Hawks
Notes: Not exactly sure how the defense will line up. Boqvist played with Keith his previous stint here so that’s no clue, and that’s if he slots right in (though he should). This is our best guess, but don’t quote us…Kubalik seems poised to get a run with Toews and Saad, and that makes the most sense right now if Dach isn’t going to be tried. Sikura had some success up there last year, so don’t be shocked if he gets some shifts there too at some point on this trip…Crawford gets the nod in the rotation…
Golden Knights
Notes: Cody Glass left their last game against the Rangers after taking an elbow to the head, so he might not make the bell. The Knights didn’t have a morning skate so we’ll find out at gametime…Nick Holden hasn’t played much of late but appears to be taking John Merrill’s spot tonight…Fleuy had been out since November 23rd with something of a niggle but is back tonight. And the Knights need him, as the backups have been woeful…Stone has one goal in his last nine…
The Hawks have taken 5 points out of 6, but of course there are a ton of underlying issues, all of which will be solved by Adam Boqvist’s return. Sam, Feather, and I yell at one another in this one, which you can get the always free audio for after the jump.
I know you must be sick of the constant debate here and elsewhere on what exactly this season is supposed to be for the Hawks. We don’t know if it’s a secret rebuilding year that they’re afraid to label due to ticket sales, or they’re really trying to make the playoffs and they’re just bad at it. What’s really frustrating and scary is that it’s getting clearer and clearer they don’t know either. The lack of true bellyaching from the vets would suggest they’ve been advised it’s a rebuilding year but can’t say so publicly, but that’s just more tea leaf reading that make us all sick. So let’s forget that.
Because no matter what it is, it’s time to let Adam Boqvist run the show. Or at least see if he can.
In case you missed it this morning, Adam Boqvist was called up along with Matthew Highmore as Andrew Shaw was moved to LTIR. With Duncan Keith out for the entire road trip, it gives the Hawks some more bodies. But even the Hawks aren’t dumb enough to call up their #1 prospect and have him sit in the pressbox so we can watch Dennis Gilbert and/or Slater Koekkoek pull the Bugs Bunny, “Heyexcusmemistercouldyoutellme….’ while some Knight forward blazes past them. After Koekkeok’s egregious tour de stupid last night, he should be sent to Rock Vegas immediately and forever anyway.
If the Hawks are trying to make the playoffs, and I guess being only four points out even with every team to leap they can make that case, they need any kind of mobility they can get on the back end. They need transition. And they don’t need to worry about defensive breakdowns or getting beat, because everyone besides Connor Murphy is doing that anyway.
The biggest cause to the Hawks’ headaches, or one of them, is that they simply can’t win any races in their own end. Watch when any team gets possession in the Hawks zone, and whenever there’s a puck to be won you can be sure the Hawks will be second to it. This is where team speed really counts, not in racing up and down the ice in a track meet. The Hawks can’t get there. Boqvist can get there. And he needs to learn how to do that at an NHL pace and with NHL reactions, things he can’t simulate in the AHL.
And he can skate out of trouble. Watch how many times a Hawk d-man has the puck below the goal line and seemingly with time and never makes a play before getting inhaled and spit out by a forechecker. That’s why the Hawks have to use the 17-pass breakout, because the forwards have to be there to bail out their tortoise defense. And then the next forward has to be lower for an option for that first forward. Boqvist can extend all this up the ice.
And if this is strictly a development year, and it could be, then there’s even more incentive to let him come up, make mistakes but also “try shit,” because he’s the only one who can at high speeds. Gustafsson “tries shit” all the time at remedial pace, and you see where that’s gotten everyone. Having Boqvist drooled on by has-beens and never-will-bes in some backwater only reachable by dirt road isn’t going to do much for him or the Hawks. He’s gotten a sampling at both levels now, was told what to work on, so let’s go.
Even in his brief time here, the Hawks had their best goals-for per 60 and expected goals-for per 60 with Boqvist on the ice. Sure, more things happen in their zone too, but it’s not like they’re planning on making that stop anyway. Get him out there with a true free safety, really any one of de Haan, Murphy, or Maatta would work. Do not stick him with Seabrook on his wrong side or Gustafsson or Fetch or Gilbert or so help me….
And let him run. Don’t put the shackles on him. Let’s see what he can do. Don’t bench him for bad turnover or two. Put his hair on fire. If this is a Ferrari, you don’t use it to go to fucking Mariano’s a couple blocks away in traffic. Get out on Sheridan Road and scare some people on the lake in Winnetka. Put him on the #1 PP, get the puck off of Kane’s stick for a few seconds and see if Boqvist’s creative movement opens things up for everyone else. Once again, the Hawks’ PP has become stagnant as Kane James Hardens the puck on the right circle.
Because if you can see The True Boqvist in these next few games, it’ll make your decisions when Keith is healthy more explicable to people. Because that’s still the underlying debate. We know the Hawks likely will chicken out (again) and just send #27 down when Keith is healthy so they don’t have to scratch Maatta and Seabrook regularly. But if Boqvist gives everyone an exciting glimpse of the future, it’s much easier to go the press and say, “We need this in the lineup because we just don’t have it otherwise,” and one of the vets is out on their ass.
Whether the Hawks want to go somewhere this year or down the road, they have hard decisions. Give Boqvist every chance to make them easier.
Three overtime games this week as the Hawks ended up with five of six points that somehow doesn’t feel as good as it should? Anyway, who did what this week?
The Dizzying Highs
Top Cat – Scored in all three games this past week, so it makes him a pretty easy choice. And two of them were the kinds of goals that only he and maybe Kane are coming up with–the snipe against the Bruins that hit top cheese and the finish from in close last night.. There hasn’t been too much panic about his lack of goals so far this year, because everyone knows this is a world-class finisher whose shooting-percentage is almost half of what his career mark is. Some of his metrics are slightly down from his first two years, and you never know how someone will respond to their first real contract even if it starts next year. But the slightly less attempts and chances he’s getting could be partially attributed to constant line shuffling, and since being paired with Strome and Kane and being left alone we’ve seen those numbers start to arc up. And the Hawks need it. The assumption was they’d find enough goals, but that hasn’t been the case with Toews’s struggles. Top Cat and Kane have to be scoring at a top-tier pace or this team is sunk every which way. Hopefully we’re getting back to that.
The Terrifying Lows
Andrew Shaw – This isn’t anything about what Shaw has done of late, and that’s the point. This is about how the Hawks handle Shaw from here, because you probably can’t get a more clear case of a player who needs to be protected from himself. We know that if given the choice, Shaw will head out there tomorrow and throw himself face-first into anything and everything. It’s pointless to try and do a concussion count on Shaw, because we know there were times even in his first stint as a Hawk where he played through it. Looking back on his Game 6 in Boston where he was knocked out cold and yet still barely missed a shift…that almost seems criminally negligent now. Shaw would tell you that’s what he wanted, and most players would in that situation. Would he tell you that 10 years from now? 15? Is he going to be able to remember it?
We’ve been critical of the Hawks’ handling of concussions in the past, pointedly with Marcus Kruger. Of late that doesn’t seem to be an issue, and perhaps Corey Crawford forced them to really make changes. Yes, Dylan Strome played a game through one, but he didn’t report anything to the Hawks and took himself out after that. Again, this is an injury that somewhat relies on the player being honest with the medical staff, which we know a lot of them aren’t. The Hawks and hockey have a long way to go, but at least they seem to be headed in the right direction for once.
Shaw was put on LTIR today, and it would not be a surprise if he’s out a lot longer than the minimum of past Christmas. It would behoove the Hawks to have a long talk with Shaw and really explore whether having him sit out the rest of the season is a viable option. We know of four or five of these for him already, and he missed some serious time with the Habs because of it. We can be pretty sure what Shaw wants, because what else is he going to do? But the Hawks might want to have his better interests in mind.
And when he gets back, perhaps the applauding of any fight he picks should be put down? He can still be physical and play a Shaw game without taking unnecessary risks, because you feel one good straight right and his career is going to be over. These are the kinds of things Shaw needs to be told, because if left up to him…again, we know the answer. If he’s not 100%, and really 100% and not close enough to it that the Hawks can give themselves a pass, by the time his LTIR stint is over, it feels like the risks to have him play this year are too great.
The Creamy Middles
Dylan Strome – Did you know Strome was playing at a 63-point pace? I guess I didn’t realize it that much either until now. But he’s been pretty damn consistent when healthy, and even if that’s his ceiling that’s solid #2 center production which was the idea the whole time. Strome’s metrics, while by themselves are hardly shining, are much better relative to the team than they were last year, which is encouraging. He got clocked a bit last night but had some glittering numbers against the Bruins and Devils. He’s been exactly what you would have asked for, even if you don’t notice him pop quite as much. In a stretch of time where it feels like Stan Bowman hasn’t gotten anything right, this one counts as a good move.
The Rockford IceHogs continued their run of solid play this weekend, earning a split of a pair of games with division rivals. The Hogs outlasted Grand Rapids Friday before coming back to Rockford for a big test against the Milwaukee Admirals.
They didn’t pass.
Rockford was the latest victim of the hottest team in the AHL, winding up on the short end of a 5-2 decision Saturday night. The piglets will be getting another shot at the Admirals Tuesday night.
Can any adjustments be made by Rockford coach Derek King that can help his team’s chances?
“We should take some notes from them,” King told the media after the game. “That’s where we should be.”
The Admirals have won 15 of their last 16 games heading into Tuesday’s game, including a 7-1 thrashing of second-place Iowa on Friday. Milwaukee kept the pressure on the Hogs all evening, generating a slew of high-percentage looks at the net. Unlike Rockford, the Admirals followed up on many of the shots fired at Kevin Lankinen Saturday.
“They’re all on the same page,” King said when asked about Milwaukee’s winning formula this season. “The guy with the puck is skating it and his line mates know what’s going on. It’s either going in, or he’s going to make a play. At times we do that, and then there’s times where the maturity of our guys are just not quite there yet.”
What makes the Ads win more impressive is the face that two of their top scorers, Yakov Trenin (14 G, 12 A) and Daniel Carr (11 G, 10 A) were up with Nashville and out of Milwaukee’s lineup Saturday. It’s not a surprise to see why the Admirals lead the AHL with 41 points. Milwaukee is 13 points up on the Wild in the Central Division standings.
The IceHogs get to face off with Milwaukee eleven more times this season. It should be interesting to see how the youngsters respond to the challenge.
Roster Movement
There was a lot of action on Saturday. The IceHogs recalled forwards Matthew Thompson and Dylan McLaughlin and defenseman Dmitri Osipov from the ECHL’s Indy Fuel. After Rockford’s game Saturday night, the Hawks recalled Dylan Sikura and re-assigned Anton Wedin to the IceHogs.
Recaps
Friday, December 6-Rockford 2, Grand Rapids 1 (SO)
The piglets went into Van Andel Arena and outlasted the Griffins to pick up their fourth straight win. At the heart of the victory was a standout performance in net by Collin Delia, who followed up his win Tuesday night with another great effort.
Delia saved 28 of 29 shots in regulation and stopped both penalty shots after the game could not be decided in Gus Macker Time. Coach Derek King elected to hand Delia the keys to the cage for a second straight game. Delia did not disappoint.
The scoring in regulation was limited to the second period. Recent acquisition Eric Tangradi gave the Griffins a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal at the 4:24 mark. While his centering pass was broken up by Reese Johnson, the veteran forward calmly retrieved the loose puck behind the Hogs net, powered to the front of the crease and beat Delia with the backhand.
Rockford would answer late in the period. Ian McCoshen found Tyler Sikura at the right dot. Sikura sent a touch pass to brother Dylan a few feet to his right; the subsequent one-timer was over the glove of Griffins goalie Calvin Pickard. The Hogs drew even at one goal 17:07 into the second.
It would remained tied, thanks to Delia and Pickard, through regulation and overtime. Pickard stopped Dylan Sikura in the opening round of the shootout, but Tim Soderlund and Joseph Cramarossa found the back of the net to earn Rockford the win.
Lines (Starters in italics)
John Quenneville-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan Sikura
Brandon Hagel-Phillipp Kurashev-MacKenzie Entwistle
Matthew Highmore-Jacob Nilsson (A)-Tim Soderlund
Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Joseph Cramarossa
Joni Tuulola-Adam Boqvist
Philip Holm-Lucas Carlsson
Chad Krys-Ian McCoshen (A)
Collin Delia
Saturday, December 7-Milwaukee 5, Rockford 2
The IceHogs win streak ended at four games as they were spanked at the BMO by the Western Conference’s best team.
The Admirals consistently peppered Rockford goalie Kevin Lankinen with pucks and swarmed the net to create lots of second and third chances. It was such a play that opened the scoring 4:06 into the game.
Jeremy Davies came around Lankinen’s net and was stopped by the goalie’s left pad. Former Laurent Dauphin was there to throw the rebound on net, only to be denied again by Lankinen. Lukas Craggs made good on his attempt from the goal line when the Hogs failed to clear the puck and Milwaukee led 1-0.
Rockford fans were in possession of 4,300 stuffed animals and were itching to let them fly to the ice. Two minutes later, they would receive their chance.
Jarred Tinordi’s pass attempt was swiped by Matthew Highmore, who hit Brandon Hagel coming out of the defensive zone. Hagel’s wheels did the rest, easily flying by Alexandre Carrier on his way to the front of the Admirals net. His shot beat the glove of Troy Groesenick at 5:59 of the first period to cue the bears and tie the contest.
That was to be the high-water mark for Rockford on this evening, however. Steven Santini was left open at the right circle late in the opening frame. His shot zipped over the shoulder of Lankinen for a 2-1 Milwaukee lead that they held at the break.
Tommy Novak and Mathieu Olivier would score in similar fashion in the second period to build a 4-1 Admirals lead. The Hogs found themselves just missing on several one-and-done chances, while Milwaukee was generating great looks at Lankinen, who saved 29 of 34 shots, most of which came within a few feet of the goal mouth.
The Admirals went up three goals early in the third when Anthony Richard converted on Dauphin’s pass on the odd-man rush. The IceHogs would get a goal from Phillipp Kurashev with 3:53 remaining, but by then the outcome had been decided.
Lines (Starters in italics)
John Quenneville-Tyler Sikura (C)-Dylan Sikura
Matthew Highmore-Phillipp Kurashev-Brandon Hagel
Tim Soderlund-Jacob Nilsson (A)-Joseph Cramarossa
Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Matthew Thompson
Philip Holm-Adam Boqvist
Chad Krys-Ian McCoshen (A)
Nicolas Beaudin-Dmitri Osipov
Kevin Lankinen
Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for my thoughts on the scene in Rockford throughout the season.
Everything you need for tonight’s soiree on Madison.
vs 
Game Time: 6:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, WGN-AM 720
We Didn’t Come Here To Rock: Five For Howling
Having just pulled off a minor miracle of taking four of four points on a mini two-game road trip, including a win against arguably the best team in the league, the Hawks now return to West Madison to face the surprisingly competent Arizona Coyotes, who are completing a four game road trip in the Eastern and Central time zones.
Just about two years ago, we wrote a spotlight on Arizona GM John Chayka and how we hoped that one day the NHL would finally have a front office that did things differently and broke through the old ways. We wanted our Moneyball, so that the sport might actually move into the 21st century. At the time, Kyle Dubas was being Phantom of The Opera’d in Toronto, though he’s finally ascended to the actual GM chair. There aren’t too many other candidate of GMs who come from the more executive or analyst side of the ledger. Chayka is one. And two years on, we don’t see anything that will make up hope he’s going to change anything.
Oh sure, the Coyotes are tussling with the Oilers for first place in an increasingly weird Pacific Division. Do any looking under the hood though, and you’ll see that’s merely the product of having Darcy Kuemper throw a .937 at the world. The Yotes lead the league in save-percentage, and that’s enough sometimes admittedly, but are pretty terrible anywhere else you look. They’re not even a good defensive team, they just have the goalies bail them out all the time.
And worse yet, this collection of whosits and whatsits are a cap team. Sure, some of that is taking on Marian Hossa’s salary as a favor to the Hawks really, but you shouldn’t be spilling into LTIR territory to ice a team with no genuine star. Look over this team and it’s hard to find a genuine top line/pairing player. Sure, Oliver Ekman-Larsson sure has all the appearance of that and maybe the smoothest skater in the league, but he hasn’t played a game that matters in eight seasons. Didn’t Erik Karlsson drag worse teams to the playoffs in Ottawa?
Clayton Keller maybe? We’ll give you that one, but after that it’s perfect that Nick Schmaltz was an acquisition last year. This is a team full of Nick Schmatlzes. Small, fast forwards who pass through your vision without ever doing much to make you remember them as soon as they fade out of view.
Strangely, this team is already capped out for next year as well. It only has $750K in cap space for next season with 17 players signed. What’s the plan here to get a genuine star? They probably won’t be bad enough to get into the top three draft-wise, and they have no room to lure a big free agent.
Chayka brought in Phil Kessel this summer, possibly to fill in that gap, but at 32 that’s hardly likely. And that only made up for the bad trade of Alex Galchenyuk in return for sending the little mutant Max Domi to Montreal. The Canadiens certainly aren’t complaining.
Chayka has yet to get anything out of the past two drafts other than 12 games out of Barrett Hayton, and his first round pick from ’17 was part of the Kessel trade. As it was when we last looked at this, Keller and Jakob Chychrun remain his only hits in the draft, and they look to be more second line/pairing products. Which you need, but you also need the stars they support.
Clearly money is not a problem in the desert, because of their cap status the next two years. Maybe Chayka can move along Demers and Goligoski in the last years of their deals to open up about $7M, but is that enough? Dvorak, Schmaltz, Fischer, and Keller have all been given reasonable extensions, but one might want to ask why? Where is this going?
Maybe it’s two years down the line that Chayka has circled, when Stepan, Grabner, Hjalmarsson, and the vets mentioned above come off the books and the kids should be entering their prime. Perhaps no final judgements can be made until then. Brayden Burke will join up by then, as will one or two other kids. But does Chayka have two more years without a playoff berth? If Kuemper drags them to one this year it’ll buy him the time. Maybe the Pacific’s remedial nature this year will also help. But building a fringe playoff team shouldn’t be the long-term goal. The playoffs are merely a step. Do you see a contender in the offing here?
Look, we do this every time the Coyotes wash up here. We don’t even remember they exist much less have the time to construct any villain in the piece. There isn’t one here. You can’t help but love Phil Kessel, even if he is something of a dickhead. Anyone really getting their blood angry about Nick Schmaltz’s return? You can’t pick out one moment of his Hawks career anyway. It was basically played in the dark, just like every Coyotes game. Hammer is even hurt so we can’t lament how no one appreciates that swapping him out for Murphy was actually a good trade. Did you even remember Antti Raanta was a Hawk? Yeah neither did we until we thought of it just now. They’re the Yotes. They’re there and then they’re gone. 2011 was a long time ago now.
