Everything Else

Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – December 15

By John Pullega 1552 0

First Screen Viewing

Stars at Devils (6 p.m.)

Even though the Blackhawks are hopelessly eliminated from any shot at the playoffs by virtue of their inability to inhabit a playoff spot by the time the turkeys were pardoned (yes, I’m kidding), we’d be remiss not to watch the team mockingly flailing its collective scrotum in our faces in the standings. The Stars stand to leapfrog the Wild in the Wild Card standings with a point tonight, albeit with two extra games played. They’ll also look to get Jabba the Hitch his 800th win tonight, which is fitting, given that everyone in America is moonlighting as Annyong Bluth and seeing whichever iteration of a Star War we’re on now. They’ll start Kari Lehtonen and face a Taylor Hall-less (knee ouchie) Devils squad that’s lost three of their last four (1-2-1).

Second Screen Viewing

Maple Leafs at Red Wings (6:30 p.m.)

You watch this game for never-ending Schadenfreude of watching the Red Wings flounder. And the hope that Cock BabMike offers no quarter against his former squad. Plus the Leafs are probably top three in the best-looking sweaters department. The Leafs sans Auston Matthews, who misses his fourth straight game with a head injury, will face Jimmy Two First Names in net, as he and his 90.6 SV% try to end the Wings’s 1-5-5 skid over the last 11 games. Again, the Red Wings have lost 10 of their last 11. Not sure why they called it Little Caesers Arena, since the Wings are neither hot, ready, nor worth even the $5 their stadium’s namesake charges for pizza of a quality that you can find running through a box factory with dog shit on your shoes.

Other Games

Carolina at Buffalo (6 p.m.)

Los Angeles at New York (6 p.m.)

San Jose at Vancouver (9 p.m.)

Everything Else

Game #32 – I’m Gonna Hit That Line Like Old Dick Trickle – Hawks 5, Jets 1

By John Pullega 2701 0

Box Score

Hockey Stats

Natural Stat Trick

Like a frozen Reese’s with an Irish coffee, this game was good, especially coming against one of the better teams in the West. To the bullets.

– The Hawks marveled us with the best period of hockey they’ve played since Game #1. First, on Sharp’s steal at the oZ blue line, followed by a perfect pass to a thirsty Hinostroza. The obscenity of Vinnie’s release will make it impossible to analyze, since it shouldn’t be allowed on television again. The second goal was a bit more avant garde, with Bouma fat fingering a pass from behind the goal line, only to recover his turnover and hit Wingels in what Steve Konroyd and Pat Boyle continued to call “a quiet spot on the ice,” which I guess is the new preferred nomenclature for the high slot. Then, to spite the Fels/McClure motherfuck, which is the hockey equivalent of a Lennon/McCartney these days, Schmaltz took a Keith laser by the foreskin and just snipped by an overmatched Hellebuyck. Between three solid goals and devil’s food 66.66 CF%, this looked like the Hawks of old.

– I know the last time you and I talked about a Hawks postgame, I made a comment about Schmaltz needing to take more shots. After the sorcery he conjured on Kane’s goal in the second period, I won’t be upset if he never tries to shoot again. You simply can’t teach that kind of awareness. When he does things that flood the blood into all the fun parts of your body, it makes it hard (GET IT?) to remember that he’s just barely old enough to drink.

– The most fun thing to watch about this game was Connor Murphy’s unbridled confidence. It was his big shot that rebounded off of Hellebuyck and led to the Schmaltz–Kane connection. It was Murphy standing firm at his own blue line several times to break up potential odd-man rushes. It was Murphy moving back to the right side after his unforeseen success on his off side so that Kempný could slot back in. He’s turning into a best-case scenario right in front of our eyes, and it’s a joy to watch.

– And how about that Michal Kempný? He was the only Hawks D-man on the positive side of the possession ledger, though that’s probably a bit misleading, as the Hawks packed it in after the first period, with respective 39+ and 28+ CF%s. But he managed to make Brent Seabrook look good out there, which on its own should warrant more playing time. And that unapologetic slapper to put the Hawks back up four is the kind of thing that makes you tear your hair out when you think about how he’s sat in favor of Franson and an increasingly tired-looking Rutta. Hawks beat writer Mark Lazerus posed a question along the lines of, “For everyone clamoring for Kempný, who do you sit for him?” Sample sizes be damned, you go ahead and let Rutta and Franson heal up for as long as Kempný stays noticeable.

– I made fun of him a whole bunch at the beginning of the year, but if Jordan Oesterle wants to keep playing relatively well, I’m fine being wrong. I still think Murphy belongs with Keith, but I get not wanting to futz with what works. I don’t see Oesterle as a long-term answer to any question, but he was fine tonight. You’ll take that from him.

– It’s probably getting old, but I’m trying to make up for all the undue shit Crawford has gotten over his career: Corey did just about everything right tonight. He kept the Jets from getting back into it in the third with two huge saves in high-danger zones. I’m not even sure you can blame the one goal on him, though I suppose you want anything on the short side stuffed. Still, with Seabrook inadvertently screening the shot and being on the PK, it’s a bit more forgivable.

– If you want to be a stickler, you could easily say that Forsling didn’t look great in his own zone (a revelation, I know). He got beaten on iced pucks twice in the first, once by Perreault and then again by Tanev. Perreault blew by him again at the beginning of the second, and then he had a horrifically putrid dZ turnover late in the third in a high-danger zone. But this isn’t anything new. It was just especially noticeable tonight with everything else clicking so well.

– While the power play didn’t score (against one of the worst PKs out there), they weren’t a complete flaming bag of dog shit either. The last two PPs had sustained pressure but nothing to show for it. I guess you take that as a positive.

Eight points in four games is a streak. A win against Minnesota on Sunday goes a long way in the slog toward a wild card spot. If Kempný isn’t in the lineup, I’ll scream.

Forward, not backward. Upward, not forward. And always twirling, Twirling, TWIRLING toward freedom.

Beer du Jour: Tommyknocker Blood Orange IPA

Line of the Night: “He would purposely hold on to [the puck] to let the boos go. He looked like a WWE villain.” –Foley on Kane getting booed by Jets fans years ago.

Everything Else

Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – December 14th

By Sam Fels 1303 0

First Screen Viewing

Sharks vs. Flames – 8pm

It’s a heavy slate tonight in the N but there isn’t a real standout game. So we’ll go with this one as two teams fighting to be in the Kings and Knights wake square off at Saddledome. The Sharks have been effective enough but boring as fucking sin. The Flames have two great lines that are tons of fun to watch but after that it gets a little hairy. Tune in to watch Travis Hamonic and TJ Brodie decompose right before your eyes.

Second Screen Viewing

Maple Leafs vs. Wild – 7pm

Well, the Wild are never boring. And you can watch Mike Babcock dance on Bruce Boudreau’s head for a whole. Auston Matthews is still out but you know the Leafs  have more than enough to get by. And considering how things are going for the Wild at the moment, you know there will be goals. Chance for the Hawks to make up some ground on the Wild as well.

Other Games

Capitals vs. Bruins – 6pm

Sabres vs. Flyers – 6pm

Islanders vs. Blue Jackets – 6pm

Devils vs. Canadiens – 6:30

Ducks vs. Blues – 7pm

Panthers vs. Avalanche – 8pm

Predators vs. Oilers – 8pm

Lightning vs. Coyotes – 8pm

Penguins vs. Knights – 9pm

Everything Else

Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets Preview, Food Drive – Cop Just Out Of Frame

By Matt McClure 2092 0

 at 

Game Time: 7:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
God Save The Queen: Arctic Ice Hockey, Jets Nation

Fresh off three somewhat palate-cleansing barely-wins against the absolute dregs of the league at home in Buffalo, Arizona, and Florida, the Hawks face a far sterner test tonight in The Peg, where the Jets at least kind of look like they have finally gotten their shit together.

Everything Else

Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets: Spotlight – The Art of Falling Upwards, by Paul Maurice

By Sam Fels 1936 0

It’s hard to wrap your mind around, but Paul Maurice is in his 20th year as an NHL head coach. He’s only 51. Yes, this is what happens when you’re hired at age 29 to coach a team, as Maurice was in Hartford. He’s coached the 8th most seasons in NHL history. This year he will pass Pat Quinn in number of games coached. He’s coached more games than Mike Keenan and Jacques Lemaire, Jacques Martin, and Darryl Sutter, if you can believe it.

And what makes it more shocking is that he’s no damn good at it.

In those 20 seasons, Maurice’s teams have reached the playoffs five times. They’ve won a round just twice, both in Carolina as he led them to a Final in 2002 and then came back to relieve Peter Laviolette and got them to a conference Final in ’09. That’s it. Three first round exits, and hasn’t even won a playoff game since 2009. Of the coaches with the 20 longest tenures by seasons, Maurice’s 57 total playoff games is by far the lowest. The next on the list is Art Ross, who stopped coaching in 1945 and whose teams could only play 14 playoff games at most per year.

What made Maurice’s continued employment in Winnipeg even more infuriating was how much talent he was wasting. Wheeler, Scheifele, Laine, Little, Ehlers, Byfuglien, Trouba and we could go on. Yes, the Jets and Maurice were let down by their goaltending, but it was Maurice who also kept tossing Ondrej Pavelec out there. The Jets should have been at the top of the Central or approaching for at least the last three years.

More grating was that the past three years the Jets finished in the top six in penalty minutes per game. This is a team with so much firepower you’d think they’d want to spend as much time at evens or on the power play as they could. And yet Maurice continued to push a style and attitude that was hellbent on dick-measuring, and because of the goaltending and system their penalty killing was always substandard. It helped sink those seasons when they could have been so much more, even with the shoddy goaltending.

It’s seemingly taken only 20 years, but Maurice appears to have finally gotten it. The Jets are now middle of the pack in terms of penalties per game. The penalty kill still isn’t good, but at least they’re on it less.

It’s not all roses for Maurice, though. So far this season is the third consecutive where their metrics have gotten worse. This is a team that’s far too skilled to be on the negative side of possession or expected goals, and yet here they are. And this actually isn’t the best goaltending Maurice has gotten at even-strength, as his last playoff team got a spasm of good keeping from Pavelec before he crashed to Earth and the Ducks summarily eviscerated them in the playoffs.

Given the scoring talent the Jets have, they can always outshoot some of their underlying numbers. And there’s no crime against getting good goaltending. It’s just a mark of how the NHL works that someone like Maurice, who hasn’t proven he’s really good at anything behind the bench other than squandering talent, can be employed this long. If you want to know why you never really see anything that innovative or creative in hockey, here’s an excellent reason why. It’s almost if Maurice kept getting work because GMs saw that others hired him and figured, “Well he must do something.”

And he doesn’t.

Game #32 Preview

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Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets: Q&A With Cara T And Derek Gagnon

By Sam Fels 1928 0

Cara And Derek are two of the writers on staff at ArcticIceHockey.com. You can follow them on Twitter @HappyCaraT and @DerekGagnon1.

Let’s start at the top. Maybe because it took a few years. Maybe because of where he plays. But this is Mark Scheifele’s second straight year of being a point-per-game. Isn’t it time his name is mentioned in the same class as the top centers in the game?

Cara: Absolutely it is time to consider Scheifele a top centre in the league. The thing to remember about him is he was a late bloomer in junior and really came out of his shell in his draft year after playing in Junior A the previous season. It is no wonder it took him a little bit of time to really show the NHL his skill.

Derek: I do find it strange that he, and linemate Blake Wheeler, can experience repeated success without getting much praise. Playing in Winnipeg definitely plays a slight role in his lack of press in other markets, but I do believe it is time for his name to be mentioned more often. His numbers in the past two seasons have far surpassed others drafted ahead of him, and at this point I’d say he’s the second best player to come out of his draft class (Kucherov being better).

How much of the Jets’ success should be pinned on the revitalization of Connor Hellebuyck?

The Jets have never had consistently good goaltending until this year. This is remarkable and sad all the same. A lot of their success is owed to Hellebuyck, especially early on. Let’s just hope that he remains the goalie who was coached by not-Wade Flaherty this summer and not the goalie coached by Wade Flaherty.

Lots? The recent slide in performance aside, Hellebuyck is the biggest reason the Jets find themselves where they are in the standings. Reliable goaltending has been non-existent in Winnipeg since 2011, with Michael Hutchinson dominating the Blackhawks being an exception. His record at home has been particular dominant, picking up 23 of a possible 24 points in starts at Bell MTS Place. It has been said for some time that the Jets are a playoff team with average goaltending, and they’ve gotten better than average play from Hellebuyck thus far.

How much of the Jets’ success should be pinned on no longer being the dumbest team in the league and curtailing their penalties per game to middle of the pack?

The Jets may still have some very dumb games, but getting rid of Mark Stuart and Chris Thorburn this summer has probably helped get some of the dumb out of their game. In general, the Jets really put an emphasis on taking less penalties this season and playing the game five on five has helped them a lot because they are still not great at killing penalties.

Certainly this has helped. The penalty kill has also improved its performance. The Jets brought former referee Paul Devorski in to work with the team during training camp to help cut down on the penalties, and it seems to be paying off. Staying with special teams, the Jets now have a top five power play to use as well.

Once again, according to the metrics. Matthieu Perreault is one of the most underrated players in the league. What makes him an analytic darling and is he well appreciated up there?

You are taking about Fourth Line Hero Matty P. He is genuinely a fourth line hero on the Jets since his injuries and people are really loving him there because he is able to have less wear and tear on his body while still being great offensively. In short, people love his style of play and are fine with his usage because he drags the fourth line to respectability all by himself.

Every time he gets hurt, people slam Mathieu Perreault, but the fact is he’s a very good player. I fully expected him to be picked up by Vegas last summer, and was quite happy to see him stick around when the Jets opted to protect 7-3-1. When healthy, he can contribute in any of the 12 forward positions, and is currently occupying a fourth line spot while getting power play time. He’s a very smart player, and I don’t think I can stress that enough. His positioning and awareness on the ice is great, and he makes players around him better. So is he appreciated? Yes, but not as much as he could be.

Is this all for real? How far can the Jets go?
I think this is for real and as far as Hellebuyck can take them.
I think this can be a playoff team, because of the number of skilled players. The Jets boast one of the top few top 6 forward groups in the NHL, and some talented young defenders in Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey. Combined with decent goaltending, they’re top-eight in the West. 
I was hesitant at first, but the longer it goes the more it seems that it might be a second trip to the post-season since relocating from Atlanta in 2011. My father projects that somehow the Jets will make it to the Western Conference Final before losing to Nashville. So yea, I’ll go with that.
Everything Else

Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets: Douchebag Du Jour – Savior Hendricks

By Sam Fels 1862 0

Actually, we kind of love what Matt Hendricks has become to the Canadian media. If you haven’t paid attention–and judging by the NHL’s ratings, you haven’t–the Oilers media thinks one of the biggest reason their team’s head has been rectum-ized is they let Matt Hendricks move along to Winnipeg. So it stands to reason that one of the biggest reasons the Jets have surprised everyone, including themselves, is that they picked up Hendricks.

It’s funny how in just a few short months, the feeling can from this to this. They both clearly can’t be true, but yet in The Great White North they most certainly can be.

Matt Hendricks is a nothing player. He gives you less than ten minutes per night, he tries to fight a lot. No one in the NHL today actually fights a lot by the old standard. He can’t really do much else. Of course, with all of these guys there’s always some intangible, inexplicable “glue” factor. And this only comes up after they leave. Funny, no one mentioned Jonathan Toews’s “glue” abilities when he was scoring 65+ points a season and he was, y’know, the fucking captain. And no one has used his leadership ability to try and excuse the downturn in his offensive production.

Imagine the Bulls blaming their downturn in recent years on the fact that Brian Scalabrine wasn’t around anymore. We’re sure he was great in the locker room. He would have to be, otherwise Tom Thibodeau wouldn’t have dragged him everywhere. In practice he was probably useful. We doubt Hendricks is any more useful during practice than he is during games.

But when things go wrong, especially with Canadian teams, it can’t be roster construction. There is something mythical that those teams are missing and winning teams have. It’s not that the Penguins have two of the best centers of all time. It’s Conor Sheary’s angry-face that won them two Cups or something. The Hawks wouldn’t have three banners without Ben Eager, Adam Burish, and Dan Carcillo don’t you know?

God bless Canada.

Game #32 Preview

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Game #32 – Hawks vs. Jets: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

By Sam Fels 1576 0

All stats at even-strength unless noted. Courtesy of Corsica.hockey. 

Key: CF/60 – shot attempts for per 60 minutes

CA/60 – shot attempts against per 60

CF% – ratio of shot attempts for and against

G/60, GA/60, GF% – goals scored, allowed, and ratio of per 60 minutes

xGF/60, xGA/60, xGF% – “expected goals” i.e. goals team “should” have scored and allowed based on amount and types of chances and attempts created and allowed given neutral goaltending. 

PDO – shooting percentage plus save percentage, used to measure luck. 100 is average.

Time On Ice Percentage – amount of even-strength time player skates

Off. Zone Start Ratio – percentage of shifts started in offensive zone

TOI% of Competition: percentage of even-strength time opponent takes of his team player skates against

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This Is A Close-Up?!

By Sam Fels 2253 0

The Hawks didn’t exactly come in rolling to this three-game homestand. They had lost five in a row, though two of those came in OT or a shootout to the Stars, and three of them came without Corey Crawford (though the Hawks scored exactly five goals in the three games he didn’t play, so what difference he would have made wouldn’t have risen much above negligible). The idea was that getting to play three straight teams near the bottom of the standings would be a chance for the Hawks to rediscover some of their game, style, swagger, whatever you want to call it.

It didn’t really work out that way.

Friday night saw the Hawks get goalie’d a touch, as Robin Lehner was very good and that will happen. They tossed 51 shots at him and it wasn’t like the Caps game where their shots basically comprised a belly-rub. They had a good number of really good chances that he snuffed out or they hit a post. Happens, fine, whatever. Not ideal but you accept it and move on.

I’ll even let Sunday’s….whatehaveya, slide a bit, or would normally. A sleepy Sunday night in mid-December against a Coyotes team… that always can lead to a “fuck this” effort. While you don’t like to see them when a team isn’t winning…again, they happen. Figure you have a good effort against the Panthers and no one would bat an eyelash at a simple “let’s get through this” against Arizona.

And then you get last night. A Florida team that has a top line, Vincent Trocheck, and that’s about it, on the second night of a back-to-back and starting Reimer in both of them. And the Hawks were fortunate to get out of it with anything, thanks to the Toews line picking up the slack.

And please don’t tell me that Jan Rutta was the glue holding this team together.

Now normally, with other teams, when a struggling team like the Hawks are (and they are) can’t get it juiced for two straight games at home–games and points they need, mind–one might start wondering if the players have tuned out for some reason. And one might start looking hard at the coach, especially a team that has higher expectations than nicking a wild card spot and especially one that is coming off two straight first round exits that splooges its “ONE GOAL” slogan everywhere it can.

Clearly, that won’t happen here. Even if this summer saw Stan Bowman take control of the team as a GM would (and we’re only speculating on that but it sure seems that way), Coach Q has too much pull to get fired, short of ruining one of Toews’s vegetable gardens. Because yes, Toews can fire Q if he so chooses.

Next year if the Hawks were in the same spot? Yeah, maybe then we can talk.

Still, I’m sure there are fans that want to point to the Kings revival this year, or the Penguins coming alive under Mike Sullivan about two years ago, and claim the same thing could happen to the Hawks with a new voice.

The key difference is that the Kings and Penguins went from either a terribly defensive/clueless coach to one who opened things up. There is a freedom to their styles now that they didn’t have before, which just about every player is going to find refreshing. I’m not sure it works the other way. Oh hi there, Dallas Stars.

And the thing is, Q plays an open style. Whatever the Hawks problems are, it’s not because they’re too defensive or he’s too conservative. Forwards are allowed to express themselves in the offensive zone if they see fit (except Nick Schmaltz). Defensemen are allowed, and in fact encouraged, to get up into the play. Players love that. So bringing in a hard-ass who’s going to stress blocking shots or something is probably counter-productive and also this team isn’t exactly built for that. Even if Stan wanted to pull the trigger, and I would have high doubts he does, his options to move in are limited.

If they players are not responding, and if that’s a problem it’s certainly smaller than the problems of the holes on the roster, it’s not because they don’t like the style. Sure, maybe the Hawks could adopt a more Pittsburgh approach which is a little more straight-lined and sees more go-routes out of the zone and picking up passes off the glass. But given how defensively wonky the Hawks have been, I’m not sure they have that luxury.

But watching this team the past two games, something is off and it’s not just having no third line to speak of, or being thin down the middle when Schmaltz doesn’t play there. I can’t even blame the defense. Connor Murphy has been so good he’s actually masked Seabrook for the most part. Rutta and Forsling have their issues, but Forsling has done enough in the offensive zone to at least be balanced.

No, they’ve been sloppy, half-hearted at times, and lazy. Missing passes as badly as they did at times last night…that’s just not being focused because this team isn’t lacking skill. It felt more than just not getting it up for one game in the middle of the season. And this team hasn’t really earned the right to do that yet. There was a going-through-the-motions feel to it, one we’ve not seen from Hawks teams before. At least not ones that are a long way from securing their spot in the standings. When you do this in late February in Colorado because you’re already locked into second in the division/conference, no one cares. Do it now, and people do. I can’t imagine Q was too thrilled, but he probably wasn’t too thrilled with Sunday’s effort either. And this is how they responded?

And they’re running out of leeway for those kinds of efforts.