Hockey

Game #56 – Hawks vs. Oilers Spotlight: Leon Draisaitl’s Funny Numbers

By Sam Fels 1292 0

There’s a statistical quirk to Leon Draisaitl’s league-leading points-total (85). The German has a chance to be the first player to lead the league in scoring while being a minus-player, as he’s currently -11, since Wayne Gretzky pulled it off 28 years ago with the Kings. Does it mean anything? No, probably not, but it’s fun to think about. And it’s fun to dig deeper into.

First off, Draisaitl’s -11 is something of a false flag. The Oilers have scored 51 goals at even-strength when Leon The Ladies Man has been on the ice, and given up 53. He’s had the misfortune of being on the ice for eight shorthanded goals against, which is just kind of the worst luck possible. No one would pin that on a specific player, but certain bad bounces or misplays or a lack of saves.

Still, it’s hard to believe that the Oilers can’t even do better than break even when Draisaitl or even Connor McDavid are on the ice, which gives you some indication of just how big of a talent drop-off there is from them to the rest of the Oilers. For comparison’s sake, both McDavid and Draisaitl are in the top-ten for the amount of goals scored at evens when they’re on the ice, but they’re the only ones who don’t have a significantly positive goals-percentage for that work (Panarin leads with a 59-31 split).

It’s easy to point to the .897 SV% the Oilers get when Draisaitl is on the ice and say that’s the culprit right there. And it sure explains most of it. And if you dip into expected-goals, trying to measure the kinds of chances they’re producing, Draisaitl is again in the top-ten. But he’s also in the bottom-five in expected goals against, which has nothing to do with his goalies (so’s Patrick Kane, in case you want to detect a pattern). Now, you’d probably say the Oilers would be content just trading chances when Draisaitl and/or McDavid are on the ice, given that they’re always more likely to bury more of them than the opposition. But that hasn’t really happened, as we’ve seen, thanks to their goaltending. Both McDavid and Draisaitl have seen more pucks go into the net than they “should” have, given the expected numbers. But again, if everything was working out as it “should” the Oilers would still be just about even with them on the ice.

Another strange quirk is that no one’s metrics seem to get that much worse away from Draisaitl than they do with him. Some of that is that when they’re not on the ice with him, they’re on the ice with McDavid, and that will always even things out for just about anyone that can stand up in a pair of skates. Still, see for yourself:

Leon Draisaitl – Teammates – On Ice – Natural Stat Trick

When you get to relative metrics, Draisaitl is behind the team-rate, though in the past he’s had some years significantly ahead of it when it comes to expected goals.

All of it makes for a slightly more muddled picture than we might have thought before. Here’s a player that is consistently in the top five in scoring in the league, and this year he’s done it with a fair amount of time at center away from McDavid. The Oilers are in the playoff chase for once, so it would seem pretty clear that Draisaitl is a league-foundational piece. And yet you look a little deeper, and also consider how the Oilers have gone nowhere almost all the time, and it feels like a ton of scoring that’s just spinning wheels.

Now, put a real goalie behind Draisaitl and he’s probably +20 and the Oilers would be running away with the Pacific. Or maybe a defense that could limit chances would help. But it’s fun to consider what is actually going on instead of what we’re told surface numbers mean.

Hockey

Game #56 – Hawks vs. Oilers: Hedley Lamarr’s Mugs, Pugs, And Thugs

By Sam Fels 1051 0

These affront-to-The-Lord Orange Jerseys: It’s so sad, because the throwback blues of the 80s Oilers are almost perfection. They pop off the screen in HD. They harken back to the only time the Oilers mattered, which you’d think they’d want to hold onto given they’ve spend nearly three decades in the wilderness since. And now these orange things, which look like a hallucination on bad shrooms, don’t even have the right shade of blue. When will teams learn brighter is better? Their Alberta neighbors to the south get it, as the Flames are going all-retro next season. Imagine the old blue Oilers skating against the old school whites of the Flames? That’s a slice of heaven there. Instead, we’re left with this trash.

Zack Kassian: Look, we’ve all dreamed of punching a Tkachuk, whichever one happens to be available at the time. And maybe Kassian had a point with Tkachuk running around and then not answering for it. Except you can’t jump the guy and punch him on the ground. Also, Kassian is a doofus. And hiding behind some “code” or “hockey ethics” only makes you a bigger one. He can fuck off, except the Oilers just extended him believing that his production with McDavid is what he really is, instead of realizing some jerkoff peeing in the sink in the 300 Level of Rogers Place could get 10 goals on his wing.

Mike Smith: Too bad Shaw won’t be around for this one. We’ll just have to settle for Smith torpedoing the Oilers playoff chances in the last week of the season, which you know he will.

 

Hockey

Game #56 – Hawks vs. Oilers: Lineups & How They Were Built

By Sam Fels 1002 0

Hawks

Notes: Hawks obviously don’t skate in the mornings anymore but we assume Lehner will swap out with Crawford going tomorrow in Vancouver, especially after a loss…With no McDavid, all Colliton has to worry about is Draisaitl, Harder to manage that on the road, but see if he tries to get either Carpenter or Toews out against him, or if Tippet is keen on getting him out there against Dach or Kampf’s line as well…Boqvist could have played in Winnipeg it seems, so we expect him to go tonight. And the Hawks need him…

Oilers

Notes: Boy, this is a rough looking bunch without McJesus. Haas is the most likely to slot up to second line duty, but it could be anything. Only one line to watch out for now…Nurse is about to sign a two-year extension to take him to UFA, which ruins that dream for us again…If Gagner has another eight-point night the Hawks need to fold…Koskinen could go but Smith has rattled off a couple wins here so we expect it’ll be him…

Hockey

Power Play, Roster Management, And Other Monday Tidbits

By Sam Fels 1596 0

Cleaning up some stuff before the back-to-back gets going tomorrow night.

-It’s clear to everyone that the power play has become an issue. Well, that’s been obvious to everyone for a while. Now it’s become a blot on society. Last night was one of the worst performances we’ve seen from it in years, and that includes some of the Quenneville power play incompetence. Not only did it not produce anything but actually was a detriment in that it gave up a ton of chances against. The reasons for that are clear, but we’ll circle back.

For me, the power play issues haven’t been as big as some might think because the PK has been so good. There’s a theory out there, and one Quenneville almost certainly believed in, that if your PP% and your PK% add up to 100, then you’re fine because you’re breaking even and you can win the games at even-strength. Which you should do if you’re a good team. This is why Q never really gave a shit about the power play (it was bad for most of his time here even with the wealth of talent on it) because his PK was always very good and the team was very good at even-strength. That’s what mattered. The Hawks only have 25 goals with a man-advantage, but they’ve only given up 26 shorthanded. So essentially, they’re even.

However, we know that the Hawks aren’t a good even-strength team, and they need to be better than just even if they’re going to go anywhere. I might wish for them to be a good ES team, and that would be the ideal outcome, but as last night was Exhibit AAG or whatever they’re just not going to be.

It’s particularly frustrating that the Jets had this so well clocked, because one, they’re one of the worst PK teams in the league and two, Paul Maurice is one of the bigger inattentive dopes behind a bench in the league. So the cat is obviously clearly out of the bag.

The whole league knows what the Hawks want to do, and the Jets last night were even content to let the Hawks enter the zone. Because they knew how it was going to go down. There would be the drop pass to Kane, who would gain the line and then spray out a chipped pass to Toews on the boards and on the rush. You feel like this should be a good thing, as scoring off a rush on the power play is allowed and the Hawks should try and do it more. But the Jets were also clear that Toews having the puck outside the circle wasn’t really a threat, and as long as they closed off the passing lanes to the middle and had one forward behind him for the bump-back to the point, they were covered. Not only were they covered, but when the puck was turned over the Hawks would have at least three, if not four, skaters ahead of the puck, whether that turnover was along the boards behind Toews or a blocked pass to the middle that same forward trailing Toews could pick up the pieces to. That’s an odd-man rush every time the other way.

Without Adam Boqvist, this is hard to change. Erik Gustafsson, though he thinks he does and can occasionally miracle his ass through a couple checkers, does not have the speed to weave through the neutral zone. The fix, or one solution at least, is obvious and we’ve been screaming for it for a while. Boqvist, and only a handful of times, needs to fake that drop pass to get the first PK’er behind him, and then take the line himself. Given his skills he should be able to find space amongst three opponents, or even two if he can beat one with his feet (which he should). This should back up all four penalty killers after a short time, so that the long-loathed drop pass to Kane has the effect desired of him attacking four guys basically standing still. It also opens up those wings a bit more, so Toews isn’t blanketed when he gets the puck along the wall.

Freeing up Boqvist is about more than the neutral zone, though. He doesn’t shoot enough when the Hawks are set up, and for a while the Hawks should be looking to open him up, not doing everything in service to the cross-seam pass from Kane to Top Cat that teams figured out months ago.

The Hawks have the right set-up right now, as Dach, Boqvist, and Top Cat give Kane three-right handed options looking at him from the right wall. This is what you want. But the Hawks are too consistently placing Dach at the net instead of the high-slot, or having Toews in the corner and no threat of going to the net because Dach is taking up that space or his reluctance to simply try and slam it home. They’re not making that PK’er low on that side make a decision. He can simply leave Toews alone and block up his passing lanes. Toews also hasn’t really been the guy in front much, but it’s in his locker and would be more valuable bouncing between there and the corner than Dach abandoning the high slot to go down low as well.

The other option is to let Dach run stuff from the other wall with Kane, Gustafsson, and Toews looking at him from those spots, with maybe Strome down low? But that’s just a mirror of what we’re talking about. That could leave you with a second unit of Boqvist, Top Cat, Saad, Kubalik and Idiot du Jour which is better than what they’re rocking now.

It’s really not that far away from being threatening. But they have to make these changes.

-Lots of talk recently about how DeBrincat can’t seem to buy a bucket, and he was especially awful last night. His turnover on the PP led to the shorthanded goal which changed the game, and the whole night he just seemed like his gloves were filled with rubber cement. Rough nights happen, whatever.

Still, and this is more of a product of my unmatched skill of being unobservant, I only noticed today that the DeBrincat-Kampf-Strome line is starting just 33% of its shifts in the offensive zone. Which really doesn’t add up. The temptation is to rant and rave about Colliton, and he is the one making the decisions. But it’s kind of another example of the misshapen nature of the roster.

You want to use Kampf as a checking center, because that’s what he does. But the Hawks don’t really have the wingers to go with him to do that and have a “3+1” model that I think they’re shooting for. Smith is too slow, Highmore too inexperienced and bad. Nylander? Forget it. So you have Kampf and Carpenter and that’s about it.

The urge is then to say that Kubalik-Toews-Caggiula should take some more defensive starts to get Strome and Top Cat up the ice more, but we’ve remarked the past two seasons that Toews isn’t really a do-it-all guy anymore who can push the Hawks into the offensive zone from the defensive one consistently. So if you started the top line in their half more often, you just might lose out on some of the scoring they’re providing right now.

Top Cat’s line needs to start up the ice more, but there is no perfect solution.

-Another weird number: Maatta’s and Koekkoek’s metrics being so in the black (52.4 CF%, 55.1 xG%) while only starting 40% of their shifts in the offensive end. Maybe this is a way to juice Top Cat’s line a bit, catching the right matchups and seeing if they can’t get up the ice more. Maybe it’s all an illusion. But the Hawks need to try everything at this point.

Hockey

Atop the Sugar Pile: Go West, Young Man

By Rose Rankin 1817 0

As the Hawks venture into the western reaches of Canada, let’s look at who’s hot and who’s not:

The Dizzying Highs

Brandon Saad. Playing on a line with Patrick Kane will always help your scoring no matter who you are, but there’s no reason to nitpick. Saad has been putting the puck in the net lately—three goals in his last four games to be exact. We need Saad to score and that’s happening, he’s currently sporting a 51.6 CF% at evens, and his shooting percentage is sitting at a career-high 15.2. Sure, it could level off a little but he’s been hitting his stride this season and quietly being just solid.

The goaltending. Since 2/1 and going into Winnipeg: Corey Crawford, .932 SV%, 2.36 GAA, 76 shots faced in 2 games; Robin Lehner, .950 SV%, 1.96 GAA, 40 shots faced in 1 game. Now I know, Crow gave up a couple late goals against the Jets, but when you’re on the PK for like 12 minutes a period, that can happen. Besides, he was the only reason that game didn’t turn into a curb stomping in the second period. The Hawks’ playoff hopes may be hanging by a thread, but imagine if we didn’t have this tandem and or if they weren’t playing this well. Actually, don’t imagine it. I just did and it was even more frightening than our current reality.

The Terrifying Lows

Nick Seeler. Just a big, dumb oaf. He had an assist in his first game against Winnipeg, but also a stupid penalty and useless fight. Please get better soon, Adam Boqvist.

Alex DeBrincat. Can somebody just give Top Cat a big hug and tell him everything is gonna be alright? Granted, he got a goal against the Bruins on the power play a few days ago, but aside from that he’s like the episode “Homer Defined” except the dictionary entry would say “snake-bitten” \adj.\: 1. Having been bitten by a snake; 2. Cursed, or generally unlucky without reason; 3. Alex DeBrincat.

Meanwhile, his xGF over the last 10 days is 54.4%, and he’s generating a lot of shots (hell, he had eight against Arizona). But the finish is non-existent, and against Winnipeg on Sunday night he was awful, finishing with a miserable 25 CF% and -36.1 CF Rel. Hopefully this is rock bottom and he can at least sort of contribute as this ship slowly sinks.

The Creamy Middles

Connor Murphy. Did you know this poor bastard has had 66% of his starts in the defensive zone since the break ended? Even with that shitty workload he was nearly equal in possession prior to Sunday (49.5 CF% at 5v5). He’s just doing what he does and not getting enough credit for it, so we’ll be the ones to say something nice about our Large Irish Son.

Kirby Dach. OK, this may be a little harsh and I honestly considered putting Dach in the Highs, but he wasn’t great against Winnipeg, so here we are. However, there’s no denying a point streak, and while Dach hasn’t been potting a bunch of goals lately he’s still managed to rack up six points in his last six games, with the streak ending against the Jets. Five of those points were assists and hey, we’ll take it. Beyond just that, his skating, puck handling, and general demeanor are surpassing his tender years, and he seems to be turning into a genuine top-line center. No, he’s not there yet, but it may not be that far off.

Hockey

High On The Hog: Alexandre Fortin’s Day Of Reckoning

By Jon Fromi 1371 0

The Chicago Blackhawks were hoping that they had found a diamond in the rough when they signed undrafted free agent Alexandre Fortin to an entry contract back in 2016. After dazzling the organization at that year’s prospect camp, Fortin turned in a solid effort in training camp and earned a three-year deal.

That entry contract is set to expire at the close of the 2019-20 season. Fortin, who showed so much promise when the ink on his contract was still drying, is in his third season with the Rockford IceHogs. Did the Blackhawks strike it rich?

No.

Fortin was very noticeable on the ice at the BMO this weekend, where the IceHogs split a pair of games with San Antonio. As he enters the final months of his third pro season, Fortin is eyeing what may be his final chance to realize some of the raw potential he showed in the summer of 2016.

Fortin was passed over in the 2015 and 2016 NHL drafts. The Blackhawks invited him to prospect camp after Fortin finished his junior season with Rouyn-Noranda of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. With the Huskies, he was ninth among team scorers with 19 goals and 24 assists in 54 games.

Here’s what was being said about Fortin at the time of his signing. These quotes are from a Scott Powers article that ran in The Athletic back on September 25, 2016.

“He’s a smart, cerebral kid who has a nice offensive skillset he’s been able to show early. He’s off to a real good start and trying to find a way into one of our exhibition games.”-former Blackhawks assistant coach Kevin Dineen.

“I think he earned a contract. Right from the start, he stepped up and played. He’s been very consistent in every scrimmage. He’s been a threat to score out on the ice. I think he’s done a terrific job.”-former Chicago assistant Mike Kitchen.

Fortin’s ELC slid for one season while he finished his junior career with Rouyn-Noranda in his final campaign in the QMJHL, he totaled 52 points (22 G, 30 A). Decent numbers but not eye-popping in what is considered a high-offense league.

Fortin’s rookie year in Rockford yielded four goals and 17 assists in 53 games. He was called up early in the 2018-19 season and spent two months in Chicago. There, he collected his first NHL goal on October 21, 2018. This prompted a quote from Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville to Tom Musick of the Chicago Sun-Times:

‘‘He creates space and speed. He’s dangerous in that way.”I think defensively and technically, he’s getting better every game. . . . You’ve got that ingredient [of speed] that you don’t want to slow down.’

Fortin totaled six points (3 G, 3 A) in 24 games with Chicago before being sent down to the IceHogs in mid-December. In 47 games with Rockford, he wound up with six goals and six helpers. Most of his goal output came in a pair of two-goal performances against the Chicago Wolves December 21 and February 1.

Fortin has been injured a couple of times in this current season. He was injured after a six-points in five game (3 G, 3 A) stretch at the end of November and was out a month. He missed a month, returned for three games, then was out another two weeks.

Since returning, Fortin had been scoreless up until this week. He had a two-assist performance in Tuesday’s win over Texas and a spectacular individual effort Friday to help Rockford beat San Antonio.

Following Friday’s win, IceHogs coach Derek King was asked about Fortin’s shorthanded gem. Here was his response.

“That’s his game, right? He’s not going to be a power play guy. He’s not going to be a top-six guy,” King said. “He can be a guy who kills penalties and creates energy and scores goals like that.”

This weekend showcased Fortin at his best. A quick, hard-working defensive forward. Unfortunately, the weekend also showcased his limitations in terms of the impact he could have in the NHL.

The kid created a ton of scoring chances, especially on Friday, but converted on just one. Let’s not downplay the importance of that goal or the effort involved. It was a great play. However, on the whole, Fortin does not possess the puck skills to consistently take advantage of the opportunities his feet create.

Fortin does create space with his skating ability. He hustles after the puck and is an effective fore checker. Fortin also finds himself frequently losing the handle on pucks coming down the ice . This has improved some over his time in Rockford. However, it still is an issue even at the AHL level.

Friday’s goal was just his fourth of the season. His shooting percentage of 6.8 percent is one of the lowest of the regular forwards. He is a bottom-six player in Rockford and has been for most of his time with the IceHogs. His offense just hasn’t developed all that much in three seasons.

Could Fortin be a very effective checking forward at the next level? Possibly. Could Fortin be an offensive contributor on an ECHL squad next season? Possibly. In today’s NHL, however, I’m not sure he can sustain enough offensive potency to make an impact.

What can you say about Fortin’s future in the organization? Well, the next couple months are key. Fortin will be an RFA this summer. If he stays healthy and can stick some of those scoring chances into opposing nets, he might be re-upped for another season.

Let’s not throw around the B-word when discussing Fortin. Chicago made a low-risk signing of a player with great wheels and suspect hands. He’s turned out to be a player with great wheels and suspect hands. He has the next 26 games of this season to change that perception.

 

Weekend Thoughts

  • The IceHogs were out shot by San Antonio in both games, but kept the Rampage at bay in terms of shots. The Rampage came into the weekend tops in the league with over 33 shots a game. They had 24 and 26 in the two games.
  • Collin Delia has started the last three games in Rockford.
  • San Antonio’s Ryan Olsen was suspended for Saturday’s tilt after a check to the head of Brandon Hagel in the third period of Friday’s game. Hagel was fine, playing on the resulting power play as well as the following evening. Bullet dodged; Hagel has been one of the bright spots for this team in the last few weeks.
  • Dylan Sikura has a seven-game point streak going. In that span, he has three goals and seven apples. With 27 points (12 G, 15 A) in 32 games, he’s back in second place to brother Tyler (12 G, 18 A) in scoring for Rockford.
  • Rockford is now 22-25-1-2 on the season. Their 47 points is good for sixth-place ahead of San Antonio in the AHL’s Central Division. However, their .470 points percentage places them under the Rampage in seventh place.
  • The IceHogs released Ben Youds from his PTO after 17 games. Youds played at both defense and forward, picking up seven assists in his second stint in Rockford. It looks like Youds is headed overseas to continue his career.
  • Rockford signed Garrett Mitchell to a PTO . Good signing. Mitchell is a long-time AHL veteran. He probably doesn’t score much with the Hogs, but he knows the game and should fit in well while he’s here. Mitchell played both games this weekend.
  • Gabriel Gagne has been a solid pickup for Rockford, with six points (3 G, 3 A) in ten games since signing his PTO January 18.
  • Brandon Bollig was back in Rockford as part of Blackhawks night and looked really happy to be there. He even took a spin on the Hamboni during the second intermission. It may have just been me, but he looked noticeably thinner (not in an unhealthy way by any measure) in his street clothes. Or maybe that’s the difference hockey pads make.
  • Also attending the contest Friday night was anthem singer Jim Cornelison, a terrific vocalist who has my respect. If only he would sing the anthem at a reasonable tempo from beginning to end. The third-graders who performed “The Star Spangled Banner” the following evening won’t be appearing with the Lyric Opera soon, but at least they nailed the pace.
  • Also appearing Friday was Tommy Hawk, who helped Hammy Hog handle the hyperbole around the BMO when he wasn’t thrashing him in the tic-tac-toe contest. In both of these endeavors, the Blackhawks mascot stood above his AHL conterpart for a similar reason. Namely, attire. It certainly is easier to incite the crowd and run/skate around the ice when you aren’t lugging the heft of a full-figured porcine.
  • That said, Hammy can benefit from the following unsolicited advice; when you come into the stands with the Papa John’s pizza promotion, under no circumstances should that box go to an adult. If you can’t find a kid to be the recipient, you aren’t looking hard enough.

 

Recaps

Friday, February 7-Rockford 3, San Antonio 2 (OT)

Rockford prevailed 1:14 into the extra skating session. John Quenneville provided the game-winner to give the IceHogs consecutive victories for the first time in almost two months.

After neither team dented a net in the opening twenty minutes, Rampage forward Klim Kostin powered to the Rockford net and slipped the biscuit past Hogs goalie Collin Delia in the first minute of the second period.

Late in the middle frame, Alexandre Fortin outstanding individual effort led to shorthanded equalizer. Fortin, who created several breakaway opportunities on the evening with his skating, pounced on an errant pass in the neutral zone and made a beeline for the Rampage net.

The end result was a sliding deke that allowed Fortin to flip the puck past San Antonio goalie Adam Wilcox, tying the game 1-1 at 18:35 of the second period.

The IceHogs took a 2-1 lead 13:50 into the third period while the teams were skating four to a side. Dylan McLaughlin brought the puck out of the Rockford zone to lead the rush, though his shot attempt was denied by Wilcox. McLaughlin regained possession and skated around the offensive zone until Nicolas Beaudin pinched into the slot. Beaudin’s third goal of the season quickly followed.

Just over a minute later, Austin Poganski pulled the Rampage even, knocking in a loose puck in a goal-mouth scrum. It remained 2-2 through the end of regulation.

Quenneville’s Gus Macker heroics were set up by Dylan Sikura and Lucas Carlsson. After a Mike Vecchione shot attempt went wide of the Hogs net, Sikura the Younger won a board battle for possession of the puck. Carlsson hauled in the pass and headed up the right side, fighting off Vecchione all the way. The contest ended on Quenneville’s strike from the left dot.

Quenneville was voted the game’s First Star, followed by Beaudin and Fortin. Delia posted the win with a 22-save effort.

Lines (Starters in italics)

John Quenneville-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan Sikura

Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson (A)-MacKenzie Entwistle

Alexandre Fortin-Dylan McLaughlin-Gabriel Gagne

Joseph Cramarossa-Reese Johnson-Garrett Mitchell

Ian McCoshen (A)-Dennis Gilbert

Joni Tuulola-Jacob Carlsson

Nicolas Beaudin-Dmitri Osipov

Collin Delia

Kevin Lankinen

Power Play (0-7)

Nilsson-Hagel-McLaughlin-Entwistle-Baeudin

D. Sikura-T. Sikura-Gagne-Quenneville-Carlsson

Penalty Kill (San Antonio was 0-4)

Forwards-Fortin-T. Sikura-Mitchell-Nilsson-Johnson-Cramarossa

Defense-Gilbert-Tuulola-McCoshen-Osipov

 

Saturday, February 8-San Antonio 3, Rockford 2

The Rampage took the rematch in another physical, back-and-forth contest. Rockford’s win streak was halted at two games.

The hero from the previous evening, John Quenneville, opened the scoring 13:28 into the first period. With the Hogs on the man advantage, Quenneville took a pass from Lucas Carlsson and sent a shot from the top of the right circle into the upper right corner of San Antonio goalie Ville Husso’s net.

Rockford held that 1-0 lead until the final minutes of the first, when Nathan Walker brought the Rampage even, avoiding a poke check attempt by Collin Delia and five-holing the Hogs goalie.

San Antonio would go up 2-1 46 seconds into the middle frame when Mike Vecchione knocked a loose puck past a prone Delia. The IceHogs would tie the game late in the second, again on the power play.

This time, Carlsson sent a blast from the point that struck the crossbar and settled behind Husso. Gabriel Gagne was on hand at the left post to deliver the equalizer into the cage at the 16:21 mark.

The Rampage got the eventual game-winner past Delia 6:58 into period three when Mitch Reinke fired from the outside of the right circle. The offering got over Delia’s shoulder and caught the far side of the net.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson (A)-MacKenzie Entwistle

John Quenneville-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan Sikura

Alexandre Fortin-Dylan McLaughlin-Gabriel Gagne

Joseph Cramarossa-Reese Johnson-Garrett Mitchell

Joni Tuulola-Jacob Carlsson

Ian McCoshen (A)-Dennis Gilbert

Nicolas Beaudin-Dmitri Osipov

Collin Delia

Kevin Lankinen

Power Play (2-5)

Nilsson-Hagel-McLaughlin-Entwistle-Baeudin

D. Sikura-T. Sikura-Gagne-Quenneville-Carlsson

Penalty Kill (San Antonio was 0-4)

Forwards-Fortin-T. Sikura-Mitchell-Nilsson-Johnson-Cramarossa

Defense-Gilbert-Tuulola-McCoshen-Osipov

 

Coming Up

After going 2-3-0-1 on their longest home stand of the season, Rockford heads to Manitoba for back-to-back games with the Moose Wednesday and Thursday. The Hogs return to the BMO Saturday night to host Cleveland.

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

Hockey

Game #55: Hawks 2, Jets 5 – Despite There Being No Airport in Winnipeg, The Blackhawks Crashed

By Adam Hess 1668 0

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

You guys, I’m telling you, I keep trying not to be too cynical/skeptical about this Blackhawks team. I keep wanting their little runs of success to be legitimate, wanting Coach Cool Youth Pastor’s system to finally be effective, wanting the blue line to overperform their on-paper skill, wanting Erik Gustafsson to just do one thing right in his own zone. And yet every time I think I may be getting what I want, the other shoe drops. Well tonight, that other shoe crashed down from the sky and landed hard in Winnipeg, though obviously not at an airport, because they don’t have one of those there. Let’s just get this over with:

THE BULLETS (UNFORTUNATELY NOT THE KIND THAT COULD LODGE THEMSELVES IN MY BRAIN WHEN I”M WATCHING THE HAWKS)

– First and foremost, my biggest takeaway from tonight is this – I cannot remember the last time I saw Alex DeBrincat have a game this bad. There just were very few moments where he really stood out for doing anything extremely well, and he had far too many there he stood out for doing something extremely bad. Two of those in particular led to really dangerous scoring chances for the Jets, one of which resulted in them scoring a shorthanded goal. In a season full of bad luck and disappointment that hasn’t always been his fault, a night like this from Top Cat was tough to watch.

– Moving on, this was something of a wild ride to watch, because it almost felt like two different hockey games. The Blackhawks absolutely dominated the first period, to the tun of a 70.59 CF% at 5v5!!! That is NOT a typo! Things were looking up after that period, folks! And then that period ended, and then second period started, and then the Hawks got absolutely shellacked in possession in the second period, with a pathetic 41.67 CF%, and then again in the third with a 45.45%. They were getting overwhelmed constantly, and while they were able to generate 15 scoring chances in those two periods, only 5 of those were considered high danger. Otherwise, it just felt like the Jets were completely dominating the Hawks in the final 40, and the results obviously reflect that.

– On top of the lackluster performances in the final 40 minutes, the Hawks gave the Jets entirely too many power plays tonight. You simply cannot give an opponent 6 tries with the extra man and expect to win a game, especially on the road. And *especially* when your own power play is running around with its pants around its ankles.

– Yet again, we remind you that Corey Crawford is not appreciated nearly enough. While the Hawks really only lost this one by one goal (the Jets added two empty netters) they could’ve easily been down by three or four if not for the play of Crow, particularly in the second period. This man deserves to be treated as a legend by this organization and this fanbase.

– One more thing I am repeating for the umpteenth time: launch Erik Gustafsson into the sun!

– Hawks go next on Tuesday, against Connor McDavid and the Oilers, and guess what folks you have to deal with me for that one too. See ya then.

Hockey

Game #55 – Hawks vs. Jets Preview: Sundays Are For Peg’ing

By Sam Fels 1516 0

vs.

RECORDS: Hawks 25-21-8   Jets 28-23-5

PUCK DROP: 6pm

TV: NBCSN Chicago

QUEEN ELIZABETH IN THEIR LIVING ROOM: Jetsnation.ca

It’s at points like these that you can understand Jonathan Toews’s frustration with the schedule of the NHL. There’s no logical reason that instead of spending consecutive Sundays in Winnipeg, with having to swing out to Western Canada in between, the Hawks and Jets couldn’t play just two consecutive games against each other and keep everyone more comfortable. But that’s not the world we have, so the Hawks will begin and end this vital road trip in Winnipeg. It’s even more of a bitch because you have to bus in every time, because they don’t have an airport as you know.

However it’s laid out, the Hawks can shape the rest of their season with this trip, both good and bad. The Hawks enter tonight three points back of the last wildcard, but with three teams to leap to get there. But the next five games are all against teams around them. Even if the Oilers and Canucks are a bit separated, it’s not hard to see how either or both could slip right into range over the coming weeks. Given how the Pacific can’t seem to stop stepping on a rake this season, any and all combinations out of there are possible.

The Jets come in having beat the Senators yesterday at home, and have also clubbed the Blues twice in the last week while also taking the Predators or OT. They’re three points ahead of the Hawks, but have played two games more. So you can see why this is a pretty big game for the Hawks. It’s your customary four-pointer.

The story remains the same with the Jets. They are woeful structurally, and do their best to try and outshoot and outscore it with their wealth of top line talent. It’s been harder for them this season, as the defense has been truly wretched with the departures of Jacob Trouba and Dustin Byfuglien. They haven’t been helped by injuries, but through the combo of that and general helplessness they’ve played 10 different guys. Morrissey and Pionk have been the only constants, and the only ones they can even dream of counting on.

Connor Hellebuyck has combined with their top tier scoring to keep them afloat, with a SV% of .920 while being under siege most nights. He didn’t start yesterday so he was saved for the Hawks, which makes you think the Jets think they need this one badly too.

As for the Hawks, they’ll be something of a lineup shuffle, at least as much as there’s been of late. Adam Boqvist will be given a little more time to heal his shoulder made of cardboard, so Nick Seeler will make his Hawks debut. Don’t expect much, and if you get a game where you barely notice him, so much the better. He’s slow, he had a tendency to be dumb, so this might be Connor Murphy’s biggest project of the season. They’ll be paired together tonight. Matthew Highmore will also come back in for Alex Nylander on the fourth line.

Three points is a bigger gap than it sounds in this everybody-gets-a-trophy NHL, but it’s also not insurmountable. The Hawks have to not get buried on this trip. 3-2 is probably the minimum they need, though 2-2-1 probably won’t kill them. But none of these teams on the schedule are monsters. The Hawks have already beaten the Jets twice, and soundly, and outplayed them for long stretches of their OT loss to them. The Oilers, Canucks, and Flames can all lay an egg on any given night, and the Hawks have wins against them this season.

This is supposed to be where it gets fun. The Hawks can make it so.

Hockey

Game #55 – Hawks vs Jets Spotlight: Ehlers Choice

By Sam Fels 1228 0

We’ve perhaps, although maybe this is just our tendency to toot our own horn, led the charge on labeling Patrik Laine a passenger on the Jets. This will be the third straight season, likely, that he won’t live up to that 44-goal campaign he had. They’ve bent their team around him, they’ve given him a prove-it contract, and they’re mired in the muck. There are plenty of other factors, like Dustin Byfuglien fucking off to the ice fishing hut and Jacob Trouba escaping as soon as he could , which has stripped their blue line bare.

But perhaps they can find more answers in exchange for Laine, because they have a ready-made replacement on their top line in Nikolaj Ehlers.

The weird thing is, it seems like GM Kevin Chevyldayoff already likes Ehlers more than Laine, and has for a while. Whereas Laine went through a whole drama about his second contract, Ehlers was given one as soon as possible that will take him in unrestricted free agency in five years. There was no hesitation, as he was signed to it a full season before his entry level deal was up.

And there was little reason not to. Ehlers was coming off a 64-point season, which he would match in the first year of this contract. And while the Jets have always been a weird team in the sense they’ve usually been able to outshoot what their metrics say, Ehlers was the one player who had great underlying numbers. He has consistently been way in the black in Corsi and expected-goals, and this year his mark in the latter is a full six points above the team-rate. When he’s on the ice, the Jets have the puck more than they do when anyone else is out there.

Ehlers can’t manage the goals and points-total of late of Laine, but that might have a lot to do with getting less than half the power play time that Laine does. The first PP unit for the Jets has four forwards, the top line (Laine-Scheifele-Connor) plus Blake Wheeler. And they stay out there as long as they can. So Ehlers and the rest only get slightly more than a minute of time with the man-advantage.

You wonder what Ehlers might do with it, as he has the same amount of even-strength goals and points as Laine’s floating ass this year as he did last year. Other than his 20-PPG binge of ’17-’18, Laine hasn’t put numbers up on the power play that Ehlers would find impossible to reach.

Without the Finn, and a top line of Ehlers-Scheifele-Connor, the Jets would still have Wheeler, Copp, Roslovic, and a few forwards to make for one of the better bottom sixes in the league. The question is what Laine’s value is now. He only has one year on his second deal, though it’s only at $6.7M and he’ll still be restricted when it’s up. Can the Jets still get a top pairing d-man for him? It’s what they need desperately, as they lost both they had for this season and beyond.

Perhaps it’ll depend on how this season finishes for both. The Jets are in a scrap just to make the playoffs, and neither Ehlers or Laine have proven to be playoff dynamos yet. But if Ehlers comes to play these last 25 games or so, and Laine continues to wait for the game to come to him every night, the Jets’ roadmap should be obvious.