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Ain’t It A Shame?: Cal And Gary Q&A With FlamesNation.com

By 1330

We’ve got the whole crew from FlamesNation.ca, or at least a good chunk of it. Old friend Kent Wilson (@Kent_Wilson), Ari Y (@thirtyfourseven), and Ryan Pike (@RyanNPike).

It’s not that there were huge expectations for the Flames this year, but a lot of people thought they could sneak a playoff spot in the Pacific. It’s been a bit of a wonky first month, what’s been the problem?

Wilson: The stars have been ice cold, the special teams horrendous and they have are taking the 2nd most penalties in the league so far. It’s amazing they’ve won a game. 

Ari: Inexplicable defence pairings, a horrifically anemic powerplay (thanks Dave Cameron. They can’t even enter the zone), still somehow trying to adjust to a new coach apparently, and a really rough start to the season in part thanks to guys like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan missing the entire preseason (and Monahan may still be dealing with lingering back issues). The Flames only started to look respectable in their first game against Chicago, but the turnaround remains uncertain at this point in time.

Pike: Their four best players (Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Mark Giordano & T.J. Brodie) haven’t been even close to their usual levels and, at times, have actually gotten in the way of the Flames capturing points.

Everything Else

All The School Kids So Sick of Books: Blackhawks 3, Kings 0

By 1506

Box Score

HockeyStats.ca

Natural Stat Trick

We’ve been saying since the start of the season that if the Hawks were able to hold the opposition scoreless on the power play, they’d probably be looking at an easy victory. With the Kings coming off a night in St. Louis and (likely) victims of the Chicago flu, the Hawks coasted to a relatively stress-free 3-0 win by killing both of their penalties and capitalizing on the first power play of their own.

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If You Know The Name Of The King Being Assassinated: Kings at Hawks Preview/Trust Fall

By 1361

JerryLawler_crop_exact vs. Hawk Wrestler

GAMETIME: 6pm

TV: CSN

NOBODY’S WALKIN’: The Royal Half

RECORDS: Kings 4-4-0  Hawks 4-3-1

Projected Lineups

kings-lineup-card

blackhawks-lineup-card

SCORE ADJUSTED CF%: Kings – 56.0 (1st)  Hawks – 51.4 (10th)

POWER PLAY: Kings – 17.5% (20th)  Hawks – 22.6% (13th)

PENALTY KILL: Kings –  77.8% (21st)  Hawks – Let’s not even

TRENDS: Kings have five players with a CF% of 60.0+… Zatkoff gave up five goals on 16 shots his last outing

It used to be this would raise everyone’s eyebrows when seen on the calendar. But these days, it only takes one first-round exit for both at the same time, the first West final to not feature either in five years, and suddenly it feels like we’re harkening back to something in the past to feel the rivalry between these two teams. Both getting off to somewhat wonky starts probably doesn’t help either.

Everything Else

Over The River And Into The Muck: Hawks at Devils Preview/Peep Show

By 1260

 vs. jon_lovitz-devil-snl-46_2

GAMETIME: 6pm Central

TV: WGN

SPRINGSTEEN SUCKS: In Lou We Trust

RECORDS: Hawks 3-3-1  Devils 3-2-1

PROJECTED LINEUPS

blackhawks-lineup-card

devils-lineup-card

SCORE-ADJUSTED CF%:  Hawks – 51.3% (10th)  Devils – 50.1% (13th)

POWER PLAY: Hawks – 19.2% (16th)  Devils – 23.8% (9th)

PENALTY KILL – Hawks – Awful (Dead Ass Last)  Devils – 90.0% (5th)

TRENDS: Hall has three goals and four points in the past two games, Kyle Quincey… still sucks

The Hawks will embark on a road game for only the third time this season and the last time this month. They’ll be looking for their first point on the road as well. They’ll have a pretty big chance against yet another non-descript Devils team. In fact, the Devils officially changed their name to “The Non-Descript New Jersey Devils.” You didn’t notice, because no one notices anything the Devils really do.

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Devils Spotlight: The Fantasies of Sinful Screens Of Taylor Hall

By 1213

God these are getting way dated, aren’t they. Fuck I’m old. Anyway…

Let’s not bury the lede here. The Oilers are absolute fucking morons for trading Taylor Hall. Since he came into the league in 2010, here are the left wings that have outscored him: Sedin, Ovechkin (who has played right wing a lot of that time), Zetterberg (who played center for a lot of that time), Benn, Marleau, Vanek, and Sharp (who also played center for part of that period. So that’s four surefire Hall of Famers, Benn who might have a case when all is said and done, the Hall of Very Good for Sharp, and somehow Vanek got in here. These players just don’t grow on fucking trees.

In terms of analytic numbers, Hall has been far above his teammates for the last five seasons, save one. In the lockout shortened year he carried the water over 8% higher than his teammates. He’s been over 3% better than his teammates twice, and was +0.86% last year as the Oilers began to maybe sort of figure things out.

Everything Else

What Am I Doing In New Jersey?: Devils Q&A With John Fischer

By 1716

As we always do when the Hawks and the Devils meet up, we turn to InLouWeTrust.com maven John Fischer (@JKFischer) to find out what’s going on in the swamp. And yes, we know the Meadowlands was the swamp but we’re guessing Newark isn’t much better. 

So, still laughing about the Taylor Hall trade?

I did exclaim, “I don’t miss you, Adam Larsson” after this goal by Hall.  More seriously, I think it was a fantastic trade.  Larsson has actually turned out to be someone that Edmonton needed and Hall is performing at a level that has been missed at forward for several years in New Jersey.  More germane to your readers for this game, he’s hot right now with five goals out of 19 shots on net in the last four games.  He’s essentially the Devils’ Patrick Kane.  And like Kane, once he has space, he will do amazing things.

Everything Else

High On The Hog: Weekend Trifecta

By 2252

The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, rebounded from a rough start to the 2016-17 season this past weekend. With three games in three days, the Hogs bested Grand Rapids on the road before opening their home schedule with a pair of wins Saturday and Sunday.

Heading into the weekend, I wondered to myself where the offense was going to come from this season. Rockford’s six-point weekend may have provided an answer or two.