Hockey

Galaxy Brain Games – Hawks Lose Both To Preds 3-1, 3-2

By Andy Jonathan 1315

BOX SCORES

Game 1 / Game 2

Natural Stat Trick

Game 1 / Game 2 

 

I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.

Nah, fuck that. I’m pretty mad too. With the Hawks early playoff points cushion all but erased by the butthole puckeringly difficult month of March, what was once just another series on the calendar suddenly took on a whole new level of importance to the team’s playoff future. During the coaching tenure of Jeremy Colliton, any time there came a game that took on an extra level of importance the Hawks routinely biffed the landing, typically not only losing that game but the next few following it. Would this series against the Preds be any different?

NOPE.

The Hawks, despite the triumphant early return of Kirby Dach (fresh off his broken wrist back in December at the World Juniors) managed to shit all over themselves this series with backbreaking turnovers and some fluky goals by the Preds. The Hawks complete inability to solve the heavy pressure of the Preds forecheck led directly to 4 of the 6 goals surrendered by the Hawks.  Instead of making adjustments as McClure mentioned on Sunday night, the Hawks just continued to try the same shitty breakout of their own end with absolutely predictable results. If it were not for Alex DeBrincat deciding “Fuck it, I’ll do it myself,” the Hawks very easily could have scored a single goal in both games.

Nashville now sits tied with the Hawks for the last playoff spot in the division, with the Jackets nipping at their heels 3 points out. While the Hawks still have 5 more games against the Preds to undo this mess, I don’t hold out a whole lot of hope that happening after watching just how easily Nashville dismantled them in the 4 meetings thus far.

 

Numbers Don’t Lie

 

-If the Hawks ultimate goal for Calvin deHaan is to have him playing well enough that the Seattle Kraken decide to snag him in the expansion draft, Stan Bowman needs to find every video copy of this series and destroy it. He had an absolutely miserable time, directly contributing to 3 of the Preds goals and assisting on another one. Granted not all of this is entirely his fault, as the defensive “system” the Hawks play can’t entirely be quantified by any known metric, but he certainly didn’t do himself any favors. On the first Preds goal Saturday night (video here), deHaan has decided to go on walkabout, inexplicably choosingto go pressure Eeli Tolvanen along the half boards, leaving Adam Boqvist to pick his poison between Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen. He choose poorly, and Johansen had a clean shot at the top shelf. On the third goal (video here), deHaan intercepts a pass and instead of playing it up the boards, he tries to fire a pass up the middle that’s immediately tipped then picked off. One pass to Granlund later it’s 3-1 Preds and the game is over.

-David Kampf didn’t cover himself in glory either (video here). He did the same thing deHaan did on the 2nd Preds goal, snagging an errant pass and without a single Nashville forechecker within 5 feet of him, he tries a home run pass up the middle that’s picked off by Rocco Grimaldi and ripped top shelf on Kevin Lankinen. All of these turnovers born of the fact that the Hawks had no plan or answer for the forecheck of Nashville. Panicky plays like this are made when there’s no structure for a zone exit and the defenders have less and less time each play.

-If the lack of adjustments weren’t damning enough, Colliton proved just what a Brain Genius he was by not calling a timeout with :46 seconds left in the 2nd game and the team with the goalie pulled and a draw in the Preds zone. No, he saved that timeout until there was .7 seconds left in the game so he could draw up his grand plan to win the draw and fire in the game tying goal in less time than it takes for a hummingbird to fart. BRILLANT.

-Malcom Subban had a pretty solid game, as only one of the three Nashville goals went in off the blade of a stick. The first was a bank shot off of (who else) Calvin deHaan’s skate after the Hawks D was pressured by the Preds forecheck (seeing a pattern here?) after a misplayed puck by Subban and then promptly losing a board battle. The 2nd was kicked in by the skate of (YOU’LL NEVER GUESS) deHaan after a shot from the dot by Jarnkrok snuck through about 3 people and in. He definitely played well enough to win, but so it goes.

-Kevin Lankinen, while not the victim of the bad luck of Subban, was the victim of his own defense. He really didn’t have a prayer on any of the 3 Nashville goals, as two of them were absolute snipes top shelf, and the other was a tap in after more terrible D in front of him. He actually kept the Hawks in the game a lot longer than he should have, making some excellent saves on some in close chances from the Preds after (DRUM ROLL) turnovers behind him due to forecheck pressure.

-Kirby Dach seems pretty healthy as within 5 minutes of his return he danced through 2 Nashville defenders for a pretty sweet chance that he was unable to put home. He also made a backbreaking turnover that lead directly to a Preds goal, so take all this with a grain of salt. He’ll get better once the rust shakes off.

-Alex DeBrincat was unstoppable in game 2, putting the whole offense on his back and tying the game single handedly with a Herculean effort. The 2nd goal was particularly awesome, as he lowered his shoulder from the blue line in and muscled past Fabbro like he was made of crepe paper, then deked Pekka Rinne down and out to tie the game at two. Top Cat really is a pleasure to watch, and he’s put the struggles of last year deep in the rearview mirror.

-Nashville has now won 7 of their last 8 games to come roaring back into the playoff race after being left for dead at the end of the first week of March. While none of us believe that this is entirely sustainable, it’s nevertheless an issue for the Hawks as they’re being pressured from pretty much everyone but the Red Wings now.

-March ends for the Hawks this week with two more games Our Sweet Boy Teuvo and the Canes, before another game against the Preds. Things aren’t gonna get any easier, and when you’re fighting not only the other team but your own system as well, it can feel like you’re trying to skate uphill. Every game now takes on added pressure, and the Hawks under Colliton have routinely puked all over themselves in games like those. If they’re gonna flip the script, taking two out of the next 3 is almost a must do.

Let’s Go Hawks

 

Hockey

High On The Hog: Weekend Thoughts

By Jon Fromi 1298

The Rockford IceHogs dropped a pair of games to the Chicago Wolves over the weekend. The piglets were blown out in the Wolves practice facility in Hoffman Estates Saturday night. The following afternoon, Rockford lost a back-and-forth affair to Chicago at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

Here are some musings on the first two of what will be four straight games with the Wolves.

  • The Hogs were never in Saturday’s 6-3 loss. Ivan Nalimov made his debut in net for Rockford and was not good at all. The Wolves were up two goals before the opening minute elapsed and led 3-0 after the first. Cody Franson, Evan Barratt, and Reese Johnson scored for the piglets.
  • Rockford had just one power play chance in Hoffman Estates. Sunday, the Hogs went three-for-five on the man advantage, which allowed then to be more competitive against the class of the Central Division.
  • In his pro debut, Josiah Slavin tied the score with a power play goal early in the third period on Sunday. 1:15 into the final frame, the score was tied 4-4. From that point on, the Hogs were out shot 11-1 over the rest of the contest, losing 5-4.
  • Barratt picked up another goal in Sunday’s loss, his fourth of the season. Barratt has eleven points in 18 games (4 G, 7 A) and is on a three-game point streak. Dylan McLaughlin and Wyatt Kalynuk also caught cord for Rockford.
  • Franson had a three-point weekend and has a four-game point streak going. He is atop the Hogs in points with 14 (4 G, 10 A).
  • Andrei Altybarmakyan sat out the weekend. Hopefully it’s nothing long-term, as he’s been a bright spot in terms of Hawks prospects.
  • Matt Tomkins didn’t fare much better than Nalimov in net in Sunday’s defeat. He was victimized by a couple of deflections, but misplayed a puck behind his net which led to the game-winner from the Wolves Jamieson Rees.
  • Tomkins is still deserving of the bulk of Rockford’s work load in net. That said, I would really like to see rookie Cale Morris (1.72 GAA, .956 save percentage in three appearances) get a chance to face down the Wolves in one of the IceHogs next two games.
  • Chad Yetman, who had a goal in Rockford’s first game of the season, was sent to the Indy Fuel on Friday. The IceHogs also sent D Dimitry Osipov to their ECHL affiliate. Cliff Watson returns to the Fuel after Rockford released him from his PTO. The Blackhawks also assigned Brad Morrison (3 G, 2 A in six games for the Hogs) to Indy Friday.
  • Mikael Hakkarainen is one of several Chicago prospects to yo-yo between Rockford and Chicago’s taxi squad. Hakkarainen has appeared in just six games for the IceHogs this season. Currently in his second season of his entry contract, Hakkarainen is pointless in 14 games for his pro career.
  • Brandon Pirri and Alec Regula also were recalled to the taxi squad, with forwards MacKenzie Entwistle and Reese Johnson and defensemen Wyatt Kalynuk, Lucas Carlsson, and Ian Mitchell coming down to Rockford for the weekend’s action.
  • John Quenneville has struggled to produce on the offensive end this season. In twelve games, he has just one goal and one assist. Quenneville has spent most of the campaign dealing with nagging injuries. He took a big hit against the Wolves on Saturday and was out of the lineup on Sunday.
  • Rockford finishes March with a 5-5 record and is 6-11-1 overall. They are currently 0-5 against the Wolves this season. The Hogs will attempt to pick up that elusive first win over Chicago on the road Saturday night.

Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for news and opinions on the IceHogs throughout the season.

Hockey

Chain Link Fence – Predators vs Hawks Games 35 & 36 Preview

By Matt McClure 961

vs

Game Times: 7:00PM
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, NBCSN (3/28), WGN-AM 720
Time’s Up: On The Forecheck
*All Stats Mentioned Courtesy of Natural Stat Trick*

As March comes to a close in whatever this oddball, virus-addled, mutation of a season ends up being, games that were already the proverbial “Four Pointers” between divisional opponents have started to become even more magnified, especially with the added element of “series” play introduced where a team can gain ground quickly if so inclined. It’s just such a weekend for the Hawks and visiting Preds, who sit on opposite sides of the playoff line in the Central division.

Hockey

High On The Hog: Midterms

By Jon Fromi 908

The Rockford IceHogs have reached the midpoint of the 2020-21 campaign. It’s been a different type of season for the piglets, to be sure. The Blackhawks opted to go with an extremely inexperienced AHL affiliate. As predicted, they’ve taken some lumps.

The Hogs enter this weekend’s action with a 6-9-1 mark. I was thinking before the season that it would be difficult for Rockford to win even ten of its 33 scheduled games. Rockford has 16 games remaining, plus one postponed date with the Cleveland Monsters that has not yet been rescheduled.

Can the IceHogs build upon some recent success? Rockford has won five of its last seven games. They rode goaltender Matt Tomkins to two wins over Grand Rapids and have won three of their last four games with the Iowa Wild.

Half of Rockford’s wins come against the Wild, the only team below the Hogs in the AHL’s Central Division. The two teams clash five more times this season.

The IceHogs have just three games remaining with the Griffins. Eight of the 16 remaining games on the schedule are against the Chicago Wolves, who pace the Central with a 10-2-0-1 record.

Rockford has not seen the division’s top team since February 16. They face the Wolves in four straight games over the next two weeks. Hogs coach Derek King admitted in this week’s media availability that the Wolves, against whom his team is 0-3, present a still midseason test.

“They’re one of the best hockey teams I think I’ve seen in a while,” King said. “We need to play our game; we can’t stray from it. We’re going to have to compete and be almost flawless to get a couple of points out of this team. It’s a good challenge for us. I like the way we’re going and the direction we’re going. We’ve got some confidence now. We’re gonna get some goaltending. Things are kind of falling into place and it’s gonna be a big test for us.”

Regardless of the opponent, the piglets are showing signs of progress.

“They’re starting to get comfortable with their surroundings,” King pointed out. “A lot of them…maybe it’s a language barrier or they’re from a different country or just the first time really away from home, and they’re young, right? They’re learning a lot of things on how to fend for themselves.”

“It’s showing on the ice that we’re trusting each other. We’re starting to like each other a lot more, let’s put it that way.”

 

Hogs By The Numbers

  • Despite several games being postponed in the first half of the season, Rockford currently has played more games than any other team in the Central Division. The Monsters have only been able to get in ten games; the Wolves have played 13 but have been off with COVID issues of late. Grand Rapids has a dozen games under its belt. Iowa has also lost time to COVID but still has managed 14 games. Texas, who aren’t on Rockford’s schedule, has played 15 games.
  • Rookie forward Chris Wilkie leads the league with three shorthanded goals. Aside from Wilkie, the only other Hogs rookie to break into the rookie leaders is Riley McKay, who is tied among rookies with three fighting majors.
  • Cody Franson is fourth in defenseman scoring with 11 points (3 G, 8 A). Nicolas Beaudin is tied for tenth with nine points (2 G, 7 A) despite playing in just six games for Rockford.
  • Franson leads the team in scoring, followed by Dylan McLaughlin’s ten points (2 G, 8 A). Wilkie is the team leader with six goals. Rookie Matej Chalupa is second with four goals.
  • The IceHogs will spend most of the second half on the road. Four of those road jaunts are with the Wolves in their training facility in Hoffman Estates. Currently, they are 4-7 at the BMO Harris Bank Center and 2-2-1 away from the BMO.
  • There has been some improvement in the offense, though Rockford is still 23rd in the league with an per game average of 2.81 goals. The Hogs surrender 3.69 goals per contest (25th in the AHL), though some strong goalie play has improved those numbers recently.
  • Rockford’s power play has a 16.9 percent success rate, good for 14th in the AHL. The penalty kill is 76.2 percent effective. That’s 26th of the 28 AHL teams competing this season.
  • The IceHogs have been abysmal in terms of creating and preventing offense. They are dead last in the AHL in shots (25.94) and shots allowed (35.50) per game. Ironically, Rockford has lost the only two games in which they have managed to out shoot an opponent.
  • Tuesday’s 6-1 win over Iowa was the only Rockford victory by more than one goal.
  • Evan Barratt (2 G, 5 A) is the only IceHogs skater to have played in all 16 games.

 

Wolves-O-Rama

The IceHogs have a home-and-home with their nearest rival starting this weekend. Saturday, the action is in Hoffman Estates at 7:00 p.m. The teams come to the BMO Sunday afternoon for a 4:00 p.m. puck drop.

Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for thoughts on the IceHogs all season long.

 

 

 

 

Hockey

Don’t Stop Believin’ – Blackhawks/Panthers Series Review: Blackhawks Win Series 3-2/3-0

By Summer Corson 1033

Box Score: Game 33 | Game 34
Game Logs: Game 33 | Game 34
Natural Stat Trick: Game 33 | Game 34

 

Yes, I am covering my ears and refusing to hear anything you’re saying about Alex Barkov being out, rendering these wins meaningless. The Blackhawks HAD to get points this weekend and they did. Let’s celebrate that and hope that this series gives the Hawks the confidence to continue playing good…ish down the stretch.

We all recognized the things the Blackhawks needed to do to succeed against the Panthers this series: solid defense, good goaltending, Patrick Kane back on the offensive, getting the powerplay going again and not taking dumb penalties. They were able to do a solid 2½ of these things. Let’s take a look at what went down. To the bullets!

  • As we are all aware of by now, Kubalik has not been getting the minutes he deserves. But I like his play on the second line with Brandon Hagel. They had a really nice goal on Tuesday, with Hagel able to make a pass through a defender to Kubalik in front of the net, who was able to slip it past Driedger. If you enjoy statistics, the Hagel-Kampf-Kubalik line leads the team in expected goals percentage by a bit of a margin at 68.4%. More please.
  • With the Blackhawks’ solid win on Tuesday, it was no surprise they won the possession battle there. They dominated in the 1st period with a 60 CF%, and then stayed slightly under 50% possession in the 2nd and 3rd periods to end the game just edging out the Panthers in this metric. Tonight, however, the Blackhawks went back to their loveable old selves, getting completely skulled in possession throughout the entire game. The Panthers are a top-10 possession team in the league, so I’m just glad we got out of this series without too much damage.
  • Numbers-wise, theoretically, Chris Driedger is one of the better goalies in the league. Of active goalies who have started 10+ games in the NHL this season, he’s 10th in the league in goals against average and 6th in save percentage. Bobrovsky’s numbers push him much further down the list. Neither goaltenders looked spectacular this series against the Hawks, exposing this team that obviously finds success in outscoring their goaltending woes. With their top scorer in Barkov out and Lankinen playing on his head, it just seemed to be a little too much for Florida. They have a playoff spot all but locked up anyway and Barkov should be back soon, so this will probably just be a series they will quickly forget.
  • As long as Nikita Zadorov is on this team, you can subtract as many months off my life expectancy. I have truly had it with this oaf. He had an assist Tuesday but at this point I do not care. He took two penalties tonight, the second one a truly magical hit that laid out Patric Hornqvist and gave the Panthers a critical powerplay chance in the 3rd. Oh, and Zadorov skated completely out of position to take this hit, because WHAT IS DEFENSE.
  • One of the things the Blackhawks needed to do in order to get back into the win column was getting Patrick Kane to show some life. He had two points total in the four games prior to this series (though he was trying his best to get something going with 16 total shots on goal during that time). Kane boasted 4 points in the series and has continued to create chances for others, becoming the assist king as of recent. Thanks for sharing the wealth, Kaner.
  • The Hawks did a good job limiting their penalty kill time in Tuesday night’s game, and it definitely paid off. They only took two penalties and only allowed one powerplay goal from the Panthers. (To compare, in the series from hell against Tampa last week they took six total penalties and allowed two powerplay goals.) Progress? I guess. Thursday’s game was certainly another story, however, as stupid penalties (and calls) were had by all. However, the Blackhawks were able to kill the whopping six penalties thanks to Kevin Lankinen playing at an elite status.
  • Speaking of Lanks, he did a good job of keeping the Blackhawks in it Thursday after a Duclair crossbar reignited the Panthers’ offense for a time. He also made some big saves towards the end of the second after getting clunked in the head. And he also saved a three-on-none chance because again, WHAT IS DEFENSE. The takeaway here is that Kevin Lankinen saved the day, stopping 41 shots. His rebound control still occasionally makes me cringe, but hopefully that will…improve with time?

The Blackhawks get to face off against the Nashville Predators this weekend, who just crushed the Detroit Red Wings and had some guy named Rocco Grimaldi score a hat trick in the 1st period of the game. The Predators are vying for the fourth playoff spot and dropping this series against them would tie us in the standings. Even splitting the series would bring the Predators too close for comfort to the fourth-place spot. It’s going to be another sweep-or-bust situation. Let’s go Hawks.

Baseball

FUCK – Eloy Tears Pec, Out 5-6 Months

By Andy Jonathan 866

Who possibly could’ve seen this coming?

 

In back to back off-seasons, the White Sox had multiple chances to bolster their outfield depth with quality options. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, they instead decided to keep the purse strings closed and settled for the decaying shell of Adam Eaton. Today, that cheapfuckery bit them straight in the taint.

In an absolutely meaningless spring training game a week before the season started, Eloy Jimenez attempted to “rob” a home run that was 20 feet past the wall. He got his armpit hung up on the top of the fence, and the entire weight of his beautiful frame yanked down on the joint, rupturing his pectoral tendon and putting him on the shelf for 5 to 6 months at a minimum. This comes after Adam Engel tweaked his hamstring two days earlier, putting him on the shelf for a few weeks as well.

Just like that, whatever Rick Hahn and Jerry Reinsdorf wanted to consider “depth” in the outfield went up in smoke. Now they’re left to patch together a functioning outfield with a week to go before the season begins, which sucks. What sucks harder is this didn’t have to be this way, yet the Sox refuse to get out of their own way when it comes to spending money. Even their lone decent free agent signing this year, Liam Hendriks, had his contract structured like a fucking payday loan to make sure Jerry wasn’t paying out too much at any given time. So now the Sox are left with few options, none of which are any good.

So where do they go from here?

 

The Internal Options

Leury Garcia

2021 ZiPS Projections: .267/.301/.688 10 HR 45 RBI 86 wRC+

I went with ZiPS here, because they were much more bullish on his projected stats than some of the others. Leury’s reputation as the Swiss Army Knife of the White Sox defense pretty much moves him to the top of the list as most realistic internal replacements for Rick Hahn. He’s a quality switch hitter with a decent arm and a career -5 DRS to his name when he’s playing in the outfield. Not bad, right? The bad thing is that he has trouble staying on the field as well, missing half the (admittedly shortened) season last year when he fucked up his hand. in 2019 he played 140 games, by far and away the most in his career with the previous watermark being 87.

Andrew Vaughn

2021 ZiPS Projections: .235/.311/.685 13 HR 54 RBI 84 wRC+

With Rick Hahn already stating that Vaughn will be playing in LF for the remainder of the spring training games, we’ve reached the point where the Sox are asking a kid who has never played above Single A ball to now start in the majors and move to a position he’s never played before. If he’s even remotely successful after all of this, he better be winning the fucking Rookie of the Year award. After that, he can tell Rick Hahn to shove his extension up his ass because nobody in their right mind would piss away their arbitration years at a discount after bailing out this cheap ass team.

Adam Engel

2021 ZiPS Projections: .227/.276/.618 11 HR 41 RBI 41 wRC+ (YIKES)

This option may or may not be available when the calendar flips to May, so take this with a mound of salt. Personally, I think ZiPS is a little on the low side for Engel here, but him playing everyday against righties instead of platooning with Eaton could end up bringing these projections a little closer to reality. Engel is at least a plus defender in the field, so that would help Luis Robert not turn into a pile of ash by August.

Billy Hamilton

2021 ZiPS Projections: .227/.283/.594 3 HR 20 RBI 30 wRC+

LOL NOPE. If Hamilton is starting more than 2 times a month for this team, the Sox are in bigger trouble than we ever knew.

 

EXTERNAL OPTIONS

Josh Reddick

2021 ZiPS Projections: .261/.319/.707 11 HR 49 RBI 89 wRC+

Probably the most realistic remaining free agent on the market, Reddick saw his tenure with the Astros come to an end this past off-season. A career .263 hitter, Reddick would be another left handed bat in the lineup. With better splits against LHP than Eaton, he wouldn’t hurt the team at the plate either. He’s only 3 years removed from his 127 wRC+ (though how much of that was trash can based we can only guess), and plays slightly below average defense in the OF. At this point, he wouldn’t cost much and probably wouldn’t kill himself out there either.

Yoenis Cespedes 

2021 ZiPS Projections: .227/.289/.723 12 HR 39 RBI 87 wRC+

Cespedes will probably be the most talked about potential add for the Sox, mostly because they just inked his step-brother to a minor league contract during this past international signing period. Cespedes hasn’t played anything resembling a full season since 2016, and hasn’t taken the field since the first week of July last year as he opted out of the COVID schedule. The power is enticing, as is the arm, but he’s basically what Eloy will turn into in 10 years so this is a giant risk.

Mitch Haniger

2021 ZiPS Projections: .253/.335/.799 18 HR 57 RBI 113 wRC+

This one is a long shot, but if the Sox wanted to swing a trade that wouldn’t just be papering over the issue for a single season, Haniger would be the guy I’d look at. Granted, so much of this is based on Seattle’s willingness to part with him (and if he’s recovered from his exploding testicle) but there isn’t much I wouldn’t be willing to part with outside of Andrew Vaughn. Would they bite on a package of Garrett Crochet or Michael Kopech? You’d think they’d at least have to consider it. Haniger is only 30, so you’d still have good years left in him. Unfortunately when you cheap out like the Sox did, you have to give up something else down the road, and Kopech or Crochet could be that price. Guess we’ll see.

 

Hockey

Spring Breaking – Panthers @ Hawks, Games 33-34

By Andy Jonathan 1102

VS

 

Records: Panthers 20-7-4 (44) Hawks 14-13-5 (33)

Puck Drops: 7:00 Both Nights (Tue/Thur)

TV/Radio: NBCSN and WGN 720

You Sure Do Got A Purdy Mouth, Boy: Litter Box Cats

 

Not much has changed for these two teams in the week that’s passed since they last met, other than the Panthers racking up 2 more points and the Hawks attempting to divide by zero. The Swamp Cats split with the Preds, and then lost a one shot against Tampa Bay on Sunday, giving up 3 goals in the 3rd when they’d had them on the ropes in the first two periods. The loss Sunday puts the Panthers 4 points behind the Bolts in the division, back with Carolina.

Sergi Bobrovsky was in net for both losses, as he continues his streak of uneven play. The win came on the shoulders of a 2-0 Chris Driedger shutout of Nashville, which while admittedly not a difficult thing to do, is still more than Bob has been able to accomplish of late. While the numbers between the two tenders continue to drift further apart, Coach Q still seems reluctant to turn the reigns over fully to Driedger, content to let Bob work things out on his own.

On the forward end of things, after I wrote about Aleksander Barkov last week, he proceeded to drop 9 points in 5 games, so at least for once it seems like I knew what I was talking about. 6 of those points came against the Hawks, who seemed completely unwilling or unable to do anything at all to slow him down in the slot, and he absolutely did not miss his chances.

The line centered by Barkov continues to be an unholy terror since Q added what apparently was the missing link in Carter Verhaeghe. The trio of Barkov, Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair has been carrying the play at even strength at over a 63% clip. Add in a total of 19 points over the last 5 starts and you can see why Q is a fan. The speed and creativity that Barkov possesses compliments the North/South games of Duclair and Verhaeghe. Once they’re in your zone, they’re extremely hard to remove, especially when they’re backed up by Mackenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad on the blue line.

As for the Hawks, they continue to get beat down by the March schedule, dropping both games in Tampa last week. They couldn’t solve Andrei Vasilevskiy, and much as they’ve done all season the Bolts capitalized on every mistake the Hawks D made. Both Kevin Lankinen and Malcom Subban were given the chance to right the ship, but neither were able to do so, both being aided and abetted by the D in front of them. That brings the March record to an unsightly 2-6-1, and into a standings tie with Columbus, who’s managed to take 2 in a row from Carolina in the last week.

The reason behind the points drought is more of the same, as the Hawks are unable to carry the play for any extended length of time at 5 on 5 (with the 1st two periods last Saturday being the exception, more on that in a bit). When the power play suddenly runs dry and the goaltending has regressed to the mean this is what you get. We’ve spoken at great lengths about where the deficiencies lie with this Hawks team, and with Kevin Lankinen no longer able to paper over the possession issues things become even more glaring in the light of day.

As grim as it seems now, the Hawks are almost out of this Hell Month, and critical games against the Jackets, Stars and Preds await on the other side. We’ve reached the spot in the season where pretty much every point is desperately needed by the Hawks. They’ve allowed their lead to slip to the point where there’s no more margin for error at all, and for a young team like this we will really get to see what they’re made of. There’s definitely a spark there that shows at times what this team could really be.

There was a period in the game against Tampa this past Saturday when the Hawks looked like the possession monsters of old. The advanced stats bear this out, as in the 1st period the Hawks topped the CORSI list with a 58% share, and then went hog wild in the 2nd with a 69.57%. Sadly, Vasilevskiy was up to the task, and the Hawks entered the 3rd down 3-0. It’s something we haven’t seen since the 2nd game in the 1st series against the Jackets where the Hawks ended up with almost a 59% share for the entire game.

There have been flashes this season of the Hawks being able to carry the play for extended periods of time against higher quality teams like Carolina and Tampa. They key here is doing it on the regular against all of them. If a majority of the beat writers are correct, and this young team truly is “buying in” to what Colliton is selling then they’re going to have to show it now. Florida is a solid team from the blue line out, but Bobrovsky has been mediocre at best. If the Hawks can keep the play in their end at all, he’s ripe for the picking. We know that the Hawks D is paper thin, so the forwards absolutely have to convert when they get the chances. Time is running out, show us what you got.

 

Let’s Go Hawks

 

Hockey

High On The Hog: The New I-90 Shuffle

By Jon Fromi 1065

The I-90 Shuffle is alive and well. The road between Chicago and Rockford has been well worn by Blackhawks prospects in the past. The moves are a bit different, but the results are similar.

In normal seasons, young prospects move up and down from the NHL to the AHL. The usual culprit is to reward a player with a quick look or to solve a salary cap issue. The new twist in the shuffle lies in the taxi squad.

Each NHL team must have three goalies available and a taxi squad of at least four members. A lot of players who would be getting steady game experience in Rockford have been in a sort of limbo. They aren’t breaking into Chicago’s lineup on a regular basis, but aren’t eligible to play for the IceHogs.

To keep the youngsters in game shape, several prospects have been rotated back and forth to the taxi squad. With both Rockford and Chicago at home or close to home this week, expect movement between the two teams.

The Blackhawks are attempting to make the best of a bad situation. However, it’s still rough on a player like Brandon Pirri, who has played in just three games this season. He was in the lineup opening night in Chicago, then sat until being assigned to Rockford on March 2.

Pirri had two goals and an assist in two games, then was recalled March 7. He was sent to Rockford last Wednesday, assumedly to play in this past weekend’s games with Iowa. The games were postponed two days, from Friday and Saturday to Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, before that night’s game, Pirri and three other skaters, John Quenneville, Alec Regula, and Mikael Hakkarainen, were recalled to Chicago.

Down came five players-forward Reese Johnson and defensemen Wyatt Kalynuk, Nicolas Beaudin, Lucas Carlsson and Madison Bowey. All five played in Rockford’s 5-3 loss to Iowa Sunday night and in the 6-1 victory the following day.

In a normal season, Pirri would have spent most of this season in Rockford leading the offensive push, offering some veteran presence, and showcasing himself to other organizations. Instead, Pirri and other AHL vets are spending time in purgatory.

Case in point: Iowa’s Gerry Mayhew scored three goals for the Wild in the last two games. Mayhew played in just four games with Minnesota before being sent down. Sunday was his third game for for Iowa. Mayhew now has four goals and an assist for the Wild. Last year’s AHL MVP (39 G, 22 A in 49 games) has been a taxi squad casualty this season.

It’s frustrating to see a player like Pirri, who was signed largely to contribute to Rockford, sit on his hands for the bulk of the season. Imagine how frustrating it must be for the players.

 

Recaps

Sunday, March 21-Iowa 5, Rockford 3

Gerry Mayhew showed the offensive spark that earned him last season’s AHL MVP award Sunday night. Mayhew, who was recently assigned to the Wild from Minnesota, scored twice and added an assist as the Wild broke a five-game winless streak.

Rockford’s two-game win streak was snapped in the first of two home contests with Iowa. Cody Franson had a goal and an assist in the losing effort.

An interference penalty by Reese Johnson set up the first goal of the contest. Iowa quickly set up in the offensive zone. Mason Shaw sent a puck on net from the right dot. Hogs goalie Matt Tomkins stopped that shot as well as Gabriel Dumont’s put back attempt. Gerry Mayhew knocked in the loose puck at 9:30 of the first period to give the Wild a 1-0 advantage.

The IceHogs tied the game early in the second period following a faceoff win by Reese Johnson in the neutral zone. Cody Franson gathered in the puck and fired from just inside the red line. Iowa goalie Hunter Jones whiffed on the long-distance offering, resulting in a 1-1 game 3:47 into the middle frame.

Rockford took the lead on the man advantage later in the second. MacKenzie Entwistle redirected a Franson shot past Jones at the 12:44 mark. That 2-1 lead was short-lived, as Mayhew potted his second goal of the night with a wrap-around attempt. Tomkins made the initial pad save, but the puck was raked across the goal line by the goalie’s stick at 14:17 of the second.

Early in the final period, the IceHogs gained a 3-2 advantage when Rockford captain Garrett Mitchell received a pass from Mitchell Fossier at the left dot. Mitchell’s shot was low and to the far side of the net at the 1:37 mark.

The Wild responded quickly, getting the equalizer from Tyler Sheehy. The rookie potted his first AHL goal, tipping in Dumont’s feed at 3:07 of the third. Five minutes later, Dumont one-timed a Sheehy pass from the high slot past Tomkins for a 4-3 Iowa lead eight minutes into the period.

The Hogs were unable to pull even in the final twelve minutes of action. Tomkins was pulled in favor of an extra skater with 1:47 remaining to no avail. Shaw found the empty net with 15 seconds left to seal Rockford’s fate.

Riley McKay dropped the gloves with Iowa’s Josh Maser early in the second period. McKay managed to dodge a good number of Maser’s punches in the all-rookie bout before being taken down to the ice. The fighting major is his third of the season, which leads the IceHogs.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Evan Barratt-Reese Johnson-Tim Soderlund

Andrei Altybarmakyan-MacKenzie Entwistle-D.J. Busdeker

Matej Chalupa-Dylan McLaughlin-Michal Teply

Riley McKay-Garrett Mitchell (C)-Mitchell Fossier

Anton Lindholm-Madison Bowey

Wyatt Kalynuk-Cody Franson (A)

Lucas Carlsson-Nicolas Beaudin

Matt Tomkins

Cam Morris

 

Monday, March 22-Rockford 6, Iowa 1

For the first time this season, the IceHogs were able to build a cushion against an opponent. This was the first Rockford win of the season to come by more than one goal.

Rockford got two-goal performances from Reese Johnson, Chris Wilkie, and Nicolas Beaudin. The offensive outburst was more than enough for rookie goaltender Cale Morris, who stopped 38 shots to pick up the win.

The Hogs stormed out to a big lead in the opening minutes, scoring three goals on their first four shots of the game. The first strike came in transition after Issak Phillips sent a clearing pass to Wilkie. Leading a two-on-one rush, Wilkie hit Johnson for the one-timer from the left circle for a 1-0 lead just 2:24 into the contest.

Wilkie forced a turnover in the Iowa zone a few minutes later. Evan Barratt chased down the loose puck  and passed to Johnson, who brought it around the Wild net. Returning the favor to Wilkie, Johnson centered to set up the tap in, which came at 5:22 of the first.

Wilkie’s next goal came with Lucas Carlsson in the box for holding. Wyatt Kalynuk got the play started with a stretch pass to Wilkie coming out of the defensive zone. Wilkie worked a give-and-go with Dylan McLaughin, receiving the return pass and beating Iowa goalie Hunter Jones to the glove side at the 8:43 mark.

The Wild managed to cut the Rockford lead to 3-1 while on a two-man advantage. Gerry Mayhew snaked through the IceHogs defense and got a shot past Rockford goalie Cale Morris at 15:53 of the first period.

The IceHogs were able to restore a three-goal advantage late in the second period. The goal came on the power play after Wilkie drew a slash from Josh Atkinson. McLaughlin found MacKenzie Entwistle below the goal line. From there, Entwistle connected with Beaudin at the right dot. Beaudin brought the puck to his forehand and roofed it past Jones at 16:28 of the middle frame for a 4-1 Rockford lead.

The IceHogs prevented any pushback by Iowa by controlling the action in the third period. Late in the game, Tim Soderlund centered to Johnson, who potted his second goal of the night to make it 5-1 Rockford at 16:59 of the third. Moments later, Beaudin picked up his second of the evening with a long-distance shot past a screened Jones at the 17:29 mark to close out the scoring.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Mitchell Fossier-Garrett Mitchell-D.J. Busdeker

Andrei Altybarmakyan-MacKenzie Entwistle-Michal Teply

Mataj Chalupa-Dylan McLaughlin-Tim Soderlund

Evan Barratt-Reese Johnson-Chris Wilkie

Anton Lindholm-Lucas Carlsson

Wyatt Kalynuk-Nicolas Beaudin

Issak Phillips-Madison Bowey

Cale Morris

Ivan Nailimov

 

This Weekend

Rockford now settles in for four games with the Chicago Wolves. The first home-and-away back-to-back starts Saturday night in Hoffman Estates.

Follow me @JonFrom on twitter for thoughts on the IceHogs all season long.

Hockey

Mediocrity Gets You Pears – Bolts Sweep Hawks 4-2, 4-1

By Matt McClure 953

Box Scores: Game 30 Game 31
Event Logs: Game 30 Game 31
Natural Stat Trick: Game 30 Game 31

 

It wasn’t so long ago where the Hawks were on the flip side of the story with what transpired in Tampa over the weekend; where they’d be able to keep a team at arm’s length and hold them by their own forehead as they impotently flailed and swung away, never landing a single punch. The Bolts did exactly that to the Hawks over the weekend, leaning on them when it was necessary and never having to exert even the slightest bit more effort than was necessary, and walking away with two regulation wins in the process. March was always going to be a reality check for the West Side Hockey Club, and with their season series against Tampa nearly complete with a 1-5-1 record (compared to Tampa’s 6-0-1, leaving only a single shootout point on the table), the results are now lining up with the process.