Everything Else – Page 43 – Faxes from Uncle Dale

Everything Else

Game #63 – Stars vs. Hawks Q&A: Logan Stark Of Defending Big D

By Sam Fels February 24, 2019 1675 0

Logan Stark is a contributor at DefendingBigD.com. You can follow her @LoganStarkBook. Hey…Stark on the Stars. We just thought of that!

Let’s get this out of the way up top. While the CEO swearing about the team’s two stars is good for comedic value out here, isn’t it nonsensical as Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are just about the only reason the Stars are anything? (not to mention Benn’s long-standing place with the team and fans)

– First of all, Bishop and Khudobin have been absolute brick walls this season. They’re a large factor of why the Stars are still in a playoff position this late in the season. Second, Miro Heiskanen is a godsend for this team, especially when half the blue line was injured during the first half of the season. Okay, on to the real question. CEO Lites’ comments were beyond nonsensical. Not only did the tirade tarnish the team’s reputation around the league (what high-profile player would want to sign with the team now?), but it also made them a laughing stock. Benn and Seguin have proved Lites wrong with their on-ice performance, but those comments are continuing to hang over them and the team almost two months after they rocked hockey Twitter. Benn and Seguin are the faces of the franchise and are fan-favorites, and they were definitely fan-favorites for their classy responses to the comments. In the end, Lites’ comments backfired, I think, landing egg on his face – while getting some good splatter on the team that will come off with time. CEOs come and go, but Benn and Seguin are here to stay for a long, long time. In the end, it’s their on-ice performance and leadership in the locker room that matters the most. The team and coaching staff still support them, so why should fans do any different?

Why has Julius Honka not worked? The pedigree is there, he seems to have a coach that wants to play faster, and yet four points is four points…

– Do we have time for me to draft a graduate dissertation on why Honka hasn’t worked? No? Okay, let’s give this a shot: The yo-yo effect under Hitchcock last season did absolutely nothing for Honka. Not only was he bounced between the Dallas Stars and their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, but he was bounced with such frequency that he never had a chance to settle into the lineup and make a real impact. When Honka did spend time in Dallas, it was most often as a healthy scratch or with sub-par ice time. None of that helped his development and can only have hurt his confidence on the ice. We’ve seen flashes of his brilliance on the ice, but not this season. He’s been a healthy scratch with regularity under Montgomery, which leads me to believe that Montgomery doesn’t know where to slot him in within the current lineup. There’s just not room in the lines for a player struggling to produce (hush, let’s not talk about Nichushkin) and who needs time on the ice to get his skates back under him, so to speak. At this point, I would say it’s time to trade Honka, use him to bring in fresh talent that’s capable of producing at a steady rate.

Jim Nill has gotten three coaches. At what point does the cannon point at him?

– If the Stars fail to make the playoffs this spring, I think there’s going to be a turnover in the front office. It’s pretty clear that management expects this roster to be a repeat contender, yet they’ve failed to make a real postseason splash. If the Stars fail to make the playoffs (or fail to make it past the first round), I would place good money on Nill being let go. The lack of postseason performances and his lackluster record at the draft table would definitely be grounds for his exit from the team. At a certain point, it’s not about the coaches, but about the guy in the front office saddling said coaches with questionable trades, picks, and players.

What are the Stars gong to do before the deadline (assuming they don’t do anything before we print this, in which case I’ll just switch whatever you said to what they did and make you look like geniuses)?

– Nill has gone on record saying they’re looking for offensive power and depth at the deadline, and Dallas scouts have been checking out Zuccarello and Panarin. I would keep an eye out for the Stars to make a move for either of them on a rental basis (with an extension option on the table). One thing to watch for: the picks and/or players they send the opposite way. Just what is the front office willing to part with in exchange for a player that just might help the Stars get to the playoffs? In the past, Nill has been pretty good about not giving up first round picks or developing players that will aid the team. However, the Stars are getting desperate to make that playoff push this year, so is this the year Nill finally parts with the golden ticket of a first round pick?

Game #63 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #63 – Stars vs. Hawks Douchebag Du Jour: Poodle Lites, Poodle Chews It

By Sam Fels February 24, 2019 1585 0

In the end, it was just a publicity stunt.

That’s all you can make of CEO Jim Lites airing out his team’s two biggest stars, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, in the press before he had ever talked to them. It’s hard to think of another CEO, who doesn’t hold GM duties as well, in any sport who decides to go so public with his criticism players on the team. Sure, Jerry Jones might in Dallas as well, and maybe that’s what Lites thought he was doing. Maybe they like blowhards in Dallas. And if you’re in Texas, we guess you have to be the biggest blowhard you can be.

The Stars problem has never been Seguin and Benn, of course. Maybe they weren’t having their career-years, but the main issue is that Lites has let GM Jim Nill create a Top-Of-The-Muffin-To-Ya roster. Jason Spezza is going to be put on display next to Sue at the Field Museum soon enough. Their kids like Janmark, Faska, and Ritchie have done jack and shit. They’ve been injured, but the blue line has John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen and that’s it. He’s been allowed to pick up trash like Jamie Oleksiak and Roman Polak and now Ben Lovejoy.

If this were any other sport, Lites’s tirade would have been met with a response of one finger up from each Seguin and Benn, a trade demand, and scorched future of the entire franchise. But you can’t do that in hockey, and maybe that’s what Lites was counting on. It seems especially harsh on Benn, who has only ever been a Star, the captain, and could have asked out at many points when the team wasn’t up to the standards he has always set.

Maybe he just wanted to make a ripple in a Dallas sports scene where the Stars are falling behind. The ‘Boys will always be #1, #2, and #3. But the Mavericks now have Luka Doncic, and next year when he’s paired with Kristaps Porzingis the Mavs will be one of the more watched teams in the NBA. The Stars have won one playoff series in a decade. It’s now how you keep up.

If the Stars fail to make the playoffs, it won’t be because Seguin and Benn didn’t do everything they could. It’ll be because Lites let a GM fail to back them up for a good five years.

Game #63 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #63 – Stars vs. Hawks: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

By Sam Fels February 24, 2019 1259 0

Note: Corsica is still down so these are numbers pulled from earlier in the week.

Game #63 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #63 – Stars vs. Hawks: Lineups & How Teams Were Built

By Sam Fels February 24, 2019 1295 0

Note: Corsica is still down, so the Stars xGF% were not available.

Notes: These don’t include yesterday’s game…There could be a couple changes from this. If Radulov is healthy enough to go, he’ll replace Nichushkin, and slot up with Seguin with Spezza on the third line. The Stars also acquired Ben Lovejoy yesterday, and he could make his debut in place of Fedun…Benn has dropped down with Faksa to form a checking line, which is a use for him, we guess…Klingberg and Lindell aren’t pushing the play nearly the way they did last year…Seguin has 12 points in his last 10 games…Klingberg has one goal since January 10th…all Cogliano does is get the play in the right end. Might be a sneaky cheap signing this summer to push Saad back up into the top six…

Notes: Our best guess on defense. We wouldn’t think that Colliton would want to hang Koekkoek immediately out to dry after his game-costing turnover against the Avs, but Forsling could replace him. Dahlstrom will probably go right back in…Perlini could come in for Kunitz or Hayden…Strome’s line had their first dominant game in a while against the Avs, with all three above 60% in Corsi…Kane had 13 shots against the Avs, tying for a team-record…

Game #63 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight – February 23-24

By Sam Fels February 23, 2019 1002 0

First Screen Viewing

Hurricanes vs. Stars – Saturday, 4pm

If you’re looking for a game with both teams having something to play for, this is probably the best you’ll do over the weekend. The Canes are now sitting right on the shoulder of both Pittsburgh and Columbus (making Columbus’s “go for it” push pretty hilarious, both for them and the division around them), just one point back. The Stars can’t biff this weekend or they’re going to be stumbling through the mud of the bottom of the West playoff race, and that’s some fine Mississippi mud right there. Put yo’ face in the Mississippi mud. The Canes are one of the more exciting shows going, as they’re up-tempo and having a blast, and they seem to have properly harnessed the stroked-beards and clucked-tongues of the old hockey guard to only have more fun. We kind of need this in the playoffs for a variety of reasons.

Second Screen Viewing

Sharks vs. Jackets – Saturday, 4pm

A lot on the line here as well. As stated, the Jackets are guaranteed nothing, even with the acquisition of Matt Duchene. The Sharks and Flames are locked in a battle to see which goalie can fuck up the most promising of seasons more, as San Jose is now three points behind the Flames in the race for the Pacific and West. They also just tore apart the Penguins, so there’s some mixed messages from them. Duchene in his home debut against the West’s best…outside of the crease.

Other Games

Saturday

Capitals vs. Sabres – 12pm

Devils vs. Rangers – 12pm

Bruins vs. Blues – 3pm

Kings vs. Panthers – 3pm

Avalanche vs. Predators – 4:30

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs – 6pm

Penguins vs. Flyers – 7pm

Islanders vs. Canucks – 9pm

Ducks vs. Oilers – 9pm

Sunday

Rangers vs. Capitals – 11:30 am

Sharks vs. Red Wings – 2pm

Blues vs. Wild – 6pm

Flames vs. Senators – 6pm

Jets vs. Coyotes – 8pm

Everything Else

Game #62 – Sammy Was Low, Just Watching the Show, Over and Over Again – Avs 5, Hawks 3

By John Pullega February 22, 2019 1951 0

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

The Hawks controlled play almost all game. They had the Avs on their heels for most of it. They had one player below 50% in the possession share (Sikura). It was one of the better games they’ve played recently, and that stupid goddamn motherfucking woman-beating piece of shit asshole goalie the Avs had made it worth nothing. Goddamnit. Let’s do this fucking thing.

– Let’s start with the play that changed it all. Slater Koekkoek channeled his inner Fernando Pisani and handed the game away. The Hawks had managed to maintain pressure in the zone and force a turnover to keep the pressure on, and Koekkoek, under no pressure, just threw the pass away. The idea wasn’t bad: He had Kahun open across the ice, and if he hadn’t passed it directly to Patrik Nemeth, Kahun might have had a shot at a wide-open net. But Koekkoek couldn’t execute, despite having no pressure on him whatsoever.

There’s no excuse for what happened. Yeah, the idea was fine, but when you’ve got enough time to watch two drops of pitch fall to make a pass, you just can’t miss it by as much as Koekkoek did. It was a terrible, terrible excuse for a pass from a guy who’s paid to be an NHL-caliber D-man. I seriously hope Seabrook gets healthy soon, because that’s how done I am with this guy.

– Despite the outcome, this was one of the best games the Hawks played. They were aggressive and controlled the pace throughout. They had a 58+ CF%, and only Sikura was on the negative side of the ledger, which is weird, because he looked good early. After taking the lead in the first, the Avs were happy to pack it in as much as possible, and it ended up working. If you’re a believer in karma, this is it, because the Hawks have won a few games they probably shouldn’t have recently. But once again, their defense let them down.

– Delia’s first two goals weren’t on him. They were on Duncan Keith. On the first, Keith skated out way too far to cover Kerfoot, which left the middle of the ice wide open for Soderberg’s first goal. It didn’t help that Gus got hypnotized by Andrighetto on what was a developing 4-on-2, but Keith’s angle was the main culprit. On the second goal, which was on the PK, Keith somehow ended up outside of the far-side dot for reasons unknown to anyone. That left Murphy alone in front against three skaters, including Compher, who potted the shot no problem.

The third goal was on Delia. Toews did turn the puck over, but he and Jokiharju recovered well enough on Landeskog. Delia found himself angled way too tightly on the near post (relative to Landeskog), and Landeskog went over his shoulder on the far side. I want to be mad at him, but Landeskog is an excellent shooter and Delia is still a rookie. That’s one he has to have though. And you would have liked to see him stuff Soderberg on the backbreaker.

– With Seabrook and Dahlstrom out, Colliton had no choice but to start Jokiharju. Harju only had about nine minutes at 5v5, but he still posted a 62.5 CF%. I’m not sure what it is that Colliton doesn’t like about him yet, but it’s getting old fast. It’s not quite the bullshit that Quenneville pulled on Murphy last year, but it’s getting there. Harju didn’t look out of place out there, even if he didn’t really stand out either. But he sure as shit didn’t make any plays like the one Koekkoek made, so what’s it gonna take to give the guy who deserves the spot that fucking spot already?

– Fuck Semyon Varlamov.

– Garbage Dick had himself another game, pushing his scoring streak to 20 games. That creep really can roll, but I can’t help but wonder whether the Hawks leaned on him too much late in this one. I know that sounds stupid, given how good he’s been, but hear me out. Early in the third, the Hawks had two almost-consecutive power plays. On the first and for half of the second, the Hawks stepped back and waited for Kane to try to enter the zone just about every time. The Avs would collapse on him early, forcing a pass, and leading to a clear.

Late in the second power play in the third period, instead of taking it himself, Kane passed to Top Cat before hitting the blue line, which jostled the Avs’s PK. Within 15 seconds, the Hawks had tied the game. By using his release value, Kane managed to open up more space than he could Carmelo’ing. Kane may want to do it all, but he’s got enough offensive talent around him that he doesn’t have to do literally everything. Still, he’s the best player on the Hawks right now by far, so I get it.

– Dylan Strome was excellent tonight. The metrics were great (63+ CF%, 8.64 CF% Rel). He scored a game-tying goal off an end-board bank shot from Gus (who sucked out loud most of the night). He would have had two had he not janked a shot off the post while shooting at a yawning net in the first. He nearly had a highlight reel assist in the second, laying out for a DeBrincat pass and sweeping it, from his belly, to a crashing Kahun, who got stuffed by that ovarian cyst that is Semyon Varlamov. He is without a doubt the #2 center the Hawks have been looking for since Sharp decided he was too pretty to play center anymore.

– The Hawks’s second goal at the end of the second might be the best one I’ve seen all year, and it was all because Jonathan Toews simply decided it was time to fuck. After gathering the puck in the corner, Toews powered from the near boards to the slot with overwhelming power puck handling. His initial shot was blocked, but he recovered and beamed a pass through the slot to a waiting Kane, who could have written a dissertation on Karl Hungus’s role in Logjammin’ with all the time he had to take the shot. This year has been a relief to watch in one sense, as Toews is certainly back to being Toews.

This is a heartbreaking loss, because it’s a game they should have won. It’s also a game that shows how desperately the Hawks need to pursue Karlsson, Dougie, or HAMPUS! HAMPUS! this offseason. If they can scratch one out against the Stars, we’ll be right back to where we were before this game started: anxious and far too sober to handle it.

Oh, and fuck Jimmy Buffett and his stupid goddamn boomer music. Whoever decided to make a night out of celebrating the aural horror he calls a career should be caned.

Booze du Jour: Great Divide Hercules Double IPA with a Drano back following Koekkoek’s horseshit.

Line of the Night: “Matt Calvert’s legs and heart made that happen.” –Marc Moser, doing his best Mike Milbury impression.

Everything Else

Game #62 – Avalanche vs Hawks Preview/Shoot Interview: Well, It Is And It Ain’t

By Sam Fels February 22, 2019 1773 0

vs.

RECORDS: Avalanche 25-24-11 Hawks 26-26-9

PUCK DROP: 6:30 (for some reason?)

TV: NBCSN Chicago

COULDN’T GET MUCH HIGHER: Mile High Hockey

It’s at the top that I’m supposed to tell you this is an awfully big weekend at the United Center. The Hawks will have two games with four points on offer against direct rivals for the wild card spots. Win both, and you’re entrenched in the race. Lose both and you may have lost touch before March even hits. Split them in some fashion and nothing is solved and the current feeling continues. In that context, yes, this shapes up as a pretty exciting and important weekend.

But this being hockey, and this being us, and this being these Hawks, it’s hard to remain in just that context. Because though this is a playoff race, it is only so because the competitors are standardbreds and not thoroughbreds. They are the fan chosen to be inhaled by The Freeze in the middle of the 5th. It’s the JV. And you can choose to enjoy the silliness of it, which we are, but even that intrude on the heaviness you want to project onto these two games. It’s hard to treat something as important when you know that at the base it’s kind of absurd (says the wrestling fan?).

Either way, the Hawks and Avs are tied with Arizona, one point behind the Wild, who last night couldn’t get the Rangers to accept the two points they were desperately trying to foist upon them in their quest to make the biggest splat at the end of the season. Whoever wins tonight vaults back into the wildcard spots (depending on what the Wild do in Detroit tonight). So whatever we may feel on the outside, those inside the ropes will ignore the absurdity and treat this as a four-pointer.

For the Hawks, the only change appears to be that Brent Seabrook is still a no-go, and thanks to Carl Dahlstrom being sick, Henri Jokiharju has been recalled. No word on whether he’ll play, but fuck, he’s here, and how much worse can he be than the plastic vomit you’ve been tossing out there anyway? The Hawks did give up 10 combined goals to the decidedly waddling Senators and Red Wings. The Hawks should paw at any dangling straw or piece of Laffy Taffy when it comes to their defense. Collin Delia appears to be getting the start, perhaps in the thought that he’s beaten the Avs twice before and maybe seeing their silly logo will trigger something within him. Or you don’t want to keep sending Ward out there for fear he’ll turn back into Cam Ward with more and more rolls of the dice. Or you don’t want Delia’s last NHL experience of the year to be getting pulled against the Senators. Whatever. The normal 4th line rotation will continue, and it doesn’t really matter how it shakes out.

The Avs have sunk to these depths and unlike the atmosphere around here, they are not pleased that they are still merely “in it.” On December 19th, the Avs were 19-10-6, and at least running into the penthouse of the Central to steal the appetizers from the Jets and Predators. Then they lost to the Hawks, and look what that did to them: they are 6-14-5 since, watching the Stars and Blues wave as they fall by, and for a brief moment, were marooned at the bottom of the Central.

The reasons aren’t hard to identify. While the top line of Mikko Rantanen–Nathan MacKinnon-Gabriel SapsuckerFrog didn’t exactly go “cold,” they weren’t being intergalactic warriors as they were before. They were just “very good.” But “very good” ain’t gonna cut the mustard when there’s almost nothing else on this team to back it up. On a given night, Carl Soderberg, or J.T. Compher, or Alex Kerfoot might hint at being legitimate secondary scoring. And on the next three you wouldn’t be able to find them with body-heat cameras. When the top unit isn’t doing magic tricks, the show is closed. That’s why you’ll see that troika split up tonight, as they’ve been put on three different lines the past two games. Which the Avs have won by a combined score of 10-1, so they roll in here with some confidence.

Combine that with both goalies going into the shitter for a bit. Semyon Varlamov tanked in December and January, and when given the chance to usurp the top job, Phillip Grubauer fluffed his lines. Varlamov has recovered in February with a .919, and even just that might steady the ship enough for the Avs to recover and hold on loosely for the last spot in the West. Assuming their three big guns continue to BIG GUN.

The task in written form is easy for the Hawks tonight. Find a way to keep the Avs’ top three players down. It’s not easy when they’re now on three different lines, but also their collective dangers is watered down. Start with Mac K and work out from there. You can try to that through the Fight Fire With Fire method and use Toews’s line to do it. Or you use Marcus Kruger to do it, though if he’s centering the fourth line it’s clear that Coach Cool Youth Pastor has already made his choice. Colorado still does ok metrically when those three aren’t on the ice, but they have a hard time converting it into tangible results. Keep the MacRaLog from going for two or three or more, and you’ve basically got it.

It may not be heavy or important, but it is fun. Here we go.

Game #62 Preview Suite

Everything Else

Game #62 – Avalanche vs. Hawks Spotlight: So What Don’t You Want?

By Sam Fels February 22, 2019 1469 0

Usually, hedging your bets isn’t a good thing. If you believe in something, throw yourself fully behind it, as any hesitancy will probably cost you. And it’s a question if the Avalanche actually did that with their goaltending situation, as they tried to move Semyon Varlamov along in his contract year before and after acquiring Phillip Grubauer. Perhaps the Avs did want to go all-in on Grubs. They’ll be thanking themselves, or all the other teams who failed to make a quality offer for Varlamov, they didn’t.

It’s always a risk when you take on a career back-up and at least position him to be your starter. Sometimes you get Martin Jones (which was a good thing before this year) or Antti Raana. And then sometimes you get the husk of Cam Talbot (after you’ve played him to death, to be fair to him) or Scott Darling. It’s kind of impossible to know exactly how it’s going to go for a goalie who’s never had a starter’s load until he gets one.

Being behind a Trotz team certainly helped Grubauer. In Washington, Grubauer faced an average of 28 shots against for every 60 minutes (all strengths). This year in Colorado is 31. 1, though that’s not too far off from the 30.6 he saw last season in DC as the Caps were kind of dysfunctional there for a while. And more pointedly, the Avs are giving up less scoring-chances and less high-danger ones for Grubauer than the Caps did. So they should be getting the same kind of performance that saw him put up a .923 last year.

But they’re not. They’re getting an .890. And you can’t pin it on a shitty penalty-kill, as Grubauer’s SV% at evens has dropped (from .934 to .905) pretty aggressively, though his work on the kill isn’t making anyone write fanfic either (.870 to .813). Grubauer’s work on the kill is fifth-worst in the league, behind Ward, Smith, Mrazek, and Talbot, which definitely puts you on bee-guarding detail. And again, on the kill the Avs are giving up way less shots, chances, and high-danger chances than the Caps did last year.

Grubauer is 27, so the fear is that this is what he is. Spasmed a few years as a quality back-up, snuffed it when given the chance to have the role to himself. Which puts the Avs in something of a bind. Semyon Varlamov hasn’t been a Greek God or anything, but his .911 is just about league-average. And he’s actually seen a touch worse defensive work in front of him than Grubs has gotten. He is a free agent, and he did just watch this team basically announce they were going to try to get along without him.

Varlamov is 30, so should still have a few decent years, and it’s not a blessed free agent class. Bobrovsky seems destined for Florida, leaving only Jimmy Howard and Varlamov as things to be pursued. You’re going to have more than a few teams doing a playoff flameout thanks to goaltending, with words like Calgary, San Jose, possibly St. Louis, Columbus will have a hole there, Carolina as well, just off the top. That’s more than enough chairs.

The Avs have Cale Makar arriving as soon as next season (he has nothing left to prove at the college level), and with MacKinnon and LaxativeLog on bargain deals before handing everything to Mikko Rantanen, you’d say their window opens next season (especially if they can salvage Jost, Greer, and Compher). Rebuilds have been scuttled by goaltending before, and the Avs can’t leave that to question.

If they let Varly walk, they have a very questionable Grubauer in house and that’s it. Bobrovsky will be more expensive than Varlamov and coming off an even worse year. Howard is too old to be with the Avs when they really matter. Swing a trade? Aren’t that many looking to move a goalie, and generally if they are it’s one you’re taking something of a leap on. Which the Avs just did with Grubauer.

They may be stuck with Varlamov after all.

Game #62 Preview Suite

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Game #62 – Avalanche vs. Hawks Q&A

By Sam Fels February 22, 2019 1326 0

We guess it’s like buses. We had our first no-show with the Sens earlier in the week, and now all of our Avs friends have disappeared. So just go over to MileHighHockey.com if you need the other perspective. We already have Sunday’s in the bag though, so this won’t happen again.

Game #62 Preview Suite