Perhaps the most damning evidence of what this “rivalry” has become is that none of the four of us watched anywhere close to the entirety of this game, while the Wings Blogosphere is filling their diapers about the refereeing in the game as if this season isn’t completely lost for them anyway. Let’s piece all this together.
RECORDS: Wings 17-18-5 Hawks 26-12-5
PUCK DROP: 7:30pm
TV: WGN
THAT NERD LOOKS LIKE JAM: Winging It In Motown
ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI%: Wings – 47.9 (23rd) Hawks – 49.9 (16th)
ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Wings – 47.9 (22nd) Hawks – 47.8 (23rd)
POWER PLAY %: Wings – 11.2 (Dead Ass Last) Hawks – 18.5 (15th)
PENALTY KILL %: 83.2 (9th) Hawks – 76.1 (28th)
TRENDS: The Wings are o-for their last-54 on the power play. They’re even putting Steve Ott on it. I can’t begin to express the joy this makes me feel.
This has been something of a sweetheart homestand for the Hawks. The Sabres are awful, the Preds are hurt and struggling, the Canes were the biggest challenge and overcome, and now it ends with the complete hobo village that is the Detroit Red Wings these days. Guys… seriously, you haven’t seen a Wings team this bad since names like Barr, Burr, Cheveldae, Gallant, and Racine were involved. And chances are, you don’t recognize any of those names, which is just how long it’s been.
Strange, the Wings blogosphere is actually one of our favorites, made up of people we somehow get along with. I can’t explain it either. Anyway, we were able to distract Kyle from WingingItInMotown.com from staring at something shiny long enough to answer our questions (on Twitter @KyleWIIM).
We’ll start here. Tatar – 8 goals, Nyquist – 4 goals, Abdelkader – 4 goals (though only 22 games), Larkin hasn’t really scored more than he did last year… are the Wings unlucky and bad? Or just bad?
They’re not a very good team, that is for sure.. Take your pick at what the cause is… Coaching, complacency, bad luck, whatever. I mean, what it boils down to is that the team is underachieving. I’m not convinced that the skill level (or lack thereof) they possess is the culprit of their record.
After a break for the holidays, we return with an extended edition of the podcast, since it’s been about 3 weeks since all four of us had last convened. A bevy of topics are covered, with even more time spent shitting on Bruce Boudreau’s big dumb bald head than usual. Grab it after the jump.
The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate to the Chicago Blackhawks, have not been a good road team this season. This past week was a glaring example of Rockford’s struggles in the home of the opposition.
The IceHogs dropped all four games of their most recent road trip, three of which came this week. Rockford did come back to the BMO Harris Bank Center and defeat Chicago Sunday. However, they were outscored 23-7 while they were out of town.
That’s harsh on the Hawks. For the first time on this homestand, the scoreboard mostly reflected the play on the ice. The Hawks were certainly better in the first and second periods than at any point against Carolina. And they led on the scoreboard for most of the game, unlike the Buffalo encounter.
But when you get that jammy goal that marked the winner, and the Preds hit three posts in the final frame, you have to admit you have something of a horseshoe up your ass. And it’s been that way for the Hawks most of the season. But you’ll always take the points, no matter how they come, and the Hawks will remain on top of the West for longer.
Let’s clean it up.
vs 
Game Time: 6:00PM CST
TV/Radio: WGN Ch. 9, WGN-AM 720
Mike Ribeiro Is A Sex Criminal: On The Forecheck
It seems like every single year the Hawks manage to have played more games than anyone in the first half of the season, with the entire rest of their division having games in hand up until the final week of the season. This year is no different, and what better way to pile on than with three games in four nights, all at home.
Sitting three points out of a wild card spot, behind the fucking Canucks, is not where the Predators thought they’d be halfway through this season. Nashville entered the year with expectations higher than they’ve ever been in Smashville, which makes this so far just about the most disappointing season they could have had. They thought they’d be tussling with the Hawks and Wild(?!) at the top of the division. It has not gone that way.
We’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out why. Roman Josi backing up certainly hasn’t helped. We’ve pointed out their lack of front-line scoring, with really only Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen bonafide, NHL first-line talent. And Forsberg has had a miserably unlucky year until very recently. Subban, Neal, and Ellis missing time hasn’t helped either. We figured Pekka Rinne would be their downfall, but he’s been ok enough, especially in November.
When looking at Rinne though, you see a microcosm of the whole team. Because overall, everything suggests they should be higher than they are in the standings. They may have just fallen victim to the dreaded “sequencing.”
And so here we are, in the doldrums of January hockey with still the month of February to look forward to. If you’ve been paying attention over the last 8 years, this is usually around the time where the Hawks are half-interested on most nights. If they’re fortunate enough that their goaltending keeps them in the game, there’s a decent bet they’ll get at least a point out of it because they’re so damn good at making every opportunity count.
Tonight on the second game of a back-to-back, the Hawks were walloped in possession, shots and everything else except the scoreboard. The credit goes to Scott Darling as he was outstanding. Also as aforementioned, they made the most of the chances they were given.
Let’s get to the rest.
vs. 
RECORDS: Canes 17-14-7 Hawks 24-12-5
PUCK DROP: 7:30pm
TV: CSN
WHAT AM I DOING IN THE BUS LEAGUES?: Canes Country
ADJUSTED TEAM CORSI %: Canes – 52.4 (5th) Hawks – 50.0 (15th)
ADJUSTED TEAM xGF%: Canes – 53.9 (5th) Hawks – 47.5 (24th)
POWER PLAY %: Canes – 18.8 (14th) Hawks – 18.3 (16th)
PENALTY KILL %: Canes – 88.5 (1st) Hawks – 74.8 (29th)
The rare home back-to-back. The Hawks will still have some advantage, as the Canes played last night in West East St. Louis, grabbing a victory over the clearly still hungover Blues. Because that Winter Classic victory is worth savoring. They’ll talk about it for decades. Anyway, the Hawks have to be a little better than they were last time these two teams tangoed.
