the hawks to finish off their scoring chances - it was like they were prepared to go the distance, but not the extra mile to the score the dirty, ugly goal that is often the only way to beat a fundamentally sound & seemingly unflappable goaltender who was gaining in confidence as the game went a long.
Meanwhile, the hawks were in a giving mood, Keith mishandling a puck at the point early in the first, which allowed an aggressive Jamie Benn a breakaway chance on Crawford, who made a nice blocker save going to his right. Less than a minute into the second, Keith tried to make a hard clear from behind his own net along the right side boards - unfortunately Hossa was for some reason at the blueline apparently covering Goligoski, while his vacated position along the right boards was filled by Mike Ribeiro who then fed Alex Goligoski stepping into the slot (now vacated by Hossa to go after Ribeiro on the right boards) and Goligoski fired a wrister past Crawford to the put the Stars up 1-0.
The Stars then got into some penalty trouble, taking 3 minors in the period (and fourth consecutive in the game to that point) and while the hawks did manage to get many of their 22 total shots in the 2nd on the powerplays, most were shot right at Lehtonen, making it easier for him. The hawks best chance was actually at 5 on 5, with Frolik (who replaced Saad on Toews' line to start the 2nd) being set up by a nice cross-ice pass by Sharp, giving him a partial open net to shoot at, yet Frolik missed the target altogether. Later Brandon Pirri was set up in the slot nicely by Bickell on a two on one, but the rookie fired it over the net.
On the Hawks 3rd powerplay of the period, Hossa behind the play was called for a retaliatory slash. Having had four straight powerplays, Hossa should have known that the refs might call a minor indiscretion, but nevertheless he took the hawks off the powerplay and unwittingly set up the Stars next goal. On the ensuing 4 on 4 faceoff in the hawks zone, Brandon Pirri lost the draw, with the puck going back to the point and Sheldon Souray blasted a hard shot that Crawford couldn't smother and Benn was left alone (by Hjalmarsson) in front to flip the rebound over him to put the Stars up 2-0, late in the 2nd.
Quenneville started the third period with more line juggling, putting Bickell with Toews & Sharp, and replacing Brunette with Frolik on Kane & Hossa's line, however it was Dallas that actually carried most of the early play.
Hawks defensive zone coverage was also lacking. Crawford dropped a knuckleball 40 foot shot from Ott and had to make a rebound save on his own defensemen Lepisto, who unintentionally backhanded a shot on net, before falling over backwards. On the ensuing play, Lepisto failed to cover Ott, who redirected a point shot forcing Crawford to make a difficult save. Benn then crunched Hjalmarsson against the corner glass, cracking it open and causing a brief delay. Fortunately Hjalmarsson didn't appear cut on the play.
Quenneville had seen enough, and put Kane back with Sharp & Toews, with Brunette joining Frolik & Hossa, and the hawks started to respond, by carrying the play again. In fact Brunette, Frolik & Hossa controlled play in the Dallas zone for a full minute halfway thru the 3rd, but failed to connect.
The next Sharp-Kane-Toews shift led to more offensive zone pressure, with Ott going after Sharp at the end of the shift, causing a scrum.
With about five minutes left, Keith took a heavy hit from Ott, then proceeded to put his hand around Ott and fell on top of him, drawing a holding penalty. The hawks managed to kill off the penalty without any damage, and in fact Mayers even managed to create an offensive chance for himself after blocking a pass at center and moving in on the left side, but Lehtonen managed to get his left arm on the rising shot and deflect it wide on a difficult save. At the end of the penalty kill, Sharp took a Toews zone clear at center ice and moved past Daley & in on Lehtonen but lost the puck on his backhand as he crashed into Lehtonen & the net.
Quenneville pulled Crawford with about 2:30 to go, but the hawks were unable to keep the puck in the offensive zone for long and spent most of the next minute or so desperately trying to keep the puck out of their empty net. The hawks did finally manage to keep some offensive zone pressure in the final minute, and after a couple of chances, Kane found Leddy moving in from the left point and he rifled a shot that beat Lehtonen high to the glove side with 13 seconds left.
The hawks managed to gain control & move into the Dallas zone off the ensuing center ice faceoff, but Hossa's blind back pass for Sharp missed the mark and went to center ice, effectively killing the clock.
Overall, the Hawks didn't play poorly, and perhaps against a lesser goalie, they may have scored more & won the game, but when expectations are high, and the opponent is considered a "lightweight", this was a disappointing way to start the season.
Observations on the new hawks:
Brandon Saad was not a factor in the limited time he saw - he did make a nice defensive play in the first to take the puck away from Michael Ryder in the hawk zone and skated it down into the Dallas zone, allowing the hawks to change, and later in the 2nd managed to get off a shot that seemed to catch Lehtonen off guard, but that was about it.
The other Brandon rookie, namely Pirri was more noticeable offensively, getting an excellent chance on a 2 on 1 feed from Bickell, but fired it wide. He picked up a secondary assist on the lone hawk goal, feeding Kane at the side boards. He also lost the face-off on the 4 on 4, that directly led to the 2nd Dallas goal.
Brunette - didn't get much accomplished with Kane & Hossa. Kane was his usual dangerous self throughout the game, while Hossa was his usual frustrating, underachieving self.
Mayers - created a good shorthanded chance for himself and also had a few words with Morrow earlier in the game when the Dallas captain went after a hawk Dman.
Montador - saw limited action under 10 minutes, including a shift at forward. Surprisingly, he also got a shift in the final minute.
Lepisto - less than 10 minutes on defense, paired with O'Donnell - looked a bit shaky at times, including backhanding a Crawford rebound right back at him.
O'Donnell - he is slow, but we knew that (& if you didn't before, you certainly saw it when a Dallas forward streaked past him early in the game). Still, he brought a physical presence, moving in to defend teammates in a scrum, which is a big reason he is on the team.
Olesz - hardly noticeable - I'm not sure why he is on the team, especially with his salary & cap hit. The hawks could use a 4th liner who has energy & makes an impact with his physicality - they certainly don't have it in this guy nor does he present any offensive challenges to opponents.
Other noteables, Bickell threw a couple of big hits and made a nice play to set up Pirri with limited ice time.
Toews - good effort, but a slow start to seasons from a production standpoint seems to be the norm for him.
Sharp - looked no worse for wear from his appendectomy - may have lacked on timing and endurance a bit.
Keith - looked more like last year's Keith than the Norris one...
Seabrook - seemed out of it at times. I have to wonder how the multiple concussions & hits to the head are affecting his game.
Leddy - perhaps the hawks best Dman on the night.
Goaltending was the story of the game, as you would expect with over 70 total shots and only a 2-1 scoreline. Corey Crawford played well, certainly well enough to win most nights, but Kari Lehtonen was a bit better, stopping the hawks first 37 shots before losing his shutout with 13 seconds left.
While Lehtonen was solid, he was also helped by hawks forwards' reluctance to drive hard to the net and subject themselves to some physical abuse & punishment from Stars defensemen. Too often, the hawks were content to stay well away from the top of Lehtonen's crease, even on the power play, and take shots from the perimeter, that were often right into the body of Lehtonen, not really testing him.
There was not enough physical initiation & engagement from the hawks to finish off their scoring chances - it was like they were prepared to go the distance, but not the extra mile to the score the dirty, ugly goal that is often the only way to beat a fundamentally sound & seemingly unflappable goaltender who was gaining in confidence as the game went a long.
Meanwhile, the hawks were in a giving mood, Keith mishandling a puck at the point early in the first, which allowed an aggressive Jamie Benn a breakaway chance on Crawford, who made a nice blocker save going to his right. Less than a minute into the second, Keith tried to make a hard clear from behind his own net along the right side boards - unfortunately Hossa was for some reason at the blueline apparently covering Goligoski, while his vacated position along the right boards was filled by Mike Ribeiro who then fed Alex Goligoski stepping into the slot (now vacated by Hossa to go after Ribeiro on the right boards) and Goligoski fired a wrister past Crawford to the put the Stars up 1-0.
The Stars then got into some penalty trouble, taking 3 minors in the period (and fourth consecutive in the game to that point) and while the hawks did manage to get many of their 22 total shots in the 2nd on the powerplays, most were shot right at Lehtonen, making it easier for him. The hawks best chance was actually at 5 on 5, with Frolik (who replaced Saad on Toews' line to start the 2nd) being set up by a nice cross-ice pass by Sharp, giving him a partial open net to shoot at, yet Frolik missed the target altogether. Later Brandon Pirri was set up in the slot nicely by Bickell on a two on one, but the rookie fired it over the net.
On the Hawks 3rd powerplay of the period, Hossa behind the play was called for a retaliatory slash. Having had four straight powerplays, Hossa should have known that the refs might call a minor indiscretion, but nevertheless he took the hawks off the powerplay and unwittingly set up the Stars next goal. On the ensuing 4 on 4 faceoff in the hawks zone, Brandon Pirri lost the draw, with the puck going back to the point and Sheldon Souray blasted a hard shot that Crawford couldn't smother and Benn was left alone (by Hjalmarsson) in front to flip the rebound over him to put the Stars up 2-0, late in the 2nd.
Quenneville started the third period with more line juggling, putting Bickell with Toews & Sharp, and replacing Brunette with Frolik on Kane & Hossa's line, however it was Dallas that actually carried most of the early play.
Hawks defensive zone coverage was also lacking. Crawford dropped a knuckleball 40 foot shot from Ott and had to make a rebound save on his own defensemen Lepisto, who unintentionally backhanded a shot on net, before falling over backwards. On the ensuing play, Lepisto failed to cover Ott, who redirected a point shot forcing Crawford to make a difficult save. Benn then crunched Hjalmarsson against the corner glass, cracking it open and causing a brief delay. Fortunately Hjalmarsson didn't appear cut on the play.
Quenneville had seen enough, and put Kane back with Sharp & Toews, with Brunette joining Frolik & Hossa, and the hawks started to respond, by carrying the play again. In fact Brunette, Frolik & Hossa controlled play in the Dallas zone for a full minute halfway thru the 3rd, but failed to connect.
The next Sharp-Kane-Toews shift led to more offensive zone pressure, with Ott going after Sharp at the end of the shift, causing a scrum.
With about five minutes left, Keith took a heavy hit from Ott, then proceeded to put his hand around Ott and fell on top of him, drawing a holding penalty. The hawks managed to kill off the penalty without any damage, and in fact Mayers even managed to create an offensive chance for himself after blocking a pass at center and moving in on the left side, but Lehtonen managed to get his left arm on the rising shot and deflect it wide on a difficult save. At the end of the penalty kill, Sharp took a Toews zone clear at center ice and moved past Daley & in on Lehtonen but lost the puck on his backhand as he crashed into Lehtonen & the net.
Quenneville pulled Crawford with about 2:30 to go, but the hawks were unable to keep the puck in the offensive zone for long and spent most of the next minute or so desperately trying to keep the puck out of their empty net. The hawks did finally manage to keep some offensive zone pressure in the final minute, and after a couple of chances, Kane found Leddy moving in from the left point and he rifled a shot that beat Lehtonen high to the glove side with 13 seconds left.
The hawks managed to gain control & move into the Dallas zone off the ensuing center ice faceoff, but Hossa's blind back pass for Sharp missed the mark and went to center ice, effectively killing the clock.
Overall, the Hawks didn't play poorly, and perhaps against a lesser goalie, they may have scored more & won the game, but when expectations are high, and the opponent is considered a "lightweight", this was a disappointing way to start the season.
Observations on the new hawks:
Brandon Saad was not a factor in the limited time he saw - he did make a nice defensive play in the first to take the puck away from Michael Ryder in the hawk zone and skated it down into the Dallas zone, allowing the hawks to change, and later in the 2nd managed to get off a shot that seemed to catch Lehtonen off guard, but that was about it.
The other Brandon rookie, namely Pirri was more noticeable offensively, getting an excellent chance on a 2 on 1 feed from Bickell, but fired it wide. He picked up a secondary assist on the lone hawk goal, feeding Kane at the side boards. He also lost the face-off on the 4 on 4, that directly led to the 2nd Dallas goal.
Brunette - didn't get much accomplished with Kane & Hossa. Kane was his usual dangerous self throughout the game, while Hossa was his usual frustrating, underachieving self.
Mayers - created a good shorthanded chance for himself and also had a few words with Morrow earlier in the game when the Dallas captain went after a hawk Dman.
Montador - saw limited action under 10 minutes, including a shift at forward. Surprisingly, he also got a shift in the final minute.
Lepisto - less than 10 minutes on defense, paired with O'Donnell - looked a bit shaky at times, including backhanding a Crawford rebound right back at him.
O'Donnell - he is slow, but we knew that (& if you didn't before, you certainly saw it when a Dallas forward streaked past him early in the game). Still, he brought a physical presence, moving in to defend teammates in a scrum, which is a big reason he is on the team.
Olesz - hardly noticeable - I'm not sure why he is on the team, especially with his salary & cap hit. The hawks could use a 4th liner who has energy & makes an impact with his physicality - they certainly don't have it in this guy nor does he present any offensive challenges to opponents.
Other noteables, Bickell threw a couple of big hits and made a nice play to set up Pirri with limited ice time.
Toews - good effort, but a slow start to seasons from a production standpoint seems to be the norm for him.
Sharp - looked no worse for wear from his appendectomy - may have lacked on timing and endurance a bit.
Keith - looked more like last year's Keith than the Norris one...
Seabrook - seemed out of it at times. I have to wonder how the multiple concussions & hits to the head are affecting his game.
Leddy - perhaps the hawks best Dman on the night.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Hawk rookie forwards find scoring touch, but defensive lapses cost them, lose to Ottawa rookies 6-5
Game 2 of the 3 game rookie tournament in Oshawa this afternoon saw the hawks forwards get untracked offensively, but the defense was unable to stop Ottawa and the hawks dropped their 2nd game within 19 hours, in a wide-open affair.
There were 4 lineup changes for the hawks from last night. Scratched skaters were Philippe Paradis (with a suspected concussion suffered in last night's game), Chris DiDomenico (who scored the hawks' first goal vs. Toronto) and Dylan Olsen, replaced by Paul Zanette, and invitees Peter Leblanc and Neil Manning. Johan Mattson replaced Mac Carruther in goal.
The hawks again gave up the first goal, early in the first on a scramble in front, but they quickly got that one back, with Leblanc moving in from the left side fired a shot that beat Sens rookie goalie Matej Machovsky. Later in the first, the hawks got a powerplay, but some nonchalant play by the hawk defenseman Lavin retrieving the puck behind his own net & some aggressive fore-checking by Ottawa penalty killer Corey Cowick lead to a turnover, with the puck heading toward the crease. Hawk goalie Mattsson was slow in covering the left side of the net and as he slid over, he actually knocked the puck into his own net with his left leg pad, which made it 2-1 Ottawa.
Hawks quickly responded again on the same power-play, with Brandon Saad again connecting for his 2nd goal of the tourney (& 3rd point), standing just off to the right of the net and flipping in a rebound to make it 2-2, with Jimmy Hayes creating traffic in front & earning an assist on the pp goal.
Saad struck yet again late in the first, with his 3rd goal of the tourney, to put the hawks up 3-2 at the end of the first, outshooting the Sens rookies 17-12.
Ottawa came out flying in the 2nd, and with the help of a couple of power play opportunities, seemed to wear down the hawks and converted on one of their chances, with Sens Dman Stephane DaCosta scoring the natural hat trick - the 2nd with a blast from the point that beat Mattson high stick side on the powerplay to make it 4-3, and followed that up shortly afterwards with another slapper this time low stick side, where Mattsson was apparently screened, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration as Ottawa took a 5-3 lead.
Hawks managed to get a late powerplay of their own in the period, and this time it was Jimmy Hayes making a nice move from close in, lifting a backhander past Machovsky to pull the hawks within 1, at 5-4. Saad picked up another assist on the play, giving him 3 points on the game, and 5 in 5 periods. He should have had yet another assist when he made a beautiful cross-ice pass to a hawk all alone in front, who simply missed getting his stick on it to steer it into a yawning cage.
The third period saw the checking get tighter, as both teams tried to clamp down on the scoring chances that were abundant in the first two periods. Both teams nevertheless managed to hit iron, and late in the third, the Sens struck again, hemming the hawks in their own zone and seemingly putting the game out of reach.
But less than a minute later, Jimmy "Purple" Hayes found himself high in the slot with the puck, and after taking a quick look, fired a wrister that beat Machovsky for his second of the game, making it 6-5. The Hawks then pressed again in the Ottawa zone, but lost control of the puck and Phillip Danault attempting to swipe it away from a Sens player, caught his skates with his stick, knocking him down & was assessed a minor for tripping with a minute left.
Ottawa closed out the game by keeping the puck in the hawk zone to kill off the clock.
Danault had left the game in the 2nd period after taking a stick in the mouth, apparently from his own player as no penalty was called on the play. It appeared that Danault lost some teeth on the play, with blood dripping on the ice. After a minute, he got up & skated off, with Joe Lavin appearing to retrieve a lost chicklet from the ice and following them to the bench to give it to the trainer. Danault missed the rest of the second for repairs, but returned to start the third. (His parents were sitting behind me & his father indicated it wasn't the first tooth he has lost lol).
Observations on the game.
This was a more wide open game than last night - more emphasis on skating and not nearly as physical, which probably suited both teams more. The Sens have some excellent rookies as evidenced by winning the AHL Calder Cup championship last year and shutting out the Pens rookies 4-0 yesterday afternoon.
Brandon Saad continues to be the story of the tourney for the hawks - another excellent offensive performance - he was a threat every time he was on the ice, and produced whoever his linemates were. Hawks coaches continued juggling their lines throughout the game, giving different guys opportunities to play with Saad & Hayes.
Jimmy Hayes is going to be a very productive NHL forward - Great size at 6'5, but he can skate (not quite Viktor Stalberg speed, but very quick acceleration) and he has fantastic hands that he showed again today. How Burke could have given up on this guy is baffling, tho I suspect that Hayes doesn't play it rough & tough enough for Burke. I would like to see him use his size more & be more physical throwing his weight around out there to create more space (and if he did, he would be a dominating player), but it doesn't seem to be his game - tho I doubt he is a pushover - he doesn't go looking for trouble, but doesn't appear to be afraid to stand up for himself or teammates either.
Danault had another solid performance - he's played better than MacNeil, who seems to be having some trouble adjusting (or perhaps he was overrated?). MacNeil made at least 3 blind passes that were all picked off and was not an offensive threat, while Danault seemed to have a nose for the puck and the areas to be in offensively. His skating seemed more effortless than MacNeil and he seemed more determined in his play, looking more comfortable offensively. I don't have the plus minus stats & took more note of the the hawks offensive performance than who was responsible for the goals against, so perhaps MacNeil might have been better defensively of the two, but right now, I'd take Danault. That said, both guys are only 18 & I don't expect they'll be playing in Chicago for a couple of years.
Toews didn't seem to get as much ice time today - he didn't get on the scoresheet, but when he was out there, he went all out - just didn't get that much accomplished offensively.
Gilbert & Froese were more noticeable than last night, showing some flashes of ability, though can't say they made a big impact.
The two invitees in the lineup, Leblanc & Manning also put in fairly solid performances - with Leblanc scoring the first goal & Manning showing some good skating & mobility at the back end, tho didn't look that big.
Paul Zanette, also in his first game of the tourney, had some decent shifts, but had limited ice time and impact.
On defense, Joe Lavin looked fairly steady, tho he did have some lapses, particularly on the play that led to the shorthanded goal against. He's a decent skater & puck mover, and is a fairly aggressive defender (as all hawk defensemen appeared to be) in terms of challenging the puck carrier in the hawk zone.
Danis-Pepin may appear as a physically intimidating presence at 6'6, but as mentioned before, he's not overly physical and while a decent skater for his size, his puck handling needs some work - to me, he seems like an average 5'11 defenseman playing in a 6'6 body.
It was hard to pick out any stalwarts from among the hawk dmen - they seemed fairly interchangeable - though giving up six isn't going to help any of their causes.
Johan Mattsson looked shaky on a couple of goals, especially the own goal he knocked into his own net with his left leg pad when sliding across the crease, though he also made some nice saves on difficult chances, and picked up a delay of game penalty when he played the puck in the trapezoid area, tho seemed to dispute the call. He also seemed to show his frustration after the 5th goal, a low point shot by DaCosta which he apparently didn't see - something which I'm not sure his teammates or coaches would have been that impressed.
Overall, another entertaining game, well-played for the most part with some lapses by the defense & goaltending that ended up costing them.
The two guys that have really stood out so far have been Brandon Saad & Jimmy Hayes with an honorable mention to Phillip Danault. These are three guys to keep an eye on in the hawks regular camp.
In a nice gesture, there was a moment of silence prior to the US National Anthem in memory of the September 11th victims back in the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
There were 4 lineup changes for the hawks from last night. Scratched skaters were Philippe Paradis (with a suspected concussion suffered in last night's game), Chris DiDomenico (who scored the hawks' first goal vs. Toronto) and Dylan Olsen, replaced by Paul Zanette, and invitees Peter Leblanc and Neil Manning. Johan Mattson replaced Mac Carruther in goal.
The hawks again gave up the first goal, early in the first on a scramble in front, but they quickly got that one back, with Leblanc moving in from the left side fired a shot that beat Sens rookie goalie Matej Machovsky. Later in the first, the hawks got a powerplay, but some nonchalant play by the hawk defenseman Lavin retrieving the puck behind his own net & some aggressive fore-checking by Ottawa penalty killer Corey Cowick lead to a turnover, with the puck heading toward the crease. Hawk goalie Mattsson was slow in covering the left side of the net and as he slid over, he actually knocked the puck into his own net with his left leg pad, which made it 2-1 Ottawa.
Hawks quickly responded again on the same power-play, with Brandon Saad again connecting for his 2nd goal of the tourney (& 3rd point), standing just off to the right of the net and flipping in a rebound to make it 2-2, with Jimmy Hayes creating traffic in front & earning an assist on the pp goal.
Saad struck yet again late in the first, with his 3rd goal of the tourney, to put the hawks up 3-2 at the end of the first, outshooting the Sens rookies 17-12.
Ottawa came out flying in the 2nd, and with the help of a couple of power play opportunities, seemed to wear down the hawks and converted on one of their chances, with Sens Dman Stephane DaCosta scoring the natural hat trick - the 2nd with a blast from the point that beat Mattson high stick side on the powerplay to make it 4-3, and followed that up shortly afterwards with another slapper this time low stick side, where Mattsson was apparently screened, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration as Ottawa took a 5-3 lead.
Hawks managed to get a late powerplay of their own in the period, and this time it was Jimmy Hayes making a nice move from close in, lifting a backhander past Machovsky to pull the hawks within 1, at 5-4. Saad picked up another assist on the play, giving him 3 points on the game, and 5 in 5 periods. He should have had yet another assist when he made a beautiful cross-ice pass to a hawk all alone in front, who simply missed getting his stick on it to steer it into a yawning cage.
The third period saw the checking get tighter, as both teams tried to clamp down on the scoring chances that were abundant in the first two periods. Both teams nevertheless managed to hit iron, and late in the third, the Sens struck again, hemming the hawks in their own zone and seemingly putting the game out of reach.
But less than a minute later, Jimmy "Purple" Hayes found himself high in the slot with the puck, and after taking a quick look, fired a wrister that beat Machovsky for his second of the game, making it 6-5. The Hawks then pressed again in the Ottawa zone, but lost control of the puck and Phillip Danault attempting to swipe it away from a Sens player, caught his skates with his stick, knocking him down & was assessed a minor for tripping with a minute left.
Ottawa closed out the game by keeping the puck in the hawk zone to kill off the clock.
Danault had left the game in the 2nd period after taking a stick in the mouth, apparently from his own player as no penalty was called on the play. It appeared that Danault lost some teeth on the play, with blood dripping on the ice. After a minute, he got up & skated off, with Joe Lavin appearing to retrieve a lost chicklet from the ice and following them to the bench to give it to the trainer. Danault missed the rest of the second for repairs, but returned to start the third. (His parents were sitting behind me & his father indicated it wasn't the first tooth he has lost lol).
Observations on the game.
This was a more wide open game than last night - more emphasis on skating and not nearly as physical, which probably suited both teams more. The Sens have some excellent rookies as evidenced by winning the AHL Calder Cup championship last year and shutting out the Pens rookies 4-0 yesterday afternoon.
Brandon Saad continues to be the story of the tourney for the hawks - another excellent offensive performance - he was a threat every time he was on the ice, and produced whoever his linemates were. Hawks coaches continued juggling their lines throughout the game, giving different guys opportunities to play with Saad & Hayes.
Jimmy Hayes is going to be a very productive NHL forward - Great size at 6'5, but he can skate (not quite Viktor Stalberg speed, but very quick acceleration) and he has fantastic hands that he showed again today. How Burke could have given up on this guy is baffling, tho I suspect that Hayes doesn't play it rough & tough enough for Burke. I would like to see him use his size more & be more physical throwing his weight around out there to create more space (and if he did, he would be a dominating player), but it doesn't seem to be his game - tho I doubt he is a pushover - he doesn't go looking for trouble, but doesn't appear to be afraid to stand up for himself or teammates either.
Danault had another solid performance - he's played better than MacNeil, who seems to be having some trouble adjusting (or perhaps he was overrated?). MacNeil made at least 3 blind passes that were all picked off and was not an offensive threat, while Danault seemed to have a nose for the puck and the areas to be in offensively. His skating seemed more effortless than MacNeil and he seemed more determined in his play, looking more comfortable offensively. I don't have the plus minus stats & took more note of the the hawks offensive performance than who was responsible for the goals against, so perhaps MacNeil might have been better defensively of the two, but right now, I'd take Danault. That said, both guys are only 18 & I don't expect they'll be playing in Chicago for a couple of years.
Toews didn't seem to get as much ice time today - he didn't get on the scoresheet, but when he was out there, he went all out - just didn't get that much accomplished offensively.
Gilbert & Froese were more noticeable than last night, showing some flashes of ability, though can't say they made a big impact.
The two invitees in the lineup, Leblanc & Manning also put in fairly solid performances - with Leblanc scoring the first goal & Manning showing some good skating & mobility at the back end, tho didn't look that big.
Paul Zanette, also in his first game of the tourney, had some decent shifts, but had limited ice time and impact.
On defense, Joe Lavin looked fairly steady, tho he did have some lapses, particularly on the play that led to the shorthanded goal against. He's a decent skater & puck mover, and is a fairly aggressive defender (as all hawk defensemen appeared to be) in terms of challenging the puck carrier in the hawk zone.
Danis-Pepin may appear as a physically intimidating presence at 6'6, but as mentioned before, he's not overly physical and while a decent skater for his size, his puck handling needs some work - to me, he seems like an average 5'11 defenseman playing in a 6'6 body.
It was hard to pick out any stalwarts from among the hawk dmen - they seemed fairly interchangeable - though giving up six isn't going to help any of their causes.
Johan Mattsson looked shaky on a couple of goals, especially the own goal he knocked into his own net with his left leg pad when sliding across the crease, though he also made some nice saves on difficult chances, and picked up a delay of game penalty when he played the puck in the trapezoid area, tho seemed to dispute the call. He also seemed to show his frustration after the 5th goal, a low point shot by DaCosta which he apparently didn't see - something which I'm not sure his teammates or coaches would have been that impressed.
Overall, another entertaining game, well-played for the most part with some lapses by the defense & goaltending that ended up costing them.
The two guys that have really stood out so far have been Brandon Saad & Jimmy Hayes with an honorable mention to Phillip Danault. These are three guys to keep an eye on in the hawks regular camp.
In a nice gesture, there was a moment of silence prior to the US National Anthem in memory of the September 11th victims back in the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Rookie Hawks can't hold on, drop 4-2 decision to rookie Leafs
Hockey is back & if the first game of the pre-season by the rookie Hawks & Leafs was any indication, the players are chomping at the bit for some meaningful action.
There were some big bodies in both lineups, the leafs featuring two forwards listed at 6'5, 200+, and another forward & 2 defensemen at 6'4, 200+. The hawks had their own 6'5, 200+ forward in Jimmy Hayes, and defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin at 6'6, 229.
In a spirited, well-played game, featuring 3 fights and some heavy hitting, the rookie hawks looked like the more poised team for stretches, but couldn't hold on to a 2-1 third period lead, eventually yielding 3 goals in the final 10 minutes.
Brandon Saad was the most dangerous looking hawk, making a beautiful pass to set up Chris DiDomenico in front in the 2nd period to tie the score at 1, then skated in on a 2 on 1, deking the goalie & flipping a deft backhand past Garret Sparks to put the hawks up 2-1 in the 3rd.
The hawks squandered 4 power play opportunities - they managed to control the puck in the offensive zone for the most part, but didn't get enough shots off, spending much of the time cycling & passing, looking to set up a teammate for a better chance that often never came. The penalty kill looked good, particularly early in the game, aggressively killing off the leafs powerplay which never really threatened. The Leafs had two power plays on the night.
The last hawk power play proved costly, as they failed to convert and at the end of it gave up possession at center, where the Leafs Kenny Ryan managed to elude a Hawk defenseman and fired a wrist shot from inside the circle that beat Mac Carruth high on the glove side, to tie the game at 2.
A few minutes later, leaf defenseman Jake Gardiner rushed up the ice and moved in on the right wing and from a similar position as Ryan, fired a wrister that beat Carruth high again, this time on the stick side. Carruth, who is 6'2 and takes up a lot of the net, went down early again, leaving the top of the net exposed & was unable to react quickly enough. He gets the benefit of the doubt on Ryan's goal, but not on the game winner - the 3rd leaf goal was all on him.
The hawks tried to mount a come back, but couldn't find an opening as the leafs did an effective job of collapsing defensively & clogging the front of the net. In the final minute, the hawks got caught in their own zone, with the leafs pressing, and Gardiner moved in from the blueline to finally convert from a scramble in front, beating Carruth for a 4th time.
Overall, both teams played well in an entertaining game. It was clear they were both anxious to get started and make a good impression on the coaches & brass in attendance.
Early in the first, after some scuffling in front of the hawk net, where the hawks picked up a minor penalty, 5'10 Andrew Shaw didn't back down from a challenge by 6'5 Jamie Devane. Shaw ended up taking the worst of it, absorbing several solid shots including a vicious uppercut, but didn't go down against the much bigger Devane, who later scored the game's first goal on a wraparound play from behind the net, midway through the first.
Rob Flick avenged Shaw's loss by pounding on a leaf rookie in a 2nd period fight, in a much fairer tilt in terms of size match-up. The towering 6'6 Simon Danis-Pepin finished the fight card for the night, with a heavyweight tilt versus 6'4 Dave Cowan with both players landing some good punches and then apparently agreeing to call it off before the linesmen stepped in.
Some observations on some of the notable hawk rookies and others who stood out to me.
1st round picks Mark McNeil & Philip Danault didn't look out of place, though they appeared smallish compared to some of the guys they were up against. They are still only 18 (their birthdays are two days apart in February) so they have a lot of time to improve & perhaps get bigger. Danault's skating actually impressed me a bit more than McNeil's.
David Toews, even smaller than McNeil & Danault, but he didn't shy away from the tough areas, and showed some good hockey sense. He broke up a leafs chance on one play by coming back hard on the back-check, reminiscent of his older brother. I think he has a legit shot, perhaps as a 3rd/4th liner.
Jimmy Hayes - good skater for his large frame and has some nice hands - he controlled or came up with the puck in traffic a couple of times - the only thing I would have liked to have seen more from him is using (i.e. throwing) his body around to create some space for himself & his linemates.
Andrew Shaw - have to admire his courage standing in against a much bigger player & taking his lumps, in a fight I think the linesmen should have moved in earlier to stop, given the mismatch in size. I question how long he can last if he keeps that up tho.
Brandon Saad - looked dangerous whenever he had the puck, which was a fair amount. His line with DiDomenico & Danault were involved in both hawk goals & controlled the play for the most part when they were on the ice. One guy to keep an eye on.
Other forwards were ok - No one looked out of place or outmatched - and were noticeable at certain points. The coaches mixed the lines up at points throughout the game to get some offense going, but to not much avail. There were no "superstars" out there, but some solid players. Rensfeldt & Gilbert stood out for their size, but need to use it more. Phillipe Paradis left the game in the 1st after taking a crunching hit in the offensive zone, where his head appeared to be smashed against the end glass. He did not return.
On defense, I tried to keep an eye on Dylan Olsen, 1st round pick from 2009 - good size, decent puck handler, needs to shoot more from the point, especially on the pp (as do all hawk Dmen, rookies or otherwise). The one thing that concerns me is his skating - He seems ok once he gets up to speed, but he got caught flat-footed a couple of times when he was forced to turn around. I don't think that will cut it in the NHL.
Shawn Lalonde appeared to be a better skater than Olsen, but doesn't have the size or physicality - was on the point for the 1st pp unit, but didn't connect.
Stanton & Youds were solid, Stanton having good size, though perhaps not the offensive upside as Olsen perhaps. He did show some good sense moving in from the point to keep the puck in deep on one play, but need to see more of him (as with others) to get a better handle.
Simon Danis-Pepin - at 23, he was probably the oldest "rookie" out there - as tall as he is, he looks slender at 229 and too easy to knock off the puck as his center of gravity probably gives smaller guys leverage on him. He's not a bad skater, puck handling is questionable - he lost it in his skates at one point, tho recovered. Hawks could have drafted Tyler Myers but took Kyle Beach instead.
Goaltending - Carruth went the entire game (Leafs switched goalies halfway through) - he wasn't overly tested, except for the goals that beat him - he went down too early on at least the winner, and looked a bit slow on the wrap-around first leaf goal.
Overall, not a bad performance, especially considering these guys have had exactly one practice together. While they stood up to the physical challenges, it seemed there were only certain guys who were consistently looking to take the body & throw some big checks. I think the "senior" hawks need more of that and the rookies that show that will give themselves a better chance of making an impression with the big club's coaches.
Well see how they do tomorrow against Ottawa, which has some excellent rookie prospects in their system, with Binghamton winning the Calder Cup last year, plus several highpicks in 2011 draft. The rookie Sens beat the rookie Pens 4-0 earlier in the day.
There were some big bodies in both lineups, the leafs featuring two forwards listed at 6'5, 200+, and another forward & 2 defensemen at 6'4, 200+. The hawks had their own 6'5, 200+ forward in Jimmy Hayes, and defenseman Simon Danis-Pepin at 6'6, 229.
In a spirited, well-played game, featuring 3 fights and some heavy hitting, the rookie hawks looked like the more poised team for stretches, but couldn't hold on to a 2-1 third period lead, eventually yielding 3 goals in the final 10 minutes.
Brandon Saad was the most dangerous looking hawk, making a beautiful pass to set up Chris DiDomenico in front in the 2nd period to tie the score at 1, then skated in on a 2 on 1, deking the goalie & flipping a deft backhand past Garret Sparks to put the hawks up 2-1 in the 3rd.
The hawks squandered 4 power play opportunities - they managed to control the puck in the offensive zone for the most part, but didn't get enough shots off, spending much of the time cycling & passing, looking to set up a teammate for a better chance that often never came. The penalty kill looked good, particularly early in the game, aggressively killing off the leafs powerplay which never really threatened. The Leafs had two power plays on the night.
The last hawk power play proved costly, as they failed to convert and at the end of it gave up possession at center, where the Leafs Kenny Ryan managed to elude a Hawk defenseman and fired a wrist shot from inside the circle that beat Mac Carruth high on the glove side, to tie the game at 2.
A few minutes later, leaf defenseman Jake Gardiner rushed up the ice and moved in on the right wing and from a similar position as Ryan, fired a wrister that beat Carruth high again, this time on the stick side. Carruth, who is 6'2 and takes up a lot of the net, went down early again, leaving the top of the net exposed & was unable to react quickly enough. He gets the benefit of the doubt on Ryan's goal, but not on the game winner - the 3rd leaf goal was all on him.
The hawks tried to mount a come back, but couldn't find an opening as the leafs did an effective job of collapsing defensively & clogging the front of the net. In the final minute, the hawks got caught in their own zone, with the leafs pressing, and Gardiner moved in from the blueline to finally convert from a scramble in front, beating Carruth for a 4th time.
Overall, both teams played well in an entertaining game. It was clear they were both anxious to get started and make a good impression on the coaches & brass in attendance.
Early in the first, after some scuffling in front of the hawk net, where the hawks picked up a minor penalty, 5'10 Andrew Shaw didn't back down from a challenge by 6'5 Jamie Devane. Shaw ended up taking the worst of it, absorbing several solid shots including a vicious uppercut, but didn't go down against the much bigger Devane, who later scored the game's first goal on a wraparound play from behind the net, midway through the first.
Rob Flick avenged Shaw's loss by pounding on a leaf rookie in a 2nd period fight, in a much fairer tilt in terms of size match-up. The towering 6'6 Simon Danis-Pepin finished the fight card for the night, with a heavyweight tilt versus 6'4 Dave Cowan with both players landing some good punches and then apparently agreeing to call it off before the linesmen stepped in.
Some observations on some of the notable hawk rookies and others who stood out to me.
1st round picks Mark McNeil & Philip Danault didn't look out of place, though they appeared smallish compared to some of the guys they were up against. They are still only 18 (their birthdays are two days apart in February) so they have a lot of time to improve & perhaps get bigger. Danault's skating actually impressed me a bit more than McNeil's.
David Toews, even smaller than McNeil & Danault, but he didn't shy away from the tough areas, and showed some good hockey sense. He broke up a leafs chance on one play by coming back hard on the back-check, reminiscent of his older brother. I think he has a legit shot, perhaps as a 3rd/4th liner.
Jimmy Hayes - good skater for his large frame and has some nice hands - he controlled or came up with the puck in traffic a couple of times - the only thing I would have liked to have seen more from him is using (i.e. throwing) his body around to create some space for himself & his linemates.
Andrew Shaw - have to admire his courage standing in against a much bigger player & taking his lumps, in a fight I think the linesmen should have moved in earlier to stop, given the mismatch in size. I question how long he can last if he keeps that up tho.
Brandon Saad - looked dangerous whenever he had the puck, which was a fair amount. His line with DiDomenico & Danault were involved in both hawk goals & controlled the play for the most part when they were on the ice. One guy to keep an eye on.
Other forwards were ok - No one looked out of place or outmatched - and were noticeable at certain points. The coaches mixed the lines up at points throughout the game to get some offense going, but to not much avail. There were no "superstars" out there, but some solid players. Rensfeldt & Gilbert stood out for their size, but need to use it more. Phillipe Paradis left the game in the 1st after taking a crunching hit in the offensive zone, where his head appeared to be smashed against the end glass. He did not return.
On defense, I tried to keep an eye on Dylan Olsen, 1st round pick from 2009 - good size, decent puck handler, needs to shoot more from the point, especially on the pp (as do all hawk Dmen, rookies or otherwise). The one thing that concerns me is his skating - He seems ok once he gets up to speed, but he got caught flat-footed a couple of times when he was forced to turn around. I don't think that will cut it in the NHL.
Shawn Lalonde appeared to be a better skater than Olsen, but doesn't have the size or physicality - was on the point for the 1st pp unit, but didn't connect.
Stanton & Youds were solid, Stanton having good size, though perhaps not the offensive upside as Olsen perhaps. He did show some good sense moving in from the point to keep the puck in deep on one play, but need to see more of him (as with others) to get a better handle.
Simon Danis-Pepin - at 23, he was probably the oldest "rookie" out there - as tall as he is, he looks slender at 229 and too easy to knock off the puck as his center of gravity probably gives smaller guys leverage on him. He's not a bad skater, puck handling is questionable - he lost it in his skates at one point, tho recovered. Hawks could have drafted Tyler Myers but took Kyle Beach instead.
Goaltending - Carruth went the entire game (Leafs switched goalies halfway through) - he wasn't overly tested, except for the goals that beat him - he went down too early on at least the winner, and looked a bit slow on the wrap-around first leaf goal.
Overall, not a bad performance, especially considering these guys have had exactly one practice together. While they stood up to the physical challenges, it seemed there were only certain guys who were consistently looking to take the body & throw some big checks. I think the "senior" hawks need more of that and the rookies that show that will give themselves a better chance of making an impression with the big club's coaches.
Well see how they do tomorrow against Ottawa, which has some excellent rookie prospects in their system, with Binghamton winning the Calder Cup last year, plus several highpicks in 2011 draft. The rookie Sens beat the rookie Pens 4-0 earlier in the day.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Hawks 2011 offseason
So the dust has now settled, Stan Bowman appears to have made all the major moves he is going to make this off-season and all that remains is looking ahead to training camp & the season and reviewing the recent moves in that context.
1. Steve Montador - this signing was a bit rich for my tastes. For a guy who is joining his 5th team in 5 years (and 6th team in 7 years) and who was making $1.55M per year, his cap hit with the hawks has almost doubled. He's going to be the right defenseman in the hawks' second pairing, however, he is a considerable downgrade from Bryan Campbell, in terms of skating & puck possession. That will be bad news for his likely partner, Nik Hjalmarsson, who will find opposing forwards have more time & space to aggressively forecheck. The $5M savings at this position aren't going to be worth it, and hawks fans who were so down on Campbell because of his contract, will now wish they had #51 back.
2. Chris Campoli - a direct casualty of Bowman's decision to trade for & sign Montador first before locking up the RFA, giving Campoli increased leverage and a big fat comparable in the process. Campoli, while not replacing Campbell's mobility and puck possession, at least possessed the attributes that would have better complemented the hawks transition game than Montador or his subsequent replacement.
3. Sammi Lepisto - a reactionary move, when the Campoli camp decided to use the leverage & comparable that Bowman gift wrapped to them. Nothing more than a filler, who won't be as good as Campoli.
4. Sean O'Donnell - love this guy's character, but at 40 years old, you can't even expect him to provide what he was most noted for when he was in his prime. The only reason I can think of for his signing is to mentor Scott, since both of them won't ever be in the lineup at the same time, given their skating deficiencies. Shane O'Brien would have been the better pickup.
Overall, the defense got slower and less skilled with the loss of Campbell & Campoli and didn't really upgrade the toughness that they clearly needed to add. O'Donnell will try, as will Scott, but these guys will only contribute on a situational basis, and can't be counted on for depth in case of injury to the top 4.
Looking up front.
1. Andrew Brunette - like this guy & like this signing - he's a solid character veteran who is reliable and steady and productive. Versatile as well. Good addition, with minimal risk.
2. Jamal Mayers - like Brunette with Coloarado, Mayers played for Q before in St. Louis, so they both know what to expect from the other. He's a decent 4th line depth addition, with some toughness and enough skill to contribute here & there.
3. Rusty Olesz - a Florida salary dump in the Campbell deal, who surprisingly hasn't been bought out by Bowman. The buyout ratio per CapGeek would be at 1/3 and the total buyout cost at $3,883,333 spread over 6 years, since he is 25. To pay this guy $11.625M over the next 3 years with an annual cap hit of $3.125M to play 3rd or 4th line minutes is very rich indeed.
4. Daniel Carcillo(gen the Cancer) - this is subtraction by addition. A loose cannon who is more about himself and his antics than the team, this was an idiotic signing for a team that had trouble killing penalties last year. He will wear on his teammates (by wearing them down having to cover for his dumb, selfish penalties & plays), and wear on his coaches. Worst of all, he really doesn't add needed toughness, but like Matt Cooke, he'll create a lot of headaches for his coaches, teammates and management.
Signing this guy instead of a true team-first, tough 4th line center who also happens to be decent on face-offs in Zenon Konopka, makes me wonder what in the world is Bowman thinking.
Resigning Stalberg & Frolik were decent moves as the money wasn't outrageous, particularly for players who still have a lot to prove, however, the hawks still have holes that haven't been addressed by Bowman.
The hawks are still thin at center. Bolland has had health issues (back & concussions) that have forced him to miss 62 regular season (& 3 playoff) games the past two seasons. That is almost 40% of the games each regular season. They need him healthy & productive or they'll be in some trouble at center. It is a bit much to expect Kruger to step up into a 3rd line role at this point. Brett Maclean is presumably an option to fill-in, but I'd rather see a guy like McNeill given a shot.
Toughness was lacking up front last year with the loss of Byfuglien, Ladd, Eager, Burish, Fraser and even Versteeg. Bowman not only didn't move to restore some of that lost grit & abrasiveness, he moved Brouwer, who led the hawks forwards in hits, for a draft pick. Mayers helps to provide some of what was lost in Brouwer, but if they think Carcillo will serve to solve their "toughness" problems, they will be sadly mistaken. (And of course, Seabrook & Bolland need to stay away from further concussions).
Injuries to Bryan Bickell & Patrick Kane also need to fully heal by the start of the season for the hawks to get off to a better start if they wish to seriously contend in the west and not have to battle for a remaining playoff spot.
In goal, Crawford seemed set as the #1 when he was signed to a new 3 year deal, however Bowman, has bungled the task of finding the right backup, by apparently going with unproven Salak, who was a starter last year in Sweden, and has yet to play a pro game in North America.
The wise move would have been to add a veteran backup like Ty Conklin for a year (which Detroit eventually did) to support Crawford as the clear #1 in a season where expectations & accompanying pressure will be greater than last year. While Turco was a bust last year, the one positive contribution he made was being the consummate team guy and providing mentorship & veteran support for the emerging Crawford.
Later in the summer, perhaps realizing that it would be preferable to give Salak a year to adjust to North America, Bowman invited Ray Emery to camp. Emery, still young by goalie standards, and who showed he was still capable of being a #1 down the stretch with Anaheim late last season, is going to be plenty motivated to earn a contract & not to be satisfied with that. He is entering his prime (but very limited) earning years. Will Crawford feel established enough at the #1 spot to adjust and handle added competition and perform at the level he did last year when he had minimal expectations and maximum support?
I think these moves (instead of simply adding a veteran like Conklin for a year) unnecessarily & prematurely create added pressure on Crawford as the #1 in goal. Perhaps he'll handle it without a second thought, but by inviting Emery, the hawks might also be inviting Crawford to wonder how much confidence they really have in him. Emery certainly won't be as supportive of Crawford as Turco was last year, and given his history with Ottawa, he might become a disruptive force, especially if he focuses on the personal advancement of his own career more than on doing what helps the team the most.
1. Steve Montador - this signing was a bit rich for my tastes. For a guy who is joining his 5th team in 5 years (and 6th team in 7 years) and who was making $1.55M per year, his cap hit with the hawks has almost doubled. He's going to be the right defenseman in the hawks' second pairing, however, he is a considerable downgrade from Bryan Campbell, in terms of skating & puck possession. That will be bad news for his likely partner, Nik Hjalmarsson, who will find opposing forwards have more time & space to aggressively forecheck. The $5M savings at this position aren't going to be worth it, and hawks fans who were so down on Campbell because of his contract, will now wish they had #51 back.
2. Chris Campoli - a direct casualty of Bowman's decision to trade for & sign Montador first before locking up the RFA, giving Campoli increased leverage and a big fat comparable in the process. Campoli, while not replacing Campbell's mobility and puck possession, at least possessed the attributes that would have better complemented the hawks transition game than Montador or his subsequent replacement.
3. Sammi Lepisto - a reactionary move, when the Campoli camp decided to use the leverage & comparable that Bowman gift wrapped to them. Nothing more than a filler, who won't be as good as Campoli.
4. Sean O'Donnell - love this guy's character, but at 40 years old, you can't even expect him to provide what he was most noted for when he was in his prime. The only reason I can think of for his signing is to mentor Scott, since both of them won't ever be in the lineup at the same time, given their skating deficiencies. Shane O'Brien would have been the better pickup.
Overall, the defense got slower and less skilled with the loss of Campbell & Campoli and didn't really upgrade the toughness that they clearly needed to add. O'Donnell will try, as will Scott, but these guys will only contribute on a situational basis, and can't be counted on for depth in case of injury to the top 4.
Looking up front.
1. Andrew Brunette - like this guy & like this signing - he's a solid character veteran who is reliable and steady and productive. Versatile as well. Good addition, with minimal risk.
2. Jamal Mayers - like Brunette with Coloarado, Mayers played for Q before in St. Louis, so they both know what to expect from the other. He's a decent 4th line depth addition, with some toughness and enough skill to contribute here & there.
3. Rusty Olesz - a Florida salary dump in the Campbell deal, who surprisingly hasn't been bought out by Bowman. The buyout ratio per CapGeek would be at 1/3 and the total buyout cost at $3,883,333 spread over 6 years, since he is 25. To pay this guy $11.625M over the next 3 years with an annual cap hit of $3.125M to play 3rd or 4th line minutes is very rich indeed.
4. Daniel Carcillo(gen the Cancer) - this is subtraction by addition. A loose cannon who is more about himself and his antics than the team, this was an idiotic signing for a team that had trouble killing penalties last year. He will wear on his teammates (by wearing them down having to cover for his dumb, selfish penalties & plays), and wear on his coaches. Worst of all, he really doesn't add needed toughness, but like Matt Cooke, he'll create a lot of headaches for his coaches, teammates and management.
Signing this guy instead of a true team-first, tough 4th line center who also happens to be decent on face-offs in Zenon Konopka, makes me wonder what in the world is Bowman thinking.
Resigning Stalberg & Frolik were decent moves as the money wasn't outrageous, particularly for players who still have a lot to prove, however, the hawks still have holes that haven't been addressed by Bowman.
The hawks are still thin at center. Bolland has had health issues (back & concussions) that have forced him to miss 62 regular season (& 3 playoff) games the past two seasons. That is almost 40% of the games each regular season. They need him healthy & productive or they'll be in some trouble at center. It is a bit much to expect Kruger to step up into a 3rd line role at this point. Brett Maclean is presumably an option to fill-in, but I'd rather see a guy like McNeill given a shot.
Toughness was lacking up front last year with the loss of Byfuglien, Ladd, Eager, Burish, Fraser and even Versteeg. Bowman not only didn't move to restore some of that lost grit & abrasiveness, he moved Brouwer, who led the hawks forwards in hits, for a draft pick. Mayers helps to provide some of what was lost in Brouwer, but if they think Carcillo will serve to solve their "toughness" problems, they will be sadly mistaken. (And of course, Seabrook & Bolland need to stay away from further concussions).
Injuries to Bryan Bickell & Patrick Kane also need to fully heal by the start of the season for the hawks to get off to a better start if they wish to seriously contend in the west and not have to battle for a remaining playoff spot.
In goal, Crawford seemed set as the #1 when he was signed to a new 3 year deal, however Bowman, has bungled the task of finding the right backup, by apparently going with unproven Salak, who was a starter last year in Sweden, and has yet to play a pro game in North America.
The wise move would have been to add a veteran backup like Ty Conklin for a year (which Detroit eventually did) to support Crawford as the clear #1 in a season where expectations & accompanying pressure will be greater than last year. While Turco was a bust last year, the one positive contribution he made was being the consummate team guy and providing mentorship & veteran support for the emerging Crawford.
Later in the summer, perhaps realizing that it would be preferable to give Salak a year to adjust to North America, Bowman invited Ray Emery to camp. Emery, still young by goalie standards, and who showed he was still capable of being a #1 down the stretch with Anaheim late last season, is going to be plenty motivated to earn a contract & not to be satisfied with that. He is entering his prime (but very limited) earning years. Will Crawford feel established enough at the #1 spot to adjust and handle added competition and perform at the level he did last year when he had minimal expectations and maximum support?
I think these moves (instead of simply adding a veteran like Conklin for a year) unnecessarily & prematurely create added pressure on Crawford as the #1 in goal. Perhaps he'll handle it without a second thought, but by inviting Emery, the hawks might also be inviting Crawford to wonder how much confidence they really have in him. Emery certainly won't be as supportive of Crawford as Turco was last year, and given his history with Ottawa, he might become a disruptive force, especially if he focuses on the personal advancement of his own career more than on doing what helps the team the most.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
3rd Annual Blackhawks Convention - Chicago, Illinois Jul 31 to Aug 2, 2010
Video of Live Convention Panels
1. 2010 Olympics
2. Lord Stanley's Cup
3. 1961 Cup Champions
4. The Brothers Hull
See Pierre Pilote's response to the questions I directed to the 1961 Stanley Cup Champions panel members who played their junior hockey in St. Catharines, Ontario (Panel also featured Bobby Hull, Red Hay, Glenn Hall, Eric Nesterenko and Ab McDonald. Stan Mikita was unable to be there due to illness, thus the empty chair in the middle) at 3:15:10 of the video. (And you can see me walking back to my seat in my green hawks shirt at around 3:19:40)
1. 2010 Olympics
2. Lord Stanley's Cup
3. 1961 Cup Champions
4. The Brothers Hull
See Pierre Pilote's response to the questions I directed to the 1961 Stanley Cup Champions panel members who played their junior hockey in St. Catharines, Ontario (Panel also featured Bobby Hull, Red Hay, Glenn Hall, Eric Nesterenko and Ab McDonald. Stan Mikita was unable to be there due to illness, thus the empty chair in the middle) at 3:15:10 of the video. (And you can see me walking back to my seat in my green hawks shirt at around 3:19:40)
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