Not that I think Connor Murphy‘s injury will turn out to be a Wally Pip moment, because nothing really ever is. But it does open a window for the Hawks to try and get started on their future. And their future wears #27, at least on the blue line.
I’m sure the Hawks won’t call up Adam Boqvist to take Murphy’s spot. They’ll call up Dennis Gilbert because he’s the loyal foot soldier, and they can play him 12 minutes a night without scrutiny to not do a hell of a lot on the third pairing for three weeks. We’ll get more of Fetch Koekkoek, because he’s the new Rundbland and Stan is going to prove he knows what he’s doing no matter how much closer it brings us to the first instance in history of a goalie breaking his stick over his own d-man’s head on the ice. I know this, you know this.
But last night, as encouraging as it was at times, once again showed the speed deficit the Hawks have when it comes to the best teams in the league. If they red-line and play as if their pubic hair was on fire, they can almost keep up. But you can’t do that for 82 games. You can’t play that hard and that desperate, because you’ll be puddles and goo by February. You need more baseline speed.
And that’s what Boqvist is. And the defense, as strange as it might sound, could absorb him right now. Whatever they do, the clear answer is to move Calvin de Haan up to play with Duncan Keith, as de Haan can mostly emulate the safety net Murphy provides (though without most of the mobility). At the moment, that leaves Seabrook and Maatta together, which is still getting crushed even if Maatta has been better than we thought, and Gustafsson and Fetch for shifts that will have all of us walking funny and carefully to the bathroom.
Maatta and de Haan have definitely stabilized a defense that really had no other direction to go, as well as the Murphy-Keith pairing you just lost. But all it is is just defending. The Hawks don’t get up the ice any better than they did. They still need help with that. The only candidate for that is Boqvist. They need transition.
Pair him with Maatta. Let Seabrook and Gustafsson be on the third pairing, which as ugly as it might sound is better than the alternative. Maatta’s form this season at least allows for the possibility that he can be the free safety for Boqvist’s flaming guitar solos (there’s some mixed metaphors for you). It’s what the Hawks need.
We know thanks to DeBrincat’s bridge contract that the Hawks have basically zeroed in on the next three-four seasons–the length of Daydream Nation’s collective contract. Boqvist’s is already running. No waiting around. Let’s go.
-Which also means keeping Kirby Dach around. Does that mean he’s ready? No, it doesn’t. But I also don’t need too much more than the two games we’ve seen to know that he’s beyond the WHL too. And seeing as how Rockford isn’t an option…
One thing Dach is going to have to do better is get his legs pumping. NHL forwards basically spring for their entire shifts, and so far Dach has gotten caught gliding a little too often. That doesn’t mean he’s a loaf, as it’s probably more to do with him calculating what’s going on around him and then reacting instead of those two things folding seamlessly into each other, which they will. He’s going to have to map things out while moving full speed.
Dach being a bigger guy, it’s always going to look like he’s playing at a slightly slower speed because he’ll cover ground that much easier. His style is just going to look languid even if it’s not. I don’t need his legs to look like Road Runner, but they do need to move a touch more.
Still, the hands and vision and instincts are obvious. And if the Hawks are patient, I can’t see how after 30-40 games he won’t look like he belongs. And 30 games in the NHL have to be more valuable than 60 games in the WHL beating up on children because he’s that much more talented. That won’t really get him to move at higher speeds. So keep him here and get moving on these next three seasons. Let’s go.
For the first 30 or so minutes, the Hawks looked like a true NHL hockey team, if not a playoff-bound team. They kept pace with the Knights’s unbelievable-if-you-weren’t-watching-it-with-your-own-eyes speed, a team that has had the Hawks’s number since their inception. But nothing gold stays, Pony Boy, and even the most valiant effort from Robin Lehner couldn’t deliver the Hawks’s first win over Vegas. Still, there’s a lot to be hopeful about. Let’s suss the hope out.
– Robin Lehner was incredible tonight, stopping 33 of 34 shots, including a Tony O-esque pad stack in OT. He was calm and fluid throughout the entire game, even as the Knights ratcheted up their attack in the final 30 minutes of the game. It’s nothing more than a bummer that he let Holden’s shot squeak through the five hole in the waning minutes. Without Lehner, this is a route. Thank Christ NYI had no more use for him.
– Kirby Dach scored his first career goal off his knee. Aside from that, he looked like the future centerman the Hawks need him to be. He nearly had two goals, as he was wide open in the crease for a Garbage Dick pass that was blocked. Dach also set up two excellent chances for teammates: one in the first in which he entered the zone with power, corralled a Flower poke check, then peeled off the near boards for a pass to Gus that turned into an A+ Kane chance; and another chance for DeBrincat in the third that should make whatever equipment you have move and shake. He chased down a loose puck in the offensive zone and tapped it to a streaking Top Cat, who just missed getting it by Flower’s toe.
His only real boners were immediately after his goal, when he fell asleep in his own zone and rolled out the carpet for Jonathan Marchessault, and then turned the puck over after Lehner stopped that shot. His minutes were extremely low thanks to a glut of special teams play, and you hope that Coach Kelvin Gemstone will switch out Nylander for him at some point.
– Olli Maatta was outstanding tonight. He set up Dach’s goal entirely on his own, taking a quick feed from Strome, curling behind the net, and then firing a shot-pass to a wide-open Dach. The fancy stats don’t flesh it out at all (34+ CF%, 24+ xGF%), but for once I can confidently say “Fuck your analytics.” Olli Maatta was relatively impressive tonight, and I would like to sign up for this newsletter.
– This was a vintage performance from Duncan Keith. He was everywhere and for all the right reasons. He led the Hawks in ice time by almost six whole minutes (28:03 total) thanks to a mysterious Connor Murphy injury. His 46+ CF% is a result of the Knights swirly-ing the Hawks in the third, as he had a positive share through the second. He made a strong feed to Saad in the third that Saad couldn’t finish, too. If this is the version of Duncan Keith we’re going to get regularly, hope springs eternal.
– Brandon Saad FUCKS. Well, until his failed clear late in the third, which is probably a harsh assessment per se. He had multiple chances that a locked-in Flower denied, and he killed off a ton of time by himself on the PK just before the 4-on-4 in the second. He and Carpenter were nails on the PK tonight, and Saad and Kubalik have obvious chemistry which would probably go really, really well with a quiet Jonathan Toews.
– Dominik Kubalik was all over the place and is proving once again that the Hawks’s European scouting team is a gold standard. We all sort of expected the offensive potential (as he showed with his 10 SOG against Washington), but the defense looks like it might be just as stout, the best evidence of which came off his slot-pass breakup toward the end of the third.
– Outside of the shootout goal, Jonathan Toews had another piss-poor outing. He and DeBrincat should work in theory, but they don’t work in practice. I know it’s cherry picking here, but his 37+ CF% and 30+ xGF% were much more indicative of his play than, say, Maatta’s numbers. He and DeBrincat are ghosts out there, which might be more worrying for Toews’s performance than DeBrincat’s. Either way, it might be time to put DeBrincat with Dach and Kane, and give Toews Saad and Kubalik.
–Are we all sure we want to give Strome money and years? Yeah, he’s playing on the wing, and yeah, Colliton is jerking him around on the PP1 in favor of Alex Nylander for some dumbass reason, but he’s been awfully quiet lately. Not ready to throw him out yet, but I’m curious about when the curtain comes up on him.
– Any time Erik Gustafsson wants to start being the 60-point defenseman everyone was tripping over their own genitals to remind us he was last year would be nice.
– Connor Murphy spent most (or all) of the third in the locker room for undisclosed reasons. If he’s out of any extended period, I would like to see Adam Boqvist in his spot rather than Slater Koekkoek.
– Brayden McNabb can suck the shit directly out of my ass and call it Golden Corral. His knee on Kane was filth.
The first half of this game was fun, but the Hawks got run over by a better team as the game went on. While there’s a lot to be excited about after this game, there’s still a lot to improve upon.
Onward.
Beer du Jour: Maker’s Mark and High Life
Line of the Night: “And he’s still growing.” –Konroyd describing Kirby Dach’s physical largess.
vs. 
RECORDS: Knights 6-4-0 Hawks 2-3-1
PUCK DROP: 7:30
TV: NBCSN Chicago
I NEEDED SOMETHING TO CUT THE LIMES: Sinbin.Vegas
We’re staying on the theme of the day, aren’t we?
Let’s get it out of the way at the top. The Hawks have never beaten the Knights. They’ve only gotten a point off of them once in six tries. They’ve been outscored 30-17 in those games. If there’s any team that has spent the last two years illustrating how far behind the Hawks have fallen in team speed and style, it’s the Knights. Most of these contests, the Hawks haven’t been anywhere near them. If the Hawks want to show that they can actually compete in this conference, or have figured out how the game is played now and how they can live in it, tonight would be something of an indicator.
And they might not get a better chance. They have the Knights at home, and on the second of a back-to-back. The Knights got walloped in Philadelphia last night, though some of that was having Oscar Dansk in net and not Marc-Andre Fleury, whom the Hawks will get tonight. So yeah, whole “ANGRY TEAM” thing, but also a tired one. Which means they’ll only be faster than the Hawks by a factor of six instead of eight, or thereabouts.
Let’s start with the Hawks. Robin Lehner will take his turn in net, and seeing as how he had to Atlas the Hawks to two points against the Jackets, he’s probably more in shape for what will almost certainly be a 35+ save effort if the Hawks are going to get something out of this. No word on what the Hawks will do lineup-wise, though they might want to reconfigure their top six again and get Kirby Dach on a wing for this one. Unless they want him dealing with any of William Karlsson, Paul Stastny, or Cody Eakin, Which they definitely do not.
So far, they appear to be sticking with Sunday’s lineup, but look for changes as this game rolls along.
Right, to the Knights. At times they’ve looked utterly unstoppable this season, such as when they pulverized the Sharks twice to open the season or gave the Flames a colonoscopy for fun. They’ve also been well-beaten by the Preds and Flyers, and tied the Senators, so it’s been a bit goofy–as hockey tends to be.
They haven’t been quite the possession monster of years past, at last in terms of attempts. They don’t generate or prevent that many, middling in both categories. When it comes to actual chances though, they’re one of the better teams around, generating far more than they give up. So they’ll let you have the outside, but nothing in the middle and as soon as they block a shot they’re off to the races.
At the moment, it’s their second line that’s the real danger. Mark Stone is a supernova at this point, and taking Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny along for the ride. Not that the Hawks have been able to do anything about Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, or Wild Bill in the past either.
Cody Glass and his eminently punchable, smirking rich kid face is the new hotness on the third line, and whenever Alex Tuch returns to flank Eakin on the other side this third line will be as dangerous as many top six units in the league. And that’s if they don’t move Glass to center, which is his natural spot.
At this point, the drill with the Knights is well-known. They have a profusion of speed at forward on all four lines, and their game is simply to get it up to them and up the ice as quickly as possible. One pass or one chip out into the neutral zone and they’re gone. When not doing that, they have no compunction about sending two forecheckers below the opposing goal line to free up the puck and get chances while the other team is scrambling.
The Hawks struggle, at least for one reason, against this team because they still try their intricate breakouts or exits, and it just won’t work. They also don’t have the foot-speed on defense to even give themselves enough time to inhale and bank one off the glass to get out of the zone. That’s the game against the Knights, is you have to get the puck past their forwards that constantly look like the Tasmanian Devil in that cloud he would create when really losing it. Once you do that you can get at this defense as the Flyers did last night. It’s not that good, but it’s well protected and not asked to do much more than clog the middle of their zone, and wing the puck in the general direction of their forwards.
The Hawks think they’re equipped to do this now. We’ll see.
Upon trading for Mark Stone, the Golden Knights signed him to an eight-year extension worth $9.5M. It’s in the top-20 among cap hits in the league, except everyone above Stone have either major hardware, 90+ point seasons, or something similar (aside from Jack Eichel, who at least has youth on his side). It caused me to write this. Surely this was another excessive move from the Knights, who in just to seasons had capped themselves out and cost themselves a player like Gusev or Erik Haula or one or two others.
Looks like a nailed another one.
Mark Stone has 12 points through the Knights first nine games, and what the Knights might have guesses is that getting out of Ottawa would boost his production and game. Stone only put up 11 points in his 18 games in Vegas last year with just five goals. But if you looked beneath the surface, you could see that if things came correct, Stone is going to bust out in serious fashion this season.
All of Stone’s metrics took off upon arrival in the desert and haven’t stopped this year. His individual shots per 60 minutes went from 6.15 in Ottawa to over 10 in Vegas. His individual expected goals from 0.65 to 0.9, and it’s over one this season. His attempts from 11.3 per 60 to 17.3 last year, and 14. 1 this year. Scoring chances or high-danger chances have both gone up nearly 50% at least.
The only reason Stone saw his production drop in Vegas last year is that he suffered from some wicked, fiendish S% treachery. He was shooting over 19% in Ottawa, and only managed 9.3% in Vegas. Well here comes the argument…we mean the correction, because he’s shooting over 20% so far this season. His career mark is 15%, so while he’s not this guy, you wouldn’t count on a huge drop-off fro the rest of the year.
So yeah, the 54 goals and 109 points he’s on pace for right now would probably be worth $9.5M, huh?
So while we want to make fun, it just might be the Knights are set up. The entire top six is locked in long -term here, which means it might not matter much what’s on the bottom six. Cody Eakin, Tomas Nosek and Ryan Reaves are all free agents next year, but those spots could be filled with kids or vets who only require $1M-$2M.
Sure, there’s some holes on defense. Holden and Merrill will be free agents, but as the Knights have already proven, their fates don’t really rest on the quality of their defense, John Merrill and Nick Holden are not going to sink any team with their departures, and if they do that team probably sucked anyway. Again, they could fill those spots with kids and probably be fine thanks to the top six and their style.
Perhaps George McPhee just deserves credit for identifying a player who was being somewhat wasted in a defensive system run by a coach who is a genius only in his own mind and thinking he would flourish in the way Vegas play. Hell, that’s what he did with his top line. It hasn’t spread to Max Pacioretty yet, but with the way Stone is playing, it might not be long now.
It also suggests we should just shut up.
Ryan Reaves – As if it could be anyone else. Perhaps the most annoying portion of the Knights, and it’s a crowded field, is the idea they love to spout that they somehow rehabilitated this guy. And not that his improved numbers have anything to do with playing with actually talented fourth liners like Tomas Nosek or William Carrier or Ryan Carpenter last year, as we’re finding out. And the more people react to Reaves’s shit, the more he revels in it and the more it multiplies. This guy is a herpe.
Cody Glass – If you were looking for a rookie to add to the Most Punchable Face Team, here’s you’re winner in a landslide. Take Matt Duchene’s rich-kid gape and multiply it by ten and you’ve got Glass.
All The Fans In The Stands Tonight – We wouldn’t have thought so, but it only took one season for the Knights to have some of the more obnoxious bandwagon fans on Earth. And we know they’re not all traveling from Vegas around the country. This is the Avs from ’99 all over again. Maybe a Tuesday night will keep them at bay a bit, but if you’re heading to the UC tonight you’ll see. These are the grown-up versions of the kid in your class who always wore a Niners Startup jacket.
It’s the good, the bad, and the moderately acceptable in the world of the Blackhawks this week…
The Dizzying Highs
Drake Caggiula: Two goals in two games from Caligula earns him a spot in the Highs this week. The first came when he was on the top line against Columbus, and the second came during his stint on the bottom line against Washington, off a great pass from Alex Nylander, showing that while Caggiula is really a bottom six guy, he is producing throughout the lineup (such as it is) right now, so more power to him.
The Third Line: Saad-Kampf-Kubalik is the real deal. Every time they’ve played together they’ve dominated possession, and they can score to boot (example: third goal against the Capitals Sunday). Whether it’s stats or the eye test, they’re passing it. It feels like a resurgence for Saad as well, as he finds a place in the lineup where he can make an impact without all the outsized expectations. Luckily Beto O’Colliton seems to have realized this as well and is keeping them together so far.
The Terrifying Lows
Erik Gustafsson: To be honest, there are a lot of guys on this team that could be here right now. But I don’t make the rules, and I can’t put the entire team in the Terrifying Lows (yet), so we’re going with Gus, who’s been demoted to the third pairing and is still managing to suck balls. He’s had four assists but most of them were a couple weeks ago, he’s got no goals, his possession numbers are underwater, and Calvin de Haan has had to drag his ass around because Keith and Murphy are a more trustworthy pairing then Keith and Gus. Plus, de Haan is an actual defenseman and Gus clearly needs a babysitter. QB’ing the power play was his only redeeming quality and that hasn’t resulted in much of anything lately. We’ve been saying sell high…
The Penalty Kill: As of this writing it was 28th in the league. Same as it ever was.
Pat Foley: Whatta jamoke. Not only did he make a mildly sexist comment about female hockey players’ appearance, but he did it mere weeks after making a mildly racist comment about a player’s name. There isn’t much I can add to what Pullega and Sam have already said, but ultimately it’s up to the Blackhawks as to whether they want to deal with the Hawk Harrelson level of dumbassery that’s clearly here to stay (and I say this as a lifelong Sox fan with many fond memories of Hawk calling games throughout my childhood).
The Creamy Middles
Goaltending: So we’ve all been waiting to see how the Crawford-Lehner duopoly would work out and…it’s too early to say that one guy has the hot hand and the other doesn’t. To be fair though, Lehner looked outstanding earlier in the weekend against the Blue Jackets with a .949 SV%. Crawford has been a little shakier, with an .862 SV% against the Capitals on Sunday but a great performance against the Oilers before that (.964). A few of the goals by the Caps can’t really be blamed on Crawford (e.g, Wilson’s goal when Seabrook was actually interfered with and didn’t just fall on his ass on his own, for once), yet he hasn’t always been sharp. To be clear, I am not advocating to bench Crawford. I am just pointing out that the goaltending has been a mix of great and mediocre and so we’re still waiting to see how this goes.
Kirby Dach: Yes, it’s the smallest of sample sizes, so let’s just be up front about that. But Dach was thrown into the deep end immediately and handled it well. At least, he didn’t cause any problems or make anything worse. And he had a beautiful pass to Kane that should have been a goal on the backhand (I think Kane wasn’t expecting such a spot-on pass), some quality backchecking, and even put his babyface in the right place at the right time to draw a four-minute penalty (the fact that the Hawks ended up DOWN after that wasn’t really his fault). There’s not much else to commend him for, but he wasn’t bad.
Alexander Nylander: I’m being fair here, everyone, give me some credit. You know I don’t like him and will hold against him something that he can’t control (being traded for a player I think is better). However, Nylander had two assists on Sunday against the Capitals and even got elevated from the fourth line (which was actually clicking quite well so no shit-talking here about the fourth line). Over the weekend he’s had a 53 CF% and has generally been helpful wherever Colliton has put him. Small sample size again, but it’s taking the sting out of that trade right now.
The Rockford IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, got themselves into the win column in style over the weekend. The piglets picked up their first points of the 2019-20 campaign with a home-and-home sweep of the Chicago Wolves.
After besting their interstate rival 3-2 at the BMO Harris Bank Center Friday night, the IceHogs made the trip to Allstate Arena and posted a 3-2 overtime win. Rockford has a ways to go to get themselves into the upper half of the Central Division standings, but two wins over your closest neighbor has to feel pretty good.
The Hogs currently sit in seventh place in the division with a 2-3 record. Iowa has yet to be defeated in regulation and leads the Central with a eleven points in six games. San Antonio is second with eight standings points; Milwaukee and Texas each have seven.
Rockford’s 2.20 goals per game average is second-worst in the Western Conference. The IceHogs have also started the season 0-18 on the man advantage. Not surprisingly, that’s the nadir of the AHL through the first three weeks of action.
Despite the Hogs struggles on offense, the arrow is pointed up at the moment. Rockford got some great play in net from Collin Delia Friday and Matt Tomkins on Saturday. Tomkins, who is with the IceHogs while Kevin Lankinen recovers from an upper body injury, picked up his first career AHL victory with a 31-save performance.
Roster News
Following Friday’s game, Kirby Dach was recalled from his conditioning stint by the Blackhawks. Dach went pointless in three games with Rockford, but played pretty well. He was entrusted with a lot of minutes by Hogs coach Derek King.
Dach’s departure leaves 17 forwards on the current roster. That’s just way too many if King has to find steady minutes for everyone. For whatever reason, the Hawks loaded up on entry deals this spring and summer. There are only three AHL contracts among the forward corps. Two of them won’t be going anywhere soon.
Kris Versteeg wasn’t signed to play in Indy. The Hogs captain will be in Rockford all season. Versteeg left Friday’s win after the first period and did not play Saturday. King gave the impression that the injury was not serious; I’ll take him at his word until I don’t see Versteeg in the lineup in Cleveland this weekend.
Tyler Sikura is also a mainstay in King’s lineup, and rightly so. At 27 and on an AHL contract, Sikura the Elder is not a prospect. However, he is a huge part of this team at both ends of the ice.
Sikura plays a simple game, but he has shown a consistent ability to finish the scoring opportunities he creates. He had a two-goal night in Chicago Saturday, including the game-winner. Sikura not only scored the overtime goal, he created the scoring chance by forcing a turnover.
Sikura is an excellent penalty killer and also provides grit on the power play. On a squad with a microscopic veteran presence, Sikura stands out as a skater who can put points on the scoreboard.
Rockford has seven rookies in the forward bunch. The only players besides Versteeg who are even close to veteran status are Sikura, Nick Moutrey and 26-year-old Swede Anton Wedin, who has points in three of his four games.
Imagine the log jam there would be if Graham Knott and Nathan Noel, both on the final year of entry contracts, were in Rockford instead of Indy right now. Still, minutes are going to be hard-earned with so many forwards.
Mikael Hakkarainen is still dealing with an injury suffered opening night. John Quenneville took a big hit in the third period Saturday and could miss some time in addition to Versteeg. King is still trying to find chemistry in his line combinations. Expect to see several youngsters in and out of the lineup in the next month.
The defensive situation is nowhere near as crowded. King iced the same six skaters on the blueline in both games after Adam Boqvist took a puck in the mouth Friday morning at practice. Unless Jack Ramsey, who was sent back to Indy last week, is recalled, I’d expect Boqvist to be ready to roll in Cleveland.
Early Standouts
I have really been impressed by Philip Holm so far. He’s been a stabilizing force on the defense and has show a knack for getting into the action on offense. Holm has a pair of goals and an assist so far and is third on the club with 12 shots on goal.
Wedin, like Sikura, has been solid at both ends. Holm, Sikura and Wedin all have two goals and an assist through five games. Dylan Sikura leads the club with three goals and an apple. He’s also a plus-three with 16 shots on goal. Both are team highs.
Recaps
Friday, October 18-Rockford 3, Chicago 2
The Hogs rode a dominant first period to their first victory of the season in an Illinois Lottery Cup matchup with the Wolves.
All three Rockford tallies were recorded in the opening frame. The IceHogs out shot Chicago 17-4 in that span. The first goal came 5:28 into the game, after Brandon Hagel just missed getting his stick on Phillipp Kurashev’s centering pass in front of Wolves goalie Garret Sparks.
Dylan Sikura got a hold of the loose puck and sent it around the end boards, where Hagel wound up with it. Skating to the right faceoff dot, Hagel centered to Sikura, who converted the offering into his third goal of the season and a 1-0 Rockford lead.
Alexandre Fortin was the catalyst for a shorthanded goal midway through the period, swiping the puck from Chicago’s Reid Duke and streaking to the Wolves net.
The shot attempt was stopped by the right pad of Sparks, but the Chicago skaters mishandled the long rebound and Fortin wound up with the puck on his stick at the right post. John Quenneville was behind the Wolves goalie, sliding in the short feed across the goal line at the 12:48 mark.
Late in the first, Jacob Nilsson hauled in a stretch pass from Chad Krys and powered his way to the Chicago net. Sparks stopped the attempt, but the loose puck slid into the right circle. Hagel did a nice job tying up the stick of Wolves wing Tyrell Goulbourne, allowing Anton Wedin to scoop up the loose biscuit. Wedin looped into the slot and beat Sparks to the far post with a wrist shot, making it 3-0 IceHogs heading into the first intermission.
Rockford was not as effective in the next forty minutes, particularly at the faceoff dot. The Wolves got a goal from Jaycob Megna in the second period and a power play strike by Gage Quinney late in the third. However, the Hogs managed to hang on to secure the victory.
Captain Kris Versteeg left the game following the first period and did not return to action.
Lines (Starters in italics)
John Quenneville-Tyler Sikura-Alexandre Fortin
Matthew Highmore-Kirby Dach-Dylan Sikura
Kris Versteeg (C)-Phillipp Kurashev-Aleksi Saarela
Anton Wedin-Jacob Nilsson (A)-Brandon Hagel
Dennis Gilbert (A)-Lucas Carlsson
Philip Holm-Nicolas Beaudin
Chad Krys-Joni Tuulola
Collin Delia
Power Play (0-5)
Versteeg-Nilsson-Dach-Wedin-Holm
D. Sikura-Saarela-Kurashev-Hagel-Beaudin
Penalty Kill (Wolves were 1-6, Rockford posted a shorthanded goal.)
Forwards-Highmore, T. Sikura, Wedin, Nilsson, Quenneville, Fortin
Defense-Gilbert, Tuulola, Krys, Holm
Saturday, October 19-Rockford 3, Chicago 2 (OT)
Tyler Sikura and Matt Tomkins, two of Rockford’s AHL contracts were the big names at Allstate Arena Saturday. Sikura had two goals, including the game-winner, while Tomkins picked up the win with 31 stops on the night.
Rockford scored first via a Sikura goal 12:22 into the contest. The play was set up by Lucas Carlsson, who sent a clearing pass to Dylan Sikura in the neutral zone.
Tyler hauled in the bro-pass coming toward the left circle. Sikura the Elder let fly with an attempt that rebounded off the pads of Wolves goalie Garret Sparks. The rebound glanced off of Chicago defenseman Brayden Pachal and slid past Sparks for a 1-0 IceHogs advantage.
Less than three minutes later, Pachal found Lucas Elvenes knocking at the backdoor of the Rockford cage. Elvenes punched the puck home past Hogs goalie Matt Tomkins for his third of the season at 15:03.
The score remained tied until 4:50 into the third. Philip Holm got the play started in his own zone, setting up Reese Johnson with a clearing pass. Johnson hustled into Wolves territory before dropping a pass to Aleksi Saarela. Holm played the role of trailer to perfection, taking Saarela’s pass at the left circle and slinging it past Sparks to put Rockford up 2-1.
Late in the game, the Hogs found themselves down a man after Chad Krys sent a clearing attempt into the stands. Alexandre Fortin picked off a pass and found himself with a breakaway chance. Unfortunately, Fortin was unable to finish the opportunity.
Curtis McKenzie came back the other way and tied the game for the Wolves a few seconds later. McKenzie’s shot glanced off of Dennis Gilbert, who was prone on the ice to close off passing lanes, and slid though the wickets of Tomkins to even the score at two goals with 3:56 remaining. Regulation ended without a deciding goal.
It took most of Gus Macker Time, but the IceHogs prevailed with Tyler Sikura’s second goal of the evening. Sikura forced a Nicolas Roy turnover in the Rockford zone; Joni Tuulola gathered the loose puck and sprung Sikura for the breakaway. The Elder slammed the door on Chicago with a stick-side wrister past Sparks with 12 seconds left.
John Quenneville took a big hit in front of the Rockford bench in the third period. He went to the locker room favoring his left side and did not return.
Lines (Starters in italics)
Matthew Highmore (A)-Tyler Sikura (A)-Dylan Sikura
Anton Wedin-Jacob Nilsson-Brandon Hagel
John Quenneville-MacKenzie Entwistle-Alexantre Fortin
Nick Moutrey-Reese Johnson-Aleksi Saarela
Joni Tuulola-Dennis Gilbert
Chad Krys-Lucas Carlsson
Philip Holm-Nicolas Beaudin
Matt Tomkins
Power Play (0-3)
Wedin-Entwistle-Hagel-Nilsson-Holm
Highmore-Quenneville-D. Sikura-T. Sikura-Carlsson
Penalty Kill (Wolves were 1-3)
Forwards–Highmore, T. Sikura, Wedin, Nilsson, Quenneville, Fortin, Moutrey
Defense-Gilbert, Tuulola, Krys, Holm
Coming Up
Rockford will be on the road this upcoming weekend, traveling to Cleveland for two games with the Monsters. I’ll preview that match-up Friday.
Follow me @JonFromi on twitter for news and notes on the IceHogs all season long.
My biggest concern for the Hawks going into this season was that they might end up having a good forward group and good goaltending undone by a terrible blue line. Tonight, that was absolutely the case, with a little help from Braden Holtby playing well for the first time this year. The Hawks pretty much dominated this game to the tune of a 59.81 CF% and a 44-30 shot on goal advantage, and yet it still came down to a few key saves by Holtby and a few terrible plays from the Hawks blue line. It’s my first time this year, so let’s get back it in style:
– Brace yourself for this one: Alex Nylander was quite good tonight. In fact, two of the Hawks’ three goals were the direct results of him making some kind of very good play. One of them was even a very good play in his defensive zone! I KNOW! I was shocked too! On the Hawks first goal, Nylander did a nice job getting to the front of the net where the puck found him before he made a beautiful no-look, backhand pass to a wide open Drake Caggiula who was waiting in the slot with a fucking soccer net to shoot at, and accordingly did not miss.
The second great play from Nyland led to the Hawks’ third goal, as he stepped up very nicely onto a cross-ice pass near the Hawks’ blue line and intercepted it, then quickly got it to Kane and transitioned them into a two-on-one. Nylander caught up quickly and opened himself up, but Kane decided to shoot (Feather talked about this having been a thing a few times last week even, and it continued here) and found the net to draw the Hawks even. Overall, Nylander finished the night with a 53.57 CF%, which was well below team rate, but when the Hawks dominate possession like they did tonight it feels like splitting hairs to pick on that part and ignore that 53.57% is very good.
– On the other end of the spectrum, I am truly not sure what it is that Erik Gustafsson is still doing on this roster. We’ve talked about it time and time again, but the Hawks really should have traded him either at the trade deadline last year or certainly at the draft. At this point, he isn’t even good at the things he is supposed to be good at. The Hawks gave up a shorthanded goal tonight (more on that in a moment) that only game together because Gus tossed Kane a hand-grenade pass across the ice – Kane literally had to settle it with his hands – which forced him to flounder with the puck and turned into a 2-on-1 for Washington, which Gus defended like absolute shit and the Caps scored.
Then in the final minute, Colliton called his timeout to draw up a play after an icing, and he had to literally draw up a a faceoff play that did not involve Gustafsson because he can’t even receive the puck off the draws. And then after that play, when Gus did get the puck, he lost it and shortly after the puck went 200-feet the other way for the Caps final goal.
At this point, there is no excuse to not have Adam Boqvist here playing the Gustafsson role. Boqvist almost undeniably does the offensive part of “offensive defenseman” better than Gus, is probably a wash at worst in the defensive zone, and at least if he played like this you could understand it given that he’s 19. Gustafsson is 27. Get him gone.
– Not sure what happened over the summer, perhaps the Magic Training Camp undid it, but the Hawks power play is back to sucking big time, and it looks mysteriously a lot like how it looked when Q was here. Fixing the PP was one of the few things Colliton really had to hang his hat on last year, so to have it fall apart like this is not exactly good for him.
– Speaking of the power play, and circling back to that shorthanded goal, it is impressively bad that the Hawks went into a four-minute double-minor power play in a 1-1 tie and came out of it down 2-1. I would like someone to find out how many times a team has gone into a 4-min PP tied and come out of it losing. It cannot be that many.
– Yes he got knocked over, but Brent Seabrook watching the Caps score a goal from the goalmouth while he is sitting on his ass in front was a work of art sculpted by the hockey gods themsevles. It was truly impressive.
– I am a big fan of the Saad-Kampf-Kubalik line. Keep them going.
– Kirby Dach did not jump off the ice tonight, but he played well. In the first period he won a really nice battle in the corner before setting Kane up with a beautiful scoring chance. He didn’t do a whole lot else in the game honestly, but at least he wasn’t awful. I will keep coming back for more.
Also, to #18 of Washington whose name I choose not to look up, if you ever hook that boy by the face again I will hunt you down, find you, and kill you. Thanks.
– Hawks go next on Tuesday against Vegas. Until then.
