Faxes from Uncle Dale

Category: Hockey

  • Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes Preview: Back To The Lecture At Hand

    Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes Preview: Back To The Lecture At Hand

    vs.

    RECORDS: Hawks 24-21-6   Coyotes 26-21-6

    PUCK DROP: 6pm

    TV: NBCSN Chicago

    NO REGRETS: Five For Howling

    The Hawks won’t get to ease their way back into the swing of things after their midseason bye, as they’ll immediately be plunged into something of a wildcard four-pointer in Arizona. And this has not been a location that has been too kind to the Hawks of late, nor the opponent.

    The Hawks only have one win in their last five games against the Yotes, and they were popped there earlier in the season and lost what was essentially their last stab at relevance late last season. You wouldn’t think this would be such an issue for the Hawks, given the lack of star power Arizona has and the usual majority of Hawks fans in the stands making it a de facto home game. But their collective speed on every line provides the same problem that teams like Vegas or Colorado do, just on a smaller scale. They can harass the Hawks deep in their own end into mistakes and streak out of their zone away from the Hawks to get into open space.

    The Hawks won’t be allowed any excuses tonight, however. They’re four points behind the Yotes, who hold the last wildcard spot, but have two games in hand. Thanks to the Jets incompetence and the Preds not being a whole lot better (as well as having their own bye), the Hawks are still in this with only Nashville to leap to get to Arizona. And the Predators have a date with Vegas tonight, so the Hawks can jump over them tonight if results go their way.

    They should be seeing an ornery team, as the Yotes returned from their bye earlier in the week and promptly only took one point out of four against hanging curveballs Anaheim and LA. They would have looked at this three in four as a spot to really cement their status as playoff contenders, but could be looking at truly biffing it if they lose to the Hawks. And this isn’t a team that should be overflowing with confidence, given their history of fading into the background consistently.

    Injuries have been an issue, most notably with Darcy Kuemper missing weeks as he was the anchor to this team. He won’t return tonight but is due back very soon, probably their next game. Without him, the Yotes’ weaknesses are much more easily exposed, as Antti Raanta and Adin “Silent” Hill have been hardly worth writing songs about. Those weaknesses are pretty much they can’t hit a bull in the ass with a banjo. They don’t score much, they don’t possess the puck much, and they’re barely a middling defensive team. If you dismiss Oliver Ekman-Larsson as a “Yeah, but who gives a shit?” guy, there really isn’t a star anywhere on this team. Phil Kessel was brought in to be that, but much like the story he’s getting old now.

    Taylor Hall was then brought in to be what Kessel might not be able to be anymore, and he’s put up 16 points in 18 games as a Yote. He gives them what should be something like two scoring lines, as Keller and Kessel are on the other one. But Keller has one point in nine, and Kessel is a few months away from doing ads for The General car insurance. They’re depending a lot on Hall, Dvorak, and Garland, though the top line of Keller-Stepan-Kessel has been possession-mutants.

    Defensively, without OEL there isn’t really an advanced puck-mover here. Chychrun chips in goals with a booming shot but it’s not really what he does. Alex Goligoski is getting up there in age. Maybe Ilya Lubishkin, but he’s no guarantee for the lineup. OEL is a miss, whatever you consider him.

    To the Hawks. Just about everyone other than the long-term casualties is reporting for duty, as it looks like Dylan Strome is going to make the post. That leaves the Hawks just one winger short of a pretty keen “3+1” model, with Dach at least getting limited looks between Kane and Saad and Top Cat reuniting with Strome. Kampf will continue to try and square-shape into that round hole as the other winger on that line for now. No word yet on which goalie will start but considering the way Crawford was playing and the way Lehner kind of had a hiccup that almost made him barf against Florida, the money is on Crow.

    You can count on the Coyotes to try hard, because they have to, and because they’re coming off two disappointing results. You can probably expect a pretty scratchy first period from the Hawks, as they try and figure out how their legs and arms work again and get timing down. So really, just wading through the first 20-30 minutes is the order of the day, and then if things are still tied or in one goal the Hawks can begin to find their game. They’ll have to be tight with the puck in the offensive end, because this Arizona team will be looking to spring on them and away from them at the first sign of a turnover.

    This is a big month, as February doesn’t tend to be. The schedule is very road-heavy, but that’s suited the Hawks better all season. Most games are against teams around them or below them. If you’re a part of this, then be a part of this. Otherwise, stop wasting our time.

  • Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes Spotlight: Went To Clayton Keller, To Have My Fortune Read

    Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes Spotlight: Went To Clayton Keller, To Have My Fortune Read

    As we’ve stated over and over every time the Coyotes show up on the schedule, the biggest obstacle to them mattering has been a lack of frontline scoring. They’ve gotten great goaltending from a couple different guys. With a blue line that contains Ekman-Larsson, Chychrun, Demers, Goligoski, and Hjalmarsson, that’s a pretty decent platform for a team. And yet the Coyotes haven’t been able to get to the playoffs, and only last season and this one have they even been in the conversation. Cast your mind back and see if you can recall a genuine top line player who donned…well, whatever color it is they wear. We’ll wait.

    Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere…

    Ok, now that you’ve failed let’s get to the heart of it. There hasn’t been one. The acquisition of Taylor Hall for a song before he hits free agency was clearly meant to remedy this. So was the trade for Phil Kessel over the summer, though it might just be that age and indifference (and the hot dogs, of course) have caught up with him and his 11 goals.

    Still, from within the idea was that Clayton Keller would solve this. 45 points in his only season at Boston University certainly suggested that there was a boom to come when he arrived in the desert. A rookie season of 65 points for a go-nowhere team suggested same as well.

    And then it just kind of stalled out.

    Keller put up 47 points last year, and is on pace for just 51 this year. Not exactly the kind of production you’d want from someone you just handed a $7.1M per season extension that Keller got before this campaign. That’s second-line production, and if Kessel is past it and Hall bolts in the summer for greener pastures, the Coyotes will be where they’ve always been. And that’s not anywhere anyone wants to be. View sucks.

    But things might not be that simple. Under the hood, Keller is having a better season than that. He’s averaging 9.7 shots per 60 at evens, almost two more than last year and nearly three more than his impressive rookie season. His individual expected-goals is up to 0.81 per 60, a full 33% over his first two seasons. Same deal with his scoring chances. So he’s getting to better areas and firing away more often, but he can’t get them to go in. He’s got the lowest shooting-percentage of his career at even-strength. He also hasn’t been able to net more than twice on the power play, thanks to the Yotes man-advantage being a bit Hawks-like.

    His team-wide metrics are better than they’ve ever been as well, but again, the Yotes are shooting just 6.2% when he’ on the ice. There isn’t much you can do about that when you’re getting the right amount of chances. He’s playing with Derek Stepan and Kessel at the moment, but Stepan has always been a miscast 2-3 center and Kessel we’ve been over. He could use some help. Perhaps there’s a market correction coming that will boost the Yotes to their first playoff appearance in eight seasons. That’s the dream.

    The Coyotes will never go anywhere as a team, consistently, until the produce or acquire a star. And keep them there. Sure, they could spasm one good season like 2012 that makes all old hockey men lose their mud over a team that’s “MORE THAN THE SUM OF THEIR PARTS HARF HARF HARF” but you don’t stay there like that. Check out the Predators for evidence. Keller is hardly the first one who contained promise that he would be the one to break the mold for Arizona. They’re still waiting.

  • Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes: Hedley Lamarr’s Mugs, Pugs, And Thugs

    Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes: Hedley Lamarr’s Mugs, Pugs, And Thugs

    Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Not likely to play tonight after getting injured Thursday, and it’s a harsh label we know. We’ve spent many a wasted moment in the past trying to figure out how to get OEL on the Hawks, though he never showed any inclination to leave Arizona. And now we have to ask, is he a “Yeah, but who gives a shit?” guy? He might be the smoothest skater in the league, and the numbers are good, but if he made such a difference wouldn’t the Coyotes have mattered in the last eight years? Maybe it’s not fair to hold him up to an Erik Karlsson level of the past, where he can drag a bunch of plumbers and rodeo clowns to a playoff spot, but the Yotes haven’t even been close. Maybe it’s all just production in the dark?

    Phil Kessel – We love him, simply because he pisses of Canadians so, but he bitched his way out of Pittsburgh, who haven’t missed a beat you’ll notice, and now he’s in the desert doing exactly dick. Not even on pace for 20 goals. Yeah, he’s old, but his game was supposed to age better than this. But hey, he gets to play in a hockey outpost which is probably what he always wanted.

    Arena Game Presentation – It looks like something out of 1989 in Glendale. Seriously, get a new scoreboard. You don’t need the volcanic eyesore that the United Center has, but you can do better than Chicago Stadium.

  • Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

    Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

  • Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes: Lineups & How They Were Built

    Game #52 – Hawks vs. Coyotes: Lineups & How They Were Built

    Hawks

    Notes: It looks like Strome is in for tonight but that won’t be confirmed until gametime. He’s been practicing and took the morning skate today…Colliton toyed with having Dach center Kane and Saad, which we are completely on board with, as long as the usage is correct…Gilbert was recalled after the break but Koekkoek has actually been ok on the third pairing so wouldn’t expect a change there…

    Coyotes

     

    Notes: The Yotes have a wealth of gametime decisions, as Demers, OEL, and Brad Richardson all could play, or all might not. OEL left the last game early, so he seems like the least likely of the trio but who knows?…Kuemper is definitely out so it’ll be Raanta tonight. He’s given up 15 in his last five appearances, and only two of them were full games. So he’s either been pulled or filling in…Keller has one point in his last nine…

  • The Case For Not Re-Signing Robin Lehner

    The Case For Not Re-Signing Robin Lehner

    This is something that probably will, and definitely should, go on the back-burner while the Hawks are in a playoff chase. There are more important issues and you don’t want the distraction. Which probably makes it more likely the Hawks, in their infinite wisdom, will ink Lehner to an extension before the end of the season, either to juice the buzz inside and outside the team as they try and chase down a spot or as a feel-good makeup when they fall short. You’ve already heard the push for it, and you know how they operate.

    It shouldn’t be a priority at all. And it probably shouldn’t happen at all.

    And it really doesn’t have much to do with Lehner. The simple numbers don’t add up. As of right now, the Hawks only have $10M in cap space for next season right now. With a minimal cap raise, maybe it’s $12M. There are a couple things the Hawks can do to open up more space, such as buying out Olli Maatta, which would only count about $800K against the cap next year. Maybe they actually do have a plan to deport Brent Seabrook into retirement/orbit, which obviously opens up another $6.8M. Do all those things, and the Hawks would suddenly have $22M. Hey, maybe Andrew Shaw retires and you get even more. If all those things happen, then re-signing Lehner makes some sense.

    But it’s not that simple. Both Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik are due for big raises (and Caggiula might earn a small one). You would have to imagine they come in at at least $9M combined. If Lehner gets the $7M per year or more that he’s looking for, suddenly your $22M in space has become $6M in space, and you still need another d-man and at least one winger. And a backup goalie, and not just some stooge but one who can play 25-30 games because Lehner has never taken on a full starter’s load and that’s not really a thing teams are looking for these days.

    Now, play this out differently. It would depend on how Corey Crawford finishes the season, so keep that in mind. But at 36, it’s unlikely that Crow is going to get more than the $6M he gets now, and it’s unlikely he’ll get more than a one- or two-year deal. Say you can Crow back for $4M, and then bring in someone like Cam Talbot for $3M-$4M (who has flourished in a partner/backup role this year). Now you’ve got two goalies for the same price as one Lehner, along with flexibility down the line which is not something the Hawks have had a lot of this past decade.

    And maybe you’ve got space for a Tyson Barrie or Sami Vatanen or Toffoli or Kreider, which this team still needs. The only thing through the system that might join up next year and boost the team is Ian Mitchell, and that hardly seems a sure thing. Now if he signs and your top four is Keith, Mitchell, Boqvist, Murphy, that’s a nice start, but pushing Mitchell down do the third-pairing in his rookie year with de Haan is even better. And this team still needs one more winger, and might need another forward anywhere if they decide Kirby Dach’s presence makes Strome expendable (longshot but impossible).

    As for Lehner himself, there seems to be a reason he’s on his fourth team. Or there should be, when he’s had exemplary seasons with each of the first three. He was traded from the Senators after after a step-back .905 SV% season, but that was after a .913. The Sabres let him walk after another .908, but that was after a .920. You know the story with the Islanders. And you know he’s not settling for another one-year deal.

    Gone is the time when you can win with some stiff in net, and the Hawks were the last to do it in 2010 and there are still far too many around town who think that’s how things still work. So you can’t just ignore the position. However, you also have to have the team in front of it, and the Hawks aren’t going anywhere until they ask their goalies to do less than they are now. And it’s going to be awfully hard to do that paying Lehner what he wants and has pretty much earned now.

    If the Hawks had more prospects coming through that would do that for cheap for years, then you could justify committing so much to one goalie. But they don’t. This is the way.

  • The Road Ahead

    The Road Ahead

    Fair warning, I’ve just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy so anything referencing a road might cause me to throw myself out the window in the middle of this blog. You’ll get to trace it though, so that’ll be fun.

    The Hawks will return to practice tomorrow and then to game action on Saturday, and they really won’t get much of a chance to play their way back into top form. They’re still three points out of a playoff spot, with only Winnipeg to leap, but basically everyone in and around the wild card spots will play another game before the Hawks get back to it on Saturday night. Which means the Hawks will have games in hand on most, but those only matter if you win them.

    So how does it stack up? Right now, the West’s last wildcard holder is on a 90-point pace (still very sad). The Hawks are on about an 87-point one, and it took them winning 11 of 16 to even get to that. So to get to 90 points, the Hawks will need 36 points from 31 games, which would be a 95-point pace. And that’s if you believe that the target won’t arc up a bit, which you would think it would just a touch.

    You would be tempted to go through the schedule, but that’s kind of folly for hockey because individual games come up weird. Your goalie has a bad night or theirs has a great night or you hit three posts in a period or something. As you look at it now, February does look like it’s a good runway, as the only games against the league’s glitterati are one against St. Louis, one against Boston at home, and one against Tampa. The rest are either against teams the Hawks are around in the standings are also-rans like the Ducks or Rangers. Essentially the Hawks have it all in front of them this month. They can play their way right into the thick of it or they can play themselves right out of it.

    March looks even tastier, with the Ducks, Wings, Sharks, Senators, two against the Wild, Kings, and Canadiens all on the docket mixed in with tougher games. That’s the kind of slate you’d like when you’re competing for something, especially as some of those teams if not all will be stripped for parts by then.

    So can the Hawks keep this pace up? We’d like to see things trending that way, so let’s et graphical!

    Here are the rolling five-game averages for their CF% (blue) and xG% (red):

    So those are going up. Their xG% ends at 53% and has been in the upper 40s for the last seven, but have been under 45% most of the season. Their average Corsi has been over 50% for the past nine. Again, small samples but at least trending the right way in five-game averages. They’ll have to keep going to get to the 90-point mark.

    Of course, with the Hawks it’s about their defense. So here’s their five-game rolling average of Corsi against per 60:

    And their xGA/60 rolling five game aveage:

    Again, trending down, which is good. Still, since December 1st, when the Hawks have picked up their games somewhat, they rank 26th in Corsi against at evens and 30th in xGA/60 against. So their trendlines might just be part of a league-wide belt-tightening, which we see every season as scoring goes down as the season goes on and people don’t care as much. The numbers are no better from January 1st on, so it’s hard to see how the Hawks can be this bad defensively and remain competing for the playoffs. They’ll need those trendlines to continue to go the ways they have been the past couple weeks, let’s say.

    Still, as we said before the break, there’s probably a Debrincat binge waiting, and the power play will spasm a good couple weeks you’d think for no reason other than HOCKEY! So it’s hardly out of the question the Hawks can defy their defensive averages or rates a little longer.

  • Clearly I Remember Picking on the Boy: Re-Evaluating Jeremy Colliton

    Clearly I Remember Picking on the Boy: Re-Evaluating Jeremy Colliton

    The Blackhawks were on their biggest tear of the year before the break. They won five of their last six and 12 of their last 18, with 10 of those 12 wins coming in regulation. During their five-game winning streak, four of the five wins were definitive, with just one win against the lowly Senators coming in overtime. That put the Hawks within three points of the last wild card spot (as of this writing). Hope abounds.

    What, if anything, has Jeremy Colliton had to do with it?

    We ask this question because we’ve been harsh on him all year. The organ-I-zation, beat writers, and even some of us (read: me) entered the year with a “Give him a training camp” attitude. When Colliton and his Crew came out of camp at 3-5-2—or seven losses in 10 games, because getting a point for losing is horseshit—it became clear that the “magic training camp” wasn’t really a thing, and we lost our asses.

    Since then, the results have been hot and cold. A four-win streak followed by a 1-5-1 streak. Two extra-time wins followed by an 0-3-1. Each losing streak complemented with a “We need more effort” from their one-time wunderkind. Is he getting that effort now, or is he just getting out of his own way? I wanted to know, so now we’re going to do this together.

    We’ll break this season into two parts: opening day through December 14 (33 games total), and December 15 through now (18 games). All of the Big Blackhawks Media have taken a liking to using December 15 as a touchpoint, and so we will do that, too. We’ll look primarily at high-level counting stats (goals for, goals allowed), team analytics (CF%, GF% vs. xGF%), and any big changes in personnel that Colliton had direct control over (line combos and TOI but NOT NECESSARILY individual player performance).

    The Numbers

    Team Stats 5v5 Goals For Goals Allowed GF% xGF% CF%
    10/04–12/14 58 69 45.67 60.81 47.56
    12/15–Now 47 39 54.65 47.35 49.33

    Stats from NaturalStatTrick.com

    Wouldn’t you know it, over the recent nice stretch, the Hawks have outscored their opponents, rather than getting outscored like they were at the beginning of the year. We’ve solved it, thanks for reading.

    What’s fascinating is the why behind the goals. The Hawks are scoring goals at a nearly 9% higher rate over the last 18 games. And look at the difference between the xGF%s.

    Quick aside, xGF% stands for expected goals for percentage. The important thing to know about it is that it measures shot quality (e.g., a point shot is typically lower quality than a shot off a rebound) and uses that to try to predict the likelihood of an actual goal scored.

    So, the inversion of GF% and xGF% between the two time frames sure is curious. The Hawks should have scored more than they did during the first time frame, and they’re now scoring more than they should during this second time frame. Why?

    Part of it is strength of schedule. Through today, the Hawks have had a slightly more challenging schedule than most other teams, based on points percentages. Another part of it is PDO. For the first time frame, the Hawks’s PDO was an even 1.000. From December 15 onward, the Hawks’s PDO is 1.024, good for fourth overall in the league. The difference has been the Hawks’s shooting percentage, which has skyrocketed from around 7% all the way up to 10%.

    But these aren’t things Colliton can really control. What he CAN control for the most part is which players get the most ice time.

    ATOI Rank 10/04–12/14 TTOI ATOI 12/15–Now TTOI ATOI
    1 Keithⴕ (25) 456:24 18:16 Keithⴕ (17) 308:48 18:10
    2 Murphyⴕ (21) 365:40 17:25 Murphy (18) 324:07 18:01
    3 Kane (33) 555:49 16:50 Gus (18) 303:45 16:53
    4 de Haanⴕ (29) 485:19 16:44 Kane (18) 290:55 16:10
    5 Gus (32) 530:46 16:35 Maatta (17) 262:55 15:28
    6 Maattaⴕ (29) 457:15 15:46 Boqvist (17) 244:25 14:23
    7 Seabrook (31) 483:09 15:35 Toews (18) 245:40 13:39
    8 Cat (33) 464:22 14:04 Dach (18) 236:15 13:08
    9 Toews (33) 442:30 13:25 Kubalik (18) 230:13 12:47
    10 Stromeⴕ (29) 386:31 13:20 Cat (18) 229:34 12:45
    11 Saad (33) 423:34 12:50 Carp (18) 213:51 11:53
    12 Kampf (33) 384:48 11:40 Kampf (18) 200:54 11:10

    ⴕ = suffered injury at some point during stretch. Stats calculated using NaturalStatTrick.com

    The biggest difference between then and now is the emergence of Kubalik and Dach in terms of how much they’re playing. (Boqvist too, but he’s had only half the time of the other two, so let’s revisit him at the end of the year.) Since December 15, Kubalik and Dach have averaged almost two full minutes more of ice time apiece. They’ve also established themselves on what you could call the top six, if you look at the line up as follows over the last 18 games:

    Kubalik–Toews–Caggiula/Kane

    DeBrincat–Dach–Kampf/Kane

    Saad–Carpenter–Kane

    Nylander–Smith–Highmore/Caggiula

    Though Kane has averaged slightly less ice time during the latest run, Colliton still likes to double shift him whenever he can, which you can see as a function of his 5v5 average time on ice. Because Kane has superhuman endurance and has consistently outperformed his xGF% throughout his career, it’s hard to blame him. But more encouraging is that Dach and Kubalik are getting chances that they weren’t at the beginning of the year. It may have taken him longer than we’d have liked, but Colliton has gotten that right recently.

    This implies that with more time and the right teammates, Colliton has begun to give what portends to be The New Core the chance to try shit. You might recall Kubalik getting scratched a few times earlier in the season for simply unfathomable reasons. This trend ceased around the second week in December, or just prior to Kubalik’s scoring binge. Just check out the differences between the time frames:

    Kubalik Goals Assists GF% xGF% CF%
    10/04–12/14 6 3 50 53.68 50.22
    12/15–Now 11 5 57.14 49.93 51.39

    5v5 from NaturalStatTrick.com

    Though you likely don’t need a fucking chart to tell you that Dominik Kubalik is not a third liner, there it is. Kubalik is starting to do what most good shooters do: pot shots that shouldn’t be going in. Colliton coming to Jesus on that has been helpful to the Hawks’s recent success, even if it took him way too long to get there.

    It’s a similar story for Kirby Dach, though much more subtle.

    Dach Goals Assists GF% xGF% CF%
    10/04–12/14 5 4 47.83 43.8 46.32
    12/15–Now 2 1 56.25 47.54 49.45

    5v5 from NaturalStatTrick.com

    The counting stats are down, but the fancy stats have gotten better as Dach has both settled in and settled into a more defensively responsible role. Granted, he’ll need to up the offense, but credit Colliton for giving Dach more time as the year has progressed.

    The Penalty Kill

    The Hawks have the sixth-best penalty kill in the league as of this writing. Given how horrible their blue has been and continues to be, this may not make a ton of sense. But the numbers on this make it pretty easy to figure out why.

    First, here are the splits between the time frames:

    PK% PK Rank PK SV% PK HDSV% PK TIME
    10/04–12/14 80.4 14th 87.93 77.55 175:59
    12/15–Now 88.6 1st 92.31 94.12 77:39

    From NHL.com and NaturalStatTrick.com

    A couple things to note. First, the Hawks are currently taking fewer penalty minutes during the recent run. At the current pace, if you extrapolate what they’ve been doing, the Hawks will end up taking about 141 penalty minutes over the same time frame (33 games) going forward. That’s about 34 fewer minutes on the kill, or 17 fewer minor penalties.

    But this doesn’t explain the huge spikes in save percentages. Some of that has to do with Crawford’s horrid performance in the first half of the year. In the second half, Colliton has leaned more on Lehner, who has been nails on the PK all year. So, we can give Colliton credit for that.

    But the answer is much easier than even that. Here are all of Hawks who have averaged at least one minute of PK time per game, along with their respective goals allowed per 60 (GA/60).

    ATOI GA/60
    Murphy 2:43 5
    de Haan 2:41 5.5
    Keith 2:37 6
    Carpenter 2:24 5.5
    Kampf 2:10 6.5
    Toews 1:58 5.3
    Maatta 1:51 5.6
    Saad 1:50 6.7
    Seabrook 1:31 11.2
    Smith 1:14 6.6
    Gilbert 1:13 4.9
    Koekkoek 1:12 8.5

    From hockey-reference.com

    The NHL average for GA/60 usually falls between 5 and 6. Brent Seabrook’s 11.2 is simply horrifying, especially when you see that he averaged a minute and a half on the PK when he was still playing.

    In fact, according to hockey-reference.com, of players who averaged at least one minute of PK time and who played at least 10 games, only the following were worse:

    To give you an idea for what that means, everyone on that list aside from de la Rose (STL from DET) and Lindblom (who played with fucking bone cancer) belongs to one of the seven worst PK units in the league.

    So, simply getting Seabrook off the PK likely had the greatest effect on its success, and his last game was on December 15. The defense still blows, but without Seabrook, it blows less.

    Conclusion

    Essentially, Colliton has done two things to change the team during this hot stretch:

      1. Healthy-scratched Seabrook three times, causing him to need two hip surgeries and one shoulder surgery
      2. Played Dach, Kubalik, and Boqvist more and higher on the depth chart

     

    Getting Seabrook off the ice is probably the thing Colliton has done that’s had the greatest effect. We can argue about how he never really communicated with Seabrook about the scratches and how that’s shitty given Seabrook’s legendary status overall. But it’s obviously better for the team that Seabrook is off the ice, and Colliton clearly had a hand in that decision making. That’s a big move that he could have handled better, but a big move nonetheless.

    You can credit him for playing Dach and Boqvist and letting them get their feet wet. Dach has taken to it better than Boqvist so far.

    It’s hard to give him too much credit for promoting Kubalik, since he’s always shown that he belongs in the Top 6. You can’t help but wonder whether this scoring purge would have happened sooner had Colliton not dicked around with him so he could slot Nylander with Toews earlier in the year.

    In short, Colliton’s contributions to this recent run of success amount to finally putting and keeping Kubalik on the top line, scratching his biggest anchor, and getting elite performances from elite players.

    Patrick Kane is on a tear. Jonathan Toews has been on fire with Kubalik, who’s doing exactly what everyone but Jeremy Colliton thought he would do at the beginning of the year. Robin Lehner continues to play Vezina-level hockey. This is sort of what they’ve always done, even before Colliton.

    Scratching Seabrook and elevating Kubalik were past-due epiphanies that clearly helped the team. Those are steps in the right direction. But his system still sucks, as shown by the fact that the Hawks are in the top 10 for both goals allowed (10th) and save percentage (6th). Until he fixes that latter part, it’s hard to totally buy in.

  • High On The Hog: Milwaukee Is Loaded

    High On The Hog: Milwaukee Is Loaded

    The Rockford IceHogs faced the best team in the AHL twice this weekend. They were soundly defeated in both tilts.

    Following Saturday’s game, the league went on its All-Star break. Rockford’s equipment managers should take the impending free time to sew a patch onto the IceHogs sweaters.

    One that reads “Property Of The Milwaukee Admirals”.

    Milwaukee has been outstanding through 45 games this season. They sport a 31-8-4-2 mark and a .756 points percentage. They now sit atop the AHL with 68 standings points, nine more than any other team in the league.

    The Ads boast the best goalie tandem in the league, with Connor Ingram and Troy Grosenick combining for a 2.16 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Combined with the AHL’s top power play (25.7%), the league’s sixth-best offensive output (3.36 goals per game) and a fast-paced, aggressive brand of hockey, Milwaukee is taking it to the opposition on a nightly basis.

    Rockford has faced off with the Admirals seven times since the first meeting of the teams this season on December 7. In those games, the IceHogs have gone 1-6 and been outscored 26-12. The lone win came on December 10; all Kevin Lankinen had to do that night was make 55 saves to propel Rockford to a 2-1 overtime victory.

    The last three confrontations with Milwaukee have resulted in three-goal losses, including both games this past weekend. Following a physical affair in Milwaukee Friday, Hogs coach Derek King was left without a full set of forwards. Even with rookie Tim Soderlund returning to the lineup, King iced ten healthy forwards, used defenseman Ben Youds as a forward and went with seven defensemen.

    The Admirals had no issues using their depth advantage this weekend. Milwaukee camped out in high-danger scoring areas and whaled away at Rockford goalies Collin Delia and Kevin Lankinen. Both saw their goals against average rise thanks to Milwaukee.

    I’ll attempt resembling a broken record, but the All-Star break comes at a good time for the Hogs. Somehow, they have to get healthier and in a new mindset following a span in which they have lost 14 of their last 17 games.

    Rockford gets back at it with two games at home this coming weekend. The piglets host Manitoba on Friday night, followed by a Saturday contest with…you guessed it…the Admirals Juggernaut.

     

    Roster Happenings

    On Saturday, Rockford sent goalie Chase Marchand, who they have on an AHL deal, back to the Indy Fuel of the ECHL.

    Phillipp Kurashev, Mikael Hakkarainen, Anton Wedin and Matthew Thompson continue to be unavailable due to injury. John Quenneville sat out the weekend as well.

    Alexandre Fortin, Dylan McLaughlin and Peter Quenneville were all scratches on Saturday.

     

    Recaps

    Friday, January 24-Milwaukee 7, Rockford 4

    Rockford picked up the scoring but couldn’t keep the Ads out of the net, opening the weekend home-and-home series with a loss.

    The IceHogs snapped a seven-game scoreless streak early in the game. Dylan Sikura took a shot at goal nine seconds into a Rockford power play. His offering glanced off the stick of Milwaukee’s Jared Tinordi and sailed by Ads goalie Troy Grosenick 3:39 into the game for a 1-0 Hogs lead.

    Milwaukee answered on their first man advantage a few minutes later. Alexadre Carrier set up Frederick Gaudreau at the left circle for a one-timer that beat Rockford goalie Collin Delia to the cord. The goal tied the game 1-1 6:15 into the first.

    The Ads took a 3-1 advantage after Mathieu Olivier and Mikka Salomakki got pucks past Delia at 10:59 and 14:54, respectively. Rockford would close the gap to 3-2 late in the period on MacKenzie Entwistle’s power play goal. The breakaway attempt was set up by a finely-threaded pass from Nicolas Beaudin. Entwistle skated across the crease and backhanded the puck over Grosenick.

    Milwaukee ran out to a 5-2 lead after Gaudreau and Eeli Tolvanen hit on power play markers 20 seconds apart in the opening 67 seconds of the middle frame. The Hogs climbed back into the contest with a pair of their own.

    Chad Krys found the back of the net from the blueline at the 4:56 mark to close to within two goals. Three minutes later, the power play came up big for the third time in the game. This time, Brandon Hagel put back a rebound of Gabriel Gagne’s shot 8:34 into the period to cut the Milwaukee lead to 5-4.

    The Admirals went up 6-4 following some nifty passing that ended with Rem Pitlick knocked in Tolvanen’s pass at the right post at the 14:50 mark. Milwaukee stretched the lead to 7-4 on Daniel Carr’s goal 4:33 into the third period.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Joseph Cramarossa

    Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson-MacKenzie Entwistle

    Dylan Sikura-Tyler Sikura (C)-Gabriel Gagne

    Alexandre Fortin-Peter Quenneville-Dylan McLaughlin

    Chad Krys-Dennis Gilbert

    Joni Tuulola-Lucas Carlsson

    Nicolas Beaudin-Ian McCoshen (A)

    Collin Delia

    Kevin Lankinen

    Power Play (3-8)

    Carlsson-Hagel-D. Sikura-Gagne-Nilsson

    Beaudin-McLaughlin-Entwistle-T. Sikura-Fortin

    Penalty Kill (Milwaukee was 3-7)

    Forwards: Nilsson-Johnson-Moutrey-Fortin-T. Sikura

    Defense: Tuulola-Gilbert-Krys-McCoshen

     

    Saturday, January 25-Milwaukee 5, Rockford 2

    The IceHogs dropped the back half of the home-and-home, losing to the Admirals at the BMO Harris Bank Center.

    Rockford opened the scoring as they had the previous evening, on the power play. MacKenzie Entwistle got inside position on his defender and was on hand to send the rebound of Ben Youds shot attempt past Admirals goalie Connor Ingram. At 10:09, the piglets owned a 1-0 lead.

    From that point on, Milwaukee took over. Eeli Tolvanen tied the game at the 11:42 mark with a put back in front of Hogs goalie Kevin Lankinen. Michael McCarron’s presence in the crease yielded a pair of goals in the second period to stake the Admirals to a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes.

    Milwaukee pressed its advantage in the final frame, with Tanner Jeannot and Daniel Carr finding the back of the net midway through the third. Rockford picked up a late goal at the 18:30 mark when Tyler Sikura redirected a Chad Krys blast from the point.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    Rockford employed seven defensemen tonight and skated an eighth (Ben Youds) as a forward.

    Dylan Sikura-Tyler Sikura (C)-Gabriel Gagne

    Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson-MacKenzie Entwistle

    Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Joseph Cramarossa

    Tim Soderlund-Ben Youds

    Dennis Gilbert-Ian McCoshen (A)

    Joni Tuulola-Lucas Carlsson

    Dmitri Osipov-Nicolas Beaudin-Chad Krys

    Kevin Lankinen

    Matt Tomkins

    Power Play (1-4)

    Carlsson-Hagel-D. Sikura-Gagne-Nilsson

    Beaudin-Soderlund-Entwistle-T. Sikura-Youds

    Penalty Kill (Milwaukee was 1-4)

    Forwards: Nilsson-Johnson-Moutrey-Cramarossa-Soderlund-T. Sikura

    Defense: Tuulola-Gilbert-Krys-McCoshen

    Follow me on twitter @JonFromi for updates on the IceHogs throughout the season.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • High On The Hog: Blanked

    High On The Hog: Blanked

    The offensive woes of the Rockford IceHogs were on full display this week. Twice the piglets took to the BMO Harris Bank Center ice. Twice they came away with nothing.

    The Blackhawks AHL affiliate was beaten Monday afternoon by Belleville, then dropped a Wednesday night decision to Texas. The IceHogs were shut out in both contests.

    The last time a Rockford squad was held scoreless two games in a row came in March 25 and 28 of 2017, when Grand Rapids and Iowa held the Hogs without a goal. That season, a dismal IceHogs team averaged a league-worst 2.30 goals per game.

    Over Rockford’s last 15 games, the team is scoring at a 1.53 goals per game clip. The Hogs have been shut out three times and held to a single goal four times during that span.

    Wednesday’s loss to the Stars left the IceHogs with a 20-21-1-1 mark, good for sixth place in the AHL’s Central Division. With 42 points and a .488 points percentage, Rockford is still right there in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Hogs are still within reach of the Stars, Chicago and Grand Rapids with 33 games remaining on the schedule. They’ve just picked a poor time to be spinning their tires.

     

    Roster News

    Dennis Gilbert and Brandon Hagel have been doing the I-90 shuffle this week, taking part in both games for the Hogs between trips to Chicago. Both should be with Rockford through the weekend’s games with Milwaukee.

    On Wednesday, Nathan Noel was sent back to the Indy Fuel. Spencer Watson was released from his PTO and returned to the Fuel as well.

     

    Tomkins Signs NHL Contract

    Matt Tomkins was a hard luck loser against Texas, stopping 30 shots and coming out on the short end of a 1-0 score. On Thursday, it was announced that the goalie had signed a two-year contract with the Blackhawks.

    Tomkins, Chicago’s seventh-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, toiled for the Fuel for most of his first two pro seasons while on an AHL deal with Rockford. He’s been with the IceHogs for the bulk of this season, save for his stint with Team Canada in the Spengler Cup.

    Tomkins is currently the team leader in goals against average (2.45) and save percentage (.916), though he has just nine starts on the season. Collin Delia has been playing well of late, shutting out the Wolves Sunday afternoon in his latest start. Kevin Lankinen, who was the Hogs best goalie in the early going and is Rockford’s representative in the AHL All Star Classic, has struggled a bit in the last month.

    The three-man net takes on a different perspective with this signing. The Blackhawks now have three NHL prospects at the goalie position in Rockford. It’s hard not to imagine one of those goalies being dealt at the trade deadline to create more development time for the other two. For now, Hogs coach Derek King will have to find time for all three players.

     

    Recaps

    Monday, January 20-Belleville 3, Rockford 0

    Belleville broke open the game in the third period to hand the Hogs the loss.

    Josh Norris scored on the power play 3:36 into the second period for a 1-0 Senators advantage. Two goals early in the third period spelled doom for Rockford. Alex Formenton lit the lamp 2:49 into the final frame. Three minutes later, Joseph LaBate got his attempt by IceHogs goalie Kevin Lankinen to close out the scoring.

    Rockford was 0-4 on the man advantage. The Hogs got 23 shots on goal, all stopped by Belleville goalie Filip Gustavsson. Lankinen stopped 26 of 29 shots on the afternoon.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    John Quenneville-Jacob Nilsson (A)-Brandon Hagel

    Dylan Sikura-Tyler Sikura (C)-Gabriel Gagne

    Joseph Cramarossa-MacKenzie Entwistle-Alexandre Fortin

    Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Peter Quenneville

    Joni Tuulola-Lucas Carlsson

    Nicolas Beaudin-Ian McCoshen (A)

    Chad Krys-Dennis Gilbert

    Kevin Lankinen

    Collin Delia

     

    Wednesday, January 22-Texas 1, Rockford 0 

    Rockford was shut out for the second game in a row wasting a terrific performance by goalie Matt Tomkins.

    After a scoreless opening period, Texas took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Riley Tufte at 4:25 of the middle frame. The Stars prospect took the biscuit away from Rockford’s Jacob Nilsson, skated to the front of the net and sent a backhand past Tomkins.

    That would be the only mark in this contest. Tomkins wound up with 30 saves in a losing effort, but the Stars Landon Bow turned away all 29 shots the Hogs threw at him.

    Lines (Starters in italics)

    Brandon Hagel-Jacob Nilsson (A)-MacKenzie Entwistle

    Dylan Sikura-Tyler Sikura (C)-Gabriel Gagne

    Alexandre Fortin-Peter Quenneville-Dylan McLaughlin

    Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Joseph Cramarossa

    Chad Krys-Dennis Gilbert

    Joni Tuulola-Lucas Carlsson

    Ian McCoshen (A)-Ben Youds

    Matt Tomkins

    Collin Delia

     

    Admirals Weekend

    The IceHogs have a big home-and-home with first-place Milwaukee coming up this weekend. Friday’s tilt is in Milwaukee, with the two teams returning to the BMO on Saturday.

    Follow me @JonFromi for thoughts on the IceHogs throughout the season.