Hockey

Atop the Sugar Pile – Winning Streak

By Rose Rankin 2088 0

Time for the good, the bad, and the slightly compelling in the world of the Blackhawks…

The Dizzying Highs

Kirby Dach: Six points in his last four games. Two goals last night against the Sabres. Completely manhandling Jack Eichel. And not only can Dach finish, his passing has been exceptional, as his assist to Dominik Kubalik Saturday night showed. His ability to control the play and hold onto the puck are already beyond his mere 18 years of age. It’s amazing what can happen when a coach and organization have faith in a young talent and encourage it at the NHL level, isn’t it? Now put him on a line with Kampf and Kubalik, damn it.

DeBrincat-Strome-Kane line: In news that surprises nobody, 12-17-88 is an offensive juggernaut. Among them, three total points Saturday night, seven points against the Knights, eight against the Leafs a week ago, and that level of production means that even having a quiet night last night isn’t that big of a deal. Going into Sunday’s game against the Sabres, Patrick Kane had 12 points in his previous five games and he added a goal to that Sunday. He’s on a nine-game point streak, and four of his goals this week came with assists from one or both of Strome and Top Cat. DeBrincat’s pass to Kane for the fifth goal against the Predators was particularly pants-tightening. Saying this line is good is the equivalent of declaring that water is wet, but the mundaneness of the statement doesn’t make it any less true.

The Terrifying Lows

The entire team’s basic defensive abilities except goaltending: This inelegant phrase is my way of saying the Hawks are not better defensively and are giving up way too many shots, chances, what have you. Going into Sunday’s game they were dead-ass last in shots against per game, averaging 37.3, which, as anyone who has watched recently can tell you, feels way too low of a number. Scoring chances against? Ranked 27th in the league with 446. High-danger chances against? Ranked 29th with 193. Now to be fair, those are aggregate numbers and over the last week they gave up only (haha) 75 scoring chances, putting them solidly in the middle of the league in that regard. However, their shots against are still dead-ass last over this past week (going into last night’s game), and after the 57-shot insanity against the Leafs, we’re just amazed that in Sunday’s game they gave up less than 40. So sure, against the Sabres it wasn’t as horrific as earlier in the week, but that’s a very, very low bar.

This is not sustainable. We talked about this on last week’s podcast and while the goaltending has been other-worldly, it’s too much to ask of even this caliber of goalies over the course of an 82-game season. Maybe having Connor Murphy back will help—if he can stay healthy for more than a week, that is. Much has been made of moving the weak-side winger to open up their offense, and that’s been all well and good, obviously. But clearly, whether they have three, four, or 25 guys down low, the Hawks just aren’t doing what needs to be done defensively. They were shitty before the “system change” and haven’t solved the underlying issue, just papered over it with offense.

The Creamy Middles

Erik Gustafsson: He had two goals this week and is generally not terrible to watch right now. The fancy stats won’t wow you (39.4 CF%, 38.5 xGF% and so on), but there are a lot of dumb GMs out there and if Gus can continue not failing the eye test he’ll be a tradeable asset before the deadline. His tough guy routine last night will also appeal to that demographic and improve his trade value even more. And that’s all I really want from him.

Hockey

High On The Hog: The Kids Are Now Running The Farm

By Jon Fromi 1783 0

The list of the veteran presence on the Rockford IceHogs began and ended with captain Kris Versteeg. Following an announcement this weekend, cross that name off the list.

The 33-year-old Versteeg announced that he requested to be released from his AHL contract after the rigors of playing for the IceHogs proved too much for him. In statements and a press conference on the team website, Versteeg essentially hung it up in terms of his playing career.

The two-time Stanley Cup champion was injured October 18 against Chicago and missed three weeks before returning to action November 8. After two games back in the lineup, Versteeg sat out this weekend’s home-and-home with Grand Rapids before the announcement came Sunday.

In my season preview, I speculated on what kind of impact Versteeg could have with the IceHogs:

The ceiling on this move: a fit and motivated Versteeg plays 60-plus games, puts up some respectable offensive numbers, mentors the piglets on and off the ice and helps draw a few curious fans into the BMO this winter.

As it happens, he wasn’t fit following the injury. When Versteeg returned, he admitted that he didn’t believe he could stay in the lineup and take the pounding skaters receive in the AHL. I hoped for 60 games; turns out the Hogs got six, with a single assist on the score sheet.

There should be no ill feelings toward Versteeg whatsoever. Rockford took a flier on his health back in the spring; Versteeg’s body just couldn’t deliver. It happens.

The piglets must move on. Who fills the void in veteran leadership and mentoring in Rockford?

Well…it depends on what you call “veteran leadership,”.

The old man on the IceHogs is now D Philip Holm, who turns 28 next month. Holm, who had a goal in Friday’s loss to Grand Rapids, now leads the Hogs in scoring with 10 points (3 G, 7 A).

Four players (Tyler Sikura, Matthew Highmore, Collin Delia and Alexandre Fortin) are early into their third seasons in Rockford. Nick Moutrey has four AHL campaigns under his belt. Jacob Nilsson and Anton Wedin are solid citizens with experience overseas prior to coming to town. Each of these guys will have to step up for the Hogs.

This makes Rockford an even younger and less experienced squad. Unlike division rivals Chicago, Milwaukee and Grand Rapids, who are anchored by veteran talent, the IceHogs are going to sink or swim with their collection of prospects.

 

Recaps

Those prospects split the weekend with the Griffins, losing in Grand Rapids before taking the rematch at the BMO Harris Bank Center. The 8-7 IceHogs are seventh in the Central Division standings with 16 points. However, their .533 points percentage is third-best in the division.

Friday, November 15-Grand Rapids 5, Rockford 2

The Hogs dropped the first half of the weekend’s home-and-home. Rockford never led as the Griffins got four pucks by Hogs starting goalie Collin Delia.

Grand Rapids took a 2-0 advantage in the opening half of the first period. Jarid Lukosevicius collected a faceoff win in the Hogs zone and beat Collin Delia’s stick side from the high slot 6:33 into the game. A couple of minutes later, Matt Puempel beat Adam Boqvist to the left post and tapped in a cross-ice pass from Dominic Turgeon at the 8:32 mark.

The IceHogs pushed back late in the period. Phillip Kurashev took a pass from Nicolas Beaudin and came down the middle looking to get a shot off. The attempt was stopped by the stick of Grand Rapids defenseman Oliwer Kaski but came back to the rookie. Kurashev slid the puck to Matthew Highmore, who guided the pass safely behind Griffins goalie Calvin Pickard at 17:30 of the first.

Rockford appeared to tie the contest with 53 seconds left in the period after Anton Wedin redirected a Tyler Sikura shot on goal. However, it was ruled that Wedin’s stick was a bit high and the power play tally was waved off.

The Griffins extended the lead to 3-1 7:40 into the middle frame. Delia had a real good look at a Chase Pearson shot from the right dot. The offering got under Delia’s blocker and caught cord.

As in the first period, the Hogs response came late. With two Griffins in the box, Rockford found the net on a one-timer by Philip Holm, set up by Jacob Nilsson and Tyler Sikura. The goal came at the 17:29 mark; the piglets skated into the locker room down 3-2.

Midway through the third period, Chris Terry capped off some nice puck movement by the Griffins power play, firing into a wide open net after Puempel and Filip Zadina got Delia moving across the crease. Grand Rapids went up 4-2 on Terry’s ninth goal of the season. Pearson added an empty-net goal in the final minutes.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Nick Moutrey-MacKenzie Entwistle-Reese Johnson

Anton Wedin-Jacob Nilsson-Tim Soderlund

Alexandre Fortin-Tyler Sikura (A)-Dylan Sikura

Matthew Highmore (A)-Phillipp Kurashev-Brandon Hagel

Adam Boqvist-Dennis Gilbert

Philip Holm-Ian McCoshen

Nicolas Beaudin-Joni Tuulola

Collin Delia

Matt Tomkins

Power Play (1-7)

Wedin-T. Sikura-D. Sikura-Nilsson-Holm

Kurashev-Entwistle-Hagel-Boqvist-Beaudin

Penalty Kill (Griffins were 1-3)

Forwards-Wedin-Nilsson-Sikura-Fortin-Highmore-Johnson

Defense-Holm-Gilbert-Tuulola-McCoshen

 

Saturday, November 16-Rockford 5, Grand Rapids 2

Kevin Lankinen was the hero for the Hogs in the rematch, stopping 42 shots while Rockford made the most of their scoring chances. Five different Hogs potted goals in the victory.

When the smoke cleared at the first period buzzer, Grand Rapids had out shot the Hogs 17-4. Strangely enough, Rockford skated into the locker room with a 2-0 advantage.

Nick Moutrey got the IceHogs on the board 13:29 into the game with a shorthanded goal, swiping a pass and sniping high past Griffins goalie Filip Larsson. Just over a minute later, Phillipp Kurashev sent an off-angle shot past the Grand Rapids rookie.

Alexandre Fortin delivered a pass to MacKenzie Entwistle in front of the Griffins net; the rookie made it a 3-0 game 14:30 into the second period. Grand Rapids got on the board with an Evgeny Svechnikov goal, but Rockford still led 3-1 after 40 minutes.

Brandon Hagel was the recipient of a cross-ice feed from Jacob Nilsson that left Hagel with plenty of room to slide in Rockford’s fourth goal of the night. After Svechnikov got the Griffins back to within two, Fortin was sprung on a breakaway chance by Lucas Carlsson. Fortin converted at 16:00 of the final period to shut the door on Grand Rapids.

Lines (Starters in italics)

Anton Wedin-Jacob Nilsson (A)-Brandon Hagel

Nick Moutrey-Tyler Sikura-John Quenneville

Matthew Highmore-Phillipp Kurashev-Dylan Sikura

Alexandre Fortin-Reese Johnson-MacKenzie Entwistle

Chad Krys-Ian McCoshen

Philip Holm-Lucas Carlsson

Nicolas Beaudin-Denis Gilbert (A)

Kevin Lankinen

Collin Delia

Rockford did not have a power play opportunity.

Penalty Kill (Grand Rapids was 0-4, the Hogs scored shorthanded once.)

Forwards-Wedin-Nilsson-Sikura-Fortin-Moutrey-Highmore-Johnson

Defense-Holm-Gilbert-Krys-McCoshen

 

Messing With Texas

The Hogs will be spending next weekend, and then some, in the Lone Star State. Rockford visits the Texas Stars on Saturday night, then travel to San Antonio, where they will play on Sunday and Tuesday.

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

 

 

Hockey

Game #20 – See Now All My Flavors Are Guaranteed to Satisfy – Sabres 1, Hawks 4

By John Pullega 2415 0

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

Evolving Hockey

The Hawks continue to ride the shooting percentage snake. Tonight was also about as well rounded a game as they’ve played. Let’s clean it up to put a nice feather in a good weekend’s cap.

– Kirby Dach, you are our huckleberry. Dach’s been aces over the last few games, and tonight was the exclamation point on his current hot streak. We all knew that Dach had slick hands before he even got here, but the big question mark was how he would look skating at NHL speed. Tonight provided an emphatic answer. Just look at how badly he fooled Jack Eichel on his first goal.

Eichel’s caught flat-footed as Dach explodes through the neutral zone, then redirects Dach’s backhander right past Hutton. Credit A Little Bit of the Kubbly for threading that pass right past the forlorn Henri Jokiharju, but it’s Dach’s effortless stride that’s the star of the show.

On Dach’s second goal, it was almost the exact same play, just going in the opposite direction. Zack “You Actually CAN Spell Party Without Arty” Smith weaved himself into the offensive zone, swept himself into the slot, then dinked a pass to Dach, who once again outskated Eichel for a backhander. The speed-and-hands combo is going to be a nightmare for opponents if he can do that consistently, and it’s looking like he can. He ate Jack Eichel alive all night.

Kirby Dach is extremely good. He may be the cornerstone of the future for the Hawks’s forwards.

– Another game, another brilliant performance from Corey Crawford. Outside of a bad turnover behind the net that nearly led to a Sabres goal in the first, Crawford was about as flawless as could be. For once, the Hawks weren’t vastly outshot by an opponent (34–27 this time around), and they kept most of the Sabres’s attempts to the outside. There’s little more to say about how important Crawford (and Lehner) has been to this team so far.

– Patrick Kane has a nine-game scoring streak with his PP-scramble goal. That creep can roll.

– Dominik Kubalik had a quietly good game tonight, which makes the fact that had just above 12 minutes of ice time in ALL situations a bit puzzling. Yeah, I get not changing shit when it’s working. But I can’t get away from the idea of Saad–Toews–Kubalik and the damage that line could do on both sides of the puck. That line’s missing a finisher, and Kubalik has the shot to be that guy.

– Speaking of Saad, he led all Hawks forwards in ice time tonight, and rightfully so. He and Nylander had three or four 2-on-1s that they just couldn’t make work, whether because of a rogue Nylander pass or Saad’s lack of finish. Those two were so close to making their possession chemistry click that I get keeping them together with Toews, but it might be worth pushing Nylander down in the lines. He’s had success when the stakes aren’t as high. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Back to Saad, his highlight tonight came on Toews’s goal. After a bad Ristolainen turnover on the near boards, Saad crashed the net and, per usual, got stuffed. But he stuck with the puck and found a wide-open Toews in the slot. A quick flick of the wrist and it’s 4–0 Hawks.

– Connor Murphy looked good tonight with several key breakups. His sweep check on Lazar in the first prevented an odd-man rush. He had a strong block after a Crawford save on the PK in the third that prevented an open chance. When he’s healthy, he’s everything that everyone wants Olli Maatta and Calvin de Haan to be.

– De Haan was entirely at fault for the Sabres’s only goal, with an unforced giveaway to Jack “My Father Is Younger Than Me” Eichel. His entire third period was piss, but that goal was the only mistake that cost him. Something to keep an eye on, because it was out-of-character bad for him in the third.

– I’m done with Andrew Shaw, friends. Yes, he got an assist on Dach’s goal, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he can’t stickhandle for shit and his skating fucking sucks. The best example of this was at the end of the Hawks’s PP in the second. He had an unforced turnover in the offensive zone that he parlayed into a totally unnecessary neutral zone hooking penalty that put Buffalo on the PP. The Hawks killed it off and all, but this kind of shit would get most guys scratched. Shaw did end up toward the bottom end of the TOI mix, so maybe Coach Kelvin Gemstone’s brand is on the rise.

Taking nine of their last 10 points available is fun. The way they’re doing it is fun. Let’s enjoy this fun for as long as it lasts.

Onward.

Beer du Jour: High Life

Line of the Night: “He’s trying to get off really hard.” Konroyd on Dach

Hockey

Game #20 – Sabres vs Hawks Preview – Out Of The Red

By Matt McClure 1537 0

vs

Game Time: 6:00PM CST
TV/Radio: NBC Sports Chicago, ESPN+, WGN-AM 720
Bills Mafia: Die By The Blade

What just a week and a half ago looked like it might be less exciting Sunday night counter-programming to The Beloved on the west coast has suddenly become a potentially fun matchup between two teams still trying to find their place in the primordial ooze that is the first quarter of the NHL season.

Hockey

Game #20 – Sabres vs. Hawks Spotlight: The Kids Could Call You HarJu

By Sam Fels 1411 0

No point in looking anywhere else. This is where the main focus will be tonight.

It needs to be said at the top that the most likely scenario is that the Hawks long-term success will not hinge on the departure of Henri Jokharju, no matter how he does in Buffalo. At least the Hawks had better hope not. And yet you can’t help but ignore it’s another burned first round pick, assuming Alex Nylander continues to do a fearsome impression of “Memoirs Of An Invisible Man” as he has the past couple weeks.

It’s also one of the stranger sagas for a young player in the Hawks system.

What was so weird is that usually, Joel Quenneville would rather have Malort pudding than play young d-men. He was immediately enamored with Jokiharju last year. Now, that could have been out of desperation. Connor Murphy was hurt, not that Q would ever warm up to him, and the rest on display was trash. Jokiharju was at last mobile and had some skill. Remember, Q even flirted with trying to keep Boqvist around, such was his opinion of the Hawks blue line.

Jokiharju’s time in Chicago was up and down. He was up against it by starting his NHL career with Duncan Keith at perhaps his jumpiest and most disinterested, depending on the night. There were times he looked pretty calm, and others you didn’t really notice him, and others where he was getting buried. Pretty standard stuff for a teenage d-man.

But make no mistake, Jokiharju’s handling last year had a lot to do with the Hawks terrified of handling Brent Seabrook the way he deserved, and still does. The Hawks sent Jokiharju to the World Juniors, even though he didn’t want to go, because Connor Murphy was returning and the numbers indicated someone had to go. That bought them a couple weeks. They ultimately decided to keep him in Rockford because shuffling Slater Koekkoek, Carl Dahlstrom, and Gustav Forsling was a lot easier than playing Jokiharju every game and figuring the rest out. It had nothing to do with what made the Hawks better or his development.

It’s also weird how quickly he faded in their eyes. Jokiharju wasn’t terrible with them last year, even if he didn’t flash. But he went from easily making an opening night roster to suddenly below Ian Mitchell in their eyes down the road? And in only a couple months?

Clearly, something went on behind the scenes. It wasn’t much of a secret that Jokiharju wasn’t pleased about going to the WJC, and no more enthralled with the idea of spending half the season in Rockford. And the Hawks have never had much patience with kids who don’t follow their instructions silently. Generally that’s a good rule, but you do want some ambition in your prospects as well.

Jokiharju was also a victim of the Hawks slapdash, not-thought-through summer where they acquired de Haan and Maatta, who both had multiple years on their contracts left. How are they going to fit Mitchell onto the roster next year, even without the Finn taking up a spot? It’s jammed.

And if Mitchell and maybe Beaudin/Krys end up being contributors or more, and Boqvists fulfills his promise, no one’s going to notice Jokiharju’s absence. That’s what the Hawks are betting. The Sabres are certainly happy to have him.

Still, the last 10 years, the Hawks first round picks have essentially gotten them a season and a half of Teuvo Teravainen and nothing in return, a decent center in Dylan Strome but certainly no sure thing, Nylander who might not even make it out of this season, whatever Ryan Hartman was, two months of Thomas Fleischmann, and Boqvist and Dach. One was also moved along for Antoine Vermette, which hey, that works. Another was for the second go around of Andrew Ladd, which didn’t.

Here’s just a sampling of players the Hawks might have gotten with those picks: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Rickard Rakell, Jared McCann. Not exactly a great list, other than Kuznetsov back in 2010. But certainly the ones thatt have been moved along coudl have gone for more, or you’d hope they would.

Which makes Jokiharju’s trade even stranger. Certainly his value couldn’t have been hurt by letting him rip up the AHL for half of a season, or coming up when Connor Murphy invariably got injured. Maybe it wouldn’t have been too much more than Alex Nylander, but what these first round picks have become is a big reason why the Hawks are only now just putting in place a second generation after the glorious first one in the One Goal Era. Danault and Teuvo certainly would have helped with that.

Oh well.

Hockey

Game #20 – Sabres vs. Hawks: Hedley Lamarr’s Nitwits, Halfwits, And Dimwits

By Sam Fels 1297 0

Jeff Skinner – It’s not a very ornery bunch along the Falls these days, so we’ll start with the leader of the “Yeah, But Who Gives A Shit?” brigade. Tamzarian here has 252 career goals in nine seasons plus this one, which means he’s averaged just a tick under 30 goals every season. And he’s scored over 30 four times. And not a single one of them has mattered. He’s never even sniffed a playoff team with Carolina or Buffalo. The Canes, not exactly bursting with finishers, punted him to Buffalo last year and suddenly were conference finalists. Certainly not all his fault, but certainly being categorized and world-class asshole is. At some point a 35-goal scorer has to matter, otherwise you’re just doing the scoring because someone has to score goals on a given night. Skinner might already be there.

Rasmus Ristolainen – Nothing to do with him, he just sucks. And he has sucked for a long time. And the only people who can’t seem to recognize that he sucks is the Buffalo front office. Even most other NHL front offices realizes he sucks, because the Sabres haven’t been able to find a trade partner. Usually you can fool someone. The Sabres can’t.

Vladimir Sobotka – Harkens back to the days when Blues fans would massively overrate a player because he had one good game against the Hawks once. We never thought we’d miss them.

Hockey

Game #20 – Sabres vs. Hawks: Lineups & How Teams Were Built

By Sam Fels 1166 0

Sabres

 

Notes: Eichel only had four goals last night, so Hawks might want to, y’know, keep an eye on him…Tage Thompson was called up last night after the game so he might replace Okposo on the fourth line, as Okposo got hurt again if you can believe it…Rasmus Dahlin got benched last night, but it’s unlikely he’ll come out of the lineup completely…Marcus Johansson has been hurt for a while, which is why Evan Rodrigues is the second center at the moment…

 

Hawks

Hockey

Game #19: Hawks 7, Predators 2 – Just By Chance You Crossed the Diamond With The Pearl

By Rose Rankin 2062 0

Guys…I think Pekka Rinne has a terminal case of shit hip! After basically laughing publicly at the Hawks’ terrible performance a couple weeks ago, Rinne got himself laughed right out of the game tonight, giving up 4 goals on 14 shots. Ya hate to see it. And this shit went full-on DLR. Let’s get to the bullets:

Box Score

Natural Stat Trick

–Yes, Rinne was bad and Saros wasn’t great either, but the Hawks do deserve credit for playing better this time around. At first it didn’t seem that way—they spent way too much of the first period in their own zone, but they capitalized on bad goaltending and also a beautiful play from Kirby Dach to Dominik Kubalik. So it was a bit of luck and skill combined. And the pass from Dach to Kubalik was exactly why I’ve been complaining about Dach being marooned on the fourth line. He makes plays, he’s already improving his ability to hold onto the puck, and playing him with other skilled linemates will help the team now (see: tonight’s assist) and Dach’s development overall. Playing him with fourth-line bum slayers like Zack Smith will not. (Nothing against Smith even, I’m just making a point.) Doesn’t seem that hard to figure out playing Dach on the wing with Kampf and Kubalik is better than Dach centering two oafs, but whatever.

–The other funny thing about tonight was that the Hawks got domed in possession, but stats be damned I suppose. They had just a 45, 37, and 29 CF% in each period, respectively, and they were outshot 41-24, but thanks to ‘Ole Shit Hip not being able to stop much of anything and Saros not being much better, the number that really counts was in our favor the whole time.

–And let’s just be honest, the air raid offense was in full effect tonight. Seabrook’s goal was a fluky one that Rinne should have had, but Kampf’s goal was off a fantastic end-to-end play, where the Hawks got control behind their own net, moved the puck up and out, and passed it perfectly from Maata to Shaw to Kampf. Kubalik’s aforementioned goal came off a great play. Same with Nylander’s first goal. And you know what? I’ll be magnanimous about Nylander’s second too because it was a damn good shot set up by a great pass off the boards by Saad. The Hawks didn’t always control the puck or the play but they were able to get rushes and bury their shots. Would be nice if they could maybe hold onto the puck and stop giving up over 40 shots a night, but you know what they say about gift horses.

–Alex DeBrincat was excellent tonight even though he didn’t actually put the puck in the net. His ability to keep plays alive, and in particular getting the pass to Patrick Kane on the fifth goal, were outstanding. Piece of Shit Austin Watson wanted to obliterate him but couldn’t, and Garbage Dick didn’t miss once he got the pass.

–Lehner was fantastic again as well, let’s not forget that. Granted, facing 41 shots seems like an easy night with this team, but he still finished the night with a .951 SV% and absolutely kept the Hawks in it in the early going before the game was definitely in hand.

And with that, let’s not delay this DLR any longer…

 

 

Line of the Night: “That was a bad goal.” —Eddie Olczyk, stating the very obvious after Seabrook’s knuckleball on Rinne

Beer de jour: Mercury by On Tour Brewing