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  • Gameday Beer Of The Week: Alesmith Old Numbskull

    Gameday Beer Of The Week: Alesmith Old Numbskull

    Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you’re well into your planning and prep for your meal. With the holiday coming up tomorrow, it only feels right to talk about something you should bring to the table if you’re the kind that drinks beer instead of wine with your meal… I generally do both. Now in general, you can’t go wrong with a good pilsner with your meal. Generally light and dry won’t overpower anything but also won’t back down.

    But that’s not as much fun as something big and complex. So if you’re looking grab something at the store today or tomorrow, might I suggest Old Numbskull. Old Numbskull is an award winning Barleywine from AleSmith, based out in San Diego, CA. I won’t go too into the history of Barleywines but just know they are strong, rich, boozy beers that compliment Thanksgiving meals perfectly. Old Numbskull is 11%, a perfect sipper that ought to improve throughout the meal as the beer warms up. Most barleywines have an remaining sweetness from the malts up front that will transform into a biting bitterness from its aggressive hopping at the end. Plenty of toffee and burnt sugar wrapped up with roasted malts and dark red fruitiness. Buy two now, enjoy one tomorrow and save the other for next year to see how the beer changes. Or just drink them both tomorrow and get fucked up. Barleywine is life.

  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning Preview/Jewelry Heist: Follow Me Light Bulb

     vs. 

    RECORDS: Hawks 10-8-2   Lightning 15-3-2

    PUCK DROP: 6:30

    TV: NBCSN Chicago for the locals, NBCSN proper for the non-locals

    FLORIDA MEN: Raw Charge

    The degree of difficulty certainly goes up for the Hawks tonight. While fashioning together a modest two-game winning streak against the hottest team in the league but flawed Rangers and the defending champs but scuffling Penguins, the Hawks will get a face-full of the best team in the league in the Tampa Bay Lightning. If you’re already feeling a small shiver, don’t worry. A) you’re not alone, and B) it’s Blackout Wednesday so either you won’t remember this one or won’t even see it at all as you prepare to spend the day tomorrow with weirdos who share your last name/blood/both.

    We’ll start in the obvious place with the Bolts, which is their top line that is simply a boom-stick right now. Namestnikov-Stamkos-Kucherov is probably the best line going, and they’ve only combined for 88 points in 20 games so far. Stamkos is off to the best start of his career, with 35 points in the first 20 games which  puts him on pace for 143 for the season. Kucherov is on a 70-goal pace, and if he gets out there against Seabrook consistently tonight that pace might jump to a 105. Kucherov is an under-the-radar Hart candidate and was last year as well, but will struggle to get votes as the crusty hockey media try and wheel pose their way into handing every award to a Canadian who can barely read but has a name they can pronounce.

    But it’s not just a one-line team. Brayden Point has emerged as a weapon for all occasions, being asked to take on the top lines of other teams and providing scoring of his own with Baby Hossa Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde, which no is not a physical condition or a Mediterranean dish/singer. Tyler Johnson and Alex Killorn are being used in a creative way where they are the line that’s short a winger in their seven-defensemen look, and can be used to boost scoring as a straight up checking line. Ryan Callahan, J.T. Brown, and Chris Kunitz all get a look there, but Kucherov or Palat can also get extra shifts there if the Lightning need offense.

    The back end has the same problems it always had, but less of them. There are still definite plodders and creatures in Dan Girardi, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr. But their roles have been relegated to third pairing. Victor Hedman hasn’t hit the heights of the past yet, but is still one of the more dynamic d-men you’ll find. Mikhail Sergachev has been the second puck-mover they’ve always needed behind Hedman, and has allowed Anton Stralman to age into the more conservative partner role.

    All of that’s backed up by Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has been a Chicago construction crew in his first full year as a starter, stopping anything that’s in front of him. He’s at .928 for the season.

    Clearly it’s an impressive package. There’s a reason they’ve only missed out on eight points of the 40 on offer and are simply horsing the East right now. And they can play it however they need to. Jon Cooper, while not sorting his various oils and balms, is one of the league’s leading #NotAMorons, and usually has the Bolts playing up-tempo and high-pressure. They’re almost always fun to watch, with Hedman and now Sergachev they can run with anyone. But if they have to they can lock it down as well through Johnson, Point, Killorn, Palat, Callahan, and their various clydesdales blocking shooting lanes down low.

    So yeah, tall timber here.

    For the Hawks, they’ll roll out the same lineup that got one over the Penguins, and there’s no reason to expect that Corey Crawford won’t have a lot of work to do tonight. Cooper will certainly look to get his matchups, and when his top line is out there against… well, really any pairing, it’s going to be an adventure. And it won’t be a slow one. Good way to go into the holiday. Enjoy it.

     

     

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  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Spotlight – Steve Yzergone

    Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Spotlight – Steve Yzergone

    For most of our existence, we’ve done our best to mock Steve Yzerman’s reign as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning. The scars of damage inflicted during his playing days do not heal so fast, or at all, dear friends. We simply wouldn’t relent. And as the Lightning struggled at times, we laughed and pointed and mocked. It was made even better at Red Wings fans cried their usual rivers of tears and motor oil (all of which they dump in Flint) that Yzerman was allowed to leave Detroit at all.

    And yet, here we are, and Yzerman is leading the best team in the league at the moment and almost certainly the Cup favorite. And they were that before the season. And we have to admit…hang with us here…this isn’t going to be easy…

    Steve Yzerman is pretty good at his job.

    His drafting record is among the best you’ll find. The first one in 2010 didn’t go so well, but did provide two NHL-ers in Brett Connolly and Radko Gudas, even if the latter should be sitting in front of a parole board/firing squad at the moment. The following year netted the Bolts Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Kucherov, Nikita Nesterov, and Ondrej Palat. The following year saw Slater Koekkoek, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Cedric Pacquette, and Jake Dotchin. 2013 brought Jonathan Drouin, which turned into Mikhail Sergachev. Brayden Point was taken in 2014. That’s 12 players that either are on this team now, have contributed heavily in the past, or were turned into pieces that are contributing now. And in Kucherov he’s got a potential Hart Trophy winner.

    Yes, Yzerman inherited Stamkos and Hedman, which are the two big building blocks and any GM should be rated on the the foundational pieces he brings in. But certainly Kucherov and Palat are building blocks as well. Sergachev may well turn into one.

    Yes, Yzerman has had a blind spot on his blue line, where contracts have been handed out to Braydon Coburn, Dan Girardi, Jason Garrison, and one or two other overgrown sloths with gloves. That’s been balanced this year by Sergachev and Anton Stralman a few years ago. It clearly hasn’t killed them.

    Where Yzerman’s real creativity has come in has been dancing around the salary cap. “CAPOCALYPSE!” has been predicted for the Lightning for a few years now, and it just hasn’t materialized. The big piece was convincing Steven Stamkos that the no-state-income-tax in Florida would benefit him greatly, even if his salary wasn’t as high as it would have been in New York or Toronto or Montreal. Stamkos on pace for 120 points at $8.5 million sure seems value now. Tyler Johnson’s $5 million a season might be a bit of an overreach, but hardly scandalous. Same with Alex Killorn’s $4.4, though the fact that runs from here until President’s Warren’s swearing-in might be an issue.

    What’s more is that the Lightning have two or three years more to this window that’s already seen them get to a Final and a Game 7 Conference Final. Kucherov is due new paper after next season, and considering the numbers he’s putting up he could ask for something in the $10 million range. Certainly in the Stamkos range, even if he will be only a restricted free agent. But that same offseason will see the Lightning clear Stralman, Coburn, and Girardi off the books. Only Namestnikov is due an extension after this season of any player who matters. Even if Kucherov needs the moon Yzerman will have $11 million or so to play with to give to him if need be. That doesn’t even factor in whatever raise the cap will have by then.

    All told, the Lightning should get a run of four or five, maybe six, years at the top of the league. That’s about the maximum anyone gets in a cap world. You can’t argue.

    Of course, this kills us. The orchestrator of so many of our nightmares running a team the way we’d like to see one run. It never ends, the horrors never leave, the pain is always present.

    Happy Thanksgiving.

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  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Q&A George Fitzgerald

    Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Q&A George Fitzgerald

    George is a contributor to RawCharge.com. You can follow him on Twitter @GeoFitz4. 

    Best record in the league, four guys averaging more than a point per game, with Stamkos nearly at two points per game. Is there anything to complain about in Bolts-land?
    – Only real complaint has been the usage of Slater Koekkoek. Jon Cooper has used seven defensemen for all but a handful of games this season. This was actually something I predicted would happen earlier in the off-season. With three young defensemen, it allows Associate Head Coach Rick Bowness to  balance the ice time of the younger kids and protect them. So far, Koekkoek and Andrej Sustr have rotated in-and-out of the 7th defenseman spot. It’s been a little bit frustrating because we feel that Koekkoek has played well in the time he’s been given, while Sustr has regressed and his flaws have been more exposed than ever. Koekkoek is a smooth skater and was once looked on as a potential #3 defenseman. He had three shoulder surgeries (two on one, one on the other) before even starting his professional career and that stunted his development a bit. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a minor complaint.
    Brayden Point is already halfway to his rookie point total from last year. What do we need to know about him?
    – Recently I’ve seen some comparisons of Point to Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews. Not saying that he’s up to Toews level… yet… but he’s the kind of player that does the little things right. He’s not a master at any one thing, but he’s just a very solid all-around player that plays great defense and produces offensively. His line, with Ondrej Palat and Yanni Gourde on either wing, have been tasked with taking on top lines. Expect his line to be out there a lot against Toews and Saad. Point was overlooked in his draft year despite his offensive output (36-55-91 in 72GP in WHL with Moose Jaw) because of his size and some minor questions on his skating according to reports at the time. Since then, he’s picked up a couple inches and probably 15-20 pounds. That extra size and the work he has put in with renowned skating coach Barb Underhill allowed him to really bring his game to the next level. He was the first AHL-eligible professional rookie to make the Lightning out of training camp under Steve Yzerman. That’s just not something that happens with this organization anymore.
    Mikhail Sergachev has 14 points and was the offseason’s big acquisition. Is he already the second puck-moving d-man the Lightning have needed behind Hedman. 
    – Most definitely. The Lightning had a bit of a luxury in having three elite forwards on the roster. But they really only had one elite defenseman, as good as Anton Stralman is. Sergachev is proving to be that second player and he has more goals and points than Jonathan Drouin this season. Habs fans though will rightfully point out that Sergachev has a much better supporting cast in Tampa than he would of had in Montreal and he likely wouldn’t be producing like this north of the border. He’s a smart, charismatic kid that has a great work ethic and it comes through in the Russian interviews RawCharge has translated. He’s mostly been paired with Anton Stralman who has proven to be a great compliment to him. Stralman had career offensive seasons when he joined the Lightning but cooled off last season away from Hedman. But what he did with Hedman is the same thing he can do for Sergachev – give him a solid defensive presence that is an excellent communicator and will let him do his thing. He’s also earned his way on to the second power-play unit and has shown a knack for getting pucks on net through bodies.
    How is Dan Girardi rocking positive underlying numbers when he was an utter disaster in New York?
    – So, funny thing about that. @LoserPoints, our resident advanced stats experts, was just chatting with the rest of the staff about Girardi’s numbers a few days ago. With the Lightning using seven defensemen, it means that everyone is getting a chance to play with everyone else. When Girardi has been with Sergachev, he’s posted some ridiculously good numbers. With every one else, his numbers are mostly in the negative. A lot like his normal partner Braydon Coburn, he doesn’t push the pace offensively, but he has been better at limiting defensive chances for the Lightning. He’s been able to compliment Sergachev in the limited time they’ve played together and Sergachev’s offensive instincts has helped to buoy Girardi’s numbers. Girardi also mentioned in interviews before the season that last year he was slowed down by a nagging foot injury. That’s healed (though it’s only a matter of time before he’s hurt blocking a shot) and that has shown through in his positioning.
    If this team doesn’t come out of the East, it will be because….?
    – Injuries, particularly to Andrei Vasilevskiy or Victor Hedman. Vasilevskiy in particular is one of the big keys to this team going deep. While the offense is bound to cool off sooner or later, they do have tremendous scoring depth in the top eight forwards. There are some replacement options up front in the AHL in the form of veteran Cory Conacher and prospects Adam Erne, and Matthew Peca. The blue line is a little bit shakier, but the team could weather an injury there, maybe two. Having kept Koekkoek and Sustr, the Lightning are carrying eight NHL defensemen. In the AHL though, the depth just isn’t there. Jamie McBain is the lone defenseman with any NHL experience, though his experience is ample with over 300 games in the NHL. Beyond that, there’s one AHL veteran that could fill-in, one that is already on the bottom of the AHL line-up, a third-year pro, and then two each in their first and second years in the AHL. The goaltending depth picture did get a little bit better with a trade for Louis Domingue to replace Michael Leighton who had been struggling in the AHL. However, a pairing of Domingue and Peter Budaj doesn’t give fans the most confidence unless Domingue can return closer to what he’s shown in the past with the Coyotes.
  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Douchebag Du Jour – Dan Girardi Is The Reason We Have Pierre McGuire

    Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Douchebag Du Jour – Dan Girardi Is The Reason We Have Pierre McGuire

    Sure, why not?

    One of the most annoying aspects of following the NHL, and writing about it, is having to sift through those who broadcast it and how they view what makes a player valuable. And this spreads to those who make decisions on how to build hockey teams, sometimes directly from the media, which is how you get the mess you have in Montreal right now, for instance.

    Dan Girardi is a prime example. For the last few years, whenever the New York Rangers were on national TV, which was far too much (and yes, we know a Hawks fan saying another team was on TV too much is rich beyond all get out and we recognize that), you’d have to listen to at least 10 minutes at varying points combined of Pierre McGuire slobbering all over himself over what a “warrior” and “competitor” and the “heart” of Dan Girardi. He would do this because Girardi would always be involved in battles in the corner or out front of the net or blocking shots (notice these don’t ever involve his team having the puck). McGuire would try and sell you the game through the tales of these guys who were held together by duct tape but couldn’t wait to throw themselves in front of launched frozen rubber at the first opportunity to earn yet another bruise that sends people like McGuire to the height of emotional (and sadly probably physical) tumescence.

    What it conveniently ignored was that Dan Girardi sucked. He still sucks. He has sucked for a long time. The Rangers were demonstrably worse when he was on the ice, and his usual partner Ryan McDonagh was assuredly about three minutes away from taking a blowtorch to his locker in the dressing room. McDonagh’s career has certainly been shortened after years of cleaning up whatever mess Girardi continually put him in. His relative-Corsi’s are simply comedy to look up over the years, his coup-de-stupid coming in ’15-’16 when he was a -8.6, one of the worst marks in the league.

    But that kind of blathering from media still gets players like him a lot of money, so more power to him we guess. We just wish there were less of his types so there would be less chance of the Milburys and McGuires of the world to mess themselves on our televisions. There’s an image to take you into the holiday.

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  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

    Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: I Make A Lot Of Graphs

    All stats at even strength unless noted, and all adjusted for score and venue. 

    Expected Goals: Goals team “should” have scored and given up based on amount and types of chances created and surrendered, given neutral goaltending. 

    Time On Ice Percentage: Percent of team’s even-strength time player skates

    Off. Zone Start Ratio: Amount of shifts that start in offensive zone out of all shifts

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  • Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Lineups

    Game #21 – Hawks vs. Lightning: Lineups

    All analytic stats at even-strength and adjusted for score and venue.  

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  • The Winds Of Thor Are Blowing Cold – Quarterly Report

    The Winds Of Thor Are Blowing Cold – Quarterly Report

    As Pat Foley was very anxious to tell you on Saturday night, the Hawks passed the quarter-mark of the season. Well, technically they’ll pass it with ten minutes to go in the second period tomorrow night, as that would be the actual quarter of 82 games. But I’m not writing this post in the middle of the game tomorrow, because like all of you I’ll most likely be elbow deep in a pilsner of some sort on Black Wednesday. So let’s just do this now, huh?

    Let’s divide this up into “What We Know,” “What We Think,” and “We Don’t Know Anything” because it makes for a nice Mad Season reference. On to it:

    What We Know

    Corey Crawford is really good – This is the most obvious one. For at least the season’s first 10 games, maybe longer, Crawford was the only reason the Hawks were picking up any points at all. He was carrying a save-percentage over .940 for a while there, and his underlying numbers under that were pretty stupid.

    The concern is that he’s not going to be able to maintain this standard for a whole season. Luckily, at least in some ways, his numbers are flattening out to things he’s put up for. His current even-strength SV% would not be a career-high, as he was .933 in ’15-’16 against his .932 now. He also put up .931’s at evens in ’14-’15 and 2013.

    Crow hasn’t even had to perform quite as many miracles this year as in years past, at least at the moment. Expected save-percentage isn’t a perfect stat, but it’s what we have to go on. It’s basically trying to show how much above average a goalie is playing, by illustrating what a neutral goalie would surrender if seeing the same chances as the goalie in question is. The difference between expected save-percentage and a goalie’s actual one would tell you just how unconscious he’s been or how below par he’s been. Crow’s difference of 1.09 between his expected save percentage and actual would only be the fourth-highest of his career, and only a touch above his average of +1.00 the past five years. Basically, this is what he does, and the Hawks aren’t asking him to do quite as much as he has in the past, even if it feels like it.

    If there’s an area of concern, it’s work on the penalty-kill. Crow’s SV% there currently is .918, and that blows anything he’s done before out of the water and into orbit. His previous career-high was .894 in 2013. The difference between his SV% and xSV% on the kill is also astronomical, though it isn’t among the league-leaders at the moment. If the fall comes, it’ll be on the PK and with the Hawks still having a much worse five-man acoustical jam on the power play, that could be a real problem.

    Brent Seabrook is woof-tastic – You knew we would get here. There’s really nothing encouraging about any of it, as Seabrook’s underlying numbers continue to sink into the gravy boat he also likely lost his keys in. And it’s clear that Q has noticed. As Pullega pointed out earlier today, his time on ice is dwindling, not even getting 14 minutes of ES time in three of the past four games. Even more tellingly, at the end of the game on Saturday where the Hawks had to protect a one-goal lead it was Jan Rutta with Duncan Keith out there.

    But in some ways, that’s encouraging? You have to ignore the context, but there is some hope that i the right pairing Seabrook can survive as a third-pairing d-man. Give him someone with mobility, be it Forsling or Kempny, and softer assignments, and there’s a decent chance the ice won’t look like After The Fall when he’s done.

    What We Think

    Connor Murphy might be getting it? – It sounds strange to say because lately he’s been partnered with Seabrook. But Murphy’s CF% the last seven games: 72, 76.1, 65.6, 43.8, 60, 55.5, 50. And he hasn’t had sheltered zone starts. So much of this season is pinned on Murphy and Forsling being really good, and both seem to be trending that way. In some ways Seabrook, in a vacuum (make your stomach-pumping joke here) is a perfect partner for Murphy, because both, in theory, are something of a tweener when it comes to roles. Seabrook was always too gifted offensively to be merely a center fielder, and Murphy skates well enough to get himself in the play–though he’s never going to score a lot. I’d still like to see Murphy play the foil to a pure puck-mover like Keith or Forsling, but all good things to those who wait, Clarice.

    We Don’t Know Anything

    The Hawks 3rd line – It’s been something of a hole all year. It was bad with Anisimov there, but he’s had a revival moving up to play with Kane and Schmaltz. Sharp, Hartman, ADB, Wingels, and Working Class Kero have all taken turns trying to straighten it out and nothing has really worked. The fourth line has played well enough to cover it up for now, but what’s frustrating is there do seem to be solutions in-house. They could either be moving Schmaltz back to center, getting Top Cat into the top six and moving either Toews or Anisimov around wingers that they can do something with (yes, I would put Schmaltz between Saad and Panik and Toews lower down the lineup and I wouldn’t think twice). A call-up of Vinnie Smalls also would seem to be worth a try. His speed would have to have some effect, but this might just be a player Q doesn’t like. We’ll find out soon enough.

  • I Ain’t No Extra Player, I’m a Leadin’ Man

    I Ain’t No Extra Player, I’m a Leadin’ Man

    One thing you might have noticed over the past two or three games is an increase in atta boys, video montages, and overall praise for Gustav Forsling. Nowhere was it more present (and well-deserved) than last Wednesday against the Rangers. You may remember Forsling saving a game-tying goal after Rutta lost his ass and Crawford got caught hemmed onto the near post in the 3rd period.

    If you’re like me, you probably assumed that the love Forsling was receiving was just an overzealous welcome back party after his brief brown-brain shelving. Between Eddie O., Mike Milbury and the rack of ribs he keeps tied to the roof of his foot-propelled rock car, and whichever other good ol’ boy NBC had covering the game, all of the praise sounded like the yearning of people who peaked in high school talking about the reunion they’re looking forward to going back to. And it makes sense: The Hawks blue line still has more questions than answers, and with Forsling coming back, it would seem that at least some regularity would reign. But you and I know better: Forsling isn’t actually that good, so having him back isn’t THAT big of a deal.

    Right?

    I decided to test this hypothesis and found out that for all the shit I like to give Forsling, he might actually be the future of the Hawks blue line. Look at some of the things I found.

    His Ice Time Has Spiked Since Returning

    Prior to turning out the lights and trying to stay awake, Forsling averaged 17:45 at evens through 11 games. Since coming back, he’s averaged a full four minutes more (21:55) through five. And it’s not like he’s padding the stats in the 3-on-3 gigglefest. In the only game that went to OT (Carolina), Forsling played 20, maybe 30, seconds in OT, tallying the secondary assist on Saad’s screamer from Kitten Mittons. The rise in ice time coincides with a fairly large drop in Seabrook’s ice time: In the past five games, Seabrook has eclipsed 20 minutes just once, and that was the first game Forsling came back. In fact, he’s played under 17 minutes in his last two, splitting respective 59+ and 43+ CF%s against the Rangers and Penguins.

    “But ice time isn’t indicative of success,” you might say. “Look at TVR.” Generally, you’d be right. You may even be right in particular. But I’ve got good news if you’re optimistic.

    His CF% Has Been at Least 50 Since Returning

    He’s had CF%s of 57.58, 56.52, 54.55, 50.00, and 58.06 at evens over the last five. In three of those games (the first, second, and fourth in that list), he started no more than 45% of his time in the offensive zone. He spent 64% in the oZ against the Devils and 50% against the Penguins. So while Forsling’s been billed as an offensive threat with holes in his defense, those numbers look good. In fact, if you toss out the five minutes he played (and got domed) in Colorado, he’s a fly’s asshair above 50 for CF% on the year. So hovering around 50 CF% at evens while taking about 60% of his draws in the defensive zone certainly qualifies as promising at least.

    He’s Doing This Despite Playing With Seabrook More Than Ever

    I didn’t believe it either, but Forsling has played almost eight minutes more with Seabrook at evens in the last five games than he had in his first 11. He’s played just about as much time with Seabrook on the PK (4v5) in the last five as he did in the first 11 as well. What made it seem like much, much more was that in just 4:45 of ice time on the PK with Seabrook through the first 11, that pairing gave up two goals. This isn’t a call for Forsling to play with Seabrook more. Keeping Forsling away from Seabrook needs to be Initiatives 1, 2, and 3 going forward, but it’s nice to know he can sort of hold his own.

    He Might Not Be as Bad on the PK as We Thought

    The Hawks are currently killing penalties at an 85% clip, good for Top 5 in the league. They’ve given up just 11 goals in 74 opportunities, and Forsling has been on the ice for four of those goals in 44:33 of PK ice time. Two of those goals came with Seabrook, and the other two have come over nearly 30 minutes with Rutta. That puts him in the same neighborhood as Brandon Saad (four goals, 44:37) and Jonathan Toews (four goals, 39:13), and not too terribly far from Duncan Keith (seven goals, 64:18). And he’s doing this at 21 years old. Whereas we like to bitch about Q not giving young players a shot, it looks like Forsling is being thrown into the defensive end whenever he has the chance. The optimistic side of me thinks this is a trial by fire of seeing what he might be defensively, and so far, it hasn’t been nearly as terrible as it looked like it would be early on. It’s the old drumbeat of if he can stay away from Seabrook, he might have more room to blossom.

    His Power Play Time Has Shot Up Since His Return

    Prior to his injury, Forsling averaged about 20 seconds of ice time on the power play, most of which I assume was by accident. Since returning, he’s averaged 1:42 of PP TOI, with almost all of it coming while playing with Keith. While I won’t go so far as to say having Forsling on the PP is what fixed it, it’s an interesting coincidence that since his return and placement on the PP in the last three games (he played fewer than 10 seconds of PP time in his first two games back), he’s scored a PP goal himself and has been on the ice for two of the five goals the Hawks have scored on the PP (for whatever that’s worth). Again, Forsling may not be the primary cause for the PP’s outburst, but I can’t help but connect his addition to it and the outpouring of goals we’ve seen from it. Cautious optimism for now.

    Forsling is not Duncan Keith. It’s unlikely he’ll ever come close to being that. But for the time being, he’s pushed out strong CF%s under increasing ice time, including on the PP and PK. While many of us thought Murphy would be the linchpin to success, it looks like the tide might be shifting a bit toward Forsling.

    It’s a long season, he’s still very young and green, and we’re comparing 11 games to five games, both of which are little more than streaks. But if the past five games are indicative of what we might have in Forsling—and he can keep posting strong shot shares despite starting primarily in the defensive zone—the future, both near and far, may not be as grim as we expect.

    (All stats compiled using Natural Stat Trick and Hockey-Reference. If you want to see the spreadsheet with the numbers I found, email us at thecommittedindian@gmail.com.)

  • Live From The Five Hole – Everything Is Alright

    Live From The Five Hole – Everything Is Alright

    Despite the Hawks not being in Western Canada for this week for the first time in any of our four lifetimes, we still have thoughts for you about Gustav Forsling, John McDonough, and Big Cat Williams. Grab it all after the jump.

    (more…)